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in: Ross Andru/Cover Artist, Mike Esposito/Cover Artist, John Broome/Writer,
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The Flash Vol 1 178

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"Land of the Golden Giants": This story is reprinted from The Flash #120.

The Flash #178 is an issue of the series The Flash (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1968.

Synopsis for "Land of the Golden Giants"

This story is reprinted from The Flash #120.

Barry Alan and Iris West are invited by Doctor Manners to accompany him on an expedition that will prove that the continents of South America and Africa were once connected. Accompanying them on the expedition are Wally West and the doctor's granddaughter Gail Manners. As Iris, Gail and the doctor wait for Barry and Wally to show up, Barry has Wally meet him at his home. There, Barry reveals to Wally that he is really the Flash, having decided that it was time for Kid Flash to know the true identity of his mentor just in case something should happen during their expedition.

Speeding to the yacht where the others are waiting, Flash and Kid Flash spot an aircraft about to crash in the middle of the city. With their super-speed, the two heroes move all the pedestrians off the street and away from danger. Fortunately for the pilot, his crash is one he can walk away from. Seeing that everyone is all right, the two Flash's speed off and change back into their civilian identities and join Iris and the others on their expedition. As they sail toward South America, Doctor Manners explains to all gathered there what their mission is. At the same time the adults try to get Wally and Gail to keep each other company, however Gail's stand-offish personality makes their interactions chilly at best.

When they arrive in South America, they enter a region that the natives fear called the Valley of the Sleeping Giant. Local legend states that an evil giant lives in a nearby mountain and that it will one day awaken and destroy everything. Dismissed as local superstition, the American travelers venture on. However, they are threatened during a break when they are hit by an earthquake from the mountain which is in actuality a volcano. As the others begin to pick up from the earthquake, Barry and Wally volunteer to go out and find higher ground to check on the status of the active volcano to see if there is any further trouble. In their investigations, they find a giant footprint and decide that they should do some further investigating as Flash and Kid Flash.

Returning to the camp, Barry suggests to the Doctor that they go out and do some scouting. Now with an excuse to leave the camp, the two privately change into Flash and Kid Flash so that they can search for the giant at super-speed. In their hunt, they find a primitive tribesman being attacked by a strange parrot-like creature. Scaring the monstrous bird off, Flash and Kid Flash are led by the primitive to his tribes cave. Although they cannot speak English, Flash notes that the primitive people all keep repeating the same word "Grodon", they soon learn by examining cave paintings that Grodon is really a giant. As they puzzle over the validity of the claims of a giant person, they soon do not have to question if it is real or not when the giant appears and grabs the Flash.

As Kid Flash tries to pummel the giants feet, Flash manages to break free by vibrating out of the giants grasp. The sultans of speed then defeat the giant by tripping him and then tying him up with some of the steel cable that they brought along on their expedition. When they witnessed an unscheduled eclipse, it confirms Flash's theory that somehow, the entire party had been transported back in time to a prehistoric era. They further confirm this when they spot dinosaurs off in the distance. Deciding to use this extraordinary circumstance to their advantage, Flash and Kid Flash speed across the world to learn that Manners' theory is true, that South America and Africa were once connected. As coincidence would have it, they are also at the moment when the two continents are beginning to break apart.

With the primitives threatened by this cataclysm, Flash and Kid Flash help them get to safety, and while the early humans are saved, the giants are all slain in the resulting floods. Realizing that the volcanic eruption in the present caused a unique vibration to send them into the past, Flash and Kid Flash hurry back to the camp, as the resulting vibrations caused by the continent shift has caused everyone to be returned to the present. Changing back into their civilian identities, Barry tells Doctor Manning what had happened, and Manning in turn explains that he found proof that confirms his theory. Developing a picture taken by Iris took of a Lemur, originally only thought to be native of Africa, Manning has the proof he is looking for.

Returning home to America, Barry learns from Iris that Gail has finally started warming up to Wally and the two have now become fast friends.

Appearing in "Land of the Golden Giants"

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  • Doctor Manners (First appearance)
  • Gail Manners (First appearance)

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Synopsis for "Double Danger on Earth"

This story is reprinted from The Flash #129.

In the alternate universe that is home to Jay Garrick, aka the Flash, a meteor collides with the sun causing a radioactive burst that threatens to wipe out all life on that Earth. The news spreads fast, and it prompts Jay to consider if he should try and save his world as Jay Garrick, radiation expert, or as the Flash. When contemplating on getting the help of Barry Allen, the Flash of the neighboring universe, Jay begins to reminisces with his wife Joan about his adventures with the Justice Society of America.

Later the next day, Jay learns of a special metal found in a meteor that crashed in the Arizona desert that can absorb the radiation. However, when Jay arrives on the scene he finds that the meteor has disappeared. He deduces that a similar meteor may have somehow existed in a parallel world, existing next to their own. Going into action as the Flash, Jay uses his super-speed to change his vibrational atunement, so he appears on that other world.

While on the alternate world that is home to Barry Allen, Barry meets up with his girlfriend Iris West to go to the Picture News costume ball. Barry has decided to go dressed as the Flash, and has to remind himself to act as he normally would as Barry Allen so as not to expose his secret identity. There Barry notices that a number of the attendees are dressed up as a number of his foes. However, not all of them are reasonable facsimiles, two of them — namely Captain Cold and The Trickster — are the genuine articles and have both come independently to steal the charitable donations being collected. While the two criminals quarrel over who gets the loot, Jay Garrick arrives in his Flash outfit having heard from Barry's landlady that he'd be attending the party.

