A new tele-vis program on the world of Gobdor features natural disasters on Earth, but when there aren't enough disasters, producer Dro Dorno produces some of his own.
The Heaviest Man Alive!
The inhabitants of the planet Gobdor thrill to cataclysmic events on Earth, broadcast by the Tel-Vis company. When things begin to calm down on Earth, an executive at Tel-Vis, Dro Dorno, decides to manufacture threats to maintain his viewership, and his profit margins. Dorno pays a visit to the Institute of Higher Learning to welcome a visiting celebrity to Gobdor. Dorno is aghast to discover that the celebrity is the Flash, one of Earth's famed defenders. When a teacher, Elider, at the institute attempts to show Flash Dorno's program, "Thrills of Earth", Dorno interferes with the broadcast. The Flash momentarily hears cries of distress, before the screen goes black.
Intent on keeping the Flash from interfering with events happening on Earth, Dorno escorts the Flash on a tour of Gobdor. When the Flash's attention is caught by a Tel-Vis monitor, Dorno dissipates a "swimming block", imperiling an old woman. The Flash moves the elderly woman out of harm's way, then rescues all the swimmers caught in the sudden collapse of the swimming block. Still moving at super-speed, the Flash finally bears witness to the threat the Tel-Vis company is currently broadcasting. The Flash immediately returns to Earth. The citizens of Central City are being menaced by a pair of seemingly living, high tension relay towers.
The Flash fails in his first attempt to stop the animated electrical towers, leading Dorno to believe his fears were baseless. Grabbing up a hammer and metal punch, the Flash pounds out all the rivets holding the towers together, dismantling them. Furious over the Flash's interference, Dorno travels to Earth, intent on murdering the Flash. Analyzing the metal of the tower, the Flash discovers that it pulses with the same radiation the Tel-Vis company uses to broadcast it's programming. The Flash sets off for Gobdor. As he tries to pick up the necessary speed to traverse the dimensional rift between Gobdor and Earth, the Flash finds himself growing heavier.
The increase in his mass begins to slow him down, until he literally begins sinking into the ground. Before him, the Flash sees Dorno, bathing him in a strange radiation. The Flash discovers that by running backwards he can counter the effects of his mass increase. After taking Dorno down, the Flash carries him back to Gobdor. Dorno, and his compatriots at Tel-Vis, are tried and sentenced, in a Gobdor court of law. Elider tells Flash that the program, "Thrills of Earth", has been cancelled, and that no program like it will ever air on Gobdor again.
The Farewell Appearance of Daphne Dean
Reporter, Iris West, learns from reading the society column, that famed actress, Daphne Dean, has switched her affection from police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, to the Flash. Unbeknownst to neither West, nor Dean, Allen is the Flash. The Flash suddenly appears in West's office, to deliver to her a note from Allen. The note details Allen's desire to change his lunch date with West to a dinner date. With his afternoon freed up, the Flash turns his attention to Dean. Agreeing to meet with the young actress, the Flash goes to work de-glamorizing himself in Dean's eyes.
The Flash reveals that the stories of his super-speed powers are nothing more than a publicity stunt. The Flash dismisses Dean's own memories of his powers, citing the dazed state she witnessed them in. As the pair continue to wander the streets of Central City, the Flash spies the "Cranky" Dilger Gang heading into a bank. Distracting Dean with a Flash toy in a shop window, the Flash spends the next five seconds taking down the gang. Returning to Dean's side before she even noticed he had gone, the Flash realizes he's forgotten the getaway driver.
Moving faster than the eye can see, the Flash vibrates his way into the shop, and activates the Flash toy. With Dean's attention on the toy's movements, the Flash takes the next three seconds to run down the getaway driver, and leave him on the steps of the nearest police precinct house. Once more returning to Dean's side, before she has noticed his absence, the Flash is surprised to hear that Dean is leaving Central City. A letter from Dean to Allen, reveals that Dean watched the Flash's super-speed antics, in the reflection of the shop window. Dean realized that the Flash was trying to let her down easy, and spare her the heartbreak of an unrequited love. Crestfallen, Dean departed Central City.
Notes:
- This comic book appeared in the movie Catch Me if You Can.
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