For months now I have been anticipating the return of Barry Allen to television. The character last appeared on the small screen in 1991, played by John Wesley Shipp, in the short-run TV series The Flash. The reviews of Grant Gustin's portrayal of the character have been so good that Arrow creators, and Warner Bros executives, are moving forward with another Flash TV series. If you saw last night's, or last week's, episode of Arrow you're probably just as excited as I am for this series to getting running. Running; get it? So how did I feel Gustin played one of my top 5 comic book characters? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Last night's episode of Arrow titled 'Three Ghosts' left me jolting with excitement. And yes, I'm going to continue the puns through this whole entry. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! At the end of the episode Barry leaves Starling City after helping Oliver and his crew take down their villain of the week. Barry also leaves Oliver with a parting gift; a green mask. This takes the place of his green eye make-up and also takes Oliver one step closer to looking like the hero from the comics. Personally I can't wait for the goatee! But more importantly, at the end, we saw Barry in the Central City crime lab. He was watching the coverage of the new particle accelerator when lighting strikes him, and some chemicals, just as the accelerator was activated. We're left with Barry unconscious on the floor, and looking a little electric.
When Gustin was cast as Barry Allen it was said that he would guest star in three episodes this season on Arrow, with the third episode possibly leading to his own Flash TV spin-off. Later it was reported that everyone loved Gustin's performance so much that they're skipping the third episode and putting Flash on the fast track. Hence, the mid-season ending we all geeked-out over and I will probably watch a few more times just for kicks.
As far as Gustin's performance I was very pleased with it. I could go through and nit-pick it, like how he seemed a little more upbeat and talkative while 'pre-Flash' Barry Allen was more quiet and reserved. But the core of the character was there. Barry was a morale-do-gooder who thinks the world needs more heroes. He was young and wore Chuck Taylors, and that made the character seem more endearing to me. It shows that Barry has a long marathon ahead of learning about himself, his powers, and how to be a hero; and in a television show we should all be in it for the long-haul. My favorite part of the 2-part Barry Allen episodes has been the treatment of Nora Allen's death. It has been exactly like it is in the comic books. Proving his father's innocence is what drove Barry to be in that exact lab, at that exact time, and I hope somewhere down the line, say season 5 of the Flash TV series, we get that mystery solved just like in the comic books!
Meanwhile, a casting call went out last week for Iris West and her father, a police officer. This struck some worries for me, not because it called for African-American actors, but that it said Iris and her dad take in Allen after his mother's murder and grew-up with Iris. Iris is the love of Barry's life. This should not be a Dawson/Joey relationship! That should be Barry and Patty. Iris should be someone introduced in the first episode and slowly progress. I don't like the way that looks, but I'll wait till I hear more to totally freak out.
So by next year we will have Barry and Oliver on TV. So who's missing from this trio; Hal Jordan. In the comics, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are known as the 'Trinity'. They work together the most, they're the most powerful, and trust each other the most. I've always thought of Green Arrow, The Flash, and Green Lantern as DC's '2nd Trinity'. Although I know a Green Lantern TV series would be waaaaaaaaay to expensive to make maybe they can tone GL down a bit. Hal has a ring, alien's show up from time-to-time, and not so much with Hal going into outer space. This is just wishful thinking on my part. But how awesome would be a Hal Jordan, 2-part crossover, from Arrow to the Flash TV series, be?
So there you have kids. My thoughts on Barry Allen's return to television. I hope several things come from this. I hope we get to see John Wesley Shipp guest star in the new Flash TV series, maybe as Barry's dad? I hope they bring in Wally West at some point like Arrow has brought in Roy Harper. I hope the Rogue's are awesome and I can't wait to see Professor Zoom. I hope Barry's costume looks as bad ass as Shipp's was. And I really hope DC/Warner Bros leaves the '2nd Trinity' on the small screen because I'm loving this a lot more than how they are f%cking up on the big screen!
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