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Sing it, comrades.
Brothers and sisters,
the revolution will be televised.
Since the weekend kidnapping
of heiress Felicia Kane
by the so-called
Libertarian People's Army
Shut up! I wanna hear this.
- to no avail.
The manhunt funded in part
by her newspaper magnate grandfather.
So, what do you think of that,
bourgeois ***?
Instead of blowing all that dough
on a manhunt
your family should be ready
to pay for you back now.
In one piece.
- Central City Police.
- Lt.
Garfield, please.
It's a call for you, Lt.
Garfield.
This is the call we've been
waiting for.
Let's nail this.
- You ready?
- Just keep him talking.
We need time to run the trace.
- This is Garfield.
- Hello again.
So here's the deal.
Three million dollars.
Small bills.
And freedom for our comrades
held as political prisoners.
"Political prisoners.
"
Three of these guys held up
a laundromat.
Let me speak to Felicia.
Let's cut to the chase, Warren.
If this deb's not worth the cash
to mumsie and popsie now
let's see how they feel about her
after we ship her back to you in pieces.
Okay.
No pieces.
Slow down, Steve.
Slow down.
Fear me, death merchants.
What the hell are you?
Justice.
What the hell is going on there?
- Mendez, where's my trace?
- Got it.
Got it.
It's on the 400 block
of Ramoca and Burrough.
I want squad cars there now,
damn it.
Let's go.
Come on, come on!
Relax, Ms.
Kane.
There will be someone here to help you.
Get! Get away!
Who could have done this?
I'm Dr.
Rebecca Frost.
I have an appointment.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
After you.
- No.
After you.
Well, I'm in here.
Small world.
So am I.
Yes, I know we can't have this kind
of bloodshed in our city.
Yes, ma'am.
I'm on it.
Allen, Dr.
Frost.
Dr.
Rebecca Frost,
Felicia Kane's psychiatrist? Barry Allen.
- Lieutenant.
- Do you have those test results for me?
No positive I.
D.
Ballistics says the shells are untraceable.
Our killer knows
where to buy his toys.
Excuse me.
If you don't mind,
I have a busy schedule.
The hospital says Ms.
Kane
is no longer in shock.
Why can't we talk to her?
My patient's been through
a major trauma.
First the kidnapping,
then the *** of her abductors.
The only coherent thing she said so far
is "the Flash.
" Repeatedly.
Well, I'm sure the Flash is no killer.
The Flash is a masked vigilante.
Probably an unstable personality.
I don't buy it.
The Flash has never shown
any homicidal tendencies.
He's saved a few lives,
including my own.
What do you know about the Flash?
Nothing.
That's what
makes him dangerous.
He's helped this city.
It's no big shock
the police envy the Flash.
He's free of the bureaucratic restraints
that hold you in check.
With all due respect, Dr.
Frost
as soon as Ms.
Kane is lucid,
you let me know.
She's our only witness.
You'll hear from me.
It's nice to see the police
are so compassionate.
Joe Kline, voice of the city.
My guests today
psychiatrist Rebecca Frost
and radical lawyer Chesley Keefe
who represents what's left
of the Libertarian People's Army.
Our topic, the aftermath
of the Felicia Kane kidnapping.
Dr.
Frost, is it really possible
that the Flash
is responsible for the massacre
of the LPA?
I believe he's lost his capacity
to tell right from wrong.
Come on.
The Flash is clearly a tool
of Felicia's father
unhappy that his daughter had joined
my clients' cause.
My patient was kidnapped
and brutally assaulted
by your so-called People's Army.
She joined the People's Army
of her own free will
guilt-ridden that her family
had *** the working classes.
You're overlooking
the possibility the Flash saved her life.
Whatever his extraordinary speed
the Flash is playing out
a macho adolescent fantasy.
Oh, boy.
With all its problems, does Central City
really need a self-appointed
guardian angel?
A masked man
who should be under observation,
not on the streets.
- Overeducated twit!
- Yeah, what is this?
Just when I thought
I was starting to get respect
suddenly I'm a killer,
a psychotic time bomb?
Why, because she said so?
