Johnny Quick
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Johnny Quick is the name of two DC Comics characters, each with the power of superhuman speed. The first was a superhero who appeared mostly in More Fun Comics during the Golden Age. The other was a supervillain, an evil version of The Flash from Earth-Three, appearing mostly during the Silver Age.
Johnny Quick, the hero
Johnny Quick's secret identity was Johnny Chambers, a newsreel photographer. He invoked his power by reciting a mathematical formula ("3X2(9YZ)4A") taught to him by his childhood guardian, Professor Gill, who had in turn derived it from inscriptions found in a Pharaoh's tomb. He began to work as a crime-fighter and divided his time between the two jobs until a fateful day at the White House.
Working on assignment, Johnny Chambers and his assistant Tubby Wats, were present at the White House when the Justice Society of America, the world's first superhero team, went missing. Johnny Quick was amongst a group of heroes that mobilized a rescue mission. During that mission, he met his future wife, Libby Lawrence, who herself was the heroine Liberty Belle, and the two would come to join the Justice Society with the other heroes, and group became known as the All-Star Squadron.
From that first meeting, the tension between Johnny and Libby was evident as they went into a flirtatious relationship. The relationship would endure many hardships, as Liberty Belle had certain responsibilities as the chairwoman of the Squadron, but nonetheless, the relationship persevered, and the two were wed a year later. A wedding that would result in their daughter Jesse Belle Chambers, who would inherit the special abilities of her parents.
During his time with the Squadron, Johnny would of course meet and develop a strong but friendly rivalry with Jay Garrick, the first Flash, as Johnny tried to prove that he was in fact the fastest. However, Flash and other JSA members enlisted into the armed services, and although Johnny Quick wanted to join them, he was dissuased by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who told him and other heroes that they were required on the homefront.
The Squadron was disbanded as the war ended, and Johnny and Libby retired from the public eye, although Johnny Quick would occasionally be seen fighting crime, such as when he first met the villain Savitar. Max Mercury appeared on the scene and saved Johnny, as the two engaged Savitar together. Max and Savitar would disappear in a flash of light, and the threat of Savitar was thought to be over.
Eventually Johnny finally committed to his retirement, and he began research on the formula that unlocked his speed. Max Mercury told him that the formula was merely his way into tapping into the other-dimensional power known as the Speed Force. Scientists balked at the idea that the formula gave him power, and that the power was genetic. Neither theory convinced Johnny, and he sought his conclusions in the mystic arts, seeing the formula as a mantra, unlocking his potential.
This theory had his effect on Johnny, as he began lecturing at universities and delivering seminars, trying to preach this newfound philosophy to the world. To this goal he founded Quickstart Enterprises, which created and endorsed products of potential-unlocking quality, as well as videotapes of Johnny's lectures. This led to his wife, Libby, leaving him, embarrassed.
Thanks to his abilities, Johnny's age was retarded, keeping his appearance younger and vigorous, despite his true age. After the Justice Society of America returned following a long absence, Johnny assisted them occasionally. Together with the Justice Society, Johnny would face the villain Extant during the time-event known as Zero Hour. Like the other heroes present, Johnny was aged considerably by the villain. Though he was now much older physically, he did not relinquish his hero-ing activities, and together with his daughter (now calling herself Jesse Quick) helped train the time-displaced Impulse.
Some time afterwards, Johnny met with Iris Allen, widow of the second Flash, who warned him that trouble was forthcoming for users of the Speed Force. Johnny refused to believe his power was not his own, till moments later he found himself without his speed, thanks to the manipulations of the returned Savitar. Johnny was grudgingly forced to accept the Speed Force's existence.
In the final battle with Savitar, Johnny Quick sacrificed himself to save his daughter's life and ran into the Speed Force, merging with it. Although Jesse herself recently lost her powers, she succeeded him in the best possible manner.
Johnny Quick recently returned in the pages of Infinite Crisis #4 with Max Mercury and a time-travelling Barry Allen to assist Bart Allen (the second Kid Flash) by absorbing Superboy of Earth Prime into the Speed Force.
Johnny Quick, the supervillain
Johnny Quick was a supervillain on the alternate Earth designated as Earth-Three, but rather than being a counterpart of the Earth-Two Johnny Quick, he was a version of The Flash. He and the other members of the Crime Syndicate of America (all of whom were villainous counterparts of Justice League of America members) were Earth-Three's only superpowered beings, and had never been defeated by Earth-Three's only hero, Luthor (a heroic counterpart to Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor). Like the rest of the Crime Syndicate, he perished during the Crisis at the hands of the Anti-Monitor.
The character was revived in the 1990s as a villain from the "Anti-Matter Universe", rather than being from Earth-Three. Unlike the Flash, Johnny receives his powers by injecting himself with Speed Juice which resembles a kind of illegal drug similar to heroin. This Johnny Quick is the counterpart to the Wally West Flash. According to Grant Morrison, who created this version of the character, he had a predecessor (counterparting Barry Allen), whose blood was used to create the Speed Juice. A flashback to the early days of the Crime Syndicate showed this character as resembling the Pre-Crisis version.