The Flash #180
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Flash #180 holds a specific structural distinction in the Silver Age run of Barry Allen's solo title: it is the first 'to be continued' story the series ever published, marking a notable shift away from the self-contained single-issue format that had defined the book since its launch in 1959. The issue also introduces Baron Katana and his android Samuroids — minor but durable additions to the Flash's rogues catalog — whose robotic designs proved resilient enough to be revived by later writers including Mark Waid in 2008 and to earn a brief cameo in Tom King and Jason Fabok's 'The Button' crossover (Batman Vol. 3 #21). While neither villain became a cornerstone of Flash mythology, the Samuroids' recurring reuse across decades demonstrates how even a single Silver Age adventure can leave lasting threads in a shared universe.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 16 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — VG+ ▾ $13.95–$18.95 2 listings
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Frank Robbins and illustrated by the longtime Flash art team of penciler Ross Andru and inker Mike Esposito — the same duo who handled the cover — under the editorial oversight of Julius Schwartz, whose editorial records were later provided to DC and used to officially confirm the credits. The story idea is credited in the lettercol to Arthur Goldstein of Chicago. Schwartz's tenure on the Flash title was notable for encouraging reader participation and tight continuity, and the decision to run the book's first two-part story here reflects the editorial experimentation characteristic of DC's late-Silver Age output.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Baron Katana, a war criminal villain who commands an army of robotic samurai warriors from Black Heron Castle on a northern island of Japan.
- First appearance of the Samuroids — jet-pack-equipped, armored android samurai armed with electrified swords — created in-story by the established DC villain T.O. Morrow (a retcon established in later issues).
- This is the first 'to be continued' story ever published in the Flash's solo series (which launched in 1959), breaking the book's long-standing single-issue, done-in-one format.
- Story title: 'The Flying Samurai'; cover date: June 1968; the narrative concludes in Flash #181 (August 1968), titled 'The Attack of the Samuroids.'
- Creative team: script by Frank Robbins; pencils and inks (both cover and interior) by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito; edited by Julius Schwartz — credits confirmed from Schwartz's personal editorial records.
- The Samuroids were later revived in The Brave and the Bold #13 (July 2008) by Mark Waid and Jerry Ordway, and made a brief cameo in Batman Vol. 3 #21, the opening chapter of the 'The Button' crossover between Batman and The Flash.
- The issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Flash #4 (December 2012) and The Flash: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 3 (September 2018).
- The story features Barry Allen and his wife Iris West vacationing in Japan — one of the relatively rare globe-trotting adventure settings for the Silver Age Barry Allen.
Cast · 1 character
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Flash #29 (1976), Showcase Presents: The Flash #4 (2012), The Flash: The Silver Age Omnibus #3 (2018), البرق [Al-Barq Kawmaks / Flash Comics] #6
Key issues in The Flash
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.