FLASH versus GREEN LANTERN.
A Flash of Evil (DC)
Where: Green Lantern #40 When: Late May 1993
Why: Gerard Jones & Joe Filice How: Claude St. Aubin
The Story So Far...
When the multiverse was gripped in a crisis of infinite Earths; The Flash disappeared in a race to save existence from the Anti-Monitor's cosmic weapons!
The only evidence of Barry Allen's brave sacrifice was an empty red and yellow costume, to be collected by his protégé Wally West. When the world was remade, Kid-Flash took up the mantle, filling the void left by Barry as the new Flash!
A sudden return of Barry Allen years later seems like a Christmas miracle, but all is not as it seems! The lingering mystery of his disappearance hides a sinister truth about his return. When Flash begins acting strange, best friend Green Lantern is reluctant to doubt him. His hesitance creates a deadly conflict with Darkstar -- forcing the Lantern to take-on his old friend in order to protect him!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Professor Zoom 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Professor Zoom 5 (Professor)
Speed: Professor Zoom 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Green Lantern 4 (Trained)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Professor Zoom 28 (Metahuman)
Ahhh! Not so fast! It's another classic case of mistaken identity as the Reverse-Flash masquerades in red to pose as his classic arch-nemesis: The Flash!
Where: Green Lantern #40 When: Late May 1993
Why: Gerard Jones & Joe Filice How: Claude St. Aubin
The Story So Far...
When the multiverse was gripped in a crisis of infinite Earths; The Flash disappeared in a race to save existence from the Anti-Monitor's cosmic weapons!
The only evidence of Barry Allen's brave sacrifice was an empty red and yellow costume, to be collected by his protégé Wally West. When the world was remade, Kid-Flash took up the mantle, filling the void left by Barry as the new Flash!
A sudden return of Barry Allen years later seems like a Christmas miracle, but all is not as it seems! The lingering mystery of his disappearance hides a sinister truth about his return. When Flash begins acting strange, best friend Green Lantern is reluctant to doubt him. His hesitance creates a deadly conflict with Darkstar -- forcing the Lantern to take-on his old friend in order to protect him!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Professor Zoom 3 (Athlete)Intelligence: Professor Zoom 5 (Professor)
Speed: Professor Zoom 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Green Lantern 4 (Trained)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Professor Zoom 28 (Metahuman)
Ahhh! Not so fast! It's another classic case of mistaken identity as the Reverse-Flash masquerades in red to pose as his classic arch-nemesis: The Flash!
You and I know the scarlet speedster Barry Allen gave his life to stop the Anti-Monitor's schemes in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8! That was a little less than eight years earlier in publishing time, but for the DC Universe, the gap may not be so significant. Further: Flash's sacrifice was without witness and tinged in cosmic mystery, meaning his old pal can't be totally sure of who he's fighting!
Green Lantern is Hal Jordan: the Silver Age ring slinger who spent many decades fighting alongside The Flash in team-ups, and as part of the Justice League of America! We saw the post-Crisis version of their first JLA adventure in Secret Origins #32, where Flash figured heavily in the defeat of The Wood King!
Flash's connection to the Speed Force always makes him a formidable foe! Hal learned that first-hand when he was smacked around by his buddy years later in Green Lantern (Volume 4) #44! By then, it turned out Barry Allen wasn't dead after all, and the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter turned them against one another with telepathic deception. Not really what we're here to talk about...
Green Lantern is Hal Jordan: the Silver Age ring slinger who spent many decades fighting alongside The Flash in team-ups, and as part of the Justice League of America! We saw the post-Crisis version of their first JLA adventure in Secret Origins #32, where Flash figured heavily in the defeat of The Wood King!
Flash's connection to the Speed Force always makes him a formidable foe! Hal learned that first-hand when he was smacked around by his buddy years later in Green Lantern (Volume 4) #44! By then, it turned out Barry Allen wasn't dead after all, and the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter turned them against one another with telepathic deception. Not really what we're here to talk about...
So far we know a speedster can do some serious damage to Green Lantern. In that battle, GL was reluctant to harm his friend. That's a major factor in today's fight, because he's coming in under the impression Professor Zoom is Barry!
Eobard Thawne (aka; Reverse-Flash) is a sycophant gone bad from the future of the 25th Century. He knows all of The Flash's old moves and has perfected them through his own mastery of the Speed Force! We saw that put to chilling effect in Flash: Rebirth #4, when he kept ahead of Barry Allen and Max Mercury!
Green Lantern clearly has his work cut out for him, but he also wields a power ring capable of willing into reality just about anything he can conceive!
At the time of this fight, the Green Lantern energy ring is unable to enact upon anything yellow. In the future, this would come to be known as the Parallax impurity, which is excised with the removal of the fear-based entity from the central battery. If Reverse-Flash was in his own yellow costume - that could cause some serious trouble! Fortunately, Flash Red means no immediate threat!
