By Jim Beard
From day one, Eugene "Flash" Thompson never gave classmate Peter "Puny" Parker one moment of peace.
From titanic taunts to punishing put-downs, Flash excelled at being one of the thorns in young Peter's side that stung the most. And the cherry on top? Flash
idolized Spider-Man, Pete's amazing alter-ego.
It's been a roller coaster ride of rivalry and friendship for the two since high school, as we'll see in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #3, out December 3. Through their ups and downs, Peter knows one thing for certain: their meetings will never be boring—with Flash, if anything can happen, anything will!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN v1 #5 (1963)
Disguising himself as his idol Spider-Man for a prank, Flash finds himself held captive by the villainous
Dr. Doom. Of course, Spidey's got to save the bonehead from the mistaken monarch and subsequently suffer through Flash's boasting of his adventures to his classmates.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN v1 #26 (1965)
It's the fight of the century! His stomach in knots over the Spider-Slayer, Peter picks a fight with Flash and only Liz Allen can knock them both off their high horses. Pete claims responsibility for the tussle with the school principal but Flash overhears the admission and puts in his own two cents for blame.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #109 (1972)
Back from a tour of duty in Vietnam, Flash scores a death mark from those who blame him for the destruction of a sacred temple. Though reluctant to save the man he believes covets his girlfriend, Spidey swings to the rescue and when the smoke clears Flash finds his true love: the beautiful Sha Shan.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #276 (1986)
His girlfriend Sha Shan kidnapped by the
Hobgoblin and then saved by Spider-Man,
Flash Thompson's mouth runs a bit too venomously about the villain to a TV reporter. Later, after a furious and fiery fracas, Spider-Man unmasks a defeated Hobgoblin to discover the face of—Flash?
PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN v2 #45 (2002)
Now an unemployed alcoholic, Flash stumbles onto the radar of
Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. Whiskey forced down his throat and loaded into a remote-controlled truck, he becomes a deadly lesson from the Goblin to Peter as the resulting crash delivers Flash into a deep coma.
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #4 (2006)
While Peter deals with his own seeming death and resurrection, a newly-awakened Flash Thompson coerces a job out of the school Pete teaches at. Inexplicably, the former football star and war hero seems to forget that he and "Puny Parker" buried the hatchet long ago…
Please also refer to the recent AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #574 for more on Flash Thompson's current situation. And check out the first 100 issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
Check out the official Marvel Shop for everything Spider-Man!
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