Flash collects Flash

Back in the day, there were different superheroes who kept us entertained and in awe. Many of today’s youngsters are unfamiliar with Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, Voltes V, Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Dick Grayson, Kyle Rayner, Invisible Woman and others.

They were less complicated, less destructive heroes, and language was simpler. Things worn by the superheroes that we considered unbelievably high-tech — like wristwatches you could talk into — eventually became available in our modern electronic shops.

And now, with better movie technology, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Iron Man, and more recently, Wonder Woman are back again, breaking records at the box office. Through new movies, games and phone apps, the popularity of the old becomes newly relevant — what was once lost to nostalgia is back in a flash.

Speaking of “flash,” there’s a certain brand marketing manager named Glenmarc Antonio who’s fascinated with the speedy comic book hero of the same name. Glenmarc collects everything related to The Flash, and he brought part of his vast collection to the restaurant where we had this interview. The Flash, actually, was previously unknown to me; my children and grandchildren were more into Captain America, Batman, The Joker, Green Lantern, Star Wars and Ninja Turtles in video, toys, T-shirt and Lego forms.

But Glenmarc brought me quickly up to speed. The Flash first appeared in DC Comics in January 1940, before WW2. Since then, after many incarnations, he’s even had a comeback in the video game Injustice in 2013.

Glenmarc’s fascination with superheroes and comic books started when he was very young. His mother Ruby would buy him comic books to encourage him to read.

“I was awed by the fastest man alive, aka The Flash. That was how my fandom for DC Comics of almost two decades started,” Glenmarc explained.

“I’ve collected everything about the Scarlet Speedster from comic books to action figures to TV series cast autographs and, obviously, fan apparel. More than anything else, my love for The Flash continuously drives me to purchase more collectibles to add to my personal Flash Museum, or as I like to call it, my ‘Flash Stash,’” joked Glenmarc.

Glenmarc was fortunate to have a supportive mother then, and a supportive wife now, to help sustain his collection. “My mom went to Comic-Con in San Diego to get me The Flash memorabilia signed by the cast of the TV series. My wife, Kristine, on the other hand, is also a collector, but her collection is all Supergirl,” Glen says of his family collecting habit.

So there’s truly been a meeting of their minds between these two when it comes to accumulating superhero nostalgia. Indeed, Glenmarc’s collection — more than 300 pieces in all — is a testament to the thoroughness, determination, creativity, patience and pure insanity of it all!

The Flash, like other superheroes, carried around his own jargon and vocabulary. What is an “omniverse”? A “multiverse”? An “anti-matter universe” and a “limbo”? Actually, most of those terms occur in theoretical quantum physics, so there’s actually some learning from all this collecting!

One smart move by DC Comics was to pair The Flash with more popular Justice League icons like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — an alliance that surely helped keep The Flash following alive.

Video definitely helped maintain The Flash’s popularity. And so did collectors like Glenmarc, who fancies himself a bit flashy in real life. “I like The Flash because of my fascination for speed, of being able to travel to anywhere I want to be or I’m needed in at a moment’s notice, at the speed of light. While other superheroes like Superman got their abilities from birth, or Batman from intense training, The Flash got his super speed purely by accident,” Glen explains.

“The idea that a regular guy — a forensic scientist at that — without any sort of training in life to save others, suddenly gains the superhuman ability to run effortlessly faster than the speed of sound and accepts his newfound powers to use for the good is highly appealing to me,” adds Glen.

“Of all the noble men who have taken up the monicker of The Flash, like Jay Garrick and Wally West to name a few, my favorite by far is Barry Allen. I grew up watching the original Flash TV series in the 1990s by CBS, shown locally on GMA 7, and totally fell in love with the lead character portrayed by actor John Wesley Shipp. In my young mind then, Barry Allen was The Flash, and I’m thrilled that his character is still popular with a current TV series by the CW network with actor Grant Gustin playing Barry, and a member of the Justice League movie roster, this time Ezra Miller, bringing Barry to life on the big screen.”

Collecting superhero characters has become extremely popular. Malls have many hobby shops carrying limited-edition figurines, accessories and — for the general public — mass-produced, more affordable items.

One really does not lose childhood fascination as one grows older. There will always be thoughts and treasures of youth that we can never let go of. Instead, they will linger in our lives until the end. There will always be a Peter Pan within us that forever refuses to grow old. Glenmarc — through his Flash memorabilia — continues to feed the Peter Pan within. I guess some of us get so lost in the hustle and bustle of daily lives that we sometimes forget the child that’s still in each of us.

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Email the author at nikkicoseteng2017@gmail.com or text her at +639974337154.