Corporal Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962).

Flash is a star high school football player and classmate of Peter Parker (secretly the superhero Spider-Man) who mercilessly bullies Peter. On the other hand, Flash greatly admires Spider-Man, an irony in which Parker takes some gratification. After graduation, Flash joins the United States Army and is haunted by his combat experiences, leading to alcoholism. Later, Flash and Peter become best friends. Flash has appeared in several other media adaptations of Spider-Man, usually in his earlier bullying incarnation.

In his early appearances, Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a high school classmate of Peter Parker. In high school, Flash is a stereotypical jock who continually bullied Peter. Flash was physically abused by his alcoholic father, Harrison Thompson, leading to Flash's own violent, bullying nature. It is Thompson who dubs Peter with the derogatory nickname "Puny Parker" and humiliated him daily in front of the whole school. Ironically, Flash admires Spider-Man, Peter's other identity, forming the first "Spider-Man Fan Club" and vocally supporting his idol wherever he goes, even criticizing J. Jonah Jameson and his editorials to his face. When Spider-Man was seen committing robberies, Flash was one of the few to stand up for him claiming that he could still be innocent. It soon turned out that Spider-Man had been framed by Mysterio and Flash boasted about how he was always right. Peter Parker, who openly stated that he wouldn't "trust [Spider-Man] any further than I can throw him", took some secret pleasure in that Flash supported his alter-ego.

Joseph Michael "Joe" Manganiello ( /ˌmæŋɡəˈnɛloʊ/ MANG-gə-NEL-oh; born December 28, 1976) is a classically trained American film and theatre actor. He holds a BFA in acting from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. He played Flash Thompson in the original Spider-Man film series, and was previously best known for his recurring roles in television on ER, How I Met Your Mother and One Tree Hill, among others before landing his breakout role as werewolf Alcide Herveaux on the HBO television series True Blood for which he has garnered both popular and critical praise. For his work on True Blood, Manganiello received two 2011 Scream Awards for Breakout Performance – Male, and a shared award for Best Ensemble, as well as a Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role in Television and a NewNowNext Award. In 2011 Manganiello was voted "Favorite Pop-Culture Werewolf of All Time" by the readers of Entertainment Weekly. Along with the premiere of True Blood season five, he has roles in two summer 2012 films, the Steven Soderbergh-directed Magic Mike and the all-star ensemble, What to Expect When You're Expecting. Aside from his work in film and television, Manganiello is active with several charities including Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the Los Angeles based "The Art of Elysium."