The Flash Pilot Explained – PART ONE: Spoiler Free

(PCM) This article is a two-part review. Part one is spoiler free. Part two allows you to read the in depth details if you want a hard core explanation and to go egg hunting.

The Flash is coming to the CW (CBS Warner Brothers) network October 7, 2014, but in this Internet age it’s already here. Someone leaked a screener copy and it seems anyone with a bit torrent application has viewed it on his or her iPod, tablet, pc or any electronic device. You can debate the ethical behavior, you can speculate if it was a genius marketing move, but now that Pandora’s box is open, what about The Flash?

What is covered in The Flash pilot?

• Hero’s Journey
• Origin
• Backstory
• Love Interest
• Motivation
• Introduction to all the main characters
• Long term plot line
• Acknowledgment of DC Universe (New 52)

The Arrow Connection
The Flash is part of the Warner Brothers DC TV Universe specifically connected to CW’s Arrow. It can be hard to accept but TV Universe is not the same as print or film universe. The multiverse continuity has yet to ever be connected.

In Arrow, season two, episode eight we were introduced to Barry Allen, a young forensics scientist from neighboring Central City who provides Arrow a domino mask to replace his painted on mask. Barry Allen of course one day becomes The Flash. It was a nice tease.

Barry Allen is the second Flash of comics, a Silver Age Flash. Barry Allen’s legacy spans decades.

There was a plan by Warner Brothers  and the CW network to later spawn The Flash by way of an introduction with an origin show as the last episode of Arrow in season two. Instead the show stands on its own with a pilot episode.

Live Action TV Super-Heroes
Live action super-hero TV shows can be a real annoyance to faithful readers of comic books. Why? Aside from lame special effects, they usually veer from canon. Canon is the original telling of a story. If a character has blond hair in a book then has red hair in a live role that change can lose the faithful. In the comics Barry has blonde hair, the TV version of The Flash has brown. Will this be a problem? Most likely no, but the change of having Barry grow up in the same home as the woman he one day marries – it carries some burdens that become difficult to accept, let alone overcome for the show writers.

For years it was special effects that ruined all live action superhero TV shows, if you are old enough you’ll remember The Incredible Hulk (1978), Spider-Man (1977) and even The Flash (1990). When you see what Hulk can do on the pages of comic books, Lou Ferrigno would never do. All of these previous shows could not produce a legitimate costume. Only Wonder Woman (1975) with Linda Carter broke the pattern of unacceptable costumes.

A large argument against live action super-heroes on a weekly basis is canon. If for instance Barry Allen presented on CW is insecure with an inferiority complex, that would not be who Barry Allen is – after all one of his super powers is increased mental capacity. Batman has worked with Flash many times as an equal in forensic work.

If Barry Allen doesn’t end up with Iris West (Allen), and she marries someone else in the show, how will that sit with readers? The show implies Iris West has no siblings putting the future of Wally West (Kid Flash & Flash) in question too. Is this an oversight show producers can fix at any time?

Live action super-hero stories that work best are ones that leverage existing stories from existing legacy if doing no more than insuring plot devices don’t suffer continuity issues.

The pilot’s final scene makes use of the most ominous of all Flash stories, Crisis on Infinite Earths. That story reset the DC Universe back in 1985 and had an impact on Barry that is revealed in PART TWO – The Flash Pilot Explained (spoilers) of this article. If it is a reference to Crisis on Infinite Earths it’s an ambitious tease. Don’t expect all of the DC Universe in The Flash however.

 

Long term The Flash will go the route of Smallville and Arrow. In doing so the show will achieve two things:

• Mislead an entire new audience on canon
• Piss off the entire existing fan base

Does this matter? It should to you. If you’re a fan of comic books.

Will The Flash Walk All Over Canon Like Arrow?
Many people love the CW show Arrow. Why? They have no exposure to the Green Arrow of print and who he is. The fact is Arrow can’t even bring itself to call him Green Arrow and Warner Brothers owns DC, what’s the big problem here? Either go all in or or don’t do it all, and that’s the issue with Arrow. It’s yet another half assed effort by a network. There seems a true lack of commitment for the resources demanded to do a true to form Green Arrow. Is this a rail against Arrow? Only to the degree to make the point The Flash pilot gives one the impression the commitment to the The Flash is much broader than Arrow.

The show Arrow uses characters from DC’s Green Arrow gallery but has yet to tell a Green Arrow story other than Arrows love interest with Canary. Comic book readers are baffled by this. In season one of Arrow, Oliver Queen is a murderous vigilante. There’s no representation of the Green Arrow that exists in comics. Imagine Princess Leia  joining the dark side to help the rebels. It doesn’t work and it’s not who she is. That’s what was done in Arrow. Can we expect the same in The Flash?

The Flash closer To Canon Than Arrow
On every issue previously raised CW has corrected mistakes making the pilot of The Flash a potential hit out of the gate. It does take liberties with Barry Allen, but it appears long term canon is respected.

Some deviations are vast. S.T.A.R. labs is however all over the place in terms of how its’ foundation as a central figure in Flash’s universe is established, but what it’s responsible for is unnerving.

The Flash pilot is solidly entertaining with a great deal of promise. While it’s not recreating the print universe of The Flash, it must pull its canon from one of the many incarnations of The Flash in print as a character.

It appears we are getting the Barry Allen that exists in The New 52. The New 52 is the latest print reboot of the entire DC Universe, which took place in September 2011. Meant to make all the DC heroes accessible to new audiences by rebooting their entire universe by erasing all past events and a host of characters. The New 52 reboot move on DC’s part has really upset readers that have held onto the background history of characters from past stories.

The Flash pilot is an origin piece featuring a host of characters in Barry Allen’s print world. Unlike Arrow, characters operate in daylight. It feels more accurate and playful than Arrow. The association between Barry Allen and Oliver Queen is firmed up. Arrow feels like a rip of Batman. Barry’s motivation to be a superhero doesn’t retread Arrow.

The Flash’s direction is truly independent and it’s a fair bet it will eclipse Arrow if it decides to use the DC Universe to its fullest. That means if they employ the super villain / super hero dynamic at all times the show will go far. That hope exists based on the long list of existing Flash characters packed into the pilot, from villains to super heroes. You just need to be familiar with Flash canon and they become obvious.

It’s worth repeating that TV Shows based on comic books could be smash hits if they’d just follow all the comics and recreate the stories that already exist, which would include keeping timelines intact along with long term plot threads. Oddly enough The Flash addresses a huge futuristic event that dictates the motivation of numerous characters.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART TWO – WITH SPOILERS!

While it hits that note nicely the show also manages to convolute relationships. Those relationships and the fanboy concerns will be addressed in the spoiler review we’ll call PART TWO. Read on if you have no concern over spoilers or you are a true fan of comics and want the read the discussion of how far off canon the CW show The Flash may travel.

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