5 Cool Possibilities For Season 3 Of The Flash

Last night The Flash ended its second season in style. "The Race of His Life" had lots of unexpected twists and turns. All of which led to a very excited cliffhanger. 

The future of The Flash will certainly be different. Here are some of my ideas of what could happen when the show returns in October. (IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE FLASH FINALE DO NOT CLICK THE JUMP, MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!)

The Flash "Fast Enough" Review

As Season One comes to a close, Barry is given a Sophie's choice! (SPOILERS!!)

High Points:

• A whole season of twists and turns led to the most dramatic Flash episode yet. Barry was presented an impossible choice and it's ramifications led to many heart to hearts.
• Grant Gustin is a star. He is Barry Allen. He has captained the best superhero show on TV and deserves more praise than I can give him.
• Easter Eggs Galore! When Barry connected to the Speed Force several visions from the future appeared. The first was everyone's favorite superhero tourist attraction, the Flash Museum. Then the second and much more surprising one was our first look at Caitlin Snow as KILLER FROST! Then later on Jay Garrick's helmet that popped up. Hot damn we got teased a lot about what is gonna happen with the future of this show.
• Eobard Thawne revealed his master plan to Barry. 
• The final showdown was pretty sweet.
• I've making a joke for weeks that Eddie should Looper himself and make sure Eobard never existed. Well I can tell you that it still surprised me when it actually happened. Reminded me a lot of Tommy's sacrifice in the season 1 finale of Arrow. BUT Eddie was sucked into the wormhole. That could mean we aren't done with him yet.
• Cisco was affected by the particle accelerator! Could we see Vibe and Killer Frost in Season 2?
• The cliffhanger opens up a ton of possibilities for Season 2.

Eddie Thawne be like...

Low Points:

• For a finale, the action was segmented to only the final 15 minutes.
• Ronnie and Caitlin's wedding felt kinda shoehorned into the story. Could have done without it.
• Season 2 hasn't started yet.

At least it wasn't like a Game Of Thrones' wedding

Verdict: The Flash is the best superhero show on TV. It's inaugural season was a blast to watch and the finale capped off all the emotional story threads and gave us tons of hints of where the future of the show is headed. I'm keeping it short and sweet, "Fast Enough" gets a 9.5 out of 10. Can't wait for October.

Thanks for reading! Did you like "Fast Enough"? Did Eddie make the right design? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews.

The Flash "Rouge Air" Review/Thoughts

On this week's episode, Barry decides to leave the thankless superhero life behind in exchange for a luxurious career in human trafficking, plus we get the dynamic duo we have all been waiting for: the Amell cousins.

Episode Description: When the Reverse Flash rigs the particle accelerator with a mysterious device that threatens the lives of the people in the pipeline, Barry must seek help from an unlikely source: Captain Cold. 

High Points:

• I liked that Well's wheelchair ended up being more than just a clever disguise. Plus it explains why the Reverse Flash is still so much faster than Barry even though he is having trouble accessing the speed force.
• The old "hide right underneath their noses" trick. Well played Eobard, well played.
• This week's moral dilemma with the pipeline prisoners really pushed Barry into uncharted territory and I enjoyed seeing him have to make a deal with his nemesis. And in a shady bar nonetheless!
• Leornard Snart would listen to Foreigner's "Cold as Ice" 

For Captain Cold: A Man who Truly is as Cold as Ice

• Ferris Airfield? Barry mentioned it was abandoned because a test pilot went missing so they shut it down. Hal Jordan's father died in a plane crash out of Ferris Aircraft. Coincidence? NO. Green Lantern confirmed. (Don't hold me to that)
• Screw all other relationship nonsense. I don't want, I need Cisco and Golden Glider to happen. I even have their celeb relationship name picked out: Lisco. (Lisa + Cisco)
• The ol' double cross from Captain Cold only solidifies how cold this man can be. Plus the ensuing battle was fun because it was like a big reunion-style brawl featuring Barry's season 1 enemies 
• That last battle!! All sorts of fun to watch The Flash, The Arrow and Firestorm all team up to take on the Reverse Flash, plus every character had their struggles and successes over the course of the fight
• The Reverse Flash has the suit ring! It was just an extra detail in an otherwise full-on action packed sequence, but still when that suit came of his ring I felt things of a generally sexual nature
• Oliver asks Barry for a favor. Sounds like we are going to see the Scarlett Speedster play a role in the closing episodes of Arrow.

