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longitudinalwaveme · 1 month ago

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DC Comics' Who's Who: Flash Entries

My brother and I recently bought all of the DC Comics Who's Who issues that contain Flash characters in them (except for the ones with Abra Kadabra and Thinker, who I somehow forgot about). These issues were published between 1985 and 1987, and they provide a very interesting snapshot into how the characters were viewed around the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

As such, I decided to post the relevant Flash entries and give some of my own commentary.

The most interesting thing about Captain Boomerang's entry, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that it's the first time that we see the name "Ian Harkness" attached to Digger's father. Prior to this point, Digger's dad (who had only appeared once, in Flash vol. 1 #227) had been referred to solely as "Pop" (by Digger) or as "Aussie Green" (by the narrator). Since "George Green" was the alias Digger used to land the Captain Boomerang job at Wiggins' Toys, I think that Cary Bates forgot that Digger's last name had been established to be Harkness, and that his father's last name should therefore have been Harkness as well. As such, I suspect that the writer of this Who's Who entry decided to fix Bates' mistake by giving Aussie Green the more appropriate name of Ian Harkness.

But what's really fascinating about this is that, since this issue was published in 1985, it means that the "Ian Harkness" name predates Suicide Squad #44 (published 1990), the story where Digger's stepfather was called Ian Harkness. I had always previously assumed that Ian Harkness was created for that issue, and that Aussie Green had been retconned out of existence, but it seems that there's an argument to be made that he instead was just given a major personality overhaul, much in the same way that Wally West's father, Bob/Rudolph West, was.

I love that the entry talks about Digger's ability to use his own body as a boomerang, a hilarious feat that only appeared in Flash vol. 1 #227.

The art for Digger was drawn by his original artist, the late, great Carmine Infantino (and Murphy Anderson). I like that it includes Digger shooting the Flash into space on a giant boomerang.

I love the art for Captain Cold's Who's Who entry. Interestingly enough, it was drawn by Bob Smith, rather than by his original artist, Carmine Infantino.

Technically, since this entry is about Alvin, not Albert, his first appearance should probably be listed as Flash #287, since all of the earlier Dr. Alchemy appearances were Albert, not Alvin. But since Showcase #14 was the first appearance of Dr. Alchemy as a costumed identity, I can understand why it was chosen.

I don't think this bio is inaccurate to state that Albert didn't have the ability to telekinetically control the the Philosopher's Stone, since to my knowledge he had not shown that capability up to the point that this issue was published, but for a modern reader it is somewhat odd, since it was established that Albert also had psychic control over the Stone in Flash vol. 2 #40-41 (published 1990), and it was a major part of his powerset during Geoff Johns' run in the early 2000s.

Much like Captain Cold, Alvin isn't being drawn by his original artist, Don Heck. Instead, the art for his entry was done by Mike Vosburg and Dick Giordano.

In speaking of Albert, here's his entry.

Some interesting observations:

Albert is an inch taller and 3 pounds heavier than Alvin. So they wouldn't be physically identical in the costume, as one might assume.

Alvin's parents are identified as Mr. and Mrs. Herman Desmond, a name taken from Flash vol. 1 #288. This is very helpful, as it clarifies that he was the Al born in San Diego, California, and also establishes that Albert was born in Tampa, Florida (as per the backstory given in that issue). Flash #288 states that Albert's parents are Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Desmond, but that was a mistake on writer Cary Bates' part, since in Flash vol. 1 #221, Albert's father was named Peter Desmond. This Who's Who entry correctly identifies his parents by that earlier name, which is a level of ridiculous nerdiness that I can respect.

The claim that the Philosopher's Stone is more powerful than the Element Gun does make sense.

There's also an interesting omission in the entry. In Flash vol. 1 #221, it's made explicit that the Element Gun is at most a conduit for Albert's own natural powers. It doesn't work for the Flash, and Albert is able to use his elemental powers even when the gun isn't in his hand.

