November 10, 1939, introduced the Flash to the world of DC comics with Jay Garrick. Jason “Jay” Peter Garrick is the first character to hold the mantel of The Flash in the line-up of DC Comics. Created by Gardner Fox and drawn originally by Harry Lampert, the character’s first appearance was in Flash Comics #1.
While most people know of Grant Gustin and Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen, this version wasn’t created until 1956, 5 years after the last Golden Era appearance of Jay Garrick.
Jay Garrick was showcased in the current CW series, when they alluded to Zoom, the villain, being Jay Garrick from an alternative world. However, it was later revealed that Zoom had stollen the moniker from his universe’s actual Flash, played by prior Barry Allen, John Wesley Shipp.
While the original Jay Garrick was not related to the Flash, in the CW series it’s shown that he is an alternative version of his father who goes by his mother’s maiden name.
Now that we’ve talked about the history of the original Flash, let’s showcase some awesome comics you can read to pay tribute to the OG speedster!
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The Origins of The Flash – Flash Comics #1 (1940) In the late 1930s, Jay Garrick inhales hard water gas in a laboratory accident, and falls into a coma. After waking, he discovers he can think and act at speeds unhumanly possible. Years later he uses his skills to create the alter ego “the Flash” and begins taking on small time criminals and their protection racket. |
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The Flash of Two Worlds – Flash #123 (1961) Barry Allen’s version of the Flash while vibrating, shifts into an alternate world, and finds himself in Keystone City, and the world of the Flash comic that he reads, which includes the currently retired original Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick. Garrick and Allen partner up to stop three criminals the Fiddler, the Shade, and the Thinker and their diamond heists. While the speedsters find themselves under the Fiddlers spell, they work together to overcome the villians, and when Allen returns home, Garrick decides to come out of retirement. |
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Flash SpectacularDC Special Series Vol #11 (1978) Which tells stories of all three speedsters, Wally West, Barry Allen, and Jay Garrick telling individual tales, then combines to tell the story of all three teaming up to take on Gorilla Grodd. In Garrick’s story, he meets Johnny Quick for the first time and engage in a super-speed fight! |
So who is your favorite speedster?
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