The Flash "All Star Team Up" Review/Thoughts

This week on The Flash, a source of evil so powerful threatened Central City that one superhero was simply not enough to handle it. That's right folks, The Scarlett Speedster teamed up with Arrow's very own Ray Palmer this week to protect Central City from the dangers of...BEES!!

Episode Description: Ray Palmer and Felicity Smoak drop by S.T.A.R. Labs to get some help with the A.T.O.M. suit while Mercury Labs is terrorized by Brie Larvin (a.k.a. Bug-Eyed Bandit) and her army of robotic bees. Meanwhile, Barry struggles with who he can trust in the wake of his discoveries about Dr. Harrison Wells.

High Points:

• Barry and the Central City Police teaming up to take on everyday petty crime. A stark contrast to what is going on in Starling City right now with Oliver and his city's finest. 
• I found Joe's comment about where Caitlin and Cisco's loyalties lie very interesting. Especially because Cisco may end up being the super-hero Vibe someday, and Caitlin could still very much end up being the villain, Killer Frost..(Could this be what sets them on their paths apart?)
• Bug-Eyed Bandit's bees were experts at making horror movie style entrances. Especially coming out of the mouth of that guy's dead body... 
• I enjoyed the bromance that was forming between Ray and Cisco. Perhaps that will carry over when the Atom heads his own show?
• Cisco has memories from the alternate timeline! 
• The Atom suit was awesome this week. We have seen it do some stuff on Arrow but this was one of the first times we actually saw it in full-on action. Now we just need to see it shrink
• And it looks like we may get that sooner than later: "It seems I need to go smaller" -Ray Palmer
• We got a glimpse of the Felicity Smoak we all know and love. The one who hacks computers like a boss and is funny doing it, not the trophy in a three-way superhero love triangle
• Cisco taking the bee for Ray. In the words of The Reverse Flash, I have grown quite fond of Cisco over the course of this show and I like the attention and character development he gets. 
• That last scene did a lot to support my prior suspicions about who Caitlin and Cisco will side with. 

Low Points:

• Bug-Eyed Bandit was just another throw-away "of the week" villain who turned out to be nothing more than a disgruntled employee who is really good with tech and computers. And had a weird thing for weaponizing bees...

I like to imagine that this is how Brie presented her bee weapons to Mercury Labs 

• Barry was having a really hard time with these bees... I know bees are hard to outrun but even for the Flash? I was having a really hard time buying that Barry was getting trapped so easily by these bees

Essentially what Barry was like the entire episode

• I am still not a fan of Iris. I want to be because she is supposed to be Barry's girl but goddamn she can be annoying as hell. Granted she is literally the only person in Barry's life who doesn't know he is the Flash, but if Iris finds out about Barry's identity just because Eddie doesn't want them to break up I am going to be pretty disappointed in all parties involved

Verdict: The second Arrow/Flash crossover episode brought The Atom to Central City instead of the Arrow himself (probably because Oliver is busy being transported to jail) and the results were pretty cool. We got to see Ray Palmer interact and even mesh pretty well with the S.T.A.R. Labs team, and we got to see him do some pretty cool flying around and over-glorified bug zapping in his Atom suit. We have all been wondering when we were going to get to see the suit shrink down to microscopic size, and even though we didn't get it this week, it appears that the seed for future shrinkage has been planted. And in a decently appropriate fashion as well. Bug-Eyed Bandit is actually a villain who is mainly associated with the Atom because the Atom is able to shrink down to size to better combat his tiny insect robots. I say "his" because the Bug-Eyed Bandit is also usually a male named Bertram Larvin, so it was cool to see a female version. However, that is kind of where the "cool' aspects of the character started and stopped. Brie Larvin was another "of the week" villain who wasn't overly compelling. But who knows. Maybe she will make a reappearance when it is the Atom's turn to lead his own show and we will get some tiny Ray Palmer vs. tiny robot bee action (preferably on a children's play-set).

