The premiere date for the new DC Comics television series “The Flash” has been released and it will kick off at the start of October. The new CW show will get a nice introduction as well, with both of the Barry Allen episodes on “Arrow” airing back-to-back on Oct. 1. “The Flash” will then debut on Oct. 7 and then “Arrow” season three kicks off on Oct. 8, with an encore of the premiere of “The Flash” following it. After that, the two series will play back-to-back.
With “The Flash” coming to television, here is a primer to catch everyone up to speed on who The Flash is.
The Flash
There have been a large number of Flash characters over the years, from the classic era of Jay Garrick to the very popular Barry Allen and then his successor Wally West. There are also a large number of people with Flash’s powers and are part of the Speed Force. The origin of Flash’s powers is complicated, but Barry Allen’s personal story is not. Allen was a CSI officer who was engaged to Iris West. He became The Flash when a lightning bolt shattered chemicals which spilled onto him. He became one of the world’s greatest heroes, but suffered through tragedies including the murder of Iris by a man from the future, in a very similar method that the television version of The Flash lost his mother. In the new rebooted DC Comics Universe, it is Allen’s mother who died, which is what it looks like the new TV show will utilize.
“Arrow”
Barry Allen first appeared on the television show, “Arrow.” That CW series is about Oliver Queen, a vigilante known as The Arrow, which is based on the DC Comics character known as The Green Arrow. The Flash and Green Arrow have a long history, both members of The Justice League over their careers and both close friends with Hal Jordan, the superhero known as The Green Lantern. In the episodes of “Arrow” that Barry Allen appeared in, Allen appeared in Arrow’s home of Starling City as a CSI officer to help investigate a robbery. It then turned out that Barry was not there officially, but usually sought impossible cases hoping that it would help him finally crack the mystery of who killed his mother, thereby freeing his father. He returned to Central City and was struck by lightning, placing him in a coma. Everyone knows what will happen when he wakes up.
The Rogues Gallery
The Flash has arguably one of the top Rogues Galleries in all of comic books. While Batman’s villains may be more famous, the Flash villains almost all work with a strong code of conduct, work together extremely well and – as a group – are some of the most popular villains in DC Comics. The trailers for “The Flash” seems to indicate that one of the Rogues will appear early in the show as it looks like Weather Wizard may be one of the first villains. Other popular villains in the group include Captain Cold, Mirror Master and Captain Boomerang. However, the biggest villain in Flash’s world is the Anti-Flash, also known as Professor Zoom. He is the villain responsible for the death of Iris and other heinous actions.
