The Flash Season 1 episodes 1-2 review - City of Heroes/The Fastest Man Alive

With the success of the CW series Arrow, it was almost inevitable we'd see more from that universe. The Flash was introduced near the mid-season finale of Arrow season 2, where we also saw the accident that inevitably turned him into the super-hero we would come to know as the Flash, Grant Gustin was chosen for the role, despite him not having Barry's iconic blonde hair from the comics. So let's take a look at the first 2 episodes of the Flash, and see if we're looking at a big hitter here.

Episode 1 – Pilot (aka City of Heroes)

So, I suppose we'd better look at the pilot checklist

Does it introduce all the main characters? Yes

Does it introduce their characteristics? Yes

Is the setting established? Yes

Does it establish any on-going plotlines? Yes

Does it do anything else? Well yes, we get a decent story here, which is surprisingly rare for pilot episodes. Most barely break the mark of average (but then this does have some solid foundations)

I think it's good for the show that we spend the first 12 or so minutes of the episode establishing Barry Allen before establishing the Flash. In Arrow they chose to establish Oliver Queen through flashbacks and it's good for his character, but I don't think it would work with the Flash, whose secret identity is much more rooted to who he is. 

The other difference between this and Arrow, it's more fun to watch. Not to say that Arrow is bad for being serious all the time, it's just the tone would not work with the Flash, who is supposed to be a hopeful hero (LIKE SUPERMAN HINT HINT ZACK SNYDER!)

We have a villain who is in many ways the antithesis of Barry. He was a criminal that got powers because of the particle accelerator, while like the Flash is a police detective that got powers from the particle accelerator.

Perhaps a villain that could've been more of a threat if saved until later, but there are hints at villains to come that may be even more threatening. Particularly after the reveal at the end

This show if off to a solid start, if it continues whilst making small improvements in development and character, I see no reason why it can't be up there with the TV greats

Rating 8/10

Episode 2 – The Fastest Man alive

OK, one thing, QUIT IT WITH THE NARRATION. It doesn't help Ultimate Spider-man, it doesn’t help you either.

Right, with that small point out of the way, let's take a closer look at the episode

Barry is cr*p is keeping promises, but glossing over that, we see an interesting side to things today, as we deal with the metahuman of the week and meet Simon Stagg (odds 5-1 that he's up to something, or at least he was until his… death? What a waste of a good character, ah well)

So, we see flashbacks (oh goody) of Barry Allen shortly after the murder scene (can these please not become a regular thing, I don't mind Flashbacks, but Arrow's run this type into the ground) after what he saw (and we know it’s true), it's not surprising that Barry would want to see his arrested father. It's also not surprising that everyone would want to stop him, especially since everyone believes him to be guilty. (To be the fair, the alternative is the Lightning man, yeah… right)

In the present, Barry is coming to terms with who he is, dealing with keeping his secret (admittedly only from one person, but one person who knows him very well), and with being the Flash (OK, no-one’s officially called him that yet, but…) with both how people perceive him and how he perceives himself, the most obvious example being how he starts to suffer from his classic hyper-accelerated metabolism.

Oh goody, the weakness of the bad guy is kinda boring, knock out the original and you knock out the rest. I do like the fact that concentration is a key idea though. I just find the actual weakness kind of disappointing.

And oh great, he has basically the Mr Freeze origin. I was doing research to help my wife until my boss pulled the plug. Look, come up with creative origins for your characters, I've heard this origin before.

So… Can't wait till next week's episode

Rating: 7/10

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