I know the difference
between right and wrong.
Barry, it's only TV.
Bad TV.
She's no more than
a rich girl's overpaid therapist
rattling her saber for the clientele.
"Macho, adolescent fantasy.
"
Psychobabble buzzwords.
Barry, you shouldn't let it bother you.
I know, I know.
I shouldn't.
But you never knew me
before the accident.
I always finished second.
Second to Dad, second to Jay.
I was always in their shadow.
That has nothing to do
with your being the Flash.
Well, now, wait.
Maybe it has everything
to do with it.
Now no one can keep up with me.
I used to haunt the lab.
It was the only place I was in control.
Now it feels cramped confined.
I have this overwhelming need
for space, for speed.
The accident changed me.
Maybe more than I know.
But I do not lie awake at night
wondering if I'm gonna lose control.
I don't lose sleep over that either, Barry.
But I have to admit
I can never fully understand
what it is like to do the things you do.
But there is someone who does know.
Maybe you should talk to Dr.
Powell.
The Nightshade?
Whatever did you hope
to accomplish with that
that performance on Joe Kline's show?
I thought I might be a voice
of reason, Dr.
Powell.
This vigilante thing is a real problem.
I'm simply asking you to be careful.
As a member of my staff
your media profile reflects
on the hospital, for better or worse.
- How's Ms.
Kane?
- She's coming along.
Slowly.
Yes?
I was in town, I figured I'd drop off
the foundation check personally.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Am I interrupting?
- No, Curt.
How was Munich?
- The usual.
Closed a few trade deals,
picked up a few pointers.
Curtis Bohannan, Dr.
Rebecca Frost.
As in the Bohannan psychiatric wing,
or the Bohannan scandal?
Both, I'm afraid.
Despite his blue blood, Dad was quite
the mobster in the '50s.
Made a lot of money
hurting a lot of people.
The psychiatric wing
is one way I've tried
to make amends
for Dad's indiscretions.
Well, on behalf of the department,
thank you.
I saw you on the Kline show.
I think you're wrong.
The Flash didn't slaughter the LPA.
I'm with you there, Curt.
The Flash is no killer.
Are you saying the Flash
isn't a borderline case?
I'm saying there are more ways
to look at the world than your own.
I don't understand
how two civilized adults
can condone the acts of vigilantism
committed by the Flash.
Oh, God
I completely forgot about my 3:00.
Dr.
Frost
are you free for dinner sometime?
- Oh, thank you, no.
I'm much too busy right now.
Well, you can't fault me for trying.
Later, Des.
Is this Dr.
Powell?
- Yeah, it's Powell.
- Dr.
Powell, it's the Flash.
Funny you should call just now.
I need to talk to you.
Where can we meet?
- Same place.
- What time?
- You name the time, I'll be there.
- Eight p.
m.
- We have a lot to talk about.
- All right.
So, folks, it seems a distinct and
disappointing possibility that the Flash
has crossed the line from masked
adventurer to executioner.
- And given the good he's done the city
- No.
- the Flash has crossed the line
from masked adventurer to executioner.
It wasn't the Flash.
I rid this city of those parasites.
WCCN.
I'm the man who cleansed the streets
of the Libertarian People's Army.
- I want to speak with Mr.
Kline.
- You and every other lunatic in town.
You wanna leave a number
or the name of the dog?
No, you buffoon.
If you value your job, you won't
let Kline know it was you
that wouldn't put me through.
I'll get to you, Kline.
And then you'll listen.
Must you do that?
I need to talk.
Yeah, you sounded concerned
Barry.
You don't seem surprised.
Not really.
I always suspected
you were the Flash.
I'm flattered that you trust me this much.
You saved my life.
And you're the only other person I know
who wears the mask.
Oh, no.
Wore.
I came out of retirement
for that Ghost business.
Thought I was 25 again.
No
Nightshade is ancient history.
- Nostalgia didn't bring you here.
- Dr.
Powell
is Rebecca Frost right?
Am I wrong to put myself
outside the law?
Rebecca is well intentioned
but sometimes she can be
a real pain in the butt.
