GORILLA GRODD versus THE FLASH TRIO

Beyond The Super-Speed Barrier! (DC)
Where: DC Special Series #11 When: 1978
Why: Cary Bates How: Alex Saviuk

The Story So Far...
An ordinary night in the lives of three civilians becomes a bizarre mystery as each is summoned to don their identities as The Flash and Kid Flash of two worlds -- and race to meet in a single, solitary location on an Earth-1 hillside.

Compelled to run at blistering speeds against their will, the speedsters discover themselves confronted by a shocking force capable of bending their very impulses. Though believed executed for his crimes in Gorilla City: Super-Gorilla Grodd lives!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Gorilla Grodd 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Barry Allen 5 (Professor)
Speed: Barry Allen 7 (Lightspeed)
Stamina: Barry Allen 6 (Generator)
Agility: Gorilla Grodd 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Gorilla Grodd 2 (Projectile)
Total: Gorilla Grodd 28 (Metahuman)

Gorilla Grodd is the big-brained super-ape with super-primate strength, stamina, and durability, with telepathic powers to take it to the next level, but if he's so smart -- why is he challenging three generations of The Flash?!

Barry Allen is the frontrunner of the trio as the fastest man alive and arch-nemesis to Grodd. Thwarting the Anti-Monitor's attack on reality robbed Allen of decades of print, but his eventual rebirth brought him racing back to the present day to reaffirm his dominance over the Speed Force!

During Allen's lost years it was Kid Flash who assumed the mantle of the "Scarlet Speedster". Wally West established a connection with the speed force like no other Flash before him. This is our first time visiting his junior years, but his later exploits have included outpacing Marvel's Quicksilver, and teaming with Barry to stop the sprint of the Lady Flash.

Jay Garrick is the one and only "golden age" Flash who started it all! He might not hit the top speeds of his younger counterparts, but that never stopped him fighting the good fight against the monstrous Morgauth, villainous Reverse-Flash, or resourceful Rag Doll!

All three can run rings around Gorilla Grodd, so the question is: How can Grodd counter-act a triple threat of super-speed? Well, there are a couple of ways...

Numbers actually might work against the Flash trio if Grodd can use his mental powers to turn one or more against each other. This mind-controlling technique was on full display when he marshalled the Ultramarine Corps against Wally and the Justice League in JLA: Classified #3!

The Flash may be able to think fast on his feet, but we saw Barry Allen succumb to this very type of subterfuge when the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter telepathically tricked him into targeting the Green Lantern!

When mind games fail, Grodd can always use more direct means to turn enemies into allies. His quest for gorilla dominance has seen him use many methods to turn the populace into likeminded primates, as he did in Supergirl #3 with a mystical talisman.

The Tape: Flash Team-Up Ranking: Barry Allen (#20)

What Went Down...

Puzzled by a mysterious, irresistible force that compelled Barry Allen and Kid Flash to run backwards to their destination -- and bring Jay Garrick spinning from Earth-2 -- the trio is equally shocked to learn the source: Super-Gorilla Grodd!

Knowing Grodd by reputation -- Garrick doesn't miss a beat joining Kid Flash in a two-pronged attack that sees the two racing to grab one of the super-gorilla's arms and spin him at super-human speeds!

The attack does the trick, but as Grodd falls flat on his face, Barry Allen informs his friends that he learned from Solovar himself that Gorilla Grodd was executed in Gorilla City by inter-dimensional molecular dispersal!

As Garrick checks on the motionless Gorilla, he makes the grim discovery that the ape before them is indeed dead.

The Flash knows his allies couldn't have inflicted lethal force, and a booming disembodied voice confirms the truth. The ape before them was in fact Jroyy -- an agent killed with "mind-power" for outliving his usefulness.

Suddenly the voice comes from the mouth of Kid Flash as his face twists into a sinister, contorted parody of a grin, and he taunts The Flash with the mystery: "What has become of your detective abilities, Flash? You should have deduced who I am by this time!"

The Scarlet Speedster quickly recognises the voice to be Grodd's -- even as it suddenly springs forth from the mouth of Jay Garrick!

The Golden Age Flash becomes the vessel from which Grodd reveals that the only thing that could penetrate the dimensional barrier that trapped his atoms was precise super-speed! Thus, Jroyy orchestrated events that would take each of the three speedsters unwittingly to the correct vibrational frequency.

Speaking through Barry Allen; Grodd describes the billions of his atoms that clung to each of his foes as they passed through his dark domain. Then in a single terrible instant -- Super-Gorilla Grodd returns!

Freed from Grodd's molecular influence -- the trio of Flashes race away from the reassembled villain to regroup. Quickly gaining ground, they turn back to make a bee-line towards the scheming simian.

Once again its the eldest & youngest speedsters who reach their target first, but neither of them could've imagined that Grodd would've gained his own temporary super-speed as a result of piggybacking on their molecules!

A rapid swatting of his hand allows Grodd to stop the charging Kid Flash in his tracks, before effortlessly side-stepping the Golden Age Flash, turning his momentum against him with a simple super-fast toss into a nearby tree!

Earth-1 Flash closes in at high-speeds, digging his heel into the ground to launch a blanket of rocks at the Super-Gorilla!

Alas, Grodd's temporary super-speed and powerful mind-powers allow him to face the spray of rocks with impunity -- telekinetically hurling them at The Flash!

