Flash (Jay Garrick)

Jay Garrick
Jay Garrick, the original Flash. Cover art for JSA #78, by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Flash Comics #1 (January 1940)
Created by	Gardner Fox Harry Lampert
In-story information
Alter ego	Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick
Team affiliations	Justice Society of America All-Star Squadron Justice League
Partnerships	Barry Allen Wally West Green Lantern (Alan Scott) Bart Allen and Wildcat (comics)
Abilities	Ability to run at the speed of light Superhumanly fast reflexes Augmented by the extra-dimensional Speed Force Frictionless aura Speed theft

Jay Garrick is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero to call himself The Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, and first appeared in the comic book Flash Comics #1 (1940).

After a bizarre laboratory accident, he acquired the ability to move at superhuman speed and chose to fight crime as a costumed vigilante, calling himself "the Flash". Jay Garrick has made numerous appearances in other media, including his live-action debut as a cameo on Smallville played by Billy Mitchell, and later in The Flash portrayed by John Wesley Shipp.

The character of Jay Garrick was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. The character first appeared in the first issue of the anthology series Flash Comics in 1940, published by All-American Publications. He was soon featured in All-Star Comics as part of the Justice Society of America. In 1941, he got his own solo book, All-Flash. After World War II, superheroes declined in popularity. All-Flash was canceled in 1948 after 32 issues. Flash Comics was canceled in 1949 after 104 issues. All-Star Comics was canceled in 1951 after 57 issues, marking Garrick's last Golden Age appearance. Garrick would not appear again for ten years, and never got another solo series.

In 1956, DC Comics reinvented the Flash character, giving him a new costume, name, and background. Named Barry Allen, he was completely unrelated to Jay Garrick. In fact, Garrick never existed as far as the new books were concerned. Barry Allen's first appearance shows him reading a copy of Flash Comics, lamenting Garrick was "just a character some writer dreamed up". Readers welcomed the new Flash, but still had an interest in the old one. Jay Garrick made a guest appearance in Flash #123. Garrick was treated as residing in a parallel universe, which allowed the character to exist without any continuity conflicts with Barry Allen yet allowed him to make guest appearances in Silver Age books. Garrick only made guest appearances for most of the 60s and 70s, but in 1976 he became a regular character in the revived All-Star Comics, partaking in adventures with the Justice Society set in modern times. In 1981, he and the Justice Society appeared in All-Star Squadron in stories set in World War II.