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For other uses of Central City, see Central City (disambiguation).

Central City is a fictional city that appears in stories published by DC Comics, and is the home of the Silver Age version of the Flash, Barry Allen. It first appeared in Showcase #4 in September-October 1956.

Central City's location has been vaguely defined over the years, similar to DC's other fictional cities such as Gotham City and Metropolis. In the 1970s, Central City was stated as being located in Ohio, where the real-world city of Athens, Ohio would be (as shown in Flash #228 in 1974). In 1987's Flash (volume 2) #2, published just after the reality-altering storyline Crisis on Infinite Earths, Central City was shown as being in Florida. In the 1990s, Central City was shown as being located in Missouri, near the Kansas/Missouri border, adjacent to Keystone City.

Central City's population was given in Flash v2, #2 as being 290,000, but 1990s Atlas of the DC Universe lists it as being 750,000.

From 1956 until approximately 1985 (in publishing years), Central City was defended by police scientist Barry Allen against a myriad of foes, including Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, the Weather Wizard, the Mirror Master, and Professor Zoom, the "Reverse-Flash."

After Barry's death in Crisis, most of his foes, as well as Barry's successor (and former sidekick) Wally West moved to Keystone City, which thanks to the reality-altering effects of Crisis, was now Central City's twin city (pre-Crisis, Keystone City was located on the parallel Earth known as Earth-Two, in approximately the same space as Central City). Currently, Central City is a relatively quiet place, and doesn't appear in the comics very often.

During the years in which the second Flash series was written by Cary Bates, Central City was apparently divided into Upper and Lower East and West Sides, as well as a "downtown" region.

Central City is the home of the Flash Museum, a museum dedicated to the exploits and memorabilia of the city's hero.

Central City's main newspaper is the Picture-News, for which Barry's wife Iris Allen once worked as a reporter.

• Crimson Lightning - An online index to the comic book adventures of the Flash.
• Information on Central City from the Flash fansite Those Who Ride The Lightning