Jay attempts to stop the Trickster and Captain Cold, however the two crooks begin working together to trip up this alternate Flash and the Trickster escapes with the loot with Captain Cold trailing not far behind. While inside the ball, Barry and Iris notice that it's past midnight and the organizers have not announced how much was raised for charity. When Barry goes to check it out he sees the aftermath of the battle and learns from Jay about the Trickster and Captain Cold's theft of the money. The two speedsters then race after the crooks.

Outside they find that Captain Cold and Trickster are still fighting over the loot and try to use this division to their advantage. However, the two crooks begin working together and realize they make a pretty good team when they pool their resources together and trap both Flash's in blocks of ice. Breaking free from their ice prisons, Jay and Barry find the crooks are gone without a trace. Jay tells Berry why he has come to Barry's world and Barry turns down the offer to aid Jay because he must search for Captain Cold and the Trickster. Returning to the party, Barry (pretending once more to be his meek alter ego in a Flash costume) tells Iris what happened.

Jay races to Arizona where he meets with representatives of the crater museum and learns that a meteor of the same composition exists on this Earth as well. Racing to the spot, Jay uses his speed powers to unearth the meteor and break it down into component parts for easier transport back to Central City where he hopes to transport them back to his own world. As Jay's exploits make national headlines, Barry is no closer to capturing Captain Cold and the Trickster. However, Barry comes up with an idea on how to lure the two crooks out of hiding.

While Jay has setup a vibrator-transporter device to transport the meteors components to his world, Barry approaches Jay with the idea and the Flash's of two worlds agree to work together to capture the two crooks. They plant a story in the Picture News about how the meteor fragments contain a fortune in diamonds, and sure enough the story brings Captain Cold and the Trickster out of hiding. During the attack it turns out that the Trickster they are fighting is merely one of Captain Cold's ice-mirages and that the Captain had stolen the fake diamonds and retreated. Barry follows after Captain Cold leaving a trail for Jay to follow.

While Flash distracts Captain Cold and the Trickster, Jay speeds into the room and quickly turn the two crooks as they are firing their weapons so that they strike each other instead of Barry. With Captain Cold and the Trickster defeated and turned over to the authorities, Jay and Barry finish transporting the meteor ore to Jay's universe. There, the two Scarlet Speedsters load up rockets full of the precious metal and launch them out into space where they deflect the harmful radiation and save Jay's world. After, Barry expresses his concern that the same threat my yet threaten his own world, however Jay has thought of this and had the foresight to examine the composition of the meteor fragments and come up with a means of creating a synthetic version of the ore so that when the same event happens on Barry's world sometime later, scientists of that world can prevent any threat to their world as well.

Appearing in "Double Danger on Earth"

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Synopsis for "Captives of the Cosmic Ray"

This story is reprinted from The Flash #131.

Barry Allen and Hal Jordan purchase some arrows for an archery contest at a department store that features life-size statues of their alter egos, the Flash and Green Lantern. Afterwards, they return to Carol Ferris's home for their archery competition. However, it is interrupted by the arrival of a strange alien craft. Changing into their costumed identities, the pair chase after it, towards Coast City. However, the craft beams the Flash aboard and leaves Earth.

Green Lantern pursues the ship to a mysterious planet. It drops the Flash off on the surface, and Green Lantern discovers that it is unoccupied. The heroes are separated, however, by a sudden snowstorm. After a brief encounter with a giant creature, the storm ends and the Flash encounters the projection of an alien. Despite being turned upside-down with a strange ray, the speedster is able to avoid destruction and defeat the projection.

Meanwhile, Green Lantern is put into a predicament when gravity suddenly increases by a great magnitude, and, unable to move, he sees a giant wave of molten metal flowing toward him. However, with the aid of his ring, he survives. Afterwards, the gravity returns to normal and he is able to locate the Flash. Though briefly captured by giant hands that have grown out of a mountain, the pair of heroes is able to free themselves and head home to Earth.

However, they return to discover that the planet has been conquered by the alien Myrmitons. The heroes' experience on the other planet had been a diversion to get them off the planet while the aliens invaded. Threatened with the end of all life on Earth, the pair agrees to surrender. The aliens take Green Lantern's ring and use cosmic radiation to remove the Flash's speed.

However, the Flash soon explains to his friend what actually happened. In the split second before his speed was to be removed, he had dashed to the department store they had visited earlier and borrowed the life-size models of themselves. The ring Green Lantern had given up was in fact a replica, and the cosmic radiation had only hit the Flash dummy and not the real speedster.

Meanwhile, the Myrmitons, after failing to get the Green Lantern ring to work, suspect that they have been tricked. Their headquarters is surrounded by an energy barrier, which at first foils the Flash and Green Lantern's attempts to get inside. However, they soon figure out that the barrier does not penetrate underground, and they are able to get inside and defeat the aliens by burrowing in the ground beneath the base. They convince the aliens to leave Earth, holding a few of them hostage as incentive.

Afterwards, the two return to Carol's house in their civilian identities. They resume their archery contest, each deliberately missing the target so they can declare a tie.

Appearing in "Captives of the Cosmic Ray"

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Trivia

The Story; "Land of Golden Giants" features Kid Flash as he appeared before his current uniform. He appears in the same uniform as Barry Allen.


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References
JLA v.1 21
Multiversal Crossover
The events from this issue or series involve a Multiversal Crossover between Pre-Crisis worlds and characters. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Pre-Crisis Multiverse Crossover category.
See also Post-Crisis Multiverse Crossovers.
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