The Flash (Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen) is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the second character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), created by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino. His name combines talk show hosts Barry Gray and Steve Allen.His death in 1985 on Crisis on Infinite Earths removed the character from the regular DC lineup for 23 years. His return to regular comics occurred subsequently in 2008 within the pages of Grant Morrison's Final Crisis and Geoff Johns' The Flash: Rebirth limited series. In 2011, Allen played a key role of the crossover mini-series Flashpoint, resulting DC Comics again rebooting its continuity known as "The New 52."