I am not surprised to learn that Albert has "little strength in hand-to-hand combat". Nor am I surprised that Alvin is more physically adept than Albert is.

Albert was drawn by his original artist, Carmine Infantino.

At 6'1", Fiddler is a bit taller than I expected. And he is a "vile" and "villainous violinist". I appreciate the Silver Age-esque alliteration.

And the Fiddle Car makes an appearance, both in the text and in the artwork. I love the Fiddle Car. It's so gloriously goofy.

I'm not sure exactly when the Fiddler gained weight, but I guess it's good to know that his diet plan worked out for him.

Artists Sandy Plunkett and Joe Rubinstein did a great job on the main drawing of Fiddler for this entry.

I like that Jay Garrick's name is written in the font that was used for the 1940s All-Flash series, of which he was (unsurprisingly) the leading character.

I actually didn't know that Jay was specifically the head of Keystone Research Laboratories, Inc. I knew that he was a research scientist, but not that his place of work had been specifically named.

Artist Eduardo Berreto did an excellent headshot of Jay, and I like that he included the Fiddler and the Three Dimwits (Winky, Blinky, and Noddy) in the background. That being said, I'm not the biggest fan of the main drawing of Jay here. He looks a bit stiff as he runs.

Barry Allen gets a massive two-page spread. The really interesting thing about this is that, while this issue was published in October 1985, after Barry's series had ended, it was published just before Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (November 1985), the issue where Barry actually died. As such, he's still alive here, but will be dead by the time the Who's Who series wraps up in early 1987.

Weirdly, Ira West (Iris' adoptive father) is described as Barry's stepfather-in-law, which doesn't seem quite right.

Carmine Infantino, Barry's original artist, does the art with help from Murphy Anderson. He does a good job, as is expected, and in addition to the headshot and the main drawing, he includes a picture of the accident that gave Barry his speed, headshots of Iris and Wally, a picture of Barry shooting his costume out of his ring, and headshots of a ton of Barry's villains.

The villain headshots are especially amusing in an oddly-drawn way, and include, in the words of @gorogues, "shampoo ad Digger, movie star Kadabra, middle-aged Roscoe, and ate-too-many-Twinkies Sam".

In most modern DC guidebooks, Lisa is listed at 5'5" and 115 pounds. Here, she's listed as 5'5" and 105 pounds. In case it wasn't clear that she was tiny, I guess.

The issue with Golden Glider's entry was published in November of 1985, and, sure enough, it's noted that the Flash is dead in her entry.

The notion that Lisa's gem weapons were adapted from some of the Top's designs isn't something that was explicitly stated in any of her appearances, but it is an interesting idea, and it does make sense as an explanation for how she was able to build them so quickly.

Golden Glider's art is drawn by her original artist, Irv Novick, with assistance from Dick Giordano, and it all looks amazing. I'm especially fond of the drawing of her with Captain Cold in the bottom right.

I love that Gorilla Grodd's occupation is "Would-Be World Conqueror".

It's also nice to get confirmation that the gorillas of Gorilla City have amplified strength even when compared to normal gorillas, as I hadn't been sure if that was the case before now.

Grodd's art was done by his original artist, Carmine Infantino, alongside Bill Sienkiewicz. He doesn't really look like an actual gorilla, but there will basically be no realistic-looking gorillas in Flash comics until the early 1990s.

Also, while Grodd is usually big and muscular (since he's a gorilla and all), he's especially massive here.

I think the most noteworthy thing about Heat Wave's entry is the fact that it highlights a very important fact about him: namely, the fact that he was the second-ever Flash villain, and first Rogue, to reform (specifically, in Flash vol. 1 #312, in 1982). He reformed some two to three years before the Trickster (James) semi-reformed in Blue Devil, and six years before the Pied Piper reformed in Flash vol. 2 #20 (1988)! Most people seem to have forgotten about this nowadays.

