What The Surgeon General Tried To Hide From You!

There's a hidden secret to Jay Garrick's origin as the Golden Age Flash that people have managed to ignore/politely forget about over the years.

Young Jay is in for an all-nighter...

What?!?!

The pause that refreshes...!!

Of course, having your lungs full of tobacco smoke didn't help...

Still, I think it's undeniable--if he weren't a smoker, Jay Garrick never would have become the Flash!

Why do you think Thomas Wayne ducked down that alley? To catch a quick smoke on the way to the car!

Under that "gas mask"? Wesley Dodds was puffing away.

Super-soldier serum? 98% tobacco.

Bucky bursting in on Steve Rogers changing? He was looking to bum a smoke.

Tyler Pharmaceuticals? You know they sold tobacco. And the addictive chemical whose effects only lasted one hour? Nicotine.

Al Pratt? He was short because smoking stunted his growth.

It's undeniable--all Golden Age heroes owe their origin to tobacco!!

Bonus: health care 1940-style!

From Flash Comics #1 (1940)