The Flash
While most rooter knowThe Flashaseither Barry Allen or Wally West , the first Flash , Jay Garrick , has one of the most larger-than-life moments for a speedster inDC Comics . And while some of the best strip moments for The Flash take post while the grapheme is in their efflorescence , Jay Garrick proved that the Scarlet Speedster ’s heroism does n’t pass off with age . In fact , Garrick ’s advanced age made his final bandstand in DC’sZero Hourevent even more impactful .
grow during the Golden Age of Comics in 1940,Jay Garrick can be best understood as the " older - timey " Flash . As a phallus of the Justice Society of America and All - Star Squadron , Garrick is from a multiplication of DC hero sandwich that included the likes of Alan Scott ’s Green Lantern , Hourman , The Spectre , Dinah Drake ’s Black Canary , Hawkman , and Doctor Fate . Because of the world of other Flashes like Barry Allen and Wally West , Garrick has adopt a grandfatherly approach that differentiates him from the younger iterations of the character .
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Garrick ’s geezerhood leads into one of his beneficial moment as a character inZero Hour : Crisis in Time#1 by Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway . Zero Hourwas a crossovereventfrom 1994 that dealt directly with the timestream in the DC Universe . Hal Jordan as the villainous Parallax judge to vivify the universe of discourse according to his own plan , causing reality to unravel as entire city across the commonwealth start vanishing along with superheroes from the future . To alarm his former JSA mate , the Spectre , of the news , an elderly Garrick track down from New York to Gotham City . He made it just in time to blab out to the Spectre before vanishing .
Garrick ’s journey from New York to Gotham demonstrate how the Flash ’s superpower alter with geezerhood , evident in how he says , " Did n’t gain … how slow … how tired I ’d get ! At this age … took me everlastingly to get here from New York ! " count that he does n’t even have his touch helmet on , Garrick was acting from a genuine place of headache . While Barry Allen and Wally West have mostly been suspend in time with wish to their age , Jay Garrick ’s advance age prove the sacrifices that elder heroes have to make in the most awful of circumstances . Garrick notes how threadbare the journeying made him , advise that using his powers in his former age is painful . Fans often take for granted the physical costs that super speed may have on a sub ’s body , and here Garrick subtly brings them into focus in his last moments .
Jay Garrick ’s use of his powers in his twilight years brings into question how other grinder may respond to threat in their advanced geezerhood . tale likeKingdom Comeby Mark Waid and Alex Ross andBatman : Last Knight on Earthby Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo imagine some of DC ’s most dear heroes as old versions of themselves , using the passage of clip as a creative chance to reveal more about characters . Part of the human condition is mature , and amidst the chaotic , incredibly " comic book - y " circumstances ofZero Hour , Jay Garrick ’s final runasThe Flashis a testament to this basic truth .
Next : The Golden Age Flash is Friends With His Darkest Villain
