The Challenge of The Rival

You know, even for a walking comic book encyclopedia I find myself having trouble reciting history about certain characters. The Reverse-Flash is one of those characters (time-travelling jerk). Just like The Scarlet Speedster himself, The Reverse-Flash has had multiple people take his place. That extends to alternate timelines as well! Before The Reverse-Flash there was this week's Z-Lister, The Rival.

First appearing in 1949's "Flash Comics #104", Dr. Edward Clariss was a professor who taught at the university Jay Garrick-The Golden Age Flash-attended. Edward witnessed the accident that gave Jay his super speed and tried to recreate the accident into a formula he called "Velocity 9". When the scientific community ignored his claims of Jay being The Flash and rejected his speed formula, Edward became bitter and jealous. He uses Velocity 9 on himself, dressed up as a darker version of The Flash, and he became the speeding criminal known as The Rival. Velocity 9 only gives its user temporary super speed, so The Flash defeated him multiple times. On his final bout against The Flash, The Rival became so infused with Velocity 9 that he was able to access The Speed Force (the energy source/alternate dimension that empowers all Speedsters with super speed and time travel). The Rival was trapped in The Speed Force for fifty years before he was pulled out by Johnny Sorrow to join The Injustice Society, but his insanity of being sealed away for decades caused him to go on a cross-country killing spree, with Jay's wife Joan being his final target. Jay is able to absorb The Rival's super speed and prevent this execution. Later though, The Rival becomes a being of pure speed energy and in this form he possessed another Speedster named Max Mercury and escaped, never to be caught.

The Rival does a good job setting the example for what a Reverse-Flash should be by not only committing crimes under his enemies identity, but also by devoting the remainder of his life to destroying everything his rival loves. The Reverse-Flash lineage has that distinct feature of being so murderous towards The Flash Family that they'd even sacrifice their own lives. Geez, give one of them a Red Power Ring. The Golden Age Flash has always been appealing to me as a reader because he's one of the few elderly heroes who's been around the block a hundred times (maybe more given his speed), so knowing he too has had his reverse reflection ruin his life gives The Flash Family an interesting repetition, for no matter how different any Flash might be there will always be their opposite waiting behind the scenes. Thanks for reading!

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