We've seen Jordan handle the yellow weakness fighting Golden Roc [Secret Origin #32]. At super-human speeds it won't be quite so easy, but he also has a diverse environment at his disposal to mount a defense.
The Tape: Professor Zoom Ranking: Green Lantern (#30)
What Went Down...
Soaring over Central City; Hal Jordan spots the trademark scarlet streak left by the speedster he believes is his mysteriously returned best friend.
Flash darts into The Flash Museum, ordering its occupants to exit or face death!
Green Lantern investigates, finding "Flash" resting casually against a statue in the museum rotunda. He has nothing but contempt for the honored legacy of his heroic "misspent youth". It's baggage he plans to shed with extreme prejudice, taking one of his goody-goody superhero friends with it!
Eobard Thawne (aka; Reverse-Flash) is a sycophant gone bad from the future of the 25th Century. He knows all of The Flash's old moves and has perfected them through his own mastery of the Speed Force! We saw that put to chilling effect in Flash: Rebirth #4, when he kept ahead of Barry Allen and Max Mercury!
Green Lantern clearly has his work cut out for him, but he also wields a power ring capable of willing into reality just about anything he can conceive!
At the time of this fight, the Green Lantern energy ring is unable to enact upon anything yellow. In the future, this would come to be known as the Parallax impurity, which is excised with the removal of the fear-based entity from the central battery. If Reverse-Flash was in his own yellow costume - that could cause some serious trouble! Fortunately, Flash Red means no immediate threat!
We've seen Jordan handle the yellow weakness fighting Golden Roc [Secret Origin #32]. At super-human speeds it won't be quite so easy, but he also has a diverse environment at his disposal to mount a defense.
The Tape: Professor Zoom Ranking: Green Lantern (#30)
What Went Down...
Soaring over Central City; Hal Jordan spots the trademark scarlet streak left by the speedster he believes is his mysteriously returned best friend.
Flash darts into The Flash Museum, ordering its occupants to exit or face death!
Green Lantern investigates, finding "Flash" resting casually against a statue in the museum rotunda. He has nothing but contempt for the honored legacy of his heroic "misspent youth". It's baggage he plans to shed with extreme prejudice, taking one of his goody-goody superhero friends with it!
Lantern manifests a massive hand to catch his friend-turned-foe in mid-dash. He has no desire to fight, but Flash doesn't share the sentiment. The speedster thrusts his hands at speed to create a compressed air battering ram that sends the vulnerable ring-slinger hurtling across the rotunda!
Still a little confused by his old friend's sudden hostility -- Jordan dips into his old bag of tricks, throwing a giant green boxing glove. Flash knows it well, racing in circles to deflect the projectile and send it back to its source!
A towering bronze statue of the real Flash becomes a battering ram in the impostor's hands. He dares GL to contemplate if his ring's energy will work on bronze. Fortunately, it does -- breaking the statue apart against the hard-light energy bubble he manages to form at the last moment!
Jordan goes on the offensive, throwing up a complicated mechanical restraint to pin the speedster down against a nearby wall.
The device locks around The Flash's neck, wrists, torso, and legs -- but it hardly matters! Like Barry Allen himself, the impostor is much more powerful than his successor. He can vibrate his molecules at such intense speeds he passes right through solid matter!
Flash disappears backwards into the wall, cackling, before charging right back through the same way! Green Lantern knows he's coming from somewhere, but can hardly prepare for the immediate onrush!
Flash narrowly misses Green Lantern on the way to The Rogues Gallery weapons storage! He remembers the roll call of those legendary fiends, and delights at the thought of eliminating Barry Allen's best friend with their lethal arsenal!
The barrage of weapons forces Green Lantern to erect another energy shield and start reconsidering his tactics. As he does - the phony Flash ups the stakes by unleashing one of The Top's poisonous spinning tops!
The spread of noxious gas brings forth coughing from museum curator Dexter! Unwilling to abandon his post, the dutiful museum worker now faces imminent death, if not for the nearby gasmask of Mister Element! GL's ring filters the air around him, while he sends the mask to Dexter and makes chase.
Desperate to talk sense into the man he still believes is his old friend -- Jordan ensnares his target in a coffin sized prison cell.
It's meant to be too small for Flash to vibrate free, but the yellow of his costume is all he needs to break the bars. He dashes through the exhibit of adventures in time and space, jumping onto the time defying Cosmic Treadmill!
He broadcasts his plans to escape to an exotic moment in time, but in truth simply darts back a few minutes prior to their entering the room! The trick lets him catch Green Lantern completely unawares with a sucker punch! He grabs the stunned hero by the ankles and starts spinning at super-speed!
The intense forces threaten to black out even a hotshot test pilot turned space cop! Green Lantern desperately summons the will to create a grappling hook with his ring -- bringing the tilt-a-whirl of doom to a sudden stop!
The pair spill to the ground, but GL recovers first and vows to finish the fight if he has to bring the whole museum down on top of Flash! The speedster sarcastically laments the impending end of the great Flash Museum, whipping up debris with a super-fast wave of his hand! GL goes on the defensive!
