Flash Gordon and The Flash in "Flash of Two Galaxies!"

The first time I paired Flash Gordon with The Flash, I used Barry Allen.  It was pointed to me out that Jay Garrick's look even more closely resembled that of Gordon, and I have to agree.  Here then is a meeting between them.  Let's hope that Jay Garrick regains his powers on The Flash so that we can see some more original speedster action on TV.

The Flash and Quicksilver in "World's Fastest Fakeout!"

Word is that a Flash movie is still in production with Ezra Miller still set to star.  I hope there are some major changes made to his costume and performance if that is the case.  While I have liked him on other roles, Miller's Flash was easily my least favorite part of the ill-fated Justice League movie.

These speedsters have crossed paths in the past:

Quicksilver needed The Reverse Flash's help in taking down a possessed Barry Allen in STF #727...  Flash and Quicksilver  fought each other along with the JLA and Marvel Universe in STF #1900... they battled over getting into the movies in STF #678... and they first met way back in STF #15...

Coming Tomorrow: STF #2700!

Impulse Vs. Gorgon

 

Bart Allen was a fun addition to the Flash Family.  It was amusing seeing the hyperactive speedster interact with his older mentors and the other teen heroes from Young Justice.  Since then he's been aged and de-aged, changed his hero ID to Flash to Kid Flash and back to Impulse (I think).  I'm not sure, I lost track of him around the time the second Wally West as Kid Flash showed up and took his place on the Teen Titans.  I think Brian Michael Bendis may have brought Bart back in a new Young Justice title.  Sheesh, the Flash Family history is as confusing as Hawkman's at this point!

Howard the Duck and The Flash

 

Speculation but possible SPOILERS for the FLASH movie follow:

From set footage and cryptic comments by actors, the villain for the upcoming Flash movie is becoming clear and it's kind of a surprising one.  I had assumed The Reverse Flash would be involved somehow, but it looks like they are going in a slightly different direction by having Barry Allen dealing with a duplicate of himself.  We have seen the stand-in sharing scenes, dressed to look identical to Ezra Miller (except with yellow lining on his sneaker rather than the Red that Miller is wearing, hmmm...).  I'm not sure how I feel about this - I am not a big fan of Miller in the title role, so two of him doesn't really help things in my eyes.  Still, this is all speculation, we probably won't get any concrete answers until the DC Fandome presentation in a few months.

Nighthawk and The Flash

The Flash just had its third season premier and it throughly entertained me.  I was impressed how the writers were able to use the Flashpoint concept and it made for a cool story with a very interesting twist at the end of the hour.  It was a blast to see The Flash and Kid Flash in action side by side - and the tease of Dr. Alchemy has me looking forward to future episodes.

Reverse Flash Vs. Venom

I really enjoy The Flash on the CW, but I hope they aren't going to repeat themselves too much.  The "big bad" of the first season was The Reverse Flash, and for season two it was Zoom.  Now in the third season we have Savitar, Kid Flash, Jay Garrick, Rival, and Jesse Quick to look forward to.  Don't get me wrong, that all sounds fun - but we have seen a lot of speedster vs. speedster action on the show thus far and I would like to see some more variety in friends and foes.  Lets see appearances by Mirror Master, Dr. Alchemy, Kilg%re, and Ralph Dibny this year!

Let's hope that these two villains can sort out their differences before the next meeting of their team, The Doppel Gang...

The Flash Vs. Speed Demon

Watching John Wesley-Shipp as Jay Garrick on CW's The Flash is one of the highlights of the show for me, and I am always glad when he shows up.  I was a huge fan of Shipp's 90's Flash series and was always bothered that it never got a fair shot - first being put up against the then still new Simpsons, and then often being pre-empted and moved all around the TV schedule.  It never really got the chance to catch on with audiences.  It was a stroke of genius for the producers of the current show to bring back Shipp (along with Mark Hamill, Corinne Bohrer and others) to respect and honor what has come before.  After all, readers of The Flash know the comics have always been about honoring legacies.

Deadpool Vs. The Flash

I've been getting a kick out of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover on the CW.  My favorite part so far occurred in the last installment.  SPOILERS FOLLOW...

I loved that the solution to the problem of The Flash's destined sacrificed was resolved by having John Wesley Shipp's 90's era Flash taking the place of Grant Gustin's Flash at the last moment.  It recreated a key moment from the Crisis story, while finally giving closure to the 90's series that was abruptly cancelled.  I can't wait to see what's in store for the last two chapters.

The Thing and Flash Gordon

I was only familiar with Flash Gordon through the cheesy 80's film, so I did not pay much attention to the property. Years later I picked up a copy of the old movie cliffhanger serial featuring Flash and I thought it was a ton of fun. It was when I finally read the incredible stories illustrated by Alex Raymond that I truly became a fan, though. The stories are endlessly imaginative and fast moving, and the art just has to be seen to believed. It's really some of the most beautiful comic work I have ever seen and when you compare it to most other comic work from the same era, it's even more amazing. Flash Gordon brought out the best in his illustrators, and there is also some amazing work from Al Williamson, Reed Crandall (whose art I used for this cover) and others. I have heard that there is yet another film adaptation on the horizon and I hope they go back to those Raymond tales for inspiration.

The Flash and The Whizzer in "Fatal Finish Line!"

