Bring on the Bad Guys: 3 Spies

Real names: Unrevealed 

First appearance: The Flash I#121 (June 1961)

Abilities: Spying, swimming 

Worst act: Theft, espionage

Quote:  "Uhh?"

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Murphy Anderson (inks)

So we end this Bring on the Bad Guys with three guys without names. 

Barry goes to his college reunion, running into his old roommate Pete and the class bully Beefy. Pete is still being pushed around, so much so he can't bring himself to propose to his girlfriend Doris. 

Thus Barry is quite surprised when Pete calls him later, frantic. It seems the blueprints to his latest invention have been stolen! Barry calms him down, stating the Flash will help him out, in a rather neat layout Barry and the Flash appear at the same time. 

Beefy rounds up the party, remembering he saw some suspicious skin divers going out to what might have been a submarine. 

The blueprints get returned and the day is saved. 

Not the flashiest way to end this month, but sometimes you get filler. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: The Golden Giants

Real names: Unrevealed 

First appearance: The Flash I#120 (May 1961)

Abilities: Being tall

Worst act: Attempted murder 

Quote:  "Yoww!"

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Joe Giella (inks)

I suppose the biggest thing about this issue is Barry reveals his identity to Kid Flash, i.e. Wally West. 

The other big thing is the giants. 

Barry and Iris go to South America to help Dr. Manners on his expedition. Wally West tags along too. Manners plans to prove that South America was once connected to Africa.

Which was theorized in 1596 and properly researched in the 1920's through the 30's, so Manners is a pinch late to the party. 

Getting caught in an earthquake, the expedition finds themselves thrust back in the ancient days when Pangaea was a thing and populated by giant golden men. 

Funny that Wegener didn't talk about them. 

Thankfully the team makes it back to the present, with Manners producing a photo to prove his theories. Which could very easily be dismissed, but what do I know?

Not the worse yarn, but silly enough to be enjoyable. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: The Bredans

 Real names: Grstad, Kimbra

First appearance: The Flash I#119 2/2 (Mar. 1961)

Abilities: Hypnotism 

Worst act: Slavery, kidnapping

Quote:  "Your job is to build my new residence!"

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Joe Giella (inks)

More of an Elongated Man tale, but the Flash does feature pretty heavily. Ralph and Sue have just gotten hitched, so naturally they want to spend their honeymoon in the Caribbean. Things go fine, at least until Ralph vanishes while skindiving. 

One message later, and the Flash is on the case!

It's aliens, of course. The Flash finds Ralph but he's been brainwashed to forget who he is, thankfully he recovers in time to help the Flash repell the invaders. 

Not awful, but it does seem like an awfully large amount of aliens setting up shop on Earth, plus their goal? Building houses. 

Yeah, seems they'd rather kidnap and brainwash humans rather than pick up a trowel. I'm sure there is a metaphor in there somewhere.  

Bring on the Bad Guys: Steve Palmer

Real name: Steve Palmer 

First appearance: The Flash I#118 1/2 (Feb. 1961)

Abilities: ACTING!

Worst act: Attempted murder, attempted identity theft 

Quote:  "Nothing personal in this, Flash! It's just that you're standing in the way between me about a million dollars! So..."

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Murphy Anderson (inks)

When method acting goes wrong...

The Flash goes Hollywood, providing technical assistance on a film about his life. Good thing he's there, as a series of accidents seem targeted at the Flash's actor, Steve Palmer. 

The Flash agrees to stand in for Palmer during shooting, so he can ferret out who's trying to bump him off. Turns out, it was Palmer all along!

Yeah, Palmer plans to kill the Flash so he can replace him and use his identity. Which seems a bit short sighted, as there is nothing to suggest Palmer could handle a terrorist gorilla on his own. 

Man, what is it about Flash actors going crazy?

Darn silly but it works on its own merits. This might be the most short-sighted plan I've seen in comics though. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: Toughy Boraz

Real name: Toughy Boraz 

First appearance: The Flash I#117 2/2 (Dec. 1960)

Abilities: He has a gun, what else does he need?

Worst act: Theft

Quote:  "You bet you can't believe it--'cause that stuff belongs to me!"

Created by: Garnder F. Fox (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Joe Giella (inks)

All told a minor foil, for the main stars of this yarn are the Three Dimwits. 

Yes, Winky, Blinky, and Noddy, formerly sidekicks to the Golden Age Flash only now they live in Central City. This would also be their only Silver Age story and their last story period until Cry for Justice, but we don't talk about that one. 

The three fancy themselves inventors. When their latest machine tells them to "buy dirt cheap and sell high", they dig up their lawn and sell the sod from atop a ladder. 

During the course of their digging, they find a large box. A fellow happens by and is rather insistent on buying all their dirt. It's Boraz though, and that box is actually his loot. How he managed to bury in their yard isn't mentioned. 

He's fine as a foil, and honestly the whole thing plays out as a Three Stooges short, which I think is the ideas. A shame the 3 Dimwits didn't show up again. 

Bring on the Bad Guys: Modrie

Real name:  Modrie 

First appearance: The Flash I#116 1/2 (Nov. 1960)

Abilities: Having an hour advantage over things

Worst act: Tax cheat, theft

Quote:  "Tax form!? Earnings?! Just who does the government here think it's dealing with? I'll soon show this fellow I'm not to be annoyed by such matters!"

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Joe Giella (inks)

First appearance of the Multiverse? Well, maybe.

Modrie comes from World 86, a dimension that neighbors Earth 1. He's a lab assistant, and a pretty disgruntled one at that. When his boss makes a scale model of Central City, he's less than impressed, but the model shows what will happen in the real Central City one hour from now?

Suddenly he's very keen on the project. Sneaking into Earth 1, Modrie proceeds to make a fortune with what he knows. Everything goes great, until he makes so much the IRS notices and demands their cut. Seems like he could simply become someone else, but eh. 

The Flash investigates, for some reason but problems arise. Modrie's boss in World 86 discovers what he's been up, and the model shows the Flash being gunned down...

Interesting, I'll say that. You rarely see a villain raging against a W-2

Bring on the Bad Guys: Captain Boomerang

Real name: George "Digger" Harkness

First appearance: The Flash I#117 1/2 (Dec. 1960)

Abilities: Boomerangs, inventing boomerangs 

Worst act: Murder, attempted murder, theft, possessing an outrageous accent  

Quote:  "Well, sink me if this isn't an incredible coincidence! Here I was just prepared to launch myself on a new chapter of my criminal career--using a boomerang!--when I read this advertisement!!"

Created by: John Bromme (script), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Murphy Anderson (inks)

Joining the ranks of Two-Face, Lex Luthor, the Cheetah, Sportsmaster/Solomon Grundy, and the Mad Mod, we take a special look back at one of my favorite foes for the 22nd. 

A guy that absolutely shouldn't work, yet somehow does. Harkness first started out as a toy salesman. Yeah, seems a toy company banks on boomerangs being the next big thing, so they decide the best way to hock them would be with Captain Boomerang!

So Harkness pops over from the Outback and auditions for the fellows and soon has a job as a national spokesman. He's still a crook though, although now he has a fancy costume.  

So he decides to claim that someone is clearly impersonating him, then he knocks out the Flash and ties him to a giant boomerang.

He's committed to the bit, you have to give him that. 

I love this guy. His appearance in the Suicide Squad really allowed the character to shine; shine as a bigoted, cowardly jackass but shining all the same.