The Flash No. 225

Cary Bates / Irv Novick

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Series: The Flash (Vol. 1)

Summary

This issue of The Flash, No. 225, was published with a February 1974 cover date (actually on sale October 25, 1973) and is a single-issue story from the transition between the Silver Age and the Bronze Age, headlined "Green Lantern: Public Enemy of the 25th Century." The story opens in Central City: as Barry Allen and his wife Iris watch a film in a cinema, a giant synthetic horse-monster suddenly bursts in and runs amok; the Flash rescues the audience and then joins forces with Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who arrives in response. The monster's shell, however, reflects their powers, draining the energy of Green Lantern's ring and blasting him down. The two find a clue on a fallen collar and learn that the monster comes from the 25th century, five hundred years ahead. They travel to the future and discover that the "synthetic steed" was built by Eobard Thawne—Reverse-Flash, the Professor—to replace extinct horses for racing; Thawne has therefore received amnesty. Thawne agrees to return to the past to help defeat the monster, on one condition: Green Lantern must steal the priceless art treasure "the Wings of La Shalus" for him. Hal is forced to act against his oath, and in the process encounters the 25th century's Green Lantern and engages in a ring-versus-ring duel. Through the Flash and Thawne resonating at high speed and merging atoms to stack velocity, the pair finally bring down the monster; and when Thawne obtains the yellow statuette, it crumbles into golden dust under the shock of time travel, exposing his scheme. This volume is issue No. 225 of the series, suited to reading as a DC Silver Age unit story or as material for understanding the early image of Reverse-Flash.

Editor's review

1970年代的《闪电侠》正处在一个奇妙的转折点：白银时代的单元剧形式仍在延续，但编剧们已经开始尝试更长的阴谋线索与更复杂的反派动机。本期的看点首先在于“双雄”配置：闪电侠与绿灯侠这对正义联盟队友，一个凭速度，一个凭意志力戒指，却在同一头未来怪物面前双双失效——这种“能力失灵”的设计正是青铜时代英雄漫画开始反思力量边界的表现。其次，本期给出的逆闪电，与我们今天熟悉的、偏执而残忍的极速教授尚不相同：他会设局、会谈判、也会被黄色物体这一经典弱点反噬，人物更像一位精于算计的骗子而非疯子。这种差异对于追踪《闪电侠》反派演化史的读者尤其有趣。尼克·卡迪的封面构图简洁有力，厄夫·诺维克与迪克·焦尔达诺的内页线条则保留了七十年代DC的典型质感：大片留白、动感强、对白密集。如果你在追看剧集或现代《闪电侠》大事件，本期可以当作一块“源头切片”，理解逆闪与巴里·艾伦的宿敌关系是如何一步步被写厚的。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢DC白银/青铜时代老漫画、想补齐《闪电侠》第一卷长线阅读的读者
对逆闪电（极速教授）角色演化史感兴趣的DC粉丝
喜欢闪电侠与绿灯侠组队、正义联盟队友互动故事的读者
研究美国漫画史、关注七十年代DC创作团队与单元剧结构的爱好者

Not a good fit for

希望看到现代画风、电影化分镜或长线大事件的读者
不熟悉白银时代设定、对“黄色克制绿灯戒指”等旧规则无感的入门读者
更偏好单行本完整故事、不喜欢短篇单元剧的读者

Reading tips

先了解闪电侠（巴里·艾伦）、绿灯侠（哈尔·乔丹）、逆闪电（艾伯德·斯旺）三人的基本设定，再进入本期会顺畅很多。
可把本期与《闪电侠》同期的绿灯侠搭档单元（如第222、235期）连着读，体会这一阶段的双雄配置。
注意“黄色克制绿灯戒指”和“高速共振叠加”这两条旧规则，它们是理解本期战斗转折的关键。
读完后可对照现代《闪电侠》中的逆闪电故事（如《Rogue War》《闪点》相关篇章），观察同一反派形象的变迁。

FAQ

这一期是哪一年出版的？

封面日期为1974年2月，实际上市时间为1973年10月25日，由DC（当时名为National Periodical Publications）出版，属《闪电侠》第一卷（1959年起刊）第225期。

本期的编剧和画师是谁？

剧本由卡里·贝茨（Cary Bates）执笔，铅笔稿为厄夫·诺维克（Irv Novick），墨线为迪克·焦尔达诺（Dick Giordano），封面由尼克·卡迪（Nick Cardy）绘制，编辑为朱利叶斯·施瓦茨。

为什么反派会被称为“绿灯侠是25世纪的头号罪犯”？

逆闪电斯旺以协助击退怪物为条件，要求绿灯侠哈尔·乔丹去盗取“拉夏鲁斯之翼”，哈尔为此违背了绿灯军团的誓言，标题即取自这一情节。

这一期的故事和后来的《Rogue War》有关吗？

没有直接关系。2005年《闪电侠》第二卷第225期才是《Rogue War》的终章，两本刊号相同但属于不同的系列卷次，阅读时注意区分。

这一期有官方中文版吗？

本期中文出版信息未能核实，条目中未填写出版社与译者；如需中文阅读，可参考DC漫画中文引进版中收录的闪电侠经典篇目。

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Cary Bates Author

Cary Bates is a foreign creator closely associated with the Flash comic series. Public information about him is currently limited, and details such as his nationality and dates of birth and death remain unclear. Judging from the four works held in the collection, his writing centers on the character of the Flash, including The Flash vol. 1 issue 221, The Flash Vol. 1 issue 275, The Flash vol. 1 issue 276, and The Flash issue 225. These works span categories such as art, film and television, fine fiction, and film and television originals, suggesting that his comic texts are regarded both as visual art and as material adapted or extended into film and television, as well as entering the novelization market. Based on the available material, Bates's writing focuses on superhero themes, emphasizing serialized storytelling and character development, and occupies a certain place in the accumulated works of the Flash series.

Irv Novick Author

Irv Novick is a comics creator about whom relatively limited public information is available; neither his dates of birth and death nor his nationality are clearly confirmed in public sources. Judging from the three works included here, his output centers on classic superhero material: The Flash vol. 1 issue 221, Little League issues 242–243, and The Flash issue 225, involving the core character the Flash and the youth-team stories of Little League. These works are categorized under art, film and television, children's books, and comics and cartoons, suggesting that his art and storytelling appealed to both adult readers and younger audiences, capable of carrying the pacing of action-adventure serials while remaining accessible for children. Because public information is limited, a full account of his career and artistic style cannot be developed, yet these works show that he left concrete contributions in superhero comics, holding some significance for the spread of the Flash series and youth-team themes and offering later readers and researchers a basic starting point for understanding his creative profile.