With no speed advantage and nowhere to run -- Flash has no choice but to spin on the spot, using his incredible momentum to deflect the incoming projectiles.

Kid Flash attempts to take advantage of the distraction, rushing Grodd from behind with a flurry of hammer-fists -- while Jay Garrick recovers to dive straight at the villain with a flying kick!

Seeing it coming -- the Super-Gorilla vibrates himself at fast enough speeds to achieve molecular intangibility and leave the two Flashes colliding into each other!

The Flash takes a page out of his sidekick's book, using the distraction to dive onto Grodd's back and start stomping at high speed!

For a moment it seems the gorilla is capitulating, but he soon sends The Flash flying into the dirt with a speedy back kick!

With the Flash trio on the ropes, and mere seconds of residual super-speed at his command, Grodd hops to his feet and begins racing across the battlefield in preparation for delivering a single finishing blast of mind-power!

Grodd's gloating of superiority unwittingly inspires a new tactic in Barry Allen, who turns his sprint towards his allies -- running at such phenomenal speed as to collect their atoms in a confusing blur of three speedsters!

For an uncanny moment the three Flashes are merged as one -- allowing The Flash of Earth-1 to pilot their combined speed into a single powerful punch! A mighty knock-out blow even Super-Gorilla Grodd cannot withstand!

The Hammer...

A gloriously bizarre end for a mildly unusual episode.

The Flash takes the team-up to its most literal conclusion -- combining powers & bodies to wholly share the victory with Kid Flash and Jay Garrick!

It's not a trick I remember The Flash pulling very often, which might be why I'm not completely disgusted by it.

I get a little crankier about the on-going trend of superheroes switching powers and identities these days. Today we have to endure entire years of this type of distracted nonsense, but in this story, it's a quick little gimmick, using the established trope of The Flash manipulating his molecules at high speeds to perform weird & wild feats. A colourful end to a fun plot.

A more modern take on the story would probably see the speedsters creating a slipstream to slingshot the fastest of the trio towards their target. A less mind-bending version of sharing speed, but hey. Let's just chalk it up to Speed Force.

Back then they didn't have a catchy name for the extra-dimensional super-normal phenomena that informs The Flash's incredible abilities, but its intuitive invention is here on display in 1978. If Gorilla Grodd's dispersed atoms weren't imprisoned in the Speed Force dimension itself, similar concepts aided in freeing him.

The story of Grodd's temporary death runs throughout the issue. Not to be confused with the classic 80-Page Giant series; DC Special Series #11 never the less uses the 80-page format to tell a value-packed one dollar story, comprised of six or so chapters, each an episode in the lives of the three Flashes featured.

Solovar oversees the execution of the criminal super-gorilla in the opening story, setting up the thrilling main event featured today, after each Flash is run through their paces by various opponents, with covert interference from Jroyy.

If you think opening with Grodd in what amounts to an electric chair death scene is grisly, wait until you see Kid Flash chasing his girlfriend Leslie on an out-of-control motorcycle that goes so fast -- her body bursts into flames! Reducing her to a skeleton! It's just an illusion cooked up by Jroyy, but geez! That's a bad date!

Irv Novick, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Kurt Schaffenberger handle pencils on the other chapters, all written by Cary Bates, but our featured installment boasts a 26 year old Alex Saviuk, with inks by Joe Giella. A nice look into the early work of what would become a favourite Spider-Man artist in later years, both on the mainline books, and the aesthetically memorable Spider-Man Adventures.

Saviuk's action is pretty solid and the Amalgam-style mash-up design of the three merged speedsters is amusing enough. For the time, and circumstances, it's fun to see Grodd grifting some residual super-speed for his latest clash with his arch-nemesis, even if the real enjoyment comes from Flash facing off against opponents who challenge him in ways other than his own powers of speed.

Yes, I'm taking another swipe at contemporary storytelling, where if The Flash isn't being sucked into time travel and multiverse shenanigans, he seems to be stuck in the quagmire of everything being coloured by speed. TV seemed to be particularly guilty of this. I'm glad to look back at one of his other classic foes.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more of The Flash's famous rogues gallery -- consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. As a thank you for helping make all of this possible you'll unlock options to sponsor future entries, or join the discussion on the Discord server. A big thank you to new patron Dominic!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has recorded over 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all by following links throughout each and every post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter, Patreon & Discord!

Winners: The Flash, The Flash & Kid Flash
#16 (+4) The Flash (Barry Allen)
#24 (+14) Kid Flash (Wally West)
#146 (+288) The Flash (Jay Garrick)
#449 (-2) Gorilla Grodd
#1010 (new) Jroyy

FLASH, MAX MERCURY & JOHNNY QUICK versus REVERSE-FLASH

Suicide Run (DC)
Where: Flash #77 When: June 1993
Why: Mark Waid How: Greg LaRocque

The Story So Far...
When the multiverse was in crisis, The Flash laid it all on the line to defend infinite Earths from The Anti-Monitor's plans for cosmic annihilation. The only evidence of his heroic sacrifice was an empty costume collected by his protégée Kid Flash.

Adopting the mantle in honor of the missing hero; Wally West never imagined he would see his mentor again - but the sudden return of Barry Allen challenges everything he thought he knew about his uncle!