This is for you.
I stopped at the market.
I know how you get
and I don't keep
a well-stocked fridge anymore.
Thanks.
I mean, how sane can I be
you know, running around
playing guardian angel?
As long as you're questioning
your sanity, you still have it.
The problem with wearing the mask is,
it's easy to lose your identity.
You think you're invincible,
that you can get away with anything.
- Including ***.
- But you used tranquilizer darts.
I never set myself up as judge,
jury and executioner.
Corny as it sounds,
I still believe in the system.
Same here.
Unlike whoever took down the LPA.
Well, I have to find the killer.
Are you with me?
No.
I'm too old for this.
But I have been on the case
since Rebecca was on the Kline show.
Felicia's dad is rich enough
to have hired his own people
to look for his daughter.
Real professionals.
Then again, the LPA killing
might have nothing to do with the Kanes.
I'll check the dives,
talk to my street contacts
see if anyone's been out
recruiting hit men.
Boy, let me tell you, Johnny
this is my kind of place.
If anybody ever told
me that Double-decker Johnny
had gone straight,
I'd laugh right in their face.
Swear to God, boss.
I am a solid citizen.
This whole joint
is a hundred percent legit.
You realize everyone had you
figured for running this joint.
That was Boss Bohannan's territory.
I just worked for him.
Ran his numbers racket, stuff like that.
Until Nightshade busted us up.
Guys like him and the Flash are always
ruining it for guys like us.
To you.
- Double-decker Johnny?
- Yeah.
That's me.
Your crimes have finally
caught up with you.
Hey, I did my 20 years.
You got some beef, let's talk it over.
The highway to hell is paved with talk.
Actions speak louder than words.
Johnny!
They shot Johnny.
Get an ambulance.
Help, somebody! They killed Johnny.
For God's sake, please, quick!
Central's criminal community spent
another night in mourning
- after the slaying of onetime mobster
- Dr.
Powell.
What's with your generation?
Don't any of you ever knock?
Sorry.
I was in the building.
Forensics in the Double-decker killing.
The slugs match the LPA massacre.
If only I had been there
a moment sooner.
It stinks sometimes, knowing
that you can't save everyone.
You do what you can.
I received a tape from a man
claiming responsibility
for the onslaught on the underworld.
Let's roll this Channel 6 exclusive.
The execution of the Libertarian
People's Army is the first salvo
in my war on crime in Central City.
And all those half-citizens who would aid
and abet criminal activity
fear the wrath
of the deadly Nightshade.
Nightshade?
Ms.
Kane?
Have a seat, please.
Now, how are we this morning?
I'm fine.
- Much better.
Thank you.
- Good.
Have you spoken with the police yet?
She wasn't ready.
I think in a few days
It wasn't the Flash.
It wasn't.
It was something else.
It was horrible.
All in black, with glowing red eyes.
And the guns.
And the blood.
Everybody's dead.
- It's okay.
- Everybody's dead.
It's okay.
Why don't we go back
to your room, okay?
Let's go.
Come on.
First the Flash, now this Nightshade.
These masked men are turning
this city into a war zone.
- Sorry.
- No, it's me, really.
Work has made me crazy lately.
Yeah.
"Love's Smoldering Flames"?
Nice cover.
So, what brings you back?
Just can't get enough of us
law-and-order types?
Chief Cooper asked me
to come in as psychiatric advisor
on this deadly Nightshade case.
I specialize in sociopathic disorders.
Thank you.
So I guess that Nightshade video proves
that you're wrong about the Flash.
Are you the public defender too?
Look, the Flash may be innocent,
but that doesn't mean he's not disturbed.
I've always thought of him
as a concerned citizen.
- Excuse me, I have an appointment.
- And I've got a job to do.
What?
- What?
- You two make an interesting couple.
Stop.
- What are you doing?
- Some mobster's
using the name of Nightshade
to justify a bloodbath.
I've gotta clear my name.
I know how you feel,
but I can handle it.
Nope.
This is my fight now.
This deadly Nightshade taints my past.
The police have an APB out
for the Nightshade.
