Flash

Flash Gordon is the epic hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip first drawn by Alex Raymond. The stories have universal themes of right and wrong, good versus evil, and epic heroism in the face of total anihilation. His appeal lies in his mortality and ability to defeat evil without the use of superpowers.
Flash was first published January 7, 1934, and was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Inspired by these series were comics such as Dash Dixon (1935 to 1939) by H.T. Elmo and Larry Antoinette and Don Dixon, and the Hidden Empire (1935 to 1941) by Carl Pfeufer and Bob Moore.

The Flash Gordon comic strip has been turned into a wide variety of media, including motion pictures, television and animated series. The latest version, a Flash Gordon TV series, appeared on the US SyFy Channel in 2007-2008 and then on the United Kingdom SyFy channel. A comic book series by Brendan Deneen and Paul Green and published by Ardden Entertainment debuted in 2008, with the first story arc entitled "The Mercy Wars". It is also available on iTunes for the iPod and iPhone. Ardden also published a Flash Gordon anthology entitled The Secret History of Mongo. Ardden's second Flash Gordon arc is currently entitled Invasion of the Red Sword (2010).

The comic strip follows the adventures of Flash Gordon, a handsome polo player and Yale graduate, and his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov. The story begins with Earth bombarded by fiery meteors. Dr. Zarkov invents a rocket ship to locate their place of origin in outer space. Half mad, he kidnaps Flash and Dale, whose plane has crashed in the area, and the three travel to the planet Mongo, where they discover the meteors are weapons devised by Ming the Merciless, the evil ruler of Mongo.

For many years, the three companions have adventures on Mongo, traveling to the forest kingdom of Arboria, ruled by Prince Barin; the ice kingdom of Frigia, ruled by Queen Fria; the jungle kingdom of Tropica, ruled by Queen Desira; the undersea kingdom of the Shark Men, ruled by King Kala; and the flying city of the Hawkmen, ruled by Prince Vultan. They are joined in several early adventures by Prince Thun of the Lion Men. The long story of the Skorpii War takes Flash to other star systems, using starships that are faster than light. Flash and his friends also frequently return to Mongo, where Ming has been overthrown and Prince Barin, married to Ming's daughter Princess Aura, has established a peaceful rule (except for frequent revolts led by Ming or by one of his many descendants).