Joy turns to anguish when The Flash lashes out at those who carried on his legacy in Central City. Having left Wally West for dead, the scarlet speedster sets out on a warpath to punish those who embraced the new Flash -- forcing veteran speedsters Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury to step in!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Professor Zoom 5 (Professor)
Speed: Professor Zoom 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Max Mercury 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Max Mercury 3 (Explosives)
Total: Max Mercury 30 (Super)

It's three speedsters against one, but don't think for a minute that means an advantage! The Flash, Max Mercury, and Johnny Quick are acting under the misapprehension that the opponent they're facing is their friend: Barry Allen!

In truth, the trio are pulling their punches against a chronologically confused super-villain of the highest order: Professor Zoom, better known as the yellow clad Reverse-Flash!

Eobard Thawne came from the 25th century to assume the mantle of the Silver Age Flash, who we know sacrificed his life to save the multiverse in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8. The makeover is so convincing, he successfully fooled Barry's best friend Hal Jordan in Green Lantern #40 -- and even himself!

The miraculous return of the fallen Flash may seem too good to be true, but the heroes aren't foolish for believing their lost friend could return. Their knowledge of his demise is uncertain, and as we now know, he will return in Final Crisis and Flash: Rebirth, revealing he'd actually spent years lost in the Speed Force.

Rebirth was where we saw Professor Zoom demonstrate the destructive power of his polarized Speed Force against the living Barry Allen, and Max Mercury, earning a vicious victory in Flash: Rebirth #4!

In today's battle Max is fighting beside the original Flash from the Golden Age: Jay Garrick! We've seen him grapple with the nightmares of Sand in JSA #64, and the horror of Morgauth in JSA Strange Adventures #1. He's a hero of true grit and great experience, but it's Max Mercury who has the distinction of being known as the "Zen Master of Speed" -- a mentor to Garrick and Johnny Quick!

In some ways Max Mercury is Professor Zoom's opposite, with origins dating back to the 1800s. His speed was supplied through Native American mysticism, and although he isn't as fast as Zoom or Jay Garrick, his study of speed, and disciplined approach allows him to be a powerful force for justice!

Professor Zoom has the benefit of hindsight, with the full exploits of Barry Allen and his knowledge made public knowledge in the 25th Century. He's suffering from traumatic amnesia and genuinely believes he's The Flash, but will that in any way diminish his ability to cause mayhem and destruction? Let's find out...

The Tape: Flash, Max Mercury & Johnny Quick Ranking: Reverse-Flash (#149)

What Went Down...
Construction scaffold begins to tremble violently as The Flash sends super-fast vibrations up its supports. It looks like certain death for the construction workers above -- until a blur of red & blue dashes upward to make the save!

Jay Garrick, Johnny Quick, and Max Mercury defy gravity - running so fast along the edge of the structure they can catch the tumbling men, and race back down to safety without falling. A heroic act before they confront the cause!

The original Flash leads the charge as they confront the scarlet speedster they believe to be their wayward comrade. Garrick makes it clear they won't let Barry Allen run the city ragged any longer. He doesn't take it to heart.

Johnny Quick is the first to make a run for battle -- darting at the disguised Reverse-Flash when he's singled out. He isn't quick enough, taking a vicious elbow to the back of the head as the target easily side-steps him!

Though rattled, Quick keeps up chase with his much faster opponent, providing a target for derisive mockery and distraction. Reverse-Flash notices the brick wall he's running toward, and arrogantly laughs it off, relying on the super-fast vibration of his molecules to easily pass through it...

The presumption allows Flash and Max Mercury to spring the real trap, catching their opponent unawares on the other side of the wall with a devastating right cross and double-fisted uppercut!

The blow sends Zoom hurtling across the construction site into a mound of gravel. He recovers and scoops fistfuls of the stones at super-speed, sending a hail of projectiles streaking across the battlefield and into Johnny Quick!

The gravel rips through Quick like buckshot, but his dramatic fall is dampened when the classic Flash zips ahead to make the save. Max Mercury volunteers to take up the fight while Jay tends to their injured ally.

The phony Flash lunges for Max, but quickly finds the old timer is much faster than Johnny Quick! Mercury slips under the villain's grip and leaps straight at him to deliver a stinging knee to the face!

Zoom resumes chase with confidence he can outpace Max Mercury now that the element of surprise is gone, but he still under estimates the Zen Master of Speed. Max makes a beeline for the towering steel structure where Zoom finds it difficult to maintain top speed along narrow girders. An even playing field!

Mercury proves a far more agile speedster, springing nimbly across the girders to deliver a flying kick, before restoring distance on the other side of a void.

The false Flash looks to mitigate range by snatching a rivet gun and opening fire, but the streaming projectiles are easily avoided by a leaping Mercury!

Max dives into the open air, catching a sagging cable that swings him up and over one of the higher girders -- and back down to once again tag Reverse-Flash with an acrobatic kick!

The blow sends the phony scarlet speedster plummeting to the ground below. He lands near startled construction workers, which inspires a fiendish idea. He races back up the framework, carrying a few innocent bystanders to be hurled from up on the rig! Max Mercury has no choice but to leap to save them!

He succeeds, but the act of heroism gives Zoom the distraction he needs to reclaim the advantage. He barges through the preoccupied hero like a freight train -- but fails to notice Jay Garrick atop the build with a girder in hand!

Reverse-Flash runs straight into the barrier, taking a full impact directly to the body! He drops to his knees for a moment, but quickly recovers to stomp the girder and send a compassionate Garrick launching into the air!

The Golden Ager spins his hands to create enough down thrust to slow his descent, but also allows the evil Flash to run to meet him on the ground!

