Flash

Michae Natzel, Hour: 2

__//**Flash**//__ //__**Background Information**__// Flash is a fictional superhero who possesses incredible speed. There are three different generations of Flash and each of them gained their speed in a different way. These three men are the only people that have ever been able to tap into the Speed Force energy field. This field inables them to travel at the speed of light. The first generation Flash, Jay Garrick, was just an ordinary college student who was also trying to make it as a football star. Once he realized he couldn't make it as a football player, he decided to become a research scientist. Jay was able to gain his incredible superspeed in a freak accident where he accidentally inhaled hypercharged atoms of a radioactive liquid. Jay wore a red and blue uniform and put his efforts into creating the legendary Justice Society of America and the wartime All-Star Squadron. The second generation of Flash was Barry Allen. Barry started off as a sluggish police chemist who had always idolized Flash (Jay Garrick). One night when Barry was working late into the evening in the police labratory, a lightening bolt crashed through the window of the labratory. This lightening bolt shattered the vials of chemicals surrounding Barry. After being drenched in the surrounding chemicals, Allen took on the name of his childhood idol, Flash. The third generation of flash comes in the form of Wally West. Wally is the nephew of Barry Allen, the second generation of Flash, and gained his incredible speed at a young age. Wally was visiting his Uncle Barry and was with him at the labratory when the lightening bolt struck. He also was covered with the chemicals and became the first "kid" Flash. __//**"Larger than Life" Qualities of Flash:**//__ Flash is well known for his blazing speed. Flash is able to move, think, and react at superhuman speeds, which sets him apart from others. He is the only superhero that has ever been able to get into and access the Speed Force energy field. Due to his tremendous speed, Flash is able to travel through walls, travel through time, and even lend out and borrow speed. In order for him to travel at such a high rate of speed without feeling the resulting consequences of the air friction, Flash is surrounded by an invisible aura, which surrounds his body. On various occasions Flash and Superman, another person notorious for their speed, have come together and raced one another to see who is the fasted. On numerous occasions, by way of running, Flashe proved himself to be faster. Due to his superhuman speed, Flash is also able to read at an incredible rate of speed. By reading fast he is able to process information much quicker than others and is able to take in more information over a shorter period of time. Another attribute that Flash has because of his speed is the abitlity talk communicate faster than normal. This usually only occurs when one speedster is communicating with another speedster. For instance, Flash and Superman communicate through speed talking. Speed talking usually occurs without the presence of non-fast people, but may appear when Flash becomes overly excited. __//**Flash has "Good" on his side:**//__ Flash is not known for fighting his battles alone, however he is known for fighting his battles with the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron. These groups are made up of members that are superheros who have come together fight against evil. Some of the most prominent members of these groups are Superman, Wonderwoman, Batman, and the Green Lantern. The book written about the All-Star Squadron takes place around the time of WWII. In the book, President Franklin Roosevelt gathers all of the available superheroes at the White House and asks them to work together to battle the sabotage and to maintain peace on the home front. At the time, many of the Justice Society members had been captured by the villain Per Degaton. But befor they could be rescued, the available heroes had to first guard against a potential attack on the American West Coast. Degaton himself used stolen Japanese planes to launch attacks and the Squadron's first major mission was to stop the attack and rescue the captured heroes.

__//**Is on the Move:**//__ Flash is always on the move. He is constantly fighting against crime and trying to protect the innocent people of society. He utilizes his superhuman speed to react and fix problems that he comes across. He and his league of superheroes that have banned together move from mission to mission, while still trying to maintain a dailey life which includes their family and job. However, each and every member is prepared to put their life on hold for the community and Flash is able to use his speed by responding to problems quickly. He is one of the first superheroes to the scene of the crime and he is always ready for anything that the villain might do to throw him and his allies off.

__//**Hermes (Roman Name: Mercury)**//__

__//**Background Information**//__ Hermes was the son of Zeus and of, the nymph, Maia. He was the god of shepherds, god of travellers, god of merchants, and even the god of thieves. He also had the role of being the messenger for the gods. As a baby, hermes snuck out of his crib one night and traveled to Pieria. Once he got there, he rounded up Appollo's herd of cattle and drove them home. He was so smart at such a young age that he forced some of the cattle to walk backwards in order to lose some of their tracks. On his way back from Pieria, Heremes also killed a tortoise and cleaned off its entrails. Once he got home he sacrificed two of the cows to Olympian Gods. He accomplished all of this before noon and soon after went back to his cradle to rest. As he got older hermes had the body type of an athletic man and his attributes were his winged travelers cap, caduceus (golden staff), and winged sandals. __//**"Larger than Life" Qualities of Hermes:**//__ Hermes also is well known for his incredible speed. One of Hermes' major roles is being the messenger for the gods. However, Hermes is not you everyday messenger. He possesses superhuman speed. This enables him to travel and carry messages to the gods at an extremely high rate of speed. Hermes also also has superhuman reflexes and has incredible stamina. This allows him to travel at a high rate of speed for an extremely long time. It also enables him to avoid any obstacles that may be in his way. While standing at 5'll" and weighing around 520 pounds Hermes is not your typical "speedy" guy. He is extremely strong and his extra bulk does not take away from his speed what so ever. He has extreme hand to hand combat skills and is also and incredible wrestler. __//**Hermes has "Good" on his side:**//__ Hermes is an extremely athletic man, but physical characteristics can only get you so far if you are on your own. Hermes has Zeus and Hercules on his side for if he is ever in need. Zeus overthrew his father to take over Mount Olympus and is well known for his ability to control the weather. Zeus is also well know for his extreme resistance to physical injury. Even if he was to be injured he would be able to heal himself at an extremely excelled and rapid rate. Hercules, on the other hand, also has a greater resistance to physical injury than any other Olympian god. Although he may not have the resistance that Zeus does, his resistance to physical injury is also top notch and he as well can heal himself at an accelerated rate. If Hermes was ever in need of back up, he would be more than okay. Defeating Zeus, Hercules, and Hermes would be nearly impossible based on their physical stature and the fact that all of them possess superhuman strength makes this even more unlikely.

Hermes is always on the move considering he his the messenger of the gods. He is constantly relaying messages from god to god and it seems as though he never gets to rest. However, you wouldn't be able to tell if Hermes was tired due to his incredible stamina. This stamina enables him to travel at a high rate of speed while relaying the messages on. Hermes is always bombarded with numerous messages at a time and he has no choice but to partake in his role as the messenger.
 * //__Is on the Move:__//**

Source 1:http://www.superherostuff.com/Biographies/the_flash_biography_history_of.html Source 2:http://www.fulmersbelly.com/img/flash.jpg Source 3:http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/17541/620968-hermesz_large.jpg Source 4:http://www.greek-gods-and-goddesses.com/greek-god-hermes.html Source 5:http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/flash2.jpg Source 6:http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/europe/greek/hermes2.gif Source 7:http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/all-star-squadron-001.jpg?w=400&h=304 Source 8:http://theora.com/images/Zeus.jpg Source 9:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_(comics)#Powers_and_abilities Source 10:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Star_Squadron#Fictional_history