Clive Yorkin had a long criminal record behind him, including robbery, arson,
and murder. Locked in solitary confinement, he clearly wasn’t getting out of prison
anytime soon, so he agreed to undergo the experimental “Nephron Process.”
The process would try to cure him of his violent impulses by making him associate
crime with pain. (Presumably Dr. Nephron was inspired by A Clockwork Orange.)
Unfortunately Yorkin’s pleasure and pain centers were reversed, so the process
drove him irretrievably mad. He escaped, and was next found standing over the
dead body of Iris Allen. Police believed Yorkin to be her
murderer until security camera footage showed he had only witnessed her death at
the invisible hands of Professor Zoom.
The Nephron Process also gave Yorkin the ability to drain life energy from other people by touch. After fleeing the scene of Iris’ murder, he terrorized the city for days. A teenaged psychic tracked him down and brought the Flash in. Together they defeated Yorkin, who was trapped in a sinkhole. They, at least, believed him to be dead.
Yorkin was recently revealed to be alive and imprisoned in Iron Heights.
Text by Kelson Vibber. Do not copy without permission.
Art
- Yorkin: Flash (first series) #280 (December 1979) - Don Heck and Frank Chiiaramonte
- Nephron Process: Flash (first series) #271 (March 1979) - Rich Buckler and Jack Abel
Significant Silver-Age Appearances
- Flash #270 (February 1979): “A Fast Way to Die!” Cary Bates
- Flash #271 (March 1979): “The Silent Slayer of Central City!” Cary Bates
- Flash #272 (April 1979): “The Girl with the Master Mind,” Cary Bates
- Flash #273 (May 1979): “Harvest of Hate,” Cary Bates
- Flash #274 (June 1979): “The Mark of the Beast!” Cary Bates
- Flash #275 (July 1979): “The Last Dance!” Cary Bates
- Flash #276 (August 1979): “Freakout!” Cary Bates
- Flash #278 (October 1979): “Road to Oblivion!” Cary Bates
- Flash #279 (November 1979): “Death-Feast!” Cary Bates
- Flash #280 (December 1979): “The Wrong Man!” Cary Bates
Significant Legacy-Era Appearances
- Flash #208 (May 2004): “The Red Carpet,” Geoff Johns (cameo)
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