DC’s original speedster is one of the most important superheroes in comic book history.
Here’s a flash course in Jay Garrick.
This article contains spoilers forThe Flashseason 2.
Jay Garricks arrival onThe Flashwas a foregone conclusion since the very first episode of season one.
And theres no more iconic symbol of Earth-2 than Jay Garrick, the original Flash.
And its only fitting that hes played by TVs original Flash, John Wesley Shipp.
The superhero arms race was on, and most of em had capes.
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ButFlash Comics#1 put someone a little different on the cover.
But Jays origin story was also one of the more well-rounded ones of the era.
Special note that has nothing to do with anything else!
I dont think any Golden Age superhero comic features as much cigarette smoking as early Flash stories.
Holy moley, all these people do is light up.
Anyway…back to the important stuff.
Special note #2.
You know who else first appeared in Flash Comics #1?
But make no mistake, in Barrys world, Jay Garrick was just a fictional character.
Well, at least he was…untilThe Flash#123 in 1961.
It was a wild concept, and one that stuck.
The classic Mercury-helmeted version has so far been absent from DCs current line of rebirth comics.
A version of this article first appeared in October of 2015.
It has been updated with new information.you might try and keep up with me on Twitter!
