The Flash #165

Nov 1966 · DC · 0.12 USD

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“One Bridegroom Too Many!”

★ 1st appearance — Plunder

About this Issue

The Flash #165 is the Silver Age's definitive superhero wedding issue, delivering the long-anticipated marriage of Barry Allen and Iris West — one of the first ongoing, in-continuity superhero marriages at DC Comics, and one that shaped the emotional core of the Flash mythos for two decades. Scripted by John Broome with interior art by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, the story demonstrated that a romance subplot could carry the same dramatic weight as any supervillain battle, permanently raising the stakes for hero-and-civilian relationships across the medium. The wedding's complications — Professor Zoom impersonating Barry and trapping the real Flash in the future — established a pattern the title would revisit with ever-greater consequences, ultimately feeding into Iris's murder in issue #275 and Barry's own trial and sacrifice, making this issue the emotional linchpin of the entire Barry Allen era. It also marks a quietly notable production milestone: the first Flash cover not drawn by Carmine Infantino since the series' 1959 revamp, with Murphy Anderson stepping in after Infantino suffered an eye injury.

writer John Broome · artist Carmine Infantino · inker Joe Giella · letterer Gaspar Saladino · cover Murphy Anderson

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VG) $8

CGC 9.8 · 3 in census $1,064*

CGC 9.6 · 13 in census $327

CGC 9.4 · 22 in census $157*

CGC 9.2 · 20 in census $98

CGC 9.0 · 15 in census $67*

CGC 8.5 · 9 in census $46*

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CGC 8.0 · 9 in census $35*

CGC 7.5 · 10 in census $29

CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $29*

CGC 6.5 · 11 in census $29

CGC 6.0 · 3 in census $27*

CGC 5.5 · 7 in census $27

CGC 5.0 · 7 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 6 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $20*

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History

The story, titled 'One Bridegroom Too Many!', was written by John Broome and penciled by Carmine Infantino with inks by Joe Giella — the same creative partnership that had defined the Silver Age Flash since Showcase #4. Editor Julius Schwartz's editorial records, provided to the Grand Comics Database by DC Comics, confirm all three credits. The cover itself was a departure: Infantino was sidelined by an eye injury and Murphy Anderson drew the wedding cover in his place — a fact Schwartz disclosed openly in the issue's own letters column, 'Flash-Grams.' The issue is also the first in the series to feature creator credits on the first story page, a small but meaningful editorial step toward recognizing comics creators by name.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title of main story: 'One Bridegroom Too Many!' — cover date November 1966, published (per Library of Congress copyright records) on September 1, 1966.
Barry Allen and Iris West are married in this issue, making Barry one of DC's first active superheroes to wed while maintaining a superhero career.
Script by John Broome; interior pencils by Carmine Infantino; inks by Joe Giella; letters by Gaspar Saladino — credits confirmed from Julius Schwartz's editorial records.
Cover drawn by Murphy Anderson (not Infantino), the first non-Infantino Flash cover since the series relaunched in 1959; editor Julius Schwartz explained in the issue's letter column that Infantino had suffered an eye injury. Anderson's name is reportedly hidden in the text of the Bible visible on the cover.
Professor Zoom / Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne) appears as the antagonist, traveling back in time to impersonate Barry Allen and nearly marry Iris in his place.
Supporting cast in attendance at the wedding includes Kid Flash (Wally West), Henry and Nora Allen (Barry's parents), Professor Ira West (Iris's father), Wally's parents Rudy and Mary West, and former villain Al Desmond — a rare gathering of the full Flash supporting cast.
This issue is the first in the series to give creator credits a dedicated spot on the first story page.
The story was reprinted in The Flash (Vol. 1) #328 (December 1983). Barry and Iris's ongoing marriage laid the narrative groundwork for Iris's murder by Professor Zoom in The Flash #275 (1979) and Barry's subsequent trial, sacrifice, and the entire endgame of his Silver/Bronze Age run.