It's the 1960s and lesbian superhero Flick Faster meets her nemesis

Flash Fingers in action

The Flick Faster comic ran for 20 issues and had some of the most forward-thinking plots ever seen in comics. For instance, Flick’s nemesis was actually an evil clone of herself, although the process of cloning at the time was referred to as ‘chemical copying’. 

In this storyline, an evil female scientist, Dr. Honey Pott, devised an insidious plan called Operation Snatch & Grab which allowed her to acquire some strands of Flick’s hair. 

Placing these hairs in her ‘chromo-accelerator’, Pott grew an identical copy of Flick and fitted laser-firing technology in its fingertips. Calling her creation Flash Fingers, Pott programmed one simple mission into Flash’s blank mind - “ensure Flick Faster ends up in a box!” 

Dying her hair black and donning an inverted version of Flick’s costume, Flash went on to plague the heroine right up until Flick’s final issue. 

Flick grieves for her dead clone

That tearjerking story saw Flash finally get Flick right where she wants her but, just as she is about to kill her, Flash’s mental programming is overcome by the innate goodness in the genes she shares with Flick. Horrified at the evil woman she had become, Flash turns her fingers on herself. Flick cradles her deceased doppelganger and, in a fitting eulogy, states: 

“All this time I guess I was deep inside her. It’s a tragedy that her brief life should be brought to a climax by her own fingers. At least ... at least she's smiling. Rest in peace my sister!” 

Both Flash and Flick are referenced in Professor Iain R. Lattimer’s 2007 science textbook discussing the real possibilities of cloning a woman by the end of the century. Lattimer’s theories were radical and bold and his book became an international best seller, although this was mainly due to people thinking the title - Women Sharing the Same Cell - referred to girl-on-girl action in prison.