Flash #199

Flash #199 (On Sale: June 4, 1970) has a startling cover by Gil Kane.

We begin with our cover-story  "Flash? -- Death Calling" by Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane and the horrid Vince Colletta, which opens as a continuation of the cover. The cop on the cover goes over to the bench and wakes the Flash up. The people are aghast, as the Flash is dead. But Flash arises and is soon confronted by a thief who does battle with the Flash, who seems to have lost his powers. Before the thief can do real damage to the scarlet speedster, a group of kids tackles him. A cop shows up and tells Flash to stop playing like he is a hero and get rid of that costume. When he can't pay for a bus trip, Flash is left on the street, only to be found by Iris, who is overjoyed that her nightmare is ending.

She recalls Barry leaving their house to go to a TV interview with Dr. Hollister, of being told that the Flash had died, of going to his funeral. She runs to the Flash and unmasks him, only to find it is not Barry, but a bewildered Dr. Hollister.

We learn that while protecting Dr. Hollister from a gang of crooks, the Flash is exposed to chemicals the doctor was using in his experiments with suspended animation. The Flash collapsed and was declared dead.

Hollister was attempting to honor the Flash by wearing his costume around town. He blames himself for the death of the hero. Eventually he realizes that the Flash may not be dead. He unearths the Flash's body and brings it to his laboratory. However, he is unable to revive the fallen speedster.

Then, the crooks return to threaten Hollister. A sudden lightning bolt crashes into the lab, deflects off a gun and strikes the Flash. He is revived by the bolt, then apprehends the gang and returns home to an overjoyed Iris.

This is followed by the letter's page, this time with missives from Martin Pasko and Alan Brennert.

This is followed by "The Explosive Heart of America" also by Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane and the horrid Vince Colletta.  Barry Allen is contacted by Colonel K, a secret agent for a intelligence agency and is tasked with enlisting the Flash in locating a new super weapon known as the Y-Missile in China. The Flash searches the entire country and eventually finds the missile site just as the Y-Missile is being launched. He holds on to the missile which speeds around the world and is set to land in the center of the United States. 

The Flash disables the missile by destroying the homing beacon which served to guide the missile. With the beacon destroyed, the threat is ended. When he returns to his office, he finds that Colonel K left a message on his desk thanking The Flash. Though it looks like Kanigher was setting up future stories involving the Colonel, he is never seen again.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.