The Flash #189 (of 350)
The Death-Touch of the Blue Ghost
June 1st, 1969
Flash and Kid Flash battle futuristic lizard creatures while Iris ages rapidly. Letter to the editor from comics writer Mark Evanier.
Barry, Iris and Wally are on vacation near Blue Valley, on a little cottage on a hill that seems to shine blue. Wally gives Iris some scares by telling her the place is haunted. To start a fire, Barry and Wally become Flash and Kid Flash to quickly collect some wood. Wally explains that the hill only seems blue from a distance and tells of an old Indian legend that said blue lizards came from the sky and landed on that hill. A professor in town believes this lizards were aliens who cannot be seen because they are in another dimension, so that only a blue haze can be seen.
When Barry and Wally do a contest on finding a four-leaf clover, Wally stumbles upon one of the blue aliens, but notices that he only he sees it when he is using the speed force. Wally tries to capture the alien it escapes but not before putting some fog on Wally that makes him feel strange. He and Barry go back to the cottage. When they arrive, Barry accidentally vibrates through Iris and their parakeet Chippy. Chippy is suddenly aging very fast and soon enough the same happens to Iris. They bring her to a hospital.
Barry feels guilty and wants to abandon his Flash personality. Wally tries to tell him about the alien, but Barry doesn't listen. But when he hears that Iris is turning blue, he takes Wally to find the blue creature again. They find a gigantic spaceship from which an army of blue aliens exits and starts shooting at them. They fight but then the aliens use a weapon that captures Wally with some kind of magnetic force. Just when Barry destroys the machine, blue light appears and both are captured on the spaceship which then leaves earth. The grand patriarch of the Azurans, explains to them that their race has been coming to earth for eons to die. Their journey is responsible for the blue radiation that causes Iris' aging but they can't have anyone interfer with their traditions. By using their protective aura, Barry and Wally escape but some force keeps Kid Flash from moving on. They figure out that Barry has to run through Wally to age him, so he can use adult strength to move on. Now they are able to defeat the Azurans and bring the ship back to Earth. The Azurans give them an antidote that reverses the aging process for Iris and Wally and promise never to come to Earth again.