Gourt Home::Gourt :: Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962).
Flash was a star high school football player and classmate of Peter Parker, secretly the superhero Spider-Man, who mercilessly bullied "Puny Parker." Ironically, Flash greatly admired Spider-Man.
After graduation, Flash joined the United States Army and has been haunted by his combat experiences, leading to alcoholism. Flash has matured and developed a friendship with Peter.
Flash Thompson has appeared in several other media adaptations of Spider-Man, usually in his earlier bullying incarnation.
History
Thompson was a high school classmate of Peter Parker. During high school, Thompson was portrayed as a stereotypical stock jock bully who continually bullied Peter. It was Thompson who dubbed Peter with the derogatory nickname "Puny Parker". Ironically, Flash admired Spider-Man, Parker's other identity, forming a "Spider-Man Fan Club" and vocally supporting his idol wherever he went, even criticizing J. Jonah Jameson and his editorials to his face.
Over time, it was revealed that the true reason behind Flash's poor attitude was because he was physically abused by his alcoholic father, Harrison Thompson. Flash idolized Spider-Man for being everything his father, a police officer, should have been.
After the two of them entered Empire State University, Flash Thompson became less hostile to Peter, perhaps because he was no longer living under his father's negative influence. Over time Flash matured and mellowed and eventually he and Peter put their past antagonism behind them and became good friends. He was even best man at the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.
After a few years in university, Flash enlisted with the United States army and served in the Vietnam War (although, due to Marvel's sliding time scale, this has later been retconned to Flash serving in some unspecified overseas conflict). While in Vietnam, Flash's unit bombed an ancient temple that had previously housed a wounded Flash, although Flash tried to stop them. When he returned to America, Flash found himself tailed by mysterious assassins, former acolytes of the temple who thought that Flash had betrayed them. Spider-Man held off the assassins long enough for Flash to explain his side of the story. Sha Shan, the leader of the assassins, forgave Flash and even dated him for a while, but left him when she found out he was cheating on her. Flash's tour of duty profoundly changed him from a reckless and immature youth to a tormented and conflicted man. Finding no comfort in his military decorations, Flash turned to alcohol for years.
When Sha Shan was attacked by the Hobgoblin, Flash made the mistake of insulting the villain on television. The Hobgoblin took his revenge by abducting Flash and framing him as the Hobgoblin's true identity. Spider-Man was aghast that his old friend was a villain, but Flash was legally exonerated when the Hobgoblin's true identity was revealed.
Thompson has had relationships with several of Peter's girlfriends. In high school, he was Liz Allan's boyfriend. One of the reasons Flash bullied Peter later on was because he secretly feared that Liz preferred Peter to him. Flash was once romantically involved with Mary Jane Watson, although briefly. He has also had affairs with Betty Brant and Felicia Hardy (the Black Cat). Felicia dated him in order to make Peter jealous, but was surprised that she actually fell in love with him. Finally Flash broke up with her, as he felt he couldn't keep up to her high-speed lifestyle.
Recently, Flash was the victim of a plot by Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, who aimed to destroy Spider-Man through his family and friends. Under the pretense of picking Flash up from an A.A. meeting, Osborn force-fed Flash whiskey and had him crash his car into the high school where Peter works. Flash survived, thanks to his excellent physical condition, but he suffered severe brain damage that has left him in a coma. Liz Allan Osborn, although widowed and raising her son Normie all on her own, has become Flash's caretaker. Peter, blaming himself for what happened to Flash, makes a point of visiting his friend as often as he can. Peter has recently learned that Flash has awakened from his coma in " The Other" story arc, with Flash taking a job as the basketball coach at the High School Peter teaches at. However, Flash suffers from severe memory gaps (by his own admission), most noticeably that when meeting Peter again, he treats him like a nerd and picks on him, as he did in his high school days. In Amazing Spider-man #533 Flash was seen watching the news reports of Spider-man unmasking and in which Flash says it has be some trick and that puny Parker couldn't be Spider-man.
Other continuities
Film
In the 2002 film Spider-Man Thompson was played by Joe Manganiello. He was Mary Jane Watson's boyfriend until they broke up at graduation.Television
In the The Animated Series, Flash tried to have a relationship with Felicia Hardy (Black Cat), which didn't work out and he later found a new, more comfortable, relationship with the brainy Debra Whitman.Ultimate Spider-Man
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Flash Thompson is a jock who attends the same high school as Peter and bullies him. When he suddenly wanted to talk to Peter alone for a moment on at least two occasions, which Peter turned down rather furiously believing he just wanted to bully him in private, fan speculations grew about whether Flash might have developed a crush on him. A previous comment by Harry Osborn further fueled that, although Brian Michael Bendis generally likes to occasionally make juvenile, non-discriminating jokes about homosexuality in Ultimate Spider-Man. (One of Bendis's best friends, Mark Andreyko, is gay so it's doubtful that Bendis was being homophobic.) It was revealed after Gwen Stacy's death that he apparently had a crush on her and was trying to ask Peter for help. As revealed in Ultimate Spider-Man #87 his real first name in Ultimate Marvel continuity is Fred.MC2
In the MC2 continuity (the alternate future of Spider-Girl), Flash Thompson is now on the faculty of his old high school. He is the coach of the girls' basketball team. He married Felicia Hardy but later divorced her, and they had at least one daughter, Felicity. He still is unaware of the fact that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, and is similarly unaware that Peter's daughter, May, is Spider-Girl. Felicity, on the other hand, is aware of all of this, and briefly assumed the identity of the Scarlet Spider in attempt to partner with Spider-Girl.External links
Spider-Man supporting characters | Fictional American comics characters | Fictional bullies | Fictional New Yorkers
"Flash Thompson"