The Flash #233

The Deadly Secret Of The Flash

Picture News reporter, Iris West, gives her husband, police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, a new watch, in the hopes that he will better be able to keep a timely schedule. En route into town, with their houseguest, Stacy Conwell, the Allens overhear a radio broadcast, concerning three tornadoes closing on Central City. Moving faster than the eye can see, Allen exits the car, races to Central City, grabs a mannequin, then he places it in the middle of the road. Allen returns to the driver's seat without West, or Conwell, ever knowing that Allen left.

Spying a "body" laying in the road, Allen stops the car, and gets out to investigate. West and Conwell drive on into town. Now free to act, Allen, as the Flash, races off to deal with the tornadoes. The Flash dissipates the first two tornadoes, by generating a counter force at super-speed. The third tornado, however, turns out to be a trap, which sucks the Flash inside. The Flash is bombarded with Cosma-Spurs, a lethal form of energy recently discovered in the 25th Century.

Outside the tornado trap, the Flash's arch-nemesis, Professor Zoom announces himself as the villain. The third tornado dissipates, leaving behind only the empty, smoking uniform of the Flash. West hears the news of the Flash's demise, on the radio, just after dropping Conwell at the dentist. Suddenly, Allen appears at the window. Allen explains how he escaped from Professor Zoom's death trap. To flush out Professor Zoom, Allen decides to let the world continue to believe he is dead.

Allen drives West to several appointments, showing up later and later to pick her up, after each one. Back at home, West reads Allen the riot act over his chronic tardiness. West seizes Allen's wrist, noting that his watch is showing the correct time. West had set it several minutes ahead, in an attempt to get Allen to actually be on time for a change. West suddenly realizes that Allen didn't set the correct time, but that the watch, itself, is not the same.

Having seen through his ruse, Professor Zoom reveals himself, dropping the illusion of Allen he had cast about himself. Spinning a yard stick at super-human speed, Professor Zoom threatens to murder West. Suddenly, Professor Zoom is knocked into unconsciousness. At super-human speed, Allen had vibrated his way out of Professor Zoom's trap, only to find he was unable to slow down enough to become visible, or tangible again. It was only when he saw his wife about to be murdered, that he was able to return to normal, and take Professor Zoom down.

"World That Bet On War"

The Green Lantern encounters a spatial anomaly. Protected by his power ring, the Green Lantern is pulled into the vortex, ending up on a battlefield, during World War II. His attempts to communicate with the tank crew firing on him are met with more ammunition. On the planet Que, a pair of alien gamblers, Brrmm and Thrrl, argue over which race possess superior military armaments. After agreeing to a wager, the aliens create a no man's land to pit an alien tank against a terrestrial tank. After teleporting the alien tank to the battlefield, the aliens open a hole in time to procure the terrestrial tank.

While dodging the tank fire, the Green Lantern gets caught up in, and trips over, a barb wire barrier. To save himself from certain death, the Green Lantern surrounds the tank with a force field. Suddenly, the tank begins to vanish. Acting quickly, the Green Lantern uses his power ring to latch onto the tank, fading away with it. Transported to the alien battlefield, the Green Lantern succumbs to the tranquilizers in the atmosphere. With the Green Lantern unable to interfere, the aliens begin their contest.

Notes:

• This issue contains the Hostess Superhero Ad "Batman and the Mummy"