It was another successful premiere Tuesday night for DC! It all went by so fast (get it, Flash reference), but luckily for me I have Hulu Plus to watch it all over again…just in case I missed anything; and there was a lot to keep track of. The writers had a lot to pull off in the first episode, starting with the Flash origin story. However, unlike most comic book character live action television shows, they didn’t bore you with a linear retelling of his past, they simply interspersed it throughout the entire episode so that you got bits and pieces along the way. It was kind of like a puzzle that you could assemble by the end of the premiere. Also, because it wasn’t your typical premiere, you might have missed a couple of things along the way. Let’s compare notes on what’s what. Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it yet.
1. The Writers are Mostly Sticking to the Source Material
As the story goes in the most recent comic storyline, the Flash aka Barry Allen, is pretty much orphaned as a child when his mother (Nora Allen) is tragically killed and his father (Henry Allen) is carted off to jail and later imprisoned for Nora’s death. Now, we all know that the Reverse Flash was the one that killed his mom, and from the looks of the premiere episode, the writers are keeping that storyline well intact. The same is also true of the Barry’s accident at the lab, which ultimately gave him his superpower. This is good news for fans of the character, like myself, as we can come into the show already feeling a sense of connection instead of being forced to digest a new character history.
2. The Flash from the 90s TV show is Playing the Father of the New Flash
What a treat it was when John Wesley Shipp first appeared on the screen playing Henry Allen. Time indeed has been kind to the former Flash from the 1990s Flash television series and it was certainly nice to see the show bring him back in to the fold for this reboot. Obviously, there had to be a moment in which the torch was officially passed on from the Old Flash to the New Flash. That moment came nearly at the end of the episode when Barry went to visit his father in prison and the two had a heartfelt exchange as Barry proclaimed his allegiance to his father and further lamented his belief that his father did not kill his mother. They touched the glass separating them from one another and thus commenced the passing of the fiery torch.
3. Green Arrow is Kind of like a Mentor to Him
Who knew that the Green Arrow would make a special guest appearance on the premiere episode? Well, actually I kind of did when I got a sneak peek during the summer. However, even knowing that the moment was going to happen, I was still elated to see the scene play out all over again. The Green Arrow, being the wise and more experienced vigilante, was called upon by his unofficial mentee to shed some light on the whole “to whom much is given, much is expected” situation that Barry now finds himself in. Given that the Arrow television series was the initial introduction of the Flash television series, it should come to no surprise that the Green Arrow himself would make a guest appearance once or twice throughout the season, and perhaps maybe vice versa. Wouldn’t that be cool?
4. Weather Wizard is the First of Many Meta Humans
Although the Weather Wizard isn’t exactly one of the biggest names that initially come to mind when you think of Flash villains, it wasn’t a bad start for the show. Besides, the focus of the premiere episode was really to introduce the origin of the Flash and in a brave attempt of the writers to not make that episode boring, as origin movies and episodes typically are, they brought a little excitement and a bit of an initial challenge for our superhero by giving him a villain to engage with.
5. Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash
According to the comics, Eobard Thawne is the name of Reverse-Flash, and although it became apparent by the end of the premiere episode that Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash, in my estimation that doesn’t entirely rule out that the same will not be true for the show. We have only seen one episode so far, so, there is still much to be learned about how this story line will develop and as a result who is to say that Harrison Wells’ name in the future isn’t Eobard Thawne? I guess we’ll all have to wait to see how this will turn out, but I have say, I was really excited to see the big reveal that the Reverse-Flash will be playing a significant role in the show.
The DC Universe is taking over television and with another series based on one of their popular characters; they are well on their way. The Flash series is off to a great start and by the looks of things, the writers have a winning formula (i.e. sticking close to the source material, dropping nostalgic Easter eggs throughout the show like mention of Gorilla Grodd and Ferris Air and building a concept of meta humans that will keep us guessing from week to week) that if they consistently stick with, the show will be around for a long time to come.