The Flash (Jay Garrick)

The Flash (real name Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick) is a fictional character and superhero in the DC Comics and Universe, and is the first Flash. Known for being an excellent scientist and prominent member of the Justice Society and the Flash Family, Garrick would later become an on and off mentor for his successors, such as Barry Allen and Wally West.
He was created by the late and the late , and first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in January 1940.
==Biography==
===Origin===
===Early Life===
When Jay Garrick was a young boy, he used to read pulp magazine stories of the superhero Whip Whirlwind. A college student in 1939 Keystone City, Jay Garrick was a bright young man who had two loves: science, and Joan Allen. Unfortunately for Jay, Joan was the type of girl who preferred jocks over nerds, and was rebuffed for not being a football player.
===Becoming the Flash===
One night, while working with hard water molecules, Jay accidentally knocked the vials over, and inhaled the fumes of the chemicals. Said molecules accelerated Jay's reflexes and metabolism to superhuman levels, granting him superhuman speed which he used to become a player on his school's football team.
But such a life was not for him, as he botched a drive-by shooting meant for Joan, conducted by a quartet of criminals in order to force her father to reveal the location of a research base. Deciding to use his power for good, Jay put together a uniform consisting of a scarlet sweater and boots, blue tights, and his father's WWI helmet with golden wings attached to it. Foiling the criminals's plans, and causing them to commit accidental suicide (it was the Golden Age, heroes were allowed to kill bad guys or at the least drive them to their deaths).
Jay continued as the Flash, battling such odd villains as the Thinker, the Fiddler, and the Shade before calling it quits in 1949 and marrying Joan. Years later, Jay came out of retirement after meeting his successor, Barry Allen, and continues to fight crime both alone and as a member of the Justice Society of America.
===New 52===
In the New 52, Jay's powers are now the result of a meeting with Mercury, the Roman counterpart of Hermes, and he is much younger due to now being part of a restored Earth-2.
===DC Rebirth===
Prime Earth Jay is revealed to have been trapped in the Speed Force. He briefly escapes to save Batman and Barry, but they don't remember him and he is pulled back in. However, he is restored to the timeline along with the Justice Society by Doctor Manhattan during the events of Doomsday Clock.
==Powers and Abilities==
===Powers===
Thanks to his connection to the Speed Force, Jay possess a multitude of superhuman abilities and powers which he uses as a hero.
*Super Speed: Thanks to the speed force,he can run at high speed,to the point of running at the speed of light.
*Molecular Vibration: Through vibrating his body super fast, he can evade physical attacks.
*Speed Steal: Jay has the Speed Force talent to either give or take speed to/from other people or objects in motion.
*Superhuman endurance, agility, reflexes, dexterity, healing process, and perceptions: Thanks to him being a speedster,he can move and react at extreme speeds, to the point where they are as fast as light.
*Time/Dimension Travel: Through using vibrations, he can travel in time or travel through dimensions
*Frictionless Aura:
===Abilities===
*Combatant: Garrick is a skilled fighter, as he held his own against Barry Allen and Eobard Thawne.
==Other Media ==
=== Television ===
==== Animation ====
* An analogue of Jay Garrick called The Streak appears in the Justice League two-part episode "Legends", voiced by David Naughton. He was a speedster from an alternate universe and member of the Justice Guild of America who died alongside his team during a war that destroyed most of their home universe.
* Jay Garrick appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Andy Milder. This version is an ally of Batman and member of the Justice Society of America (JSA).
* Jay and Joan Garrick appear in Young Justice, voiced by Geoff Pierson and Kath Soucie respectively. The series' version of the former is a retired member of the Justice Society of America (JSA) who does not appear to possess his comic book counterpart's decelerating age. Throughout the series, the Garricks become Impulse's legal guardians while Jay comes out of retirement to help the Justice League and the Team to thwart a Reach invasion. As of the episode "Early Warning", Joan has died. As of season four, Jay has joined the Justice League.
