Central City (DC)

Central City in The Flash: Future's End v1 #1.

Central City is a city that features in DC Comics.

History

Pre-Crisis

Central City was a populated city that existed within the United States of America on Earth.

Originally, the flatlands were inhabited centuries ago by the ancient Honru Tribe that were the most powerful in the North American Midwest. Once a year, they braves of the tribe would gather for secret ritual to appease Urtumi who was the vilest and most evil of the Manitou Spirits in the heavens. During this moment, they would allow the Scavenger of Spirits to feed off them thus appeasing the vile being for another year. Such was the case for many years until one day mysterious beings in a space vessel arrived who defeated the Urtumi and banished the creature into the nether regions from whence it came with a protective tablet keeping the monster banished. (Adventure Comics v1 #463)

Later on, Central City came under attack from a being of metal called Katmos. He had been the ruler of a race of beings that evolved from iron, as opposed to being based on the element carbon making him a creature of living metal. His race ruled the Earth some eight million years in the past until their civilization was wiped out by a meteor that crashed into the Earth. Katmos, alone, managed to cheat death by sealing himself in a suspended animation tube. Freed years later by an archaeologist searching for artifacts of early man, Katmos decided to conquer the world once more. Using his mind-control ray, he started a series of thefts that would aid his goals. The newspapers reported the latest robbery, describing the perpetrator as a man made of metal who robbed an electrical plant and carried away a three-ton transformer. When the robber was spotted in Central City Park, the Flash arrived at the scene to confront the robber who had used the parts stolen to construct a mind-control gun and was testing it on the park-goers. The Flash was not fast enough to avoid being hit by the gun, and when he woke he found himself in a cylinder in the robber’s cavern headquarters. Katmos then introduced himself and declared his intent to conquer the world again. He told Flash the cylinder he was in would activate machinery that would make him 1,000 times heavier than normal and unable to move once it was struck by the rays of the sun through a hole in the cavern ceiling. The Flash then vibrated his feet, building up the air pressure in the bottom of the cylinder and launching it into the sky. He crashed to earth, freeing himself of the cylinder, and after managing to avoid Katmos’ blasts from his mind-control ray knocked him out and handed him over to the police. Afterwards he made it in the nick of time for a dinner date with Iris, but she was more interested in reading the evening newspaper’s coverage of Flash’s latest adventure. (The Flash v1 #105)

An incident in Central City saw a stone gargoyle falling from a body lead to the spirit of the demon Vadtara being released from it after being imprisoned for years. The creature managed to hide within the body of Al Desmond and caused his reversion into his Dr. Alchemy persona where the ancient mythological Fire Demon intended to purify the entire city in elemental flames. The Flash managed to confront Dr. Alchemy and appealed to Al Desmond who managed to gain enough strength to fight back against the demon's influence thus restoring his humanity. This thwarted the actions of Vadtara and Central City was spared from destruction s a result. (The Flash v1 #230)

The supervillain Goldface came to relocate to Central City where he attempted to take over the criminal underworld there. (The Flash v1 #315)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Central City

Around 10 years ago, the city was in its prime and considered the gem of the Mid-West. This changed though when the factories began to re-open in Keystone where jobs and money crossed back over to its twin city. (The Flash v2 #177)

Central City came to experience a wave of racial violence, caused or at least exacerbated by politician and white supremacist W. James Heller. In his costumed identity of supposed super-hero William Hell, Heller captured only non-white criminals creating the false impression that non-whites were primarily responsible for Central City's criminal activity whilst recruiting white criminals for his Aryan Empire organization. When Heller attempted to incite further violence at a political rally, Suicide Squad member Deadshot impersonated William Hell to oppose Heller's racist rhetoric, turning Heller's own charade against him, since the costumed "hero" proved more popular with the public than any politician. Heller quickly donned his costume to, as William Hell, denounce Deadshot/Hell as an impostor, and in the ensuing conflict, William Hell was wounded and his injuries blamed on Heller's followers, partially defusing Central City's racial strife.

Victor Stone also known as the superhero Cyborg came to move to Central City as part of an effort to establish himself as the town's resident hero. (The Flash v2 #180)

By the 25th century, it came to be known as the Central Cityplex with the Thawne's being natives of the city. (The Flash Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Central City

The Fletcher family were noted as being the founders of Central City which thrived for 150 years. (Flash v4 #28)

Among the most prolific killers the city had ever known as the Broome Hill Butcher. (Flash v4 #27)

Later, much of downtown was demolished by the Rogues, acting under the orders of the other-dimensional Crime Syndicate. Due to a miscommunication and the Rogues' own decency, only property was damaged, they avoided taking lives. (Forever Evil v1 #3)

After his battle against Professor Zoom, senior authorities within Central City deemed the Flash to be a menace after the damage done from the battle. Thus, the CCPD came to deputise the Rogues to serve as special agents with the goal of apprehending the Flash. (The Flash v4 #48)

