From Superman (Vol. 1) #199 (1967)
Superman and the Flash had been teammates in the Justice League of America for seven years by the time 1967 rolled around. Together, they had defeated world conquerors, intergalactic aliens, and extra-dimensional versions of themselves. Still, the question of who was faster between the two was never answered. Fans had been asking it for years and, in Superman #199, it was officially addressed.
When the United Nations approached Superman and the Flash with the idea of a race around the world, the pair agreed. Money raised by the event would go to needy countries and the heroes were happy to help. Though the pair would end this event in a tie and they would have a half dozen rematches in the future, this first race was something special. It was something no one had seen before.
The penciler of this issue was Curt Swan, the legendary Superman artist. His version of Superman is still how many fans view the Man of Steel. The writer of this story was a 16 year-old Jim Shooter, already an employee of two years at DC Comics. It was a fun pairing that lead to this first memorable race.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
16! Jesus!
the icing on the cake is the monitor created by Green Lantern, so they can keep up with the racers.
I love this.
Who’s the dude in the hat? Just some degenerate gambler they picked up at the local OTB?
That is a race official. If you squint, you can read the word ‘Official’ on his hat in the first panel.
Good catch. lol
I love the Flash/Superman races!
My personal favorite is the two-parter from DC Comics Presents #1 and 2 drawn by the legendary (and one of my favorite Superman artists) Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. I even got my son hooked on ’em when I dug my copy of Adventures in the DC Universe #14 out of the longboxes, featuring Superboy vs. Wally West.
And right above my laptop as I type is my framed collection of Superman #199, Flash #175, and World’s Finest #198-99. It’s a hell of a quadryptich, featuring the classic Superman/Flash races from the 60’s and early 70’s.
Jim Shooter was 14 when he started writing for DC?
Suddenly, the Silver Age makes sense!
I like that, even though they can run about as fast as each other, Superman has to swim.
Curt Swan draws the definitive Superman for me, even though he was long gone before I ever got into comics. His Superman is the standard.
The cover for this issue blew my mind as a young person just starting to read comics.
Batman definitely knows what the obstacles are, he’s just humouring that race official.
the ties and even the races that superman won always bugged me. i always thought that the Flash should be the fastest being on earth.
i like how Johns(in Flash Rebirth) had Barry confess to Superman that those races were for charity and fun right before he burns him.
There’s no reason Superman should be swimming. He’s just showing off.