With characters like Firestorm slated to appear, the upcoming Flash series sounds like it will be fully embracing its comic boot roots, and I think that's a very good thing.  More than any other character, The Flash has always been involved with Earth Two, so I hope that the original Flash, Jay Garrick, will play a part in the series eventually.  Parallel Earths would be a very cool concept to explore in the series.

The Thing and The Flash (Jay Garrick)

I am very glad that DC has resisted the urge to try and update Jay Garrick's costume. It's got such a great retro vibe and makes him stand out amongst other heroes. Garrick holds a special place in the DCU as he and Barry Allen were the first characters to introduce the multiple-Earths concept in the classic "Flash of Two Worlds" story. When I first read that tale, the part that blew my young mind was that the original Flash from the soon-to-be-named Earth Two existed as a comic character on Earth One. His printed adventures even inspired Barry to take up the name when he gained his speed powers. That was about the coolest thing ever to me. I also had a tabloid sized reproduction of the Golden Age Flash Comics #1, featuring Garrick's first appearance. It was a great look into the rich history of comics, and made me want to learn more about the early days of the genre.

The Flash and Ghost Rider

For the fastest man on Earth, The Flash is sure taking a slow road to the silver screen.  I have heard rumors of a film for years, but nothing solid ever seems to materialize.  I used to think that he would be one of the harder characters to set a movie around because of his bright costume and outlandish rogues, but we have seen colorful costumes work well on screen and today's special effects could really make some of his adventures come to life.  The 90's TV series went for a darker, street level look inspired by the 1989 Batman movie, but what I would like to see is a true Flash style adventure.  Heck, Rise of the Planet of the Apes convinced me that we could see a Flash Vs. Gorilla Grodd movie that wouldn't be played for laughs.

Hawkman and Flash Gordon

Even though I was born a few decades too late, I had always been a big fan of the classic cliffhanger movie serials, and that was my first exposure to Flash Gordon. I later discovered the amazing comic work with art by greats like Alex Raymond and Al Williamson and my  interest in the character really grew from there.  I have to Imagine that the Hawkmen from the Flash Gordon strip were more than a little instrumental in the evolution of comicdom's most famous winged character.

Flash Gordon and The Flash

I have a nice over-sized book containing Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon work, and it is really something special.  His illustrations are beautiful, full of lush landscapes, futuristic cities and characters that have facial and body types all of their own.  It's no wonder that these cinematic images inspired so many over the decades.  What makes the work even more incredible to me is when it was produced - the early 30's.  I'm used to golden age artwork by and large being somewhat cruder than more modern styles, but Raymond's art can stand up next to any artist that has come since. It must have really made an impact on readers back in the day.

Nova and The Flash in: "Fleet Week!"

 

OK, Supergirl has been pretty much sidelined so far in her final season, The Cast of Black Lightning has lost their powers and The Flash barely ever uses his speed anymore.  What's going on with the CW shows - budget crunch?  

Nova and The Flash shared a bronze age adventure in STF #2613...

I am always happy to feature the artwork of Carlos Pacheco on this blog - Here's a page of his I picked up many years back from his FF run:

The Maxx & Wolverine / Shang-Chi Vs. The Flash

The Flash and Supergirl teamed up on TV this week and it was just what I needed after Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice.  While the big theatrical release had a lot to like in terms of visuals, It was mostly a depressing affair about people who did not like having to be superheroes.  While the TV team up may have been limited budgetarily, it was nice to see the heroes enjoying themselves, even when the chips were down.  Plus, their Flash didn't have a man-bun.

X-Men and The Flash

I am looking forward to the season finale of The Flash next week.  This season, they finally got away from the big bad being yet another speedster and went with The Thinker instead, and it has been pretty solid so far.  I do hope they find a way to resurrect Elongated Man, who was taken over by the villain a few episodes back, I was really enjoying him on the show.  The series might not be perfect, but it does a much better job of bringing The Flash to life than the Ezra Miller Justice League movie version did.

The Hulk and The Flash (The TV Event!)

I still think that The Flash 90's TV series had one of the best live action costumes ever.  It's easily the best Flash costume.  Even with a slightly redesigned cowl and incorrectly-colored boots, I prefer it to either the current movie or TV versions.

These two shared a  more traditional comic book adventure in STF #1296...

The Hulk and The Flash (The Movie!)

Well, it seems as though the Hulk/Flash TV Event from STF #2034 was such a hit that the pair has graduated to the big screen!  It's still fun to pop in my DVD's of the 90's Flash series.  What a shame it was bounced around the TV schedule so much that it never got a fair chance to catch on with audiences.

These two also shared a  more traditional comic book adventure in STF #1296...

The Flash and Northstar

The flash has one of the greatest costume designs in comics.  Carmine Infantino came up with a simple, sleek uniform that looks great in motion, and it has deservedly stood the test of time.  When Wally West took over the mantle of The Flash, a few tweaks were made.  The material was shinier and the eyes where whited out, but it was still close enough to the classic design for me.  The latest revamp with the New 52 reboot was less successful in my eyes.  I don't see what adding a chin strap and a whole bunch of unnecessary seams does besides make the suit look busy.  The artists like to have the seams glow and crackle with energy when he uses his powers, but to me that usually looks messy and more like his abilities are based on electricity rather than speed.

You could tell that John Byrne was going for that sleek Silver Age type of designs with his uniforms for the members of Alpha Flight.  Their cool, simple looks were very effective and have for the most part remained unaltered over three decades later.