Low Points:

• S.T.A.R. Labs really needs to invest in a deadbolt. Seriously, anyone and everyone in Central City just waltzes through the front door on a regular basis. Iris walked in on Barry with his mask off, Captain Cold just helped himself inside. You would think a high-tech lab would have some sort of system in place to prevent all these unwarranted visits
• Eddie has once again proven to be a huge waste of time. I just keep waiting for the bigger picture with him. Some sort of transformation, some sort of deeper connection between him and the Reverse Flash. So far he is just a meaningless pawn. Maybe something will happen with him in season 2 but season 1 is coming to its conclusion fast and he has done nothing but act as the "reason" Barry and Iris can't be together all season. 
• There is only one episode left until I don't know what to do with myself on Tuesday nights...

Verdict: Tonight we got a taste of Arrow in more ways than one. Barry and the gang find themselves in a really tricky situation where the law isn't willing to help them in their highly illegal activities. We get a lot of that vibe on Arrow with Oliver's vigilanteism, but on The Flash, more often than not the CCPD wants to work with the Flash as much as they can. So it was an interesting change of pace to see the S.T.A.R. Labs gang have to operate completely outside of the law. And where do you go when you need to accomplish such a dark and seedy task? Why to Captain Cold's dark and seedy bar of course! I remember a time when I was not 100% sold on Leonard Snart in this show. Now I love the relationship that has been built between him and Barry. Barry and Eobard Thawne have a hero-villain dynamic going on, and that is in no way a bad thing. But The Flash and Captain Cold have an arch-rivalry forming and I love that. I want to see The Flash and Captain Cold constantly struggling to get the edge over the other time after time. Sometimes Barry walks away victorious, sometimes Snart leaves with the upper-hand, and sometimes there is just no clear-cut winner. The two have already clashed four times this season so I think it is safe to assume they will keep challenging each other into season 2. Plus it looks like next time the Rouges will have some new recruits. Snart helped those meta-humans escape and Weather Wizard was looking pretty thankful for it. Will Cisco be forced to make him a weather gun? Or perhaps, a weather wand?? Only season 2 will tell. However, the Flash/Captain Cold team-up was another interesting chapter in their rivalry and it offered both new moral dilemmas for our heroes while also setting the stage for a fight that essentially payed homage to the first season of Central City baddies. 

                     The majority of the episode focused on Barry's human transportation dilemma so the battle with The Reverse Flash at the end seemed a little but rushed into. That being said, the battle itself was awesome. Not only did the Amell cousins tag in as The Arrow and Firestorm but we got to see everyone do a little facing off with The Man in Yellow. It was a true, blue team effort that brought down Eobard Thawne. Now I won't say there isn't part of me that wants to see Barry ultimately triumph over The Reverse Flash on his own. It has been the story of The Flash vs. The Man in Yellow all season so it would be incredibly satisfying to see Barry beat him without relying too heavily on Oliver and Ronnie. In fact, at times it seemed like the real action was between Oliver and The Reverse Flash rather than the Flash. However, the battle was still fantastic and the season isn't over yet so there is still time for a one-on-one face-off. Plus on an interesting side note, we learned that Oliver lives to be 86. So SPOILER ALERT: Oliver doesn't die at the end of this season or any season. Also, if Eobard knew that from the history books than Oliver Queen must have done something worth noting in said history books. Maybe like being a member of a certain league pertaining to themes such as justice?

Or maybe it was a classic political sex scandal..Who knows?

All-in-all this was another great episode. I personally think some more time could have been dedicated to overcoming The Reverse Flash but I love it when Snart and the Rouges are in town as well. Eddie and Iris also broke up but enough going on about that, because if it isn't Cisco Ramon and Lisa Snart then it isn't love. An 8.0 out of 10 is in order for The Flash's second to last episode of the season.

Thanks for reading the review! Who do you think will be in the Rouge's season 2 line-up? What did Oliver do to get in the history books? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below and on twitter @Caped_Informers. Also be sure to check back here regularly for more reviews, articles, and news about your favorite comic book shows and movies. The Flash has its season 1 finale next week at the same time: "Fast Enough".