Another aspect of Heat Wave's character that seems to have been forgotten is that Heat Wave's gun isn't just a flamethrower....it's also capable of superheating the air around it and effectively firing "beams" of heat.

Oh, and Mick's suit used to be made of asbestos. So if you're wondering how he got terminal cancer in Jeremy Adams' run on the Flash, now you know.

I've always thought that 5'11" seemed short for Heat Wave. For some reason, I can't shake this mental image of him as this 6'6" giant (even though the artists don't usually make him that much taller than everyone else). Maybe it has something to do with Dominic Purcell's portrayal of the character on the CW Flash show...but even then, Purcell is only 6'1" (so tall, but not enormous). Maybe it's just because he's often depicted as the least intelligent Rogue, and unintelligent villains tend to be very large in fiction.

Heat Wave's art was drawn by his original artist, Carmine Infantino, alongside Joe Giella.

Wally's entry claims that his parents have never been named, but his father was named Bob West in Flash vol. 1 #116, so he at least had been given a name by this time. (Post-Crisis, Wally's dad was renamed Rudolph, and his mother was named Mary.)

The issue with Wally's entry was published in February 1986, a month before he would take up the mantle in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986). As such, he's still Kid Flash here, even though Barry is dead.

It's interesting that this entry states that Wally was in high school when he became Kid Flash. This is mostly consistent with what we see in the early Wally stories from the Silver Age (even if the art makes him look 10 to 12 years old rather than 14 or so), but it is a noticeable contrast to William Messner-Loebs' and Mark Waid's takes on Wally's backstory, which both claim that Wally was 10 years old when he became Kid Flash.

Also interesting, and sometimes forgotten about, is the fact that Wally went to college towards the end of his career as Kid Flash, and was even hoping to settle down and start a normal life before Barry died. The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths threw a wrench in these plans. Wally became the Flash full-time, and as a result never finished college.

The art for Wally's entry was done by George Pérez, who unsurprisingly did a very good job.

Mirror Master's entry was published in May 1986, four months after his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #10 (January 1986). As such, his death is described here. His successor, Evan McCulloch, wouldn't debut for another three years (first appearing in 1989 in Animal Man #8).

The entry underlines Sam's popularity in his day; he's described as "one of the Flash's most formidable and persistent foes", and he is accurately credited with forming the Rogues. This is something that often gets forgotten now that Len has taken the spotlight as the de facto leader of the group.

Sam appears to be the least physically capable of the Rogues described thus far ("only a fair hand-to-hand combatant"), which makes sense, given that he was primarily an inventor.

Something else interesting is that it's only starting in this issue that "the Flash's Rogues Gallery" is listed as a group affiliation for the people on the team. Len, Digger, and Mick weren't listed as members of the group, even though they were definitely part of the team. (Golden Glider is a borderline case. She worked with Len and Roscoe before Crisis, but didn't appear alongside the full group until afterwards.)

Carmine Infantino, Sam's original artist, did the art here, alongside Steve Mitchell. I like the background art, but I'm not a huge fan of the main drawing or the headshot, primarily, I think, because Mirror Master looks way too buff. There are a number of better Infantino drawings of Sam.

In speaking of weirdly buff Rogues, here's the Pied Piper, about two years before he reformed (the issue his entry is in was published in August of 1986, and he reformed in late 1988).

The entry claims that "Henry Darrow" was the alias his parents paid to establish for him, while "Thomas Peterson" was the alias he chose for himself. This is an interesting idea, but it doesn't seem to fully align with the Flash comics of the time. For example, during the interminable Trial of the Flash arc, Digger called the Pied Piper "Henry", which suggests that Piper told gave at least him the "Henry Darrow" name, which wouldn't really make sense if "Thomas Peterson" was his chosen alias. (That being said, Cary Bates' habit of confusing characters' names really doesn't help here. Since he later called Piper "Henry Rathaway" by mistake, it's possible that he was intending to have Digger call Piper by his actual name, but forgot that the actual name in question was Hartley and not Henry.)