They don't know it's an imposter.
They're after you.
You coming?
Thursday the 14th.
Begin recording now.
I have taken measures to prepare
for battle with the Flash
should such a time come.
Central City has become an abyss
of darkness and fear
under the heel of a criminal horde.
The first Nightshade delivered justice
to gangland.
I will pay for my father's sins.
I will hunt down the jackals
hiding in the ivory towers
of the constitution.
The hucksters
who let the guilty run free.
Next time just tell me
where we're headed.
The hell with that.
Then you'd end up beating me here.
When I go to this much trouble,
I wanna get my money's worth.
How do you suppose the Double-decker
Johnny killing figures into all this?
I'm not sure.
I nailed him in that west side
real estate scam back in the '50s
when I took down Derek Bohannan
and his gang.
I used to have a stoolie
that hung out here
by the name of Fosnight.
I'll go around back.
To Johnny!
Yeah, poor Johnny.
He straightens out and gets this.
- It ain't the old days.
- No kidding.
That Nightshade's nuts, walking in here
and doing John like that.
You got that right, Pearl.
We're all afraid to work.
Until this Nightshade's history again,
I ain't even gonna jaywalk.
I want answers!
And I need them now.
You look like my second husband.
Eddie.
Only naked.
I said I want answers.
Relax.
You're the least of our worries.
Nightshade's popped half a dozen
small-timers last week.
I hope you're here
to protect us from him.
- This killer's an imposter.
- That's right.
No need for protection from me,
Pearl.
Not from the original.
We're all too old
to be adversaries anymore.
Let it be.
Fosnight.
Long time since I brought you down.
Short conning for Gorilla
out of Hell Town.
Yeah.
Took one of your tranq bullets.
I slept for three days.
At least I woke up.
This guy who's claiming to be you
he's another story.
But why kill Double-decker?
I heard he went straight.
Like an arrow.
This Nightshade
imposter's got snakes in his head.
I'll leave you here.
I know a way to get a profile on
just the kind of man we're looking for.
He ought to slow down.
He's gonna give himself a coronary.
So, what are you drinking?
Listen, do you need
a straw with that thing?
Here you are, Mr.
Keefe.
Why here and not the station?
Strictly professional.
Don't be nervous.
I just get
a little tired of dinner in a bag.
Now there's one thing
we can certainly agree on.
Too many dinners at the desk
the past few weeks.
Here.
Oh, I am starving.
Now, I've tallied the data up
and I think there's some interesting
- Hold it.
- Excuse me?
You just sat down.
You're digging in your files already.
Are you always like this?
No, of course not.
It's just that
- What?
- I'm very protective of my patients.
To be honest with you, the kidnapping
was very hard for me to deal with.
I understand.
Okay.
If our brief moment of personal
revelation is concluded
l've got a pretty solid take on both
the Nightshade and the Flash.
- The Flash has no part in this.
- Do you want what I've got or not?
Now, they're both
classic overachievers
looking for affection they didn't get
from their parents.
The costume is a blatant cry
for attention.
Oh, come on.
This misplaced civic virtue
is often triggered
by the loss of a parent or sibling.
In this case, most likely a violent crime.
Conceivably, it's guilt
over his own behavior that
The Flash.
Thank you.
I should have guessed.
Now, I mean, it's all supposition,
but I think
I was right.
He is in your pocket.
- What are you talking about?
- Don't be coy.
What do you think,
giving me all that hassle, Dr.
Frost?
You say the Flash isn't working
for Felicia Kane's family.
You're sitting right here
Barry?
Nasty little
Oh, God.
He's dead.
Thank God no one else got hurt.
A judicial system that allows legal pimps
like Chesley Keefe to flourish
has created a criminal class
too dense to prosecute
and too powerful to contain.
But no more.
No one is safe.
Not the punks, not the wise guys.
Nor the lawyers protecting
these ***.
Pray for the guilty.
Pray for a life, pal.
Nobody loved
Chesley Keefe, but the system says
we're all entitled
to legal representation
scums and saints alike.
But this Nightshade is a wanton killer.