Later on, Central City came to be engulfed in a Speed Force storm whose aftereffects resulted in many people becomng speedsters as a result. (The Flash v5 #2)

The Cluemaster after faking his own death decided to relocate his operations to Central City. He then established a new criminal empire within the area where he provided good pay and treated his henchmen well. His growing success, however, drew the ire of his competitors who hired a mercenary named La Tombe to eliminate him. At this time, Cluemasters daughter the Spoiler was looking to shut down her fathers operations and arrest him but she came to save his henchmen from the hired assassin. Despite this help, Cluemaster sent some of his hired guns to kill Spoiler but the criminals dispatched were all defeated. Afterwards, Drake along with Young Justice joined Spoiler where they succeeded in arresting the Cluemaster and shutting down his operations in the city. (Young Justice v3 #18)

The multiversal warlord Brutus briefly emerged in Central City during his forays onto the mainstream Earth where he had been pursued by Hippolyta. The Amazon battled Brutus who then detected the arrival of the Justice League where he decided to return to his world for now. The League then arrived at the scene where they spoke about her battle with the superpowered invader. (Justice League v4 #60)

Gregory Wolfe later made a bid to become Mayor of Central City and hired Blacksmith to aid him. Secretly, he used her mafia connections to fund his campaign in exchange for commuting sentences. Ultimately, he won the campaign and his first act was to release the Rogues and deputise them as special police officers attached to the CCPD. In this role, they were tasked with arresting any vigilantes operating in the city leading to a clash with the Flash. (The Flash v1 #788)

Overview

According to one account, it was located a thousand miles west of Metropolis. (Action Comics v1 #441)

Locations in the city included the:

• Brookfield Heights :
• Chubbuck :
• City Center :
• Danville :
• Englewood :
• Lawrence Hills :
• Leawood :
• Mounds View :
• New Brighton :
• Petersburg :
• University Town :
• Westminster :
• Utopia Towers : an apartment block occupied only by single people. (The Flash v1 #295)
• Windsor Heights :
• Hall of Records :
• Central City Museum :
• Central City University :
• Flash Museum :
• Infantino Bank and Trust : a bank that offered a high standard of security to its customers with round the clock surveillance and full non-lethal protection. (JLA v1 #28)
• Infantino High School : (The Flash v5 #58)
• 23 Club : (The Flash v1 #312)
• Skyline Hotel : (The Flash v1 #312)

It was home to the Central City 500 that was a great automobile race with the box offices selling many tickets and being filled with cash. (The Flash v1 #168)

Organisations that operated in Central City included:

• Central City Police Department :
• Central City Diamond :
• Central City Miners :
• Central City Cougars :
• Willens and Kohl : a law firm in the city. (The Flash v1 #140)
• Picture News :
• Palladium Jewelry : (Showcase v1 #13)
• Ace Moving and Storage : a moving company that helped their customers take their belongings between properties. (The Flash v1 #295)
• Network : an underground criminal black market that dealt in weapons, goods and other equipment where they made a lucrative business which even brought profit to the city with their operations headed by the Blacksmith. (Flash v2 #187)
• Black Hole : a criminal organisation that specialised in high-tech crimes and using advanced equipment as part of their experiments. (The Flash v5 #1)

During ancient times, the Honru Tribes that inhabited the region believed in a Manitou Spirit called Urtumi who was a Scavenger of Spirits. (Adventure Comics v1 #463)

Its theatre district was noted to had been likely the best outside of New York. (The Flash v2 #177)

Central City University later constructed a giant electronic machine called a Lical that was a lightning calculator which was the biggest and most expensive 'mechanical brain' created in the world. Electronic impulses were able to travel through the computer in less than one hundred-thousandth of a second. (The Flash v1 #134)