I am not surprised that Hartley is a poor hand-to-hand combatant. Even if he had a weird period in the early-to-mid-80s where the art made him look like He-Man's stunt double (and you can still kind of see that here), he's usually drawn as being fairly skinny, and he was also a sheltered rich kid. It makes sense that he wouldn't know how to fight.

Pied Piper is kind of the opposite of Heat Wave in that 5'10" somehow seems too tall for him. There's no good reason for it, but I always picture him as being short and slight. Maybe it's just because he's often so thin?

It's also interesting that Hartley's hair is listed as being blonde here. It swapped between red (as per his first appearance, Flash vol. 1 #106) and blonde all the time before eventually seeming to settle on a light red/strawberry blonde color.

Pied Piper's art was drawn by his original artist, Carmine Infantino, and Dennis Jensen. Like with the Mirror Master, I like the background art, but not the main picture or the headshot. Infantino has drawn better Pipers too.

I did not know that Rag Doll was an "eccentric dancer" in addition to being a contortionist until now.

The fact that he used to work for the circus also makes him one of three Flash villains who can make that claim. The other two are Heat Wave (who worked as a fire eater) and the Trickster (who worked as a hire wire and trapeze artist).

Ragdoll was drawn by Steve Leialoha, and I think his take on the character is really unique and interesting. He makes the character look appropriately bendy and rubbery.

Somehow I never realized that Rainbow Raider's eyes were grey.

I appreciate that the Who's Who entry treats Roy as a legitimate threat. Enjoy it while you can, buddy. It won't last.

Rainbow Raider was drawn by Don Heck, his original artist. I especially love the headshot here.

I think this may be the first time that "Professor Adrian Zoom" was established as an explicit alias. (This name, like Sam and Roscoe's middle names, exists entirely because Cary Bates forgot a character's name.)

Barry, Jay, and Eobard are all 5'11" and 179 pounds, and Wally is 5'10" and 179 pounds. I guess we now know why Eobard is so good at impersonating Barry.

Carmine Infantino, Eobard's original artist, did the art alongside Murphy Anderson. This may be the best Eobard's hair has ever looked (although that's a very low bar to clear). It's also darkly amusing that the two background pictures are of him creeping on Iris and getting killed by Barry.

Rose and Thorn's story is very interesting and tragic, and I really need to track down the issues where it happened so that I can actually read them.

She also seems a lot like a proto-Poison Ivy. They're very similar looking physically, and Rose and Thorn had natural plant-controlling powers long before Poison Ivy did. (Notably, Ivy's Who's Who entry states that her only power is immunity to poison. Her other plant creations are attributed to her scientific acumen, rather than to any inherent abilities.)

Rose and Thorn was drawn by Todd McFarlane.

Moving on to another Jay Garrick villain, we have the Shade, who won't get his natural darkness-controlling powers for another eight years or so. (This issue was published in September 1986, and Shade's natural powers weren't established until he appeared in the Starman series, which began in 1994.) At this point, he was dependent on technology (more specifically, his cane) to control shadows.

At 6'2", Shade is one of the taller Flash villains. He's the same height as Len, but at 170 pounds to Len's 197, he's a lot lighter.

Shade's white hair is probably attributable to two factors. First, he hadn't yet been established to be immortal, and so would have been an older villain during this time period (since he was an enemy of Jay Garrick). Second, and probably more importantly, the Shade actually did have white hair during his first (and only) Golden Age appearance:

Yes, that really is the Shade. He looked different during the Golden Age.

It's interesting that the Shade is stated to have little experience in hand-to-hand combat here, but I suppose that the fact that he's so reliant on his shadows may have something to do with that. (I think I'm surprised because his later appearances in the Starman series gave him a ton of life experience, including experience in at least some athletic endeavors.)

The Shade was drawn by Carmine Infantino and Rick Magyar, who did a great job with him. Both of the background drawings seem to be based on scenes from Flash vol. 1 #151, in which Shade fought both Barry and Jay.