The phony Flash meets him with brutal, super-fast ground and pound! He spews disdain for Barry Allen's replacement, and forgotten legacy in Central City, while the furious flurry of punches pummels the senior Flash deep into the dirt.

Searching for new headlines for the forgotten Flash; Zoom sets his sights on news helicopters closing in to film. He starts running in a continuous circle, kicking up sand from the construction site and sucking it skyward via vortex.

The false Flash then challenges his bloodied precursor to chase him, knowing full well the legendary hero will put rescuing reporters ahead of stopping his escape.

The elder Flash scrambles to reach them, desperately trying to outrun the threat of their seizing helicopter steering straight toward the construction site. The hero is engulfed in the ensuing explosion as he races the reporters to safety, with only his metal helmet emerging from the smoke.

The Hammer...
A rejuvenated Wally West arrives just in time to dramatically collect the helmet of the Golden Age Flash as it hits the ground smoldering. Professor Zoom wins the battle, but we'll find out in the next issue that everybody made it out okay!

Flash #77 is part of the larger arc that's since been collected as The Return of Barry Allen. The story's reputation has continued to grow in esteem, recently appearing as #1 on Newsarama's 10 Greatest Flash Stories of All Time. Marvel Editor Tom Brevoort also featured its concluding chapter on his blog, calling it the best single issue of The Flash's entire eighty year run. High praise!

I'm not sure I hold the story in quite the same high regard, but it is a highlight from the Wally West years, and there's certainly a lot to like.

On the surface, it's a cruel tale that challenges Wally's post-Crisis tenure as the main Flash. As it unfolds, it becomes a celebration of the legacy of Barry Allen, and a confirmation of Wally West as the scarlet speedster for the modern era.

While the trio of classic heroes challenges the returning Reverse-Flash; Wally is out doing some soul searching after seemingly being betrayed by his beloved uncle, and mentor. The revelation of Eobard Thawne's post-Crisis return to canon is itself a pleasure, as is Wally's redoubling of self-belief and honor.

The arc is effectively a distillation of modern Flash, replete with a shining example of the multi-generational status quo I'd like to take for granted.

I have a real fondness for Golden Age characters, and love seeing Jay Garrick as a supporting player and statesman in the world of The Flash. I don't necessarily need to see the helmeted hero in every issue, but his availability to stories like this really enriches the world of The Flash, and the DC Universe in general. Max Mercury was a nice addition for world building, too.

Now that the Justice Society are being reinstated in the modern DCU, and there's talk of their big screen potential, I'd like to think we can all agree it was a terrible mistake to erase them from DC history in the first place.

The New 52 was generally an unnecessary attack on DC Comics' own brand and strengths, overreaching in its marketing goals, and flawed in concept & construction. Of course, by actually bringing Barry Allen back in 2009 - DC really created its problem before rebooting. If Barry is back, where does Wally fit?

Departing DC Publisher Dan Didio had a well documented belief that the third-generation heroes aged their iconic seniors beyond function. He isn't really wrong. As long as third-generation heroes like Wally West reach adulthood, they require a choice to commit to moving the universe forward -- or halting it.

With stories like the one featured today, DC created an exceptionally compelling case for moving forward. Wally West was very easy to accept as the Flash: one of the greatest legacy heroes on record. They even did a serviceable job with a new Green Lantern, and Green Arrow. That was when they made comic books, though. Now they make movies - and nobody wants to skip the true icons.

Going from black & white reprints of Barry Allen stories to early post-Crisis Wally West adventures was never very difficult. As a young reader, I found Wally very easy to accept. But I also don't think DC should be burning its icons for the sake of advancing to a new generation. Even if that would be interesting.

I like the balance of three active generations co-existing. Grandfather, father, and son, for want of a better analogy. Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West. I think perceiving them relative to one another, without placing them in time, is the best way to tell comic book stories. It's the same suspension of disbelief that allows us all to continue enjoying Bruce Wayne stories after eight years.

Sliding timescales and other complex rationalizations aren't really all that helpful. Stories just need to live in the present and adapt their backstory to fit, where necessary. That's what Mark Waid and company did in 1993, and that's probably a big part of why it's held up as such a modern classic.

If you want to get the full story, there are two collected editions you can investigate: Flash: The Return of Barry Allen and The Flash by Mark Waid Volume 2. By shopping using the Amazon links provided, you'll get yourself a good deal delivered to your door -- and support the site at no extra cost! That's a Flash Fact!

You can also discover more of the DCU and beyond by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue number!

Subscribe to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths via Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day. Don't forget to like and share the best battles! If you enjoy what we're about, and the archive of thousands of articles, you can connect with Patreon. Patrons can influence upcoming features and get involved with the schedule, voting, and more.

Winner: The Flash (Professor Zoom)
#87 (+62) Professor Zoom (Eobard Thawne)
#391 (-49) Flash (Jay Garrick)
#907 (new) Johnny Quick
#921 (-54) Max Mercury

FLASH versus RAG DOLL

Countdown To Crisis! (DC)
Where: Justice League of America #196 When: November 1981 Why: Gerry Conway How: George Perez & Romeo Tanghal

The Story So Far...
In an effort to destroy his nemesis Superman, Ultra-Humanite forms a Secret Society of Super-Villains across two worlds. His goal: to orchestrate the capture of ten key heroes who will upset the balance of worlds - resulting in the orchestrated destruction of his own!