Members

• Ira West :
• Nadine West :
• Barry Allen :
• Iris West :
• Darwin Elias : a male scientist who had an interest in studying the Speed Force. (The Flash v4 #11)
• Meena Dhawan : a dark haired female scientist who joined S.T.A.R. Labs and was appointed the head of their Speed Force test centre after a Speed Force storm hit Central City and gave a number of people speed related powers with Dhawan being among them. (The Flash v5 #4)
• Hutson : a doctor and scientist at the physics laboratory at Central City University. (The Flash v1 #134)
• Paul Barrett : a male public defender who was assigned a case on several Flash Rogues. (Flash v1 #130)
• Darryl Frye :
• Wiley Summers :
• Cecile O'Malley :
• Peter Farley :
• Sam Scudder :
• James Jesse :
• Beauregard Baer : a male human who was a young writer in the city who was abducted by the Golden Glider where she used hypnosis to make him her pawn. She crafted him a masked identity as the Ringmaster who utilised gadgets shaped as rings and had him become a new hero in the city in an effort to disgrace the Flash. (The Flash v1 #262)
• Creed Phillips : a male human who went into politics where he became a senator and conducted an election campaign in Central City. During this time, he intended to clean up crime in the city with this attracting the ire of a crime syndicate. They managed to capture him and decided to kill him by dumping his body into a dirt hole which unknown to anyone had been the site where nuclear waste had been illegally buried. The radiation affected Phillips who gained the power to disintegrate objects with a touch and sparked the creation of another personality born from his subconscious. This persona was angered at how criminals had tried to kill him and decided that the only way to stop crime was by murdering the perpetrators. Thus, the persona became a masked vigilante called the Eradicator who conducted his own brutal war against crime in Central City. (The Flash v1 #319)
• Lucas Elrod : (The Flash v1 #144)
• Henry Willens : an older male who was the senior partner at Willens and Kohl law firm. (The Flash v1 #140)
• Priscilla Varner : (The Flash v1 #140)
• Dream Girl : (The Flash v1 #140)
• John Haines : (The Flash v1 #105)
• William Dawson : (The Flash v1 #115)
• Fiona Webb : a beautiful woman with long red hair where she lived at Utopia Towers and was a neighbour of Barry Allen with her noted for being unfriendly. (The Flash v1 #295)
• Mack Nathan : a black male who resided at Utopia Towers where he lived in room 3-F where he had a 10 year old son named Troy and worked at S.T.A.R. Labs on experimental nuclear propulsion. (The Flash v1 #295)
• Myrna Troy : a female was a professional model who had a relationship with Leonard Snart. The relationship ended after she stole his Captain Cold alias and started committing robberies to frame him. (The Flash v1 #297)
• Jake Forrest : a male who was once the college sweetheart of Iris West where he later became a para-psychologist who conducted experiments in astral projection. (Adventure Comics v1 #462)
• Peter Farley :
• Cecile O'Malley :
• Manuel Lago : a male human who had been a childhood friend of Barry Allen where upon becoming an adult he joined the C.I.A. and volunteered for an experiment that gave him regenerative powers. This resulted in him being able to create clones of himself from parts of his severed body where he eventually came to grow rogue and became the villain Mob Rule. (The Flash v4 #4)
• August Heart :
• Basil Nurblin :
• Ramsey Rosso : was a male forensic scientist at the Central City Police Department who was a haemophilic where he conducted experiments on himself that turned him into the supervillain Bloodwork. (The Flash v5 #29)
• Raijin : a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who was obsessed with the Speed Force and became corrupted by Gorilla Grodd who had the man become an armored supervillain called Raijin who used a lightning wand. The villain came to be a member of the Black Hole crime organization that oeprated in the city. (The Flash v5 #40)
• Gregory Wolfe :

Notes

• Central City was created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino where it made its first appearance in Showcase v1 #4 (September–October, 1956).
• The Atlas of the DC Universe v1 (1980) had an entry on Central City that provided some background on the settlement. According to the guide, it was situated in Missouri where it served as a stop for the east-to-west trails for the great western cattle drives. Though its growth was rapid, the city only experienced a boom in the late 19th century when the builders of the transcontinental railroad laid their tracks through the centre of the cattle town with several important routes passing through there. Its central location along with the wealth of the rail lines attracted businesses and settlers causing it to develop into a thriving metropolitan that rivalled Chicago as the home of innovative architecture. Central City experienced another boom after World War I and had continued to develop as a prosperous city.

In other media

Television

• In The Flash, Central City appeared in the setting of the 1990s live-action television series. Dr. Desmond Powell after coming home from the Korean War came to find that Central City was engulfed in a crime wave. In response, he became a masked vigilante known as the Nightshade where he fought against the mafia and corrupt administration in the city with him eventually coming to retire from being a masked hero.
• In the DC Animated Universe, Central City made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
• In Young Justice, Central City made a number of appearances in the animated television series.
• In the Arrowverse, Central City made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In the Flash, Central City served as the primary setting for the 2014 live-action television show.
• In Supergirl, Central City was mentioned in the episode "Worlds Finest" and was present on this version of the Multiverse connected to The Flash.

Films

• In Batman: Year One, Central City was referenced in the animated film with it being one of the connecting flight locations to Gotham City.
• In Batman Unlimited: Mechs Vs. Mutants, Central City was briefly mentioned in the direct-to-video animated film when Flash mentioned that he quickly travelled there to gather parts for an experimental laser weapon to be used against giant supervillain mutants in Gotham City.

Video games

• In DC Universe Online, Central City appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where it was accessible through the Lightning Strikes Downloadable Content.
• In Batman: Arkham Origins, Central City was referenced in the setting of the video game. It was listed as one of a number of cities on a billboard in Burnley.
• In Batman: Arkham Knight, Central City was referenced in the setting of the video game. Simon Stagg's place of residence was said to be there and militia soldiers mention that it was protected by a superhero, referring to the Flash.

Appearances

• Showcase v1: (1956)
• The Flash v1:
• Adventure Comics v1:
• Flash v2:
• The Flash Secret Files and Origins v1:
• Flash v4:
• The Flash v5:
• Young Justice v3:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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