Life in the Flash Lane

Posted on January 1, 2014 in Comic News, Speculative Pieces, TV

I’ve only gotten to a chance to see the last two episodes of Arrow because my favorite superhero was featured in it, the Flash! There’s been a lot of buzz lately around the Flash spin-off television show, so let’s dive into it.

Bludhaven Banter recently reported that Casting Director: David Rapaport, started looking to cast the supporting roles of Iris and Detective West the following are the official character descriptions.

“Iris – 22-28 African-American – As smart as she is beautiful, Iris is in grad school studying psychology. She’s also Barry’s mile a minute, fast-talking, quick-witted best friend. Her father, Detective West, took in Barry when his mother was murdered, and his father was wrongly accused and imprisoned for her murder. In a tough childhood for Barry, she was the one “not tough” thing. She’s Unaware of Barry’s strong, feelings for her.”

“Detective West – Late 40s to Early 50s – African American – Detective West is an honest, blue-collard cop who’s seen it all. A soulful, funny caring father to Iris, and a surrogate father to Barry, West came up through the foster system himself. He took in Barry after his mother’s murder and his father’s imprisonment. He believes in Barry and supports Barry’s efforts to prove his father’s innocence.”

Now, they’re reporting that Detective Eddie Thawne will make an appearance on The Flash pilot. He’s listed as “leading man handsome” (late 20s-early/mid 30s), and recently transferred to Central City Police Department from Keystone. His past will be a complete mystery it’s also said that he “harbors a dark secret”.

Obviously, comic book fans will recognize the name is similar to the long-running villain Eobard Thawne a.k.a. Professor Zoom. Eobard in the comics is a villain from the 25^th century, and has used time travel to make life for Barry difficult to say the least, which is cause for speculation, will this series deal with time travel? Will the dark secret have to do with Geoff Johns’ reintroduction of the Reverse Flash in Flash: Rebirth? I won’t spoil that here, but be sure to check that one out.

These questions are all speculation at this point, but carry an air of excitement with them for fans of the Scarlet Speedster. If this Eddie character ends up being Professor Zoom then I cannot wait to see Barry and Thawne duke it out live action style. If you haven’t seen Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, you should do yourself a favor and do that right now [Trailer below].

How crazy would it be to The Flashpoint story arc on live action television? It’s primarily a standalone story set in an alternate timeline, so the stars in the upcoming Justice League movie would not have to make an appearance. Get on it CW.

Another exciting tidbit they reported is Cisco Ramon a.k.a. Vibe will be on the show as well, but without his powers… at least for now.

The medium of television has always allowed for crossovers and with Amanda Waller, Green Arrow, and Vibe on the horizon. There is the possibility of seeing the Justice League of America forming before Warner Bros’ highly anticipated Justice League movie, which could lead up to a versus movie, but probably not since it’s so difficult to cross movie and television platforms (see Agents of SHIELD).

The show can tap into the rich mythology of the Flash such as team ups like the Rouges, the JLA, and the extended Flash family to stories that deal with bending space and time literally with the Speed Force. This show has a lot of potential while getting around some of the problems the larger movie franchise has to deal with (crossovers, alternate universes, etc) while still being able to grow the DC brand and expand on the larger universe. I’m looking forward to the developments of this show as well catching up on Arrow, which returns on January, 15 2014 on the CW.