Earth-1 is home to a Justice League of America led by the youthful Superman, while Earth-2 boasts seasoned veterans of the Justice Society and a matured Superman. Despite a meeting between the heroes of two worlds, they are blissfully unaware of the forces plotting against them!

The Society's efforts have already led to the capture of Earth-1's Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Batman and Earth-2's Hawkman and Hourman! Now the wicked Rag Doll, and recently unretired Monocle, set their sights on Earth-2's Flash with the world only 40% away from cosmic annihilation!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Flash 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Flash 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Flash 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Rag Doll 6 (Generator)
Agility: Rag Doll 6 (Rubber)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Rag Doll 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Flash 26 (Metahuman)

As the golden age Flash: Jay Garrick was the fastest man on Earth-2! Exposure to strange vapors unlocked the speedster's unique powers, later linked with the same esoteric Speed Force that fuels Barry Allen and Wally West!

How do you beat a guy who can move faster than you can see? A lot of villains have tried, but few methods have been as unusual as Rag Doll's!

If you've ever had a friend who was double-jointed, you've seen first-hand how a person can bend fingers and limbs the wrong way. In the case of Rag Doll: Peter Merkel was born triple-jointed -- allowing him to twist and contort his every joint into bizarre and impossible configurations!

Most notably: Rag Doll can compact his body into impossibly tight spaces. With such phenomenal natural pliability has also come a super-human quality to absorb impacts! The flow of his flexible limbs isn't super-fast, but he's been shown to react quick enough to twist between the flight path of gunfire!

Rag Doll's known to carry guns himself, and even though The Flash is faster than any speeding bullet, he can occasionally be caught by surprise! We saw Sandman use powers and terrain to chin-check Flash in 2004's JSA #64.

Rag Doll can exploit any nook or cranny in a given environment, allowing him to hide in plain sight and launch attacks on unsuspecting victims. He may look like a goofy child's toy, but it turns out Rag Doll is actually quite deadly!

The Tape: Flash Ranking: Flash (#143)

What Went Down...

A red & blue streak blazes a trail along a Keystone City dock at dusk. The Flash racing to meet an anonymous police tipster with information about Rag Doll!

Hidden between wooden crates, and obscured by hat and coat, the informant points Flash in the direction of a ship: The Lazy Sue. The speedster leaves with thanks in the blink of an eye -- never noticing the villainous Monocle!

It only takes a few more beats for Flash to have scoured the entire vessel and come up empty -- or so he thinks!..

It soon dawns on The Flash that his old enemy Rag Doll can hide in smaller spaces than any ordinary man! The realization comes with seconds to spare as the folded Rag Doll leaves his hiding place in a ventilation cowl and opens fire!

Flash reacts with super-human speed, blurring out of the line of fire and towards the protruding tube! He returns fire with a knife-edged chop thrown at speeds high enough to cut right through the rusting metal structure!

Rag Doll manages to escape injury and makes a leap for the cargo hold! The hero estimates the plunge at a leg breaking forty feet, but soon remembers the "rubber-jointed freak" won't suffer a scratch from the fall!

To avoid injury himself, Flash swings his hands fast enough to create two focused jets of downforce that glide him safely to the level below.

Before the speedster can begin his search of the hold - he spies a waiting bundle of dynamite amongst the cargo. It explodes -- launching the unprepared hero into the air with a devastating blast!

The Flash crashes back down to the hold with his helmet clanging beside him! The explosion leaves the hero unconscious as Rag Doll stands unscathed over his nemesis, gloating about his powers of resilience in victory!

The Hammer...

It was a plan that worked to perfection: Monocle lures The Flash to the trap - Rag Doll blows it up! Eloquent in its simplicity, and devastatingly effective at scratching one of the major heroes off The Secret Society of Super-Villain's hit list of two worlds!

This was part of the annual crossover between Earth-1's Justice League of America and the Justice Society of Earth-2. Ultra-Humanite is the mastermind, plotting to surgically remove key heroes in the hopes of creating a cosmic imbalance that will destroy his world. If you know anything about the Ultra-Humanite: you know he won't mind relocating!

There are a lot of fun villains in this one that've been slightly forgotten, or just overlooked. A recent spotlight in Hero of the Week got me thinking more about the original comic book Rag Doll, who hasn't featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths yet. I figured I'd pull this issue off my desk and take a closer look.

It's a nice quick showcase of what makes Rag Doll work as a functioning high-concept super-villain. He's hiding in the shadows right under the hero's nose, then he strikes with total impunity - unafraid of the shock of an explosion!

It's a good transposing of the old children's dolls that always seem to survive a plane crash or similar human crisis. I'm in favour of updating the design of the character to enhance the creepiness, but there is a charm to such a ridiculous visual. If blowing up Flash wasn't bad enough for you, he robbed a bank with guns blazing in the prior issue. A nice subversion of an innocent image.

Now that we've seen the original Pete Merkel in action, we'll have to find time to get Junior on the books. The 2005 Simone/Eaglesham creation reinvented the concept by cranking up the creepy weirdness, and doubling-down on the body horror of surgically acquired triple-joints. A nice updated, made all the more appreciated by keeping the original in tact. In fact, papa Doll hates his son!

Not such a great showcase for Jay Garrick, who's played a little too absent minded for my taste. All part of moving the three-issue story along with enough gravitas to threaten A-list assemblies from two worlds.

