Cool song
June 1, 2005 – 8:00 amI ran across a nifty song by a band I’ve never heard of yesterday - it’s called The Ballad of Barry Allen, by Joe’s Big Ego. For the non-comic-geeks in the audience, Barry Allen was the Silver Age Flash in DC Comics. A short history of the Flash follows.
Even if you don’t read the history, check out the song - the lyrics are fantastic, and they provide an eloquent view onto what life as the world’s fastest man might be like. Plus, it’s got the word ‘aspic’.
A Short History of the Flash
In the Golden Age of comics, the Flash was a man named Jay Garrick. He wore a red shirt with a thunderbolt on it, and a silver hat with wings (thing of classical depictions of Mercury/Hermes). Jay’s still around as a member of the Justice Society of America.
In the Silver Age of comics, a new Flash was born - Barry Allen, police scientist. Barry is the Flash most people think of - he wore the red and yellow suit first, and was the main Flash on television (including the short-lived TV series starring John Wesley Shipp around 1990).
Barry Allen was killed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths in the mid-80s (though due to his ability to travel through time, he still pops up now and then). His place was taken by Wally West, who had up to then been Kid Flash. Wally’s been through a lot since he took on the big guy’s mantle, and he’s still the holder of the Flash name.
There are tons of other speedsters in the DC universe, and a whole web of inter-relationships among them (for instance, the current Kid Flash is Barry Allen’s grandson Bart, who was sent back in time to learn how to be a hero).
For more info, check wikipedia (incidentally, that’s where I found the song - check the Other Media section).