If you haven't seen this Ant-Man trailer yet you are gunna wanna click here

This week's episode seemed to be more about character and relationship development, which I am never overly opposed to. Sometimes you just gotta slow things down in the fighting crime department and build some character for the greater evils to come. We got some Barry development as he struggles with who he can trust. We got some Ray Palmer development as he makes friends at S.T.A.R. Labs and does some hero work. We got some petty relationship bullshit on the Eddie and Iris front that I won't waste another word on. But the characters I was very interested in this week were Cisco and Caitlin. Honestly, I have become quite the Cisco fan over the course of this show. When this show began I thought he was just going to be the nerdy, comic relief type character but he has turned out to be a lot more. We are learning about his sub-par family life, we are getting glimpses of his fighting capability, and we are getting hero-like characterizations from him. Now there has never been a point in my life where I have considered myself to be a huge fan of the character Vibe, but Cisco Ramon has definitely got me excited for his potential appearance on The Flash. As for Caitlin, this Harrison Wells loyalty conundrum is especially interesting for her. Cisco's memories from the alternate timeline help him to see Wells for who he truly is, but Caitlin does not seem very sold on the idea. Could this split her from Barry and Cisco and lead her down a path of evil with Professor Wells? Could this be the turning point in her character that launches her descent into becoming Killer Frost? Besides having a relationship with Firestorm, there really hasn't been much to hint at a transformation of character for Caitlin, so I am very interested to see if this difference in opinion leads to a rift big enough to cause her to go bad. All-in-all this episode was another fun crossover episode starring members of the Arrow gang, that will hopefully get the ball rolling on a shrink function to the Atom's suit. The villain was weak, but the tensions were left running high at the end of the episode with the S.T.A.R. Labs team being thrown into a "forced to take sides" scenario that may not go entirely according to plan. Only time will tell, but for now the "All Star Team Up" episode gets an 8.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review! Do you think Caitlin will side with Wells over Barry and Cisco? Who was the better character: Beth from The Walking Dead or Brie the Bug-Eyed Bandit? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers and be sure to check back here regularly for more comic book related news, stories, articles and reviews. The Flash returns same time next week to ask the question we have all been waiting for: "Who Is Harrison Wells?".

Arrow "Suicidal Tendencies" Thoughts/Review

Taking a well deserved honey moon to Kasnia with The Suicide Squad, Diggle and Lyla, run into some trouble in an all new Arrow.

Episode Description: It's celebration time as Diggle and Lyla get married. However, Deadshot interrupts their honeymoon and tells them the Suicide Squad has been given a new mission rescue United States Senator Joseph Cray from a hostage situation in the Republic of Kasnia. Amanda Waller breaks down the mission and introduced them to the newest member of the Suicide Squad, Cupid. Meanwhile, Oliver learns about Ray's new Atom costume and the two have a heated stand-off. Felicity and Ray hit a rough patch.


High Points

• "I love weddings, drinks all around"! as Captain Jack would say. Congrats to the newly weds.
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• It's always good to see Diggle get some action in an episode. Besides when him and Ollie took on the league, it has been to long since we have seen him in action.

• Suicide Squad is back, and Cupid joins their ranks and I thought she fit in pretty well.

• I really enjoyed the the Ollie 4-way fight with him self. 

• The ATOM suit showed us some new abilities that we weren't able to see in last weeks episode.

• The Ollie-Ray face off was pretty cool. Each one now knows where the other stands in terms of saving the city and also Felicity.

• The flash back scenes this week gave us an insight to Dead Shot's background which I thought was pretty interesting. 

• To add to the Dead Shot background, we see the mention of HIVE, how he became a bounty hunter, and his first target.

• I thought the plot had a pretty good twist involving the suicide squad and their mission in Kasnia. A senator faking a hostage situation just for a presidential bid. 

• Very action packed episode with well balanced drama if you ask me.

• Dead Shot taking a hero's death to save others. He was a true soldier till the end. We applaud your efforts good sir. 

• Did the ending reveal something that will shake Team Arrow?!?

"congratulations Dig and Lila"

"We want you to join the Suicide Squad"

Low Points

• Why did Felicity sound like she was on drugs the entire episode? Speaking slowly almost sounding like she was drunk. Just really don't like how her character has evolved. 

• The ATOM suite is still a glorified Iron Man suite. Although Tony Stark would approve, we want to see some shrinking in size some real ATOM suite abilities.

• Although Dead Shot was a villain, it was sad to see him go. He was a great villain and a lot of fun to watch. 

• If Diggle ever left Team Arrow, there would be riots in the streets. Im talking burning cars, angry mobs, you know the stuff you see after a Patriots Super Bowl loss at Umass.

"I am Iron Man...ur uh I mean.....ATOM"

Verdict: Tonight's episode pretty much picked up right off from last week. The League of Assassins are framing The Arrow for murder to have the city turn against him. Also this week we had the Suicide Squad and their next mission. With Waller dispatching the Squad to Kansia, Team Arrow loses Dig to his duties. Although the story line of the squad this week did not have much to do with the underlying story line, we still got to see some awesome action, some characterization of Dead Shot, and also a warriors death (you know who I am talking about). Lets focus now on what the league is doing to Ollie. Along with the entire city being turned against him we see Ray Palmer taking actions into his own hands, and his own plan to take down the Arrow. After an X-Ray (no pun intended) ATOM discovers Ollie is the Arrow and decides to take matters into his own hands. So we get to see our first Arrow v. ATOM show down. Wasn't much of anything. A couple of sonic blasts, and before you knew it it was over. Arrow shuts the suit down and tells Ray he's not a killer, back off, and go to Felicity thus in a nut shell ending Olicity. My question is this, what can we see in the future? The end of the episode left us hanging, Ray and Ollie seem to have an understanding with each other so could we see a future team up? How will this all play out when Ollie is being shunned by the entire city with Ras Ah Gul completely in control? The answers lie within the remaining episodes of season 3.

All in all I give tonight's episode a solid 8 out of 10!