The tradition of the JLA/JSA meet-up essentially starts with 1963's Justice League of America #21. It became a regular staple of the seventies and early eighties, before it kinda became redundant once Crisis on Infinite Earths consolidated all properties in one continuum.

Justice League of America #196 is titled the "Countdown to Crisis". Before there was a Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were crises on multiple Earths.

I've always been of two minds about the idea. It's obviously a lot of fun to have two generations of heroes meet. Nice that the tradition ensures it's going to happen sooner than later. I just kinda prefer that they're all living on the same world. It loses a little bit of the sense of importance, but it also never gets silly as the years go by. It's also nice to have a DCU populated with all these great characters! When Jay Garrick was a recurring part of The Flash's world, that was great! When he was having his own adventures in JSA - even better!

If you want to cross between time and space, you can do it by picking yourself up a collected edition via Amazon! Today's story can be found in its three-issue entirety in Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 6. If you shop with the link provided, you help support our Secret Earth that hosts The Comic Book Fight Club!

You can find more featured fights and superhero smackdown by diving into the Secret Archive! There you'll find the many Earths of DC, Marvel, and beyond! Be sure to follow links throughout this post to discover more wonders relevant to your favourite topics!

You can also follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths via Twitter and Facebook for daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Liking and sharing battles is a great way to support the site, so be a pal!

Winner: Rag Doll (w/ Monocle)
#317 (new) Rag Doll
#322 (-179) Flash (Jay Garrick)
#545 (new) Monocle [+1 assist]

HERO OF THE WEEK: FLASH (DC)
Real Name: Jay Garrick
First Appearance: Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940)
Fight Club Ranking: #128

Featured Fights:
- vs SANDMAN: JSA #64 (Oct 2004)
- vs MORGAUTH: JSA Strange Adventures #1 (Oct 2004)
- vs SOLOMON GRUNDY: JSA #65 (Nov 2004)
- vs SINESTRO CORPS: Green Lantern #25 (Jan 2008)

Over the past few weeks a flood of readers have been coming to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths to read more about Savitar. He was Speed Force cannon fodder when Barry Allen made his dramatic 2009 return in Flash: Rebirth #1, but has emerged as a major villain on The CW's Flash series, albeit in customarily compromised form. He may be some readers' Hero of the Week, but I'm finding much more appeal in another character appearing on the show - The Flash!

Now, when I say The Flash -- I don't mean the pencil neck geek running around in the maroon pleather. I mean the other guy. The one with the heroic jaw line and the tin hat. The one the show says hails from Earth-3, but is really a version of the guy who started it all. I'm talking about Jay Garrick - the one and only, bona fide, genuine, original, Golden Age Flash!

There isn't a lot that gets me excited about the cosplay melodrama of CW superhero TV, but every now and then they glance a character or idea that almost makes it seem worthwhile. Jay Garrick is one of those and I'm pleased to see he's become a recurring character -- especially in a time that's been rough on Golden Age DC heroes. It's just a shame he wasn't part of the plan from the very start!

Back when news first broke that The Flash was coming back to television, John Wesley Shipp's involvement was an exciting prospect! He was a pretty good Barry Allen in a very commendable live-action version in 1990. It would've been a real blast if Shipp could've simply reprised his role opposite a show starring Wally West! It would finally be a chance to do multi-generational superhero stories without needing to make it all up! Ready-to-watch classic TV as ultimate backstory!

What went down is a disappointing mess, but I suppose it worked out in the end. Shipp started on the show as Barry Allen's hapless father (framed for his wife's murder). Somewhere along the way he became Jay Garrick. Why two unrelated characters (from different universes) look exactly the same is anybody's guess. Of all this show's many flaws, that's probably among the least. If it means a new generation meets the 75 year old hero and keeps him alive a little longer - I'll take it!

Although, this nonsense about the hat not being his? Blasphemy!

<< Hero of the Week 12/05: Captain Marvel       [Home]      Hero of the Week 11/21: Champion >>

GREEN LANTERN CORPS/JUSTICE LEAGUE versus SINESTRO CORPS
Birth of the Black Lantern (DC)
Where: Green Lantern #25 When: January 2008
Why: Geoff Johns How: Ivan Reis

The Story So Far...
The Anti-Monitor - a creature of immense power that once sought to destroy the multiverse - joins Sinestro in creating a new Corps of agents, with the intent to use them as heralds of his conquest over the positive realm. Harnessing the yellow power rings of Qward, the Sinestro Corps operate on a design of fear, using it to control their yellow energy the same way the Lanterns us willpower.

Tricked into believing the Sinestro Corps were to attack Oa, the designates of Sector 2814 soon find themselves four against an army, as the Anti-Monitor and his heralds emerge in the Milky Way. They launch their attack on Earth, but the rest of the Green Lanterns, along with heroes native to the planet, soon join the war. The Justice League, Justice Society, Titans, and more, rally to join the Green Lantern Corps in a stand against a force determined to seek the destruction of all.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: The Sentry 6 (Mach-Speeds)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Ares 7 (Warrior)
Energy Power: The Sentry 7 (Cosmic)


- The Green Lantern Corps is: John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Arisia, Breeon, Adam, Soranik Naru, Princess Iolande, Bzzd, Green Man, Torquemada, Voz, Apros, Brik, Tahr, Kraken, Chaselon, Sir Deeter, Leezle Pon, Lok Neboora, Raker Qarrigat, Salaak, Stel, Isamot Kol, Larvox, & Vath Sarn.
With: Superman, Powergirl, Hawkman, Alan Scott, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Metamorpho, Firestorm, Wonder Girl, Raven, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel, Batman, Starman, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Starfire, Bulleteer, STRIPE, Black Lightning, Red Arrow, Firehawk, Miss Martian, Jay Garrick, Nightwing, Creeper, Cyborg, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Robin, & Steel.

