In this quick tour, we’ll look at the many times Jay Garrick shared a cover with Barry Allen in the years that followed their first meeting... moments that helped cement Jay’s lasting place in the Flash family for decades to come.
After appearing in four issues of Showcase, the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, was given his own ongoing series. For reasons known only to DC editorial, that series debuted with issue #105, continuing the numbering of the Golden Age Flash Comics, which had been canceled in 1949, even though the new book was officially titled The Flash.
Numbering quirks aside, it took only nineteen issues before Barry Allen met his Golden Age predecessor, Jay Garrick. The Flash #123 (September 1961) was a landmark story, serving as the gateway to the return of DC’s Golden Age heroes and formally introducing the concept of the DC Multiverse.
The Flash #123 (September 1961)
One of the most influential and iconic stories in comic book history, this tale reveals that Barry Allen is not the only Flash. He discovers the existence of a parallel Earth where Jay Garrick has been operating as the Flash for years, long before Barry ever put on the costume.
The story definitively establishes that DC’s Golden Age heroes still exist; they simply live on a different, parallel Earth. That world, home to the older generation of heroes, is dubbed Earth-Two, while Barry’s contemporary setting becomes known as Earth-One. From this revelation grows the foundation of the DC Multiverse: countless other Earths, each vibrating at a different frequency, each with its own distinct heroes and villains, waiting to be discovered.
The Flash #129 (June 1962)
This tale has Barry Allen teaming up again with Jay Garrick, as they take on Captain Cold and the Trickster.
Just six issues after his resurrection from the bygone era, the Golden Age Flash reappears, teaming once again with the Silver Age Flash. The story is especially notable for several pages when Jay reminisces about his JSA days, marking the first appearance (though in flashback) of the Earth-Two versions of Wonder Woman, Doctor Mid-Nite, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom, and Black Canary since their original publications were cancelled.
The Flash #137 (June 1963)
This tale reunites Barry Allen and Jay Garrick, joining forces to battle the immortal villain Vandal Savage, whose scheme threatens both worlds.
A year after his previous cover appearance, Jay Garrick returns again. While the earlier Jay/Barry team-up featured flashbacks of several Justice Society members, this issue marked a major step forward: it featured the first actual Silver Age appearances of six other JSA members...Wonder Woman, Johnny Thunder, the Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Doctor Mid-Nite. These heroes actively participate in the story. This tale was published three months before the first official JLA/JSA crossover that occurred in Justice League of America #21.
The issue is also notable for introducing Vandal Savage into the Silver Age, setting the stage for his long-running role as one of DC’s most enduring villains.
It takes two Flashes to take down Shade when his powers are temporarily augmented by a dark dimension. Shade tries to sell himself as now being a law-abiding citizen of Earth-Two, when in reality, he's simply phasing over to Earth-One to commit his crimes.
Jay's next cover outing happens in an 80 Page Giant, featuring reprinted adventures of many of DC's speedsters. There is no pairing between the Flashes. Jay is featured in "Duet of Danger", originally published in All-Flash #22 (July 1948). This tale features the first appearance of the Fiddler.
An enemy called the Golden Man attempts to use the powers of the three speedsters to speed up the evolution of his species.
This issue of The Flash holds the distinction of being the first DC comic book to feature Golden Age Flash, Silver Age Flash, Kid Flash, Johnny Quick, and Quicksilver between its covers! Quicksilver was a speedster character created by Quality Comics in 1940. When Quality Comics closed its doors in 1956, the majority of its characters were sold to DC. This character was renamed Max Mercury in 1993 (to avoid confusion with Marvel Comics' Quicksilver) and became a mainstay in later volumes of The Flash.
Vandal Savage tricks the two Flashes into bringing a meteor back with them from Limbo. His intention is to expose himself to the meteor's radiation, thus becoming immortal again.
Looking back over these covers, what really stands out is not just how often Jay and Barry teamed up, but how easy and genuine their partnership always felt. From that first reality-changing meeting in The Flash #123 to their later battles with Vandal Savage, Shade, and so many others, their connection never felt like a gimmick. Jay was never pushed aside as yesterday’s hero. He still mattered. And Barry was never just “the new guy.” He was the next chapter in something bigger. Together, they proved that being a hero is not tied to one time period. Their relationship really became part of the heart of the Flash family. After Barry’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) and the merging of Earth-One and Earth-Two, Jay remained an important presence, especially for Wally West. When Wally stepped out of the Kid Flash role and became the new Flash, Jay was there, offering guidance and encouragement just like he once had with Barry. Over time, retcons connected Jay’s powers to the same Speed Force that fuels Barry, Wally, and other speedsters, tying them even closer together.
In the end, the Flash legacy is not about who is the fastest man alive. It is about passing the lightning from one good man to another. And decades later, that sense of family, first strengthened in the stories and covers we looked at here, is still what makes the world of the Flash feel so special. The Flash, and all related characters, names, and elements, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.
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