Line #30 ComicBook/ShowcaseNumberFour


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/showcase_4.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"I wonder what it would really be like - to be the '''Fastest Man on Earth'''?"]]
3
4	-> ''Whirlwind adventures of [[ComicBook/TheFlash the Fastest Man Alive!]]''
5	-->- The cover
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7	''Showcase #4'' was an issue of the AnthologyComic ''ComicBook/{{Showcase}}'' that was published on October 1956 by Creator/DCComics. It contains two stories that star police scientist [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]], the second person to become the superhero ComicBook/TheFlash; one of the stories detail his origin story and his first adventure as a superhero. It was written by Creator/RobertKanigher and drawn by Carmine Infantino, with inking done by Creator/JoeKubert.
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9	This comic is credited for reigniting the popularity of superhero comics in the mid-1950s, thus beginning UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks in earnest.
10	----
11	[[folder:Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt]]
12	-> ''This is the startling tale of '''The Flash''' - a man who was so fast that he not only outraced his shadow, but also broke through the sound barrier - on foot! But what happens to the '''Fastest Man Alive''' when he battles the '''Slowest Man on Earth'''? Is his incredible speed a help - or a hindrance? Hold on to your seat for the amazing answer as you read...'' '''''Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!'''''
13	-->- The opening narration
14
15	Barry Allen was reading an issue of ''Flash Comics'' in the police station's laboratory when a freak thunderstorm rages in Central City. A lightning bolt soon strikes into the lab, hitting Barry and causing him to crash into a cabinet full of chemicals. Miraculously surviving being struck by lightning and covered in chemicals, Barry leaves his lab to go home. However, while trying to catch a cab, he manages to outrun it. Later, at a diner, a waitress accidentally drops a tray of food but Barry, watching the food fall in slow motion, manages to catch everything with incredible swiftness. Barry quickly goes home to sleep, dismissing what happened as only a dream.
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17	The next day, when meeting with his girlfriend Iris West, Barry, with his enhanced perception, soon notices a stray bullet heading straight to her and hurls her out the way. A cop soon tells him that the stray was fired by the Turtle Man, an infamous criminal known as "the Slowest Man on Earth", while he was making a getaway. Now realizing that the accident from last night changed his molecular structure and gave him superhuman speed, Barry decides to use his newfound abilities to become a superhero much like Jay Garrick in the comics he read. Listening to the system alarm in the station, Barry releases a red-and-yellow uniform from out a special ring and rushes into action (in fact, he goes so fast, he manages to brake the sound barrier which attracts the attention of a radar station).
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19	Barry is astounded to see that both a robbery in the Central City bank is still in progress (victims hands are still up, bank vault is open yet is untouched, etc.) and the perpetrators are no where to be seen. He soon deduces that this is the work of the Turtle Man and that he's planning to do another stage of the robbery after catching everyone off-guard by seemingly not finishing what he started. Barry tries to chase after the Turtle, but the latter manages to use the hero's speed against him at every turn. After trying and failing to reach the Turtle, who's getting away on a speedboat, Barry puts his incredible speed to more creative uses by creating a vortex in the sea, trapping the Turtle. After bringing the slow-moving criminal to justice, Barry gains plenty of media attention as he declares himself "the Flash".
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21	!!Tropes pertaining to ''Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt''
22	* AscendedFanboy: Barry is shown to be a fan of the Golden Age Flash and decides to follow his favorite character's example in becoming a superhero once he receives his powers.
23	* FreakLabAccident: A combination of being struck by lightning and having various chemicals spilled on him changes Barry's body structure to give him super-speed.
24	* OriginsEpisode: This story shows how Barry Allen received his super speed and how he developed his superhero identity.
25	[[/folder]]
26
27	%%[[folder:The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier]]
28	%%-> ''A slip in time propels an exiled criminal of the future to our era, setting the stage for an amazing conflict between the super-scientific thief and the super-fast '''Flash'''!\
29	Victory shifts from one contestant to the other - until each realizes that a final triumph can be gained only by...'' '''''The Man Who Broke The Time Barrier!'''''
30	%%-->- The opening narration
31	%%----
32	%%!!Tropes pertaining to ''The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier''
33	%%[[/folder]]

Context ComicBook / ShowcaseNumberFour