Having succumbed to the effects of the Parallax entity; Earth's most famous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, would lead a grief stricken rampage against his fellows in a bid to gain power enough to resurrect his obliterated city.
At the cost of the few survivors, the Guardians of the Universe would pool their energies to create one final, immensly powerful ring, which would be sent out into the universe with the last surviving Guardian from Oa; Ganthet.

The ring would come to be the inhereted by Kyle Rayner.
The young graphic artist's imagination would make him an ideal recipient, his creative mind opening up a realm of possibilities to the ring's powers of solid manifestation. These iconic Green Lantern powers would come to Rayner with the added responsibility of being the last of the Corpsman - a footnote that would continue to be a part of his education right until the return of the Corps.

- The Sinestro Corps is: Anti-Monitor, Cyborg Superman, Superboy-Prime, Karu-Sil, Haasp the Hunter, Snap Trap, Despotellis, & Yellow Lantern.

While imprisoned in the Central Battery of Oa; former Green Lantern, Sinestro, came in contact with a creature as old as time itself. Parallax, an entity born of fear, had been imprisoned by the Guardians of the Galaxy and consequently instilled in the rings of the Lanterns an impurity that left them vulnerable to objects of yellow -- the colour of fear in the cosmic emotional spectrum.

When Hal Jordan was able to excise the corruption of Parallax from his soul, a freed Sinestro opts to form a new army in the anti-matter universe of Qward. Armed with yellow rings inspired by fear, he summons the most frightening villains from across the universe, joining together to form the Sinestro Corps.

Among Sinestro's most famous early recruits: Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman, Amon Sur, Mongul, Fatality, Parallax, and the Anti-Monitor.

Math: Green Lantern Corps Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...
The Earth plays host to three cosmic armies as the Justice League and other heroes combine with the Green Lantern Corps to resist their fear-wielding counterparts, the Sinestro Corps. At the centre of the melee, the armored giant of destruction - the Anti-Monitor!

From a distance the war is abstracted, appearing as a mass of wills colliding, but on the frontlines the personal struggles make-up the bigger picture. Among the heralds of the Anti-Monitor is Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman that welcomes the lethal force initiated by the Guardians that oversee the Lantern Corps. He provokes their action, crushing the will of Lanterns beneath his cybernetic hand, while burning the wings of the courageous Hawkman.

John Stewart uses his ring to douse the flames as he and Guy Gardner arrive to join their comrades. They are immediately greeted by the venom of Karu-Sil, one of Sinestro's fear mongers. Gardner retaliates against her parallax constructs, generating a swarm of glowing green wolverines.

In the skies above, the Anti-Monitor looms over a city in chaos, plunging his fist into the street with the aim of sucking the planet dry. A wave of energy expands, positive matter turning to anti-matter, threatening to incinerate anything unable to flee it's path. The destruction forces Lanterns to redirect their attention to the innocents of New York City, to whom the wave is the most immediate threat.
Heroes such as Wonder Woman and Plastic Man join Lanterns, such as Arisia and Kilowog, in the desperate rescue.

Two brands of Manhunter collide as Hank Henshaw's cyborg meets the fist of the last lawman of Mars - J'onn J'onnz! His intervention aids John Stewart, who carries the ailing body of Guy Gardner. Yellow blood spits from the sickened Lantern -- a sign of Despotellis, the viral Sinestro, attacking him from within.

Meanwhile, heroes such as the Red Tornado, Starfire, Red Arrow, Black Lightning, and Firehawk do their bit to battle the swarming Sinestro Corps. They buzz and battle around the Anti-Monitor like insects, but each of their blows decides the fate of not only this Earth, but every parallel world that stems from it!

The Anti-Monitor's destructive conversion of energies goes unchallenged, until voices from the void recall the crisis incurred by his last attack on reality. A crisis of infinite Earths that went unchallenged by Oan Guardians in bondage.
Oan Guardians who will not stand idly by as he threatens existence anew!

The Guardians funnel their green energies at the impossible beast, confident in the knowledge that this Anti-Monitor is not yet fully developed beneath the armor that connects him to the old. Their will slams against the Anti-Monitor's shell and tears and shreds at the metal of his robotic heralds, the newest Manhunters. Their captain, Hank Henshaw, remains unphased by the Guardians' power.

Baring a grudge for their role in imprisoning him during Alexander Luthor's attempts to affect reality; Superboy-Prime blasts at the Guardians with his Kryptonian heat vision, while fighting off the advances of Alan Scott, Wonder Girl, and the Lanterns. Anti-Monitor lashes at the immortal Guardians also, trapping one in a giant fist that singes blue flesh with raw anti-power.

On the ground, John Stewart fends off the bizarre advances of the Yellow Lantern, while the increasingly weak Guy Gardner turns his attentions skyward. There, looming above the Earth, is the construct called "Warworld" affixed to the yellow central battery of the Sinestro Fear Corps. A power source big enough to destroy the Earth, or, if contained, one giant Anti-Monitor.

