Lash Lightning

Lash Lightning is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in Sure-Fire Comics #1 (June, 1940) from Ace Comics.

Publication history
In his first appearance this character was named Flash Lightning; the name was changed to Lash Lightning by the second issue, to avoid confusion with DC Comics’ Flash. Starting with issue #4, Sure-Fire was renamed Lightning Comics to take advantage of the star character’s popularity. He also appeared in issues 1 to 22 of the Ace title Four Favorites; about halfway through this run the “Lash” was dropped and he was simply named Lightning.

In Lightning Comics vol. 3 no. 1 (1942), Lash was given a sidekick in the form of Lightning Girl. She was seen in issues 6 to 22 of Four Favorites.

In 2008, Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl appeared in flashback in Dynamite Entertainment’s Project Superpowers #0; in the one-shot Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude, it’s stated that the two of them will appear in this line as part of a team called The Super-Mysterymen (presumably named after the Ace title Super-Mystery Comics).

Ace
In 1940, explorer Robert Morgan was delving into an Egyptian pyramid when he encountered an ancient mystic called The Old Man of the Pyramids; the mystic gave Morgan superpowers, on the condition that he use them to fight evil. His powers include super-strength, super-speed, flight, the ability to generate electricity and radiate “lightning heat,” and a measure of invulnerability (e.g., he can contain the explosion of a grenade with his bare hands); his powers can be recharged by electricity. Returning to the United States, Morgan donned a costume and changed his name to Lash Lightning (as opposed to maintaining a secret identity). His emblem is a triangle with a thunderbolt emerging from each of its three sides.

Later, Lash’s friend Isobel Blake gained powers identical to his when he accidentally charged her with thousands of volts of electricity; she donned a costume similar to his and became his partner Lightning Girl. Also, the two of them are now able to track each other via their “lightning impulses.”

Project Superpowers
At some point after World War II, both Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl were imprisoned in the mystical Urn of Pandora, along with many other heroes, by the misguided Fighting Yank; decades later, the Urn was broken and the heroes released. The duo were then recruited, along with six other heroes (including Captain Courageous, Mr. Raven, Soldier Unknown), and The Sword, to form a team called The Super-Mysterymen; the purpose of this team has not yet been revealed.

Living Legends
Lightning Girl is one of the sixteen heroes to have hopped sixty years in to the future in the pages of the Metahuman Press serial Living Legends. She was the only one of the characters to return to college in an attempt to regain a normal life, but the return of a still-young Robert Morgan has complicated matters in the still-ongoing serial.