Tom versus the Flash number 292 or Fiona's worse than Iris ever once.

Welcome back to the Flash number 292 to December 1980 issue featuring a cover pencil by Don Heck, inked by Dick Giordano, edited by Len Ween. Our first story in this issue is mirror mirror

off the wall written by Carrie Bates, art by Don Heck, lettered by

Milt Snapein, colored by Gene D'Angela. Remember last issue, Barry Allen's finally able to convince

his beautiful neighbor, Fiona Webb, that he is not trying to kill her. Common problem in the

early stages of relationship. I went through the same thing with my current wife now. It took a long

time. I had to catch the

assassin who was trying to kill her. He was hired by a guy that looked just like me. This happens all the time. This is why comic books are so successful. They're able to tap into real issues of life. Well, now that Fiona knows that Barry's not trying to kill her, she immediately switches to wanting to date him as Barry has wanted to for so long. We see them out on an exciting date to a place that I wouldn't

necessarily bring a date to, a carnival. There's not as, as the caption says, there's not as many

carnivals as there used to be back in the day. The DC Universe, that means there used to be

a carnival every day, a different carnival every day in the DC Universe. Now, it's two to three a week, different criminal gangs, different freaks at the shows, you know, Frankenstein, all that type of stuff. It's cut down to two or three a week. You see Barry Allen and Fiona Webb at this carnival. They're sharing some cotton candy, which a little childish.

Fiona seems to be quite smitten with Barry's techniques.

Barry's a little bit old-fashioned.

She makes a joke about what are they going to go bobbing for apples next.

But Barry sees something he definitely wants to participate in.

It is a Hall of Mears, which Fiona again, incredulously says,

oh, we're really, really going to do this. Barry explains that he's got ulterior motives for going to the house of mirrors, and we see inside, they are making out a little bit. Hmm, someone's gotten over his wife. So, walk around the house of mirrors, the hall of mirrors, and there's all kinds of crazy things. They look all stretched out. They look all fat and short.

Barry makes a joke about now he knows what it feels like to be his friend, Ralph Dibney. Remember, everyone knows who Ralph Dibney is and Barry Allen gets to be his friend. Well, they're walking through the hall of mirrors. They get to one set of mirrors that just looks like a normal set of mirrors. And Fiona seems extremely confused by this. Barry also seems kind of confused, but he says maybe it's just a change of pace,

but you notice is something else.

The reflection in the mirror is not his face. It is of Joe Scudder. Again, Carrie Bates, love his writing. He doesn't get the names right. It's Sam Scudder's the mirrormaster. He says, it's the face of Joe Scudder, the notorious mirror master. The mirror master's giving a message to who's ever looking in the mirror. Luckily, Barry notices only he seems to be

noticing what's going on, or otherwise maybe there'd be some questions about why Sam Scudder's

addressing the flash, even though it's Barry in there, and he sees his reflection in the mirror.

...