Even as his insides are plundered by the microscopic Despotellis; Guy Gardner pledges himself to the cause, flying into the sky with his ring blazing, forming chains with his fellow to drag the Warworld battery into position.

Other Lanterns rush to aid their brothers, fending off the opposition of Sinestro's agents. With the Guardians doing their part to rupture the Anti-Monitor's armor, the Lanterns toss Warworld toward the New York City streets below, and prepare themselves for the mammoth task of containing the explosion.

Kilowog, Apros, Brik, Salaak, Bzzd, Isamot Kol, Arisia, Torquemada, Sir Deeter, and many other Green Lanterns, all focus their energy into a giant dome over Warworld and the Anti-Monitor. Hank Henshaw is also encased within. With a cold metallic hand pressed to the edge of the translucent green dome, he whisper thanks to the Lanterns, poetically anticipating his long overdue death.

While the heroes of Earth fend off the advances of the Sinestro Corps; the City trembles as Warworld explodes, obliterating Hank Henshaw, and massive portions of New York, with it. The Anti-Monitor emerges, however, with his armor in tatters, but his resolve in tact. He lashes out at the unsuspecting Lanterns, but finally his undoing comes from an unlikely source, one of his allies, Superboy-Prime!

The impetuous youth pierces Anti-Monitor's armor and body with a torpedo-like dive. No longer interested in the Anti-Monitor's attempts at conquest, he puts an end to the creature's rampage, dragging the tattered armor into space, before tossing the smouldering corpse of the Anti-Monitor toward a dark destiny beyond the stars.

Spattered with blood, Superboy-Prime prepares a renewed assault against the heroes of the universe. His tantrum is but a precursor to the true end of the Sinestro Corps War...

The Hammer...
In the interest of clarity, this is technically part one of a two-part scenario. The battle strings out to include the suggested fight against Superboy-Prime, but to save time and my sanity, I've broken it up.

For defeating Anti-Monitor (and Hank Henshaw) we declare Superboy-Prime, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Green Lanterns mentioned who affected and contained Warworld's destruction. For their involvement in repelling the other Sinestro Corps forces, and contributing to varying degrees in the specifics of this fight, we also award a victory statistic to the Earth heroes identified in "the tape". Their involvement, while non-specific, is clearly vital to the victory of the Green Lantern Corps.

For a final piece of house keeping, we also acknowledge confirmed kill stats to Superboy-Prime and Anti-Monitor, who both claimed two lives. Other instances prove too uncertain to confirm a death. Whew.

As you might have noticed, we might be a few weeks behind, but we've assembled some epic battles for the last month of 2008! Following on from last week's symbiote bomb [New Avengers #36], we give you yet another early 2008 major battle you might have been unaware of! True to the name of the site, these epic secret wars involved the heavy hitters of both universes, but neither expanded line-wide like the lynchpin events - Secret Invasion and Final Crisis.

Despite occupying only GL-related titles, it's fair to say Sinestro Corps War went quite a bit larger than the brief symbiote plague in our other example. In fact, reflecting on the year that was 2008 is almost impossible to do without mentioning spillover from the Sinestro event. Even now, looking forward, we anticipate the event forecasted at the end of this issue - Blackest Night!

The upcoming Green Lantern event is but one of several key pieces making up the connective tissue that is the DC Universe. The heavy editorial direction cast across the company has earned criticism from fans and commentators alike, but has also ushered in an undisputed era of cohesion for the DCU. While the heady excitement of the 52-era seems to have passed, DC still manage a tight ship of concept and causality. Reading DC comics has become describable as an experience, distancing them from the hit-and-miss disconnection of Marvel's high selling, headlining events.

What this overly verbose assessment leads to is, Geoff Johns.
At first glance the writer appears to possess few special powers, but anyone reading DC comics knows how deceptive his approach can be. The Sinestro Corps War encapsulates the growth that the Green Lantern comics have experienced under the writer, benefitting not only from brand new contributions, but also the expert inclusion of ideas pulled from all the eras. It's a balance of ideals that has made DC the creative powerhouse -- competent in the face of adversity, creative while traditional.

The simplicity of the spectrum of emotion and colour to represent other Lanterns turns what could easily be a dismal concept, into something beautiful. The Rage of the Red Lanterns serves as one of the prologues to The Blackest Night, and is one of the beats we will hopefully talk more about in 2009.

I'd love to find the words to go deeper into this issue, but we're fast losing days in the year. Instead, let the this and the previous entry reveal where the Infinite Wars has come to rest at the end of the year. DC has been superb. In the new year I hope to talk more about Final Crisis, which has also been a series I've been quite impressed with, in stark contrast to Marvel's Skrull-event.

In case you missed it; be sure to check out our last review of this issue, detailing the personal battle between Sinestro, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Rayner. We will no doubt return to this epic issue at a later date for more of the Sinestro Corps War and the Superboy-Prime fight.

Next up, we tackle two of the major events that drove action on the Infinite Wars in 2008! First, I have to tag all these bloody Green Lanterns!

The Fight: 6 The Issue: 6

The complete Sinestro Corps War is available split across two Green Lantern trade paperbacks. You can pick them up at an affordable price via Amazon, and by using purchase links provided, also help sponsor the efforts of the Infinite Wars! Those, plus collected editions of most issues reviewed in the Secret Archive, are also available via the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe. Perfect for ringing in the new year!