An Observation About Oliver Queen: Like I said before, there were parts of the final battle where Oliver was truly the star of the fight, like how he slowed the Reverse Flash down the first time and then proceeded to beat the living shit out of him with his superior hand-to-hand combat skills. However, the part that really stuck out to me was when Oliver ended up being the one who got the last shot in. It instantly reminded me of another epic battle that Oliver managed to sneak a final shot in at the end:

And if you haven't seen this whole 2-part movie do yourself a favor and watch it

Either Oliver Queen demands on delivering the final blow in his battles or he is by-far the biggest kill stealer of all time. The point I am getting at here is that I would never play a one-person shooter with this guy.

Flash "Grodd Lives" Review

Grodd is God on an all new The Flash. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Barry and his team at S.T.A.R. Labs must deal with the fallout from their failed plan. But in order to distract them, Wells releases the telepathic Gorilla Grodd, who kidnaps Joe. Meanwhile, Iris West (Candice Patton) confronts Barry about his alter-ego as The Flash.

High Points:

• Gorilla Grodd was on TV! Never thought I would see one of my favorite Flash villains come alive on this show. He has been hinted at for weeks, but tonight was his night. Big props to Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Bertlanti, and Geoff Johns for having the balls to believe a telepathic gorilla could be done right on TV.
• Hello there General Eiling! Did not expect to see you alive again. Grodd made you his puppet for three months and I would think that would maybe teach you a lesson about not being such a massive asshole, but the second you get out of your trance you still have that douchey charm. Same old Eiling.
• The Thawne Family reunion continues to be entertaining. Eobard is really giving Eddie a kick to the dick every time he talks to him. Calling him the least memorable Thawne, then showing him that he isn't gonna get Iris. Sucks to be Eddie Thawne right now.
• The old Ice Cream Truck that is secretly carrying gold routine. Classic.
• Grodd's telepathic powers were showcased very well. Whether it was mind controlling Eiling or just straight up mindfucking people, the gorilla was a formable foe.
• Cisco is a bigger cinephile than Michael Bolton.

• The special effects for Grodd were damn impressive. I don't blame Joe West for almost shitting his pants around the beast.
• Grodd stopped Barry's Falcon punch like a boss.
• Dr. Wells' is a modern day James Franco. The man understands the bond between man and beast. Smart move sending his gorilla buddy after his enemies to further his endgame.
• Barry Frank Underwood's Grodd with a train.
• Eobard/Wells' endgame is upon us.
• Grodd will be back!

Should have known the consequences of Tebowing, Grodd.

Low Points:

• Still wish Iris learned about Flash's powers through researching him for an article or something. She just seems to be handed everything on this show. She got handed a nice boyfriend. She got handed a job at a newspaper. Now she just gets spoon fed Barry's secret. Make Iris work for something!
• I'm done with secrets creating this much tension on CW shows. Arrow has overused it and now Flash needs to let it go as well. No one ever looks from the other person's perspective who kept the secret. Every person who gets lied to is instead extremely pissy. Get over it. 

You know what, Iris...

Verdict: What could have been a filler episode before Eobard's endgame gets put into fruition was anything but that. Grodd had been teased all season and when he finally got his chance in the spotlight  he serenaded the crowd to tears of joy with his own rendition of "A Moment Like This". Expect this telepathic Gorilla to factor into Season 2 heavily. Grodd is only getting smarter and by next year who knows what else he will be capable of. As for Eobard, him taunting Eddie was equally entertaining. The guy is in full villain mode now. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
         Overall I'm gonna give "Grodd Lives" a 9.0 out of 10. For great use of a Gorilla.

Thanks for reading the review! Are you on Team Grodd? Can ape be man's best friend? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back regularly for more reviews, articles, and news about your favorite comic book characters. The Flash returns same time next week with "Rogue Air".

Was Grodd there that night too?????

The Flash "The Trap" Review/Thoughts

On this week's episode of The Flash, the curious case of Harrison Wells is blown wide open and all the beating around the bush about his true identity comes to a screeching halt.

Episode Description: The S.T.A.R. labs gang develops a trap in an attempt to expose Dr. Well's connection to Nora Allen's murder. Meanwhile, Eddie meets resistance from Joe when he announces he plans to propose to Iris. 

High Points:

• Finally getting some more details from that newspaper. (How