Kid Flash was Wally West, the nephew of the Flash‘s girlfriend, Iris West. A repeat of the freak accident that created the Flash also gave Wally his powers of super speed. For the first 3 years, his costume was identical to the Flash, and since it covered the entire body except for the lower part of the face, it was virtually impossible to tell them apart on the comic page.

Finally someone got the bright idea to give him a more distinct costume. This was handled by having Flash’s lightning bolt insignia zap Kid Flash, transforming the costume he was wearing into a brand new one. Um, okay.

Since the new garb exposed his red hair—apparently a characteristic that could betray his secret identity—he used a special dye to turn it brown when he donned his costume. Luckily he could change his clothes and hair color in the blink of an eye. A prime example of why comic books are so wonderfully ridiculous!

Illustrating one playing card a day using characters found between 1957-1967 in DC Comics. Tomorrow: Iron, another one of the Metal Men!