Flash #139

FLASH #139 (1963)
by John Broome & Carmine Infantino

Finally a villain who shouldn’t be defeated by the Flash in 0.0000000000001 nanoseconds.

We begin with an interesting premise: a scientist has built a very special kind of time capsule: instead of just being buried, it’s sent directly into the future.

Together with the usual stuff they put in a time capsule, for some reason they also sent the Flash’s underwear into the future.

Except the scientist who created the time capsule later explains to the Flash that instead of sending them an atomic clock, he ended up sending a nuclear bomb.

No problem, the Flash has his trusty Cosmic Treadmill ™ for that kind of stuff.

“Meanwhile” in 2463 (??????) we are introduced to Reverse-Flash Professor Zoom.

But then we immediately flash back to his origin story, which of course involves the time capsule.

Whereas the other future people are amused by the various trinkets, he immediately goes to the Flash’s uniform. Because he… “ha-haaa!”… stands for the reverse of law and justice.

So… what exactly is the use of the idea that he’s always been scheming to steal the Flash’s powers? Couldn’t he come up with it when he sees the uniform? Seems like a weird detail to add.

He gets super-speed by “amplifying the wave patterns” of the costume (whatever the heck THAT means). You can tell why they eventually stopped referring to him as “Professor Zoom” to stick with “Reverse-Flash”: he can’t stop saying he’s the reverse of the Flash!!!

Since we’ve unfortunately had to cover his worst work with Supergirl, take a moment to appreciate Infantino’s work. Nobody draws super-speed like Infantino. NOBODY.

There’s only one thing worthy enough of this new power: stealing an alien sculpture that is introduced in a weird cutaway scene. Weird in a good way, this time!

Maybe the 20th century scientist didn’t need to worry about sending a nuke into the future. These guys are all about nuclear energy!

0.0000000000001 nanoseconds later, Reverse-Flash Professor Zoom steals the priceless statue.

That’s when the Flash arrives in the future. One interesting thing about the way he time travels is that during the whole time he has to continually vibrate a certain way or he’ll go back to where he started. It’s not used very often as a plot point, but it’s an interesting limitation (and also explains why he doesn’t stay too long in other eras).

The Flash then discovers that only two items are missing from the time capsule: the atomic clock and his uniform. I appreciate the fact that, while he finds it weird, he doesn’t make a big deal about the uniform. You just know Silver Age Superman would’ve focused on the uniform even if there is a ticking clock here (almost literally!).

I keep telling you newspapers are going to be just fine in the future. Why, they’re even in full color!

If you’re a fan of Infantino drawing super-speed, this issue is definitely a treat.

Reverse-Flash Professor Zoom, however, has a trick up his sleeve… or rather on his back!

The Flash manages to catch up to Reverse-Flash Professor Zoom by following his trail, and once he does… time to do some serious damage!!!

It’s a very enjoyable fight, even if I would’ve preferred less talking. It’s relatively tame by Silver Age standards, though.

Still, these two seem perfectly matched.

However the Flash has one advantage. While his opponent might be an expert in Bulls#it Science, only the real Flash is completely immune from his powers making any scientific sense!

Basically the Flash’s newest tactic is… running really, really, REALLY fast.
Shocking, I know.

Yeah, sure, defeating him means he’ll never ever try again. Sure.

One second later, the Flash deals with the nuclear bomb.

And once he’s back into the 20th century he decides to burn Zoom’s costume.

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Historical significance: 10/9
While some details will be filled in and A TON of retcons will be involved… you can’t deny the impact.

Silver Age-ness: 10/6
Classic Flash “science”, which means for DC it’s pretty tame.

Does it stand the test of time? 10/7
Reverse-Flash is really one dimensional here, but if you can get past the style of the time this is very enjoyable classic superhero fun.

Ridiculous Flash feat of the day

How close is this to the modern character?: 10/7
To cover the history of Reverse-Flash would mean to analyze the entire published history of at the very least three Flash: he’s that important for all of them.
He’s not quite in his definitive form here: as he admits himself he’s only obsessed with the powers of the Flash, not with the person behind the mask… which is probably THE defining characteristic of the character.

He’s definitely become more and more dangerous over the years…

…a lot more crazy…

…an a lot, A LOT more evil.

It’s a bit weird that he’s still addressed as “Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash” when basically everybody knows him as Reverse-Flash. Admittedly I haven’t followed Flash all that much since Barry Allen came back from the dead, but I always assumed the fans mostly called him Reverse-Flash. Why keep the double codename?
Because, in case you don’t know, “Zoom” isn’t even his actual name. He’s Eobard Thawne.

Which… yeah, having a name like that is a good reason to become a time-traveling psycho stalker.