Thanks for reading guys! What do you think is next for Team Arrow? Will Ray and Ollie team up? Were you satisfied with the suicide squad's results? Leave us a comment or tweet us @Caped_Informers or @O_DoyleRULES11.

Tune in next week for episode 18 "Public Enemy"

Arrow "Nanda Parbat" Review!

Ollie and Dig take a field trip to Ras's hide out, Ray Palmer gets laid, and Nyssa Ah Gul attempts to slay another one of the Lance sisters (and I don't mean kill). (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Ra's al Ghul captures Malcolm and takes him to Nanda Parbat; Ray obsesses over finishing his Atom suit, but Felicity tries to get him out of the lab to prevent him from going down the wrong path.

High Points:

• Really enjoyed the training scene between Ollie, Thea, and Malcom. It really showed in a quick instant what great fighters the three are. (As if we already didn't know!)

• Welcome back Mr. Palmer!

• Laurel Lance really has done a complete 180 in this show. She is such a better character then she has been in the past. Her burning Ollie was my favorite line of the night.

• Malcom Merlyn took Laurel down with both hands behind his back. Laurel was ballsy to take on someone so well trained.

• The flash back scenes were much better this week.The gun fight took raised the stakes in the past and once again showed how big of a bitch Amanda Waller is.

• Ra's mentions being around in the 1800's again. Thus again confirming the existence of Lazarus Pit.

• Big Daddy Dig and Ollie took on the leagues guards in military-like fashion. I can't remember the last time we saw Dig in action so it was really fun and enjoyable to watch. 

• THE ATOM SUIT IS ACTION READY!

• Roy Palmer got laid...

• When Diggle and Ollie get captured, Diggle talks about the war and how soldiers need to keep the "I will be going home mentality". This was a true testament to Dig's character and how he is always the one to show valor and courage when all else seems to fail. 

• Boba Fett dolls make up for all wrong doing. Nice gift, Roy!

Want some ice for that burn, Ollie?

Low Points:

• Sometimes Arrow goes overboard with the melodramatic then it really should. I get it there are a lot of family matters on this show but this isn't Full House. 

• Felicity. I mean my god she gets worse and worse every week. Just showing up ruining peoples day, locking people out of computers. She's like the younger sister that gets mad and goes in your room and fucks everything up. What a poo poo character she has become.

• The conflict between Team Arrow and The League of Assassins could be better. Perhaps a harsher conflict like say Ollie accidentally killed Nyssa, or something like that. 

• By offering Ollie the chance to be the next Demon's Head, Arrow is essentially stealing Batman's storyline. Batman was supposed to be the next Ra's Ah Gul. Not Green Arrow. Now it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Arrow world, but this is a low point because as Christian and I discussed they could have come up with something original and just as cool. This show hurts itself when it tries to become Batman-Lite. Green Arrow is his own character. I'm sure they could have done something differently.

• When the ATOM suit finally turned on, I wanted to see it shrink not fly around. So little has been seen of the suit so I don't want to pass judgements just yet, but I hope the writers don't turn Ray into an Iron Man ripoff.

Watch Arrow at 8pm on Wednesdays on the CW

Verdict: As predicted this week was an improvement. After coming off of a slow episode last week, Arrow needed this one. I feel like tonights episode spoke a huge amount of how tense it is to be on Team Arrow right now. Everyone is angry and upset. In particular, Laurel has a legitimate gripe with Oliver once again because of his lie about who actually killed Sara. She goes on to tell Ollie she can't remember a time she ever loved him. Now if your a man and you hear that from a previous lover/girlfriend, you just bought yourself a first class ticket to the doghouse. In the end though even with all the Malcom Merlyn shit going on, we still see how this team stands for and cares for one another. Especially Diggle. He is the heart of the show. Mostly he has been used as the father figure of Team Arrow this season, which is cool and everything, but tonight we saw the old Dig. The badass American Soldier Dig that everyone has missed. Him and Ollie make such a good duo, and ya they got trapped, but taking down the league isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. (But Felicity is! O, burn!!!!) 
          Now on to Ray Palmer. Finally he returns to the show and as a bonus we got a taste of his new A.T.O.M suit. Compared to Ollie's night, Ray made out like a bandit. Got a little nookie, then perfected his super suit for a quick test drive. But seriously that character has been missed and it was a great way for him to return.
          Lastly this brings me to the ending. Ra's wants Ollie to be his predecessor, and for both Ollie and Dig to walk out of Nana Parbat alive. The question is what will Ollie say? Will there still be a Team Arrow if he says yes? Will we see Lazarus Pit in the near future?!?! Guess we will have to wait and see. The one downside to the storyline though is that is has been done already with Batman. Green Arrow is his own character and should have his own stories to be told with Ra's.

Anyway I want to give tonights episode a solid 7.5 out of 10! Mostly cause Ray Palmer is awesome.

Ray Palmer's theme song

Thanks for reading! What do you guys think of Ollie becoming the next Demon's Head? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers. And make sure to tune in next week for "The Offer".