In The Flash's battle with Dr. Alchemy, Barry Allen has discovered the secrets of one of the DC Universe's most powerful artifacts.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash #764 by Kevin Shinick, Will Conrad, Hi-Fi, and Steve Wands, on sale now.

In The Flash #764, Dr. Alchemy has broken out of Iron Heights Penitentiary and is after Barry Allen once again. This time, though, Barry notices that Dr. Alchemy is stronger and seems focused on a specific mission. It also becomes clear after their initial encounter that the good Doctor has made his vendetta against The Flash personal.

After turning the prison walls to molten lava and escaping, Dr. Alchemy turns raindrops into bullets. To save the innocent bystanders and the police officers at the scene,The Flash arrives at the prison and takes the Philosopher's Stone away from Dr. Alchemy. The Philosopher's Stone isn't just the source of Alchemy's powers but an ancient relic with a history. After Desmond escapes, Barry decides to research the Stone to better understand his opponent.

Related: The Flash: Reverse-Flash Helped Shatter The Teen Titans

Dr. Alchemy debuted in 1958sShowcase #13, byJohn Broome,Carmine Infantino, andFrank Giacoia,as Mr. Element. He changed his name to "Dr. Alchemy" in Showcase #14, which was also the issue that introduced the Philosopher's Stone as Alchemy's source of power. In addition to immortality, an increased healing factor, and giving its wielder vast knowledge, the Philosopher's Stone has the powerto transform the molecular structure of anything in the world, including the molecules of the human body, into any substance. When Barry confronts Dr. Alchemyat the prison, he notices that Desmond fashioned the Stone into a ring, thereby making it more difficult to take it away from him.

Barrydescied to research the Philosopher's Stone and discovers that it's been owned by a long history of alchemists and "crazed chemists" dating back to ancient times. One of the earliest owners was Zosimos, "One of ancient Greece's most noted Alchemists and mystics." Zosimos believed thatfallen angels taught the arts of metallurgy to the women they married and that alchemy involves the studying of how bodies and spirits can embody one another and be drawn away from each other. As a result, "The Philosopher's Stone was the key to immortality since it could abstract the souls of various elements." Another notable possessor of the Stone was Paracelsus, analchemist during the German Renaissance who believed absolute knowledge wasn't acquired through books, but through the elements. The Stone was "the tool that could translate between them", but it wasn't until Simon Magus had the Stone that it became weaponized. According to Barry's research, Magus saw the power the Stone had and used it to "cut a path of destruction through most of Medieval Europe and even into other dimensions."

The rest is here:
The Flash Uncovers the Secret History of a POWERFUL DC Universe Relic - CBR - Comic Book Resources