Born Jason Peter Garrick, the original Flashed gained his powers as a college student in nineteen forty. Garrick was doing experiments when he accidentally inhaled vapours of Hard water ( Heavy water would be used in later stories) when he fell asleep in his lab. Retroactive continuity would later adapt the event to make it appear that the vapours had only activated a metagene. When Garrick awoke he found that he could run, travel and move his body at super human speed. After a brief stint as a college football player Garrick decided to use his powers for the greater good of mankind. He donned a red shirt with a lighting bolt going down the centre and a metal helmet ( The helmet was Jay’s fathers, Joseph , who had fought in World War One with it ) styled with a wing on each side ( designed to appear like the Greek messenger god Mercury ). Garrick would later be seen fighting with the helmet but also using it as a shield and offensive weapon examples of this can be seen in Infinite Crisis. Garrick’s fist case as the Flash would involve bringing the Faultless Four ( a group of corporate blackmailers ) to justice. In several earlier stories it was clear that the public knew that The Flash’s secret identity was Jay Garrick but it was later show that when Garrick was in public he would constantly vibrate his molecules making sure that any photographs taken of him would be blurred and his identity would not be revealed to the general public. Garrick was also the first chairman of the Justice Society of America. Here, like most of the Flashes, he befriended the Green Lantern of the time, Alan Scott.

The Flash would soon become one of the most known and best loved characters of The Golden , Silver and modern age comics.

Powers

Like all Flashes Jay Garrick possesses super speed. This allows him to move any limb or body part at superhuman speed. His reflexes are also akin to this and react with the same speed as the rest of his body. Also like all the other Flashes Garrick has an aura that protects him from all wind friction acanthi when he is travelling at super speed. Unlike the other Flashes Jay is a met human meaning his powers originate from a mutation with in his body. Although this is true Garrick still does have a connection to the speed force but it is no as strong as any other of the Flashes.

Although it is never stated or used it has been speculated that Garrick also had the ability to phase through matter. Evidence supporting the theory is that Garrick used the ability to hide him self from photographers and so this level of self control over his atoms would allow him to use his phasing ability.