The intense barrage of objects begins to pierce the Lantern's energy bubble, but also creates cover for him to escape through the floor to come back around for a sneak attack. Just as he does -- Darkstar attacks from above!
Green Lantern's ring intercepts the deadly surprise blast fired by Darkstar! He races to grapple with his rival space-cop, who has no regard for any past associations the scarlet speedster may, or may not, have established on Earth!
Jordan's attempts to protect Flash earn him a speeding yellow boot to the back of the head! A parting shot as the impostor attempts a high-speed escape!
As Flash streaks out of the building - Darkstar takes to the skies in hot pursuit! Believing it may be his last shot at neutralizing a global threat -- he fires deadly bolts of energy that meeting their running target in a spectacular explosion!
Believing he's witnessed the death of his long missing friend -- Green Lantern erupts with rage! He launches himself at the Darkstar, but is met with pleas of innocence! The Darkstar's energy bolts were merely meant to stun!
Darkstar posits that super-speed rendered his body unusually unstable, while Green Lantern contemplates the true possibility that The Flash pulled a literal fast-one.
While the two intergalactic lawmen argue; Professor Zoom lies in wait beneath the ground, having vibrated at super-speed to disappear below the surface! A gambit that caused the ground to explode, but left him safely unseen.
The Hammer...
Darkstar may've gatecrashed the battle and brought it to an explosive end, but there were no winners in today's featured fight! His role was merely in providing an assisted distraction that allowed the impostor Flash a discreet exit.
If you paid attention to the Tale of The Tape, you already know this felonious false Flash is in actual fact Eobard Thawne: Professor Zoom!
Usually he'd be wearing yellow and red as the Reverse-Flash, but in '93, Zoom's super-speed, and knowledge of future-past, were tools in a ploy to stage the impersonated return of Barry Allen! A comeback easily achieved with a quick costume change and commitment to 25th century cosmetic surgery!
The story actually functions as a revamp and return for Prof Zoom, whose neck snapping death famously occurred ten years earlier! In that respect, it's a story that does deliver on a major return! Even if ultimately temporary as a new Zoom came to succeed Thawne as the Reverse-Flash in 2001.
The plausibility of Barry Allen's return is something I don't have a great memory of. The story was coming just a few months after Death of Superman, and slightly ahead of the much-hyped 'breaking of The Bat' in Knightfall. Significant changes were being visited upon DC's greatest heroes, and I have to imagine a return that would displace Wally West seemed at least conceivable, as a result.
Of course, when compared to the international headlines made by Superman and Batman, it was easy to overlook The Flash as just another monthly issue on the racks. If you weren't paying attention, you might not have even noticed that the scarlet speedster on covers wasn't the one who was supposed to be there!
It had only been eight years since Barry Allen's supreme sacrifice in the pages of Crisis on Infinite Earths #8. It was a timeline that probably should've leant credence to his prospective return, but also reinforced a naïve confidence that it was too soon to unseat a replacement who'd served the post-Crisis DCU well.
The garbled transition from pre to post Crisis brought many frustrations for a young reader, but if there was one thing to take away, it was the sacred text of Barry Allen's death. It was an event so significant it placed him within the rare pantheon of the seemingly un-resurrectable: Thomas & Martha Wayne, Uncle Ben Parker, Gwen Stacy, Bucky Barnes & Jason Todd...
Yes, the rules have changed a lot in the decades since. The mid-2000s brought those last two back, and if you've been reading long enough, you're probably thinking heavily about the return of Flash in Final Crisis, and Flash: Rebirth.
Heck! Even Thomas Wayne has a bafflingly active fanbase now thanks to the regrettable tangents of 2010's Flashpoint. The template of early nineties stunt events seems to permeate today's publishing heavily, rather than lessons learned from all that had to be undone.
"The Return of Barry Allen" might not be as well remembered as Death of Superman, Knightfall, or even Green Lantern's fall from grace and turn to villainy. Yet, as an exception, it remains one of the better examples from that time. As an event, its dramatic tension is the threat of a return.
As a story, its end result is a contribution of something that had been taken away -- and a re-emphasis of an important piece of myth building. Good fiction builds on itself. It can twist, contort, progress and surprise without breaking. It creates problems (drama) without eroding the consequences of meaning of its own content. The kinds of comics I'm much preferring to read and revisit.
This month on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths we're featuring comics with the characters found in Injustice 2! The Flash, Green Lantern and Reverse-Flash are all characters you'll encounter in the sequel video game, albeit in a universe where many of DC's greatest heroes are no longer in tact.
Follow links throughout this post to find more from the heroes, villains and comics you love! Dive deeper to find every past featured fight in the Secret Archive Index, where they're organized by publisher, series, and issue number!
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Winner: Draw
#28 (+2) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#133 (+161) Professor Zoom (Eobard Thawne)
#526 (new) Darkstar (Ferrin Colos) [+1 assist]
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