Abra Kadabra


Abra Kadabra

(pop culture)You've got to hand it to the thievish mage Abra Kadabra—a big hand, that is. In “The Case of the Real-Gone Flash” in The Flash #128 (1962), writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino introduce Citizen Abra, a refugee from Earth's sixty-fourth century, a time when individuality is not tolerated. A fanatical narcissist, Abra travels to the late twentieth century and uses his era's sophisticated technology to feign magic, commanding observers to applaud his acts. Encountering the second Flash (Barry Allen) in Central City, the techno-sorcerer immodestly calling himself Abra Kadabra makes the Flash vanish—leaving behind only his empty costume— but the fleet-footed hero outsmarts the egotistic villain, earning Abra's scorn. Abra Kadabra materialized time and time again, often brandishing a magic wand and displaying science-based teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy, and mind over matter to pester the Flash. Some of his most popular tricks included transforming the Scarlet Speedster into a life-sized marionette, making the hero unable to see to crimes committed around him, and exiling him into “Cartoon-Land.” After the Flash perished in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (1985), Abra cast his spells on the hero's lightning-fast successor, Wally West. The magician was disfigured in an explosion caused by a malfunction of his technology, cracking his already-fragile psyche. Abra Kadabra's hatred for the third Flash is as intense as the villain's ego, and after receiving authentic occult abilities from the demon Neron, he is committed to conjure the final curtain for his foe.