The Top

Alias
(The) Top
Nick Name
\|
Civilian ID
Top I Roscoe Neyle Dillon Top II Dr. Henry Allen Top III Thomas O'Neill
Occupation
Top I Criminal Top II Doctor Top III US Senator
Legal Status
Top I Deceased citizen of the United States with a criminal record. Top II Citizen of the United States with no criminal record. Top III Citizen of the United States with a record or criminal insanity.
Nation or Planet of Origin
Top I Central City, Missouri Top II Fallville, Iowa Top III United States
Group Affiliation
Top I Flash's Rogues Top II None Top III None
Base of Operations
Top I Central City, Missouri Top II Central City, Missouri Top III Central City, Missouri Keystone City, Kansas
Height
Top I 6' Top II ~6' Top III ~6'
Weight
Top I 180 lbs. Top II ~200 lbs. Top III ~180 lbs.
Eye Color
Top I Blue Top II Blue Top III Unknown
Hair Color
Top I Brown Top II Grey Top III Brown
Skin Tone
Caucasian
Known Powers
Normal human altered by repeated physical spinning - thus developing increased intelligence and limited telekinetic abilities to transmute matter.
Accessories
Various weapons built around the motif of spindle tops including: exploding tops, smoke and light bombs, illusion projectors, snares and wind vortexes.
Common Enemies
Top I & Top II Flash II Top III Flash III
Regularly Appearing
Flash Vol. 1 & 2
First Appearance
Flash Vol. 1 #122 (Aug. 1961)
Creator
John Broome & Carmine Infantino
Origin
Roscoe Dillon was fascinated with toy tops from childhood. Becoming a small-time criminal Dillon was incarcerated, time spent devising new and innovative means to commit crimes. Building a motif around his fascination with tops, Dillon created a costumed identity and learned to spin himself at unusual speeds. As a unusual side effect Dillon also discovered the spinning increased his intelligence enabling him to device a wide variety of weapons in the form of tops. He shortly thereafter launched a criminal career as the Top. Committing spectacular crimes for years the Top partnered with other criminals to oppose the Flash. Eventually the Top's excessive spinning began to give him powers of mind over matter; although it made his brain vulnerable to the super-speed vibration of the Flash. This vulnerability soon killed the Top, but before his death he planted several powerful bombs in Central City. Before his final plot could see fruition the Flash and his adversaries the Rogues found and deactivated the bombs. Although it could be assumed the Top was forever out of the life of the Flash, his spirit wandered waiting for an opportunity for revenge. That opportunity presented itself when the Flash's father Dr. Henry Allen was in a car accident during which his heart stopped leaving him clinically dead for 30 seconds. Dillon possessed Dr. Allen for a period of time once again assuming the identity of the Top. Dillon was eventually fooled into leaving Dr. Allen's body and his spirit was cast into Hell. Eventually Dillon would escape Hell with the unwitting help of the hero known as the Hawk. This opportunity gave Dillon another opportunity to take possession of another, this time U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Thomas O'Neill. Dillon's plan to take control of the government failed, and the souls of the damned reclaimed him, but the experience left O'Neill irreversibly insane and believing himself to be the Top.