"Presumably the Top's spirit is no longer active on Earth." The issue with Top's Who's Who entry was published in February 1987, almost six years after his last appearance (Flash #303, from November 1981). It would be another three years before he returned in Hawk and Dove Annual #1 (1990), and an additional year before he properly returned to the land of the living by possessing the body of Senator Thomas O'Neil in Hawk and Dove #27-28 (September-October 1991). It took a while, but he did come back!

The entry also states that the Top "could spin at high, but not superhuman, speed". Since we saw the Top spinning fast enough to outpace the Flash and deflect bullets, I have my doubts about the accuracy of this statement.

The fact that Roscoe has blue eyes bothers me irrationally. He really seems like he should have green eyes.

The Top was drawn by his original artist, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella. I love the background art, and I like the main image, even if Roscoe is maybe slightly more buff than it seems like he should be. The headshot is one of the vanishingly few drawings of Roscoe without his mask (basically all the others are either of him before he became the Top, or from Flash vol. 1 #219, the only issue where he's out of costume for the majority of the story).

Remember how I said the Top looked too buff? Here's the proof. The Top is 6 feet tall and weighs 179 pounds. The Trickster is also 6 feet tall and also weighs 179 pounds. So either the Top is too buff in his entry, or James is WAY too skinny here. And I'm definitely leaning towards the former, given that having a lot of muscle mass will increase weight.

Trickster's list of known relatives does not mention his mother, who had not only appeared but been named by this point. (She's called Helen in Flash vol. 1 #113, the Trickster's debut issue).

Interesting fact: James actually reformed before Hartley did! James is already listed as being reformed in this issue, which was printed in 1987; Hartley won't be shown to be reformed until late 1988.

I really wish Trickster's brief career as a special effects artist was reference more often.

Trickster was drawn by Paris Cullins and Gary Martin, who were not his original artists. That being said, I love their take on him, especially his rubber chicken.

Both the Golden Age Turtle and the Silver Age Turtle Man share one entry, with the primary art being of the latter. The Golden Age villain only appears in the background art.

I always confuse the Turtle and the Turtle Man, probably because they have nigh-identical names, very similar M.O.s, and don't appear very often. The fact that neither one of them has a civilian name also doesn't help, since I can't even distinguish them that way. I guess the main difference is that the Turtle Man is somewhat more of an inventor than the Turtle.

Also, at 5'6", the Turtle is very short. He's only an inch taller than Lisa (though he's 73 pounds heavier)! The Turtle Man, at 5'11", is a lot taller.

The Turtle and the Turtle Man are drawn by Peter Laird, who was not the original artist for either character. Their drawings of the two characters are still effective, though.

Last, but not least, is the Weather Wizard, who, in a continuing trend, is weirdly buff. It's especially noticeable in his case, since he's usually drawn to be quite slender (although it is in keeping with the way Infantino drew basically all the Rogues during the Trial of the Flash arc).

Weather Wizard's reformation didn't last terribly long, but, due to the fact that he didn't show up very much during the late 80s and early 90s, it lasted a bit longer than you might expect. He reformed in Blue Devil #30 (published November 1986, about 3 months before the issue with his Who's Who entry was published), and wasn't shown doing anything illegal again until Flash Annual #5 in 1992. So he was more-or-less reformed for five to six real-world years.

I love that his entry includes the ridiculous fact that the Weather Wand is telepathically linked to his brain (as established in Adventure Comics #466 in December 1979), and that it makes mention of his habit of riding around on clouds.

Weather Wizard's art was done by his original artist, Carmine Infantino, and Murphy Anderson. I love the background art of him fighting Batman, and I like the art of him battling the Flash, but I think he looks a bit too buff in the main drawing and in his headshot. That being said, that headshot must be the neatest that Mark's hair has ever looked. Usually it's way more windblown than that.

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