Jay Garrick - Golden Age Flash

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

When Jason Peter Jay Garrick was just a boy, he read a lot of comics about a superhero called Whirlwind. Did young Jay Garrick know that one day he would get the same superpowers as his childhood hero, Whirlwind?

After a strange incident in the laboratory, Jason discovered that he had amazing abilities - he can move at superhuman speed. Wearing a suit and a metal helmet similar to that worn by the Roman god Mercury, Jay uses his powers to fight crime and protect the people of Keystone City. He is now the Fastest Man in the world, Earth-2 hero, The Flash!

Creation

The Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, was created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert. His first comic book appearance was in January 1940 in the Flash Comics series.

Origin

Jay Garrick attended Midwestern University in Keystone City. He specialized in the study of physics and chemistry, was a really big football star. During his third year of study, Jay did an experiment: he tried to purify hard water in a cyclotron without any residual radiation. Jay worked late into the night andgradually began to tire. He sat down on a chair and lit a cigarette. But when he leaned back in his chair, he accidentally knocked over the apparatus, releasing dangerous toxic fumes. These couples put Jay out of action. For many weeks he lay in bed in a state close to death. Shortly after waking up, Jay saw a girl in the window, Joan Williams, with whom he had been in love for some time. Madly wanting to meet her, he rushes down the stairs like a hurricane past other hospital patients. Later, he learned from doctors that his movement is the fastest ever seen on Earth.

First case

When Jay Garrick found out about his new abilities, he put them to good use on the football field. During this time, he also courted Joan Williams, and once witnessed an assassination attempt on her. Jay deftly catches a bullet and thereby saves the girl's life.

Jay later finds out that this shot was just part of a scheme by the Flawless Four to get close to the girl's father in order to get information from him about the location of the secret atomic warhead base. Jay tracks down the Faulty Four's hideout and rescues Joan's father.

Justice Society of America

Jay Garrick is a founding member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). For several years, he was the chairman of the superhero team until he left it. The American government began checking the JSA for communist activity. They asked the members of the Societyreveal their identities, but they refused. Jay couldn't deal with all this distrust and ended his superhero career. He settled down, married his longtime girlfriend Joan Williams. Jay continues to work for the Chemical Corporation and soon establishes his own laboratory in Keystone City. Ten years later, Jay returns to the JSA.

Flash Evolution

Jay Garrick was the first of a series of heroes we call The Flash. Appearing on the pages of magazines in 1940, he became one of the most beloved superheroes of the Golden Age of comics. However, after the Second World War, the popularity of superheroes declined, and in 1949 the comic was closed, marking Garrick's last appearance in the Golden Age. For ten years he has not appeared in the pages of comics.

In 1956, The Flash was relaunched, ushering in a new, Silver Age of comics. The new hero's name was Barry Allen. Like Jay Garrick, Barry gained his superpowers from a lab accident. The Flash's first own issue with Barry Allen comes out at number 105, continuing the original series.

After Allen's heroic death, his nephew Kid Flash takes over as the Flash. Wally West is the name of the third and last Flash, who appeared on the pages of comics in 1986.

To date, the role of the main Flash again belongs to Barry Allen. He returned to the position of The Flash in 2009.