Speed Demon (comics)
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| Speed Demon | |
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| Publication information | |
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| Publisher | Amalgam Comics |
| First appearance | (I) unknown (fake), Speed Demon #1 (April 1996, real) (II) Speed-Demon Showcase #1 (fake), Speed Demon #1 (April 1996, real) (III) unknown (fake), Speed Demon #1 (April 1996, real) |
| Created by | Howard Mackie James Felder Salvador Larroca Al Milgrom |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | (I) Jay Garrick (II) Blaze Allen (III) Wally West |
| Notable aliases | (III) Kid Demon |
| Abilities | Super-speed, generation and manipulation of fire, super-strength, and flight. |
Speed Demon, sometimes spelled Speed-Demon, is the name of at least five fictional characters with superspeed powers in publications from different comic book companies.
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[edit] Publication history
[edit] DC Comics
The first such character of this named appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #15 (Sept 1956), in the superspeed serum of a scientist named Dr. Claude briefly turned The Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen into the hero Speed Demon.
[edit] Amalgam Comics
In the Marvel Comics-DC Comics intercompany crossover series of one-shots, Amalgam Comics, three Speed Demons appears who are a combination of Marvel's Ghost Rider, DC's Flash and demon Etrigan. was in Speed Demon #1 (1996), though the first one did not truly appear. Only the second Speed Demon's first appearance in the Amalgam Universe has been revealed, mentioned as Speed-Demon Showcase #1.
[edit] Jay Garrick
The first Speed Demon was Jay Garrick (based on the Golden Age Flash and Phantom Rider (comics)), who bonded with Etrigan in the Golden Age. His greatest foe was the Night Spectre, an evil demon who collects souls, as they were the source of his power. Jay Garrick eventually retires as Speed Demon, but was forced to come out of retirement as a much older man, years after the Golden Age had ended, in order for him to fight against the Night Spectre. As the Speed Demon once again, Jay Garrick plays a major part in the Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour, a huge event that spans across the entire Amalgam Universe. He dies during the event, and the Night Spectre captures Garrick's soul upon his death. His soul was later freed by the second and third Speed Demons.
[edit] Blaze Allen
Blaze Allen (an amalgam of Johnny Blaze and Barry Allen) was an amateur mystic whom the Night Spectre discovered. When Blaze Allen refused to allow Night Spectre to take his soul, the Night Spectre left. Blaze Allen, who worked at the Quentin Carnival was eventually married to Iris Simpson by Father Hellstrom. However, just after Blaze and Iris became married, the Night Spectre appeared and drained Iris of her lifeforce. This put Blaze into a deep depression, and he began delving more and more into magic.
Eventually, he was approached by Merlin, who helped Blaze bond with the demon Etrigan, so that Blaze could make sure that Iris' soul would rest in peace, by recovering it from the Night Spectre. By chanting "Gone, gone o' form of man, arise the demon Etrigan," Blaze Allen became the second Speed Demon. In his adventures as Speed Demon, he fought foes including the alien creature Dr. Doomsday (not to be confused with Doomsday), Vengeance, Uatu the Guardian, the Green Goblin, and of course the Night Spectre.
His secret identity was later discovered by his nephew Wally West (an amalgam of DC's Wally West with Daniel Ketch), who also worked at the Quentin Carnival with him, and treated Blaze like a father. After this, Speed Demon battled against the Night Spectre alongside Wally, and they successfully freed the souls being held by Night Spectre, including the souls of Jay Garrick and Iris Simpson.
[edit] Wally West
The third Speed Demon was Wally West, the nephew of Blaze Allen, who contacted Merlin after accidentally discovering his uncle's secret identity. Wanting to help out his uncle, he had Merlin bond him with an unrevealed demon. Becoming the third Speed Demon, or the 'Kid Demon', Wally West fought alongside his uncle against the Night Spectre to free the souls held the evil demon. Wally West rides a flaming motorcycle in his first appearance as Speed Demon. When Blaze Allen realized that Wally West was not bonded with Etrigan, he feared what could be the true source of Wally's new powers.
[edit] Marvel Comics
[edit] James Sanders
James Sanders, a villainous version of the Whizzer, later called himself Speed Demon.
