60 Years Ago, DC Introduced One of The Flash’s Weirdest Rogues (And They Need to Bring Him Back)

60 years ago, DC introduced Goldface, who is far and away one of the weirdest rogues that the Flash and Green Lantern have ever had, let alone the weirdest they ever shared. He made his first appearance in Green Lantern #38, which released on May 27, 1965, so he’s a very old villain who emerged in the heart of the Silver Age of comics. He was Green Lantern’s recurring enemy for a good while, before eventually deciding to move to Central City and pit his mettle (and metal) against the Fastest Man Alive. Despite his strangeness, Goldface is actually a great villain and while we’ve gotten to see him come to life in live action thanks to The CW’s The Flash, he’s a character deserves to be brought back on the pages of comics as well.

Origins Against the Green Lantern

Real name Keith Kenyon, Goldface started out as a political sciences student whose father was the head of the Coast City labor union. Keith fought his father on everything, and insisted they should just take what they wanted instead of trying to make things even for everyone else. To that end, he developed and drank a gold-based serum that had been exposed to radiation, which radically altered him. It turned his skin to solid gold, granting him near invulnerability and superhuman strength, alongside the ability to turn things he touched into gold. However, he hid this transmutation ability behind a “gold gun” for many years.

Given that gold is a shade of yellow and Green Lanterns used to be entirely unable to affect anything yellow, Goldface quickly became a formidable enemy to Hal Jordan. He would commit crimes with the ability to walk right through any of the Lantern’s constructs, but was still taken down every time by the superhero. Eventually, Goldface got tired of being the Green Lantern’s punching bag and decided a change of scenery was in order. Thus came his move to Central City to prove himself against the Flash, who was then Barry Allen.

Goldface vs the Flash

Despite his desire to take over Central City’s crime network, Goldface didn’t appear as one of the Flash’s more recurring rogues, although he did have some powerful moments in his few appearances. He initially completely took over crime in the Scarlet Speedster’s hometown, with the Flash torn between fighting the seemingly invulnerable Goldface and dealing with the psychotic vigilante Eradicator. Eventually the Flash managed to throw Goldface in the path of his own gold gun’s blast, knocking him out. He didn’t appear again until the “Trial of the Flash” storyline, where it was revealed that Goldface murdered the Flash’s defense attorney Cecile Horton’s father before he released an ultimatum to force the Flash to stop fighting crime or he’d kill every police officer. Cecile thought the Flash ignored the warning, when in actuality, by his own admission, Goldface killed her father before he announced anything.

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After that, Goldface did not appear for many years as a Flash villain, and when he finally resurfaced after his release from Iron Heights he had completely reinvented himself. Despite his history as a villain with Green Lantern, when Goldface came to Keystone City, he changed patterns altogether. Instead of putting on a costume to commit gold related crimes, he put on a normal suit and took to the streets to inspire people. He took after his dad and became a leader of labor unions, intent on making sure everyone got their fair pay and protection.

Goldface even became an ally to Wally West when he was the Flash. After Goldface learned that his ex-wife Blacksmith and the other Rogues were planning to take over both Central City and Keystone City in the five-part “Crossover” storyline, Goldface told the Flash about their plans, and even helped join in the fight against the Scarlet Speedster’s worst enemies. Just when it looked like the Rogues had finally beaten the Flash, Goldface re-emerged with the entire population of Keystone City’s unions behind him. Together, the hero and the people fought back against the supervillains and took back their city. Altogether, a massive and awesome shift from Goldface’s old Silver Age villainy days.

Why He Deserves to Come Back

Goldface has never been one of the Flash’s more prominent villains or allies, and definitely isn’t remembered as one of the greats of Green Lantern’s rogues gallery either. Still, there’s a definite charm about him. Goldface has been adapted into both animation and live action in the Justice League Unlimited and CW’s Flash respectively. While in some appearances he’s nothing more than a villain of the week, in others he’s a hilarious character who is championing unions, and that’s a great arc to see happen with any villain. He’s weird, he’s forgettable, and he’s an obnoxiously bright yellow, but I stand by that fact that Goldface deserves respect, and since this is his 60th anniversary, definitely deserves to come back to the scene in some capacity.