A fascist terrorist with the means
to carry out his own bloody agenda.
He's no better than those he seeks
to eliminate.
That's the way it looks from here.
I'm Joe Kline:
Voice of the city.
You'll pay for that, Kline.
It came from
a German weapons manufacturer.
No help from them.
Their clients pay for privacy.
You do your homework, pal.
Our friend certainly knows
where to buy his weapons.
Hey, guys, come on.
I came here of my own free will.
How about losing the blindfold?
- I'll be good.
- Not part of the deal.
- Not a chance.
- Do a guy a favor and what do you get?
Treated like a street punk.
What did you bust
Double-decker Johnny for?
Real estate scam.
Bohannan's father was behind it.
Johnny gets 20 for the swindle
and Bohannan walks.
Why?
He had a hotshot lawyer.
Fosnight, who represented Bohannan?
Oh, jeez, that goes way back
Chesley Keefe.
He was a real pistol back then.
This all goes back
to the Bohannan business.
The son of one of Bohannan's victims?
No, this has to be someone
with resources.
Someone hurt by the whole crime.
Curt Bohannan has spent
his entire life and fortune
atoning for the actions
of his father.
You're saying the richest man
in Central City
is playing executioner?
Bohannan just came back
from Germany
same place these spikes are found.
The deadly Nightshade
is a costly enterprise.
Then let's pay a social call.
- Drop you somewhere, Fosnight?
- Yeah.
Thanks.
I'll ride with Nightshade.
You're a little fast for me.
Come on.
If you'd wait for me once in a while
After you.
You should stay in better shape.
Did you really search every room
in this mansion already?
Twice.
And I found
the secret passage in here.
Kind of puts your garage to shame,
doesn't it?
Do you have a headquarters?
On my salary, an apartment.
What is this?
Some kind of super marionette?
What did you find?
Scrapbook of my exploits.
"Nightshade puts aviator in a tailspin.
"
"Police blast Nightshade vigilante tactics.
"
God, I haven't thought
about these in years.
Here it is.
- This guy's crazy about me.
- Or just crazy.
The original Nightshade
takes down Bohannan, Sr.
Now junior wants to become you.
What puzzles me
is why Curt Bohannan
waited until now
to start this deadly
Nightshade business.
Maybe your reappearance
as the Nightshade triggered it.
Wait.
This tape is dated today.
Joe Kline's public opposition
to my crusade
shows he's clearly a puppet
of the criminal narcotic axis.
Like his audience,
I was duped into trusting him.
For the sake of the city,
Kline must be eliminated today.
Kline's show is live at 10.
Mr.
Kline, this city will remain
a solid knot of paranoia
as long as the deadly
Nightshade roams the streets.
That's a very interesting theory.
But what do you think it is that drives
a man so far over the line?
What's that?
What drives me, Kline?
A chance to cleanse the earth
of criminal filth.
Keep those cameras here.
Here's your chance, Kline.
Confess your misdeeds.
How about confessing yourself,
Nightshade?
If we could just talk.
I don't think it's a good idea
to antagonize him now.
Your day will come soon enough.
You'll see that I'm right.
Get down!
I'm the only man who can save
this city from itself.
I am the Nightshade.
Get me coverage of all of this.
Dr.
Frost said that you were a killer.
Would you like to respond?
Get that mike out of my face.
Then how about sharing the real you
with our audience?
Ask his agent.
He got me in the leg.
See, I told you.
You should have waited for me.
I didn't kill him.
He's just gonna be
asleep for a while.
"May 17th, 1955.
We're receiving pressure
from the mayor's office
to stop this masked man
the newspapers call Nightshade.
I have chosen not to do so.
His work has put a number
of criminals in jail
and I count him on our side
in spirit, if not in uniform.
I have my suspicions as to
the Nightshade's identity.
I will not expose him.
I leave it to the discretion
of those who follow me
as police captain.
Julius Schwartz.
"
Good Lord.
Des.
Easy.
Your capacity for healing
is unbelievable.
Believe it.
But believe me,
it still hurts like living hell.
Not bad
having another doctor on call.
I wasn't so lucky.