==== Live-Action ====
* Jay Garrick appears in the Smallville two-part episode "Absolute Justice", portrayed by Billy Mitchell. This version operated as a superhero, member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), and a research scientist in the 1970s until he was framed for fraud by the government as part of their plan to disable the JSA. Garrick and his teammates falsely confessed to all charges, but were never convicted and forced to retire to due to their secret identities becoming known to law enforcement.
* Jay Garrick appears in The Flash (2014). While the character was heavily advertised as being portrayed by Teddy Sears throughout the second season, it is later revealed he was actually Hunter Zolomon / Zoom masquerading as the character. The actual character is revealed as the Flash of Earth-3 and a doppelgänger of Henry Allen (portrayed by John Wesley Shipp) who had been held captive by Zolomon in a failed attempt to siphon Garrick's Speed Force energy before Garrick is eventually freed. Garrick returns in the third season, serving as a stern mentor to Barry Allen and helping to defeat Savitar. In the fourth season, after helping Barry and Jesse Quick avert a disaster utilizing "Flashtime", a state in which they move so fast that time appears to be frozen, Garrick announces his retirement and that he will be training a protégée to succeed him as Earth-3's Flash. As of the sixth season, Garrick has retired and settled down with Joan Williams (portrayed by Michelle Harrison), with whom he worked on tracking antimatter signatures across the multiverse and later help Barry uncover his role in an impending "Crisis". In the seventh season, following the Crisis, Jay and Joan now reside on Earth-Prime Keystone City, where she attempts to help him get his speed back.
* Jay Garrick appears in Stargirl, portrayed by an uncredited actor in the first season and portrayed again by John Wesley Shipp in subsequent seasons. This version is a member of the Justice Society of America before the team was attacked and killed by the Injustice Society, with Garrick being apparently killed by Icicle. After making appearances in flashbacks depicted in the second season, Garrick turns up alive 20 years later in the third season finale "Frenemies – Chapter Thirteen: The Reckoning".
*Garrick appears as a cameo character in the 2023 DC Extended Universe film, The Flash, with his likeness based on one of the film's editors, Jason Ballantine. It was initially reported that the character's likeness was that of Teddy Sears, but the studio claimed the character's appearance was not based on any notable actor. This version of the character resides in the continuity of the 1952 live-action Adventures of Superman series, which starred the late George Reeves as Superman.
===Video Games===
*Jay Garrick appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Ryan Wickerham.
*Jay Garrick appears as a "premier skin" for Barry Allen / Flash in Injustice 2, voiced by Travis Willingham. Additionally, Garrick makes a cameo appearance in Allen's single-player ending.
*Jay Garrick appears as a playable character in DC Legends.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
Jay Garrick.jpg|New Earth.
1855875-jsa.jpg|Garrick with the Justice Society.
3501140-jsa.jpg
5678113-society.jpg
4401107-society.jpg
5516323-jaygarrick.jpg|New 52.
5855110-the flash.jpg|Prime Earth Jay Garrick.
File:Jay Garrick (The Brave and the Bold).jpeg|Jay Garrick in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
File:Jay Garrick (YJ).png|Jay Garrick in Young Justice.
Flash-jay-garrick-pic.jpg|John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick in the 2014 TV series The Flash.
Jay garrick injustice 2.jpg|Jay Garrick from the video game Injustice 2.
File:Jay Garrick, as he appeared in The Flash Movie..jpg|Garrick, as he appeared in the 2023 DC Extended Universe film, The Flash via cameo appearance, with his likeness bearing a resemblance to one of the film's editors, Jason Ballantine.
==Trivia==
*He's the only Flash that doesn't wear a mask, as he can vibrate his face at super speed so that his features appear as a blur.
*He is the slowest Flash that exist compared to the other Flashes who came afterwards like Barry Allen and Wally West.
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