CW's 'The Flash' Can Not Get Here Quick Enough

Being that I'm an open comic book fan I occasionally get the question every fan boy gets, "Who's you're favorite superhero?"  For any true believer it's a loaded question.  I personally kind of have a Top 5 list, with the 5th spot always rotating depending on my mood and who's writing what at that present time.  I really liked Green Lantern when Geoff Johns was writing the book, and nobody does Captain America better than Ed Brubaker.  As for my other four spots,  everyone knows I'm a rabid X-Men and Superman fan.  And because I'm a swimmer I've also always had an affinity for Aquaman.  But my 4th spot goes to The Flash.  

I've kind of always assumed my love of The Flash came from the idea that I've always been compared to him.  I was the kind of kid who couldn't sit still, even in my sleep. During my teenage years I was always rushing from one thing to the next, and in my later years of college my nickname was "Impulse".  You'll have to ask my friends Albert and Andrew about that one.  I also remember watching The Flash TV series back in the 90's starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen and Mark Hamill as The Trickster.

Growing up in the 1990's Wally West was The Flash so I never really knew Barry Allen.  In 2009, writer Geoff Johns brought back Barry in Flash: Rebirth (or technically Final Crisis) after a 20-year absence from comics.  Again, I never knew Barry, but I immediately grew fond of him.  Of course it's hard not to love any character Johns writes.  This last year Barry Allen appeared on an episode of Arrow and now he's getting his own spin-off on The CW this Fall.  A little over a week ago an extended trailer for the series was released, and I can't stop watching it!

The show will star Grant Gustin, who I had never seen in anything before his appearance on Arrow.  His 2-episode arc made me like Gustin as Barry, but the extended trailer has me excited to see him play The Flash.  John Wesley Shipp is even making an appearance as Barry's dad!  In Barry's origin story his father is framed for his mother's murder and Barry spends his life trying to prove his dad's innocence, which puts him in the Central City crime lab when he is struck by lightning.  

Gustin will be surrounded by an array of supporting cast.  Catlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, and Eddie Thawne are all characters appearing in the series, and all end up becoming villains in the comic books.  Relative unknown, Candice Patton, will play Iris West, Barry's future wife in the comics.  However, it appears in the series they're just friends(for now). But, if you follow The New 52(ugh) then he and Iris are just friends(for now).  Tom Cavanagh and Jesse L. Martin are the veterans who I believe will compliment this young ensemble nicely.

What really gets me excited about this series is how much it feels like The Flash.  It appears that they got the origin right; which I hope they don't give away the twist too soon in the series.  The special effects look cool, and the poses we see in the extended trailer look like they jumped right out of the comic books.  Finally, I like Grant Gustin.  Barry has this high sense of morality that makes him seem a little naive and I think Gustin plays it perfectly.  

Being that I've read quite a few Flash comic books I'm excited for where this show can go.  Eventually, Barry's friends could become his enemies, his best friend could become his wife, and SPOILER, he'll learn that his mother's death could be his fault!  But I'm getting a head of myself.  I hope they hold out that last one until at least the season 2 finale.

Now, remember, The Flash is also a spin-off of Arrow, and we can already see from the extended trailer Oliver Queen shows up for a visit, which probably won't be his last.  Given my disappointment with how Warner Bros is handling the DC cinematic universe I'm more hopeful for it's television universe.  I know their is no possibility of Barry showing up in Gotham on Fox, but if Hal Jordan popped up in Arrow or The Flash I may just have a nerd-gasm. And if you ask my friend Albert we're both praying hard for a Tom Welling visit.

If I were running The CW I would do a special airing of The Flash about a month or so before the actual Fall premiere just to get the buzz going.  But, until then, it looks like I'll just have to watch this trailer a couple dozen more times and hope that at some point we see Barry's costume pop out of his ring! Now that would definitely make me have a nerd-gasm!

Barry Allen's TV 'Rebirth' I Hope Will Spark More!

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!