I had to do most
of my own doctoring
which was a real drag, considering
how many scrapes I got myself into.
Bohannan is probably in hiding.
All right.
I'll find him.
You stay put.
Which is exactly what
you should be doing.
Even with your four-star metabolism,
you took a real beating out there.
Half speed.
All right?
I'll add 30 seconds to my travel time.
Youth is wasted on the young.
Lieutenant.
Warren.
I haven't seen you in weeks.
Where have you been hiding?
I'm sorry, Des.
I can hardly believe this.
But
What? What is it?
We have evidence that you're Nightshade.
I'm arresting you for ***.
You and Garfield go way back.
Why didn't you tell him it's Bohannan?
And explain to him
how we arrived at our information?
How the Nightshade and the Flash
broke into Bohannan's house?
How those two ruthless vigilantes
set themselves above the law?
Take a good look, Barry.
Real bars.
Real trouble.
Maybe we ought to let the cops
handle it from here.
You really believe that?
I don't give a damn what anyone thinks.
You're my friend
and I am gonna get you out.
And that means I have to bring
Bohannan in.
Right now.
- What?
- He didn't do it!
Dr.
Powell
can I be straight?
Are you the deadly Nightshade?
I don't know, doctor.
What do you think?
The hospital.
My God, Powell's garage.
Bohannan's figured it out.
I can't believe it, right here
in my police station.
- What happened?
- Some other Nightshade
he throws tear gas into the station.
He tears through us like a tank
and he busts Dr.
Powell out of jail.
Look at this.
How the hell did he do it?
And how are we gonna stop him?
He knocked a dozen cops senseless.
And he busted Dr.
Powell out of jail.
Come on, get it up.
Get it up.
Curt.
You're not well.
You.
The Nightshade!
My hero, my inspiration.
After all those years, you put your mask
back on to deal with the Ghost.
I began to track you down.
When I heard this evening they arrested
the Nightshade at Central Hospital
my suspicions about your secret life
were confirmed.
I broke you out of jail as an ally.
And you refuse to join me.
You're way over the deep end, Curt.
- Killing people is
- Not people!
- *** of the earth.
- Now, how did this happen?
We're friends.
Come on, let me help you.
I don't think so.
This is all the help I need.
What the hell is that?
An exoskeleton
to accelerate my response
to the Flash.
To give me a fighting chance.
It should have been all three of us.
You, me, the Flash.
Yeah, just a bunch of crime fighters
out murdering the bad guys.
Exterminating vermin.
Striking fear in the criminal heart.
Curt, why don't you forget
all about this crime-fighting junk
donate some of your millions
to a poverty program.
I worshipped you.
I wanted to be like you, to be you.
Not like
Your father.
- It's over, Bohannan.
- Like hell it is.
There's only room for one champion
of justice in Central City.
If that's the way you want it.
Only way to stop him
is a short circuit.
- How's the leg?
- Fine.
How's he doing?
He'll live.
Done more damage to himself
than you could ever do.
- No need to give everything away.
- Yeah.
Thanks, Red.
Say, you wouldn't happen to have
another one of those
sandwiches on you, would you?
No.
Come in.
Barry, my lad!
Nice to see you.
I can't even open a newspaper
or turn on the TV without seeing you.
"Fifties' hero unmasked.
"
I got me a book deal,
couple of movie offers.
Better leave Garfield out of the story.
He can't believe you were able to hide
your identity from him all these years.
He'll get over it.
But you didn't get in
your Sunday best
just to come see me, did you?
Actually, I'm meeting someone
for dinner.
Anybody I know?
Professionally and personally.
I'll take that as a compliment,
you sexist pig.
- Ready to go, Barry?
- She asked me.
What was I supposed to do,
wait for him to ask me?
He was always disappearing.
You better be careful of her.
She's a dangerous woman.
I'd take it real slow.
Especially with that limp.
- I think I can handle it.
- I'll be the judge of that.
Oh, yeah?
So, Dr.
Powell, what about you?
You got plans for the weekend?
Yeah.
I thought I'd have
one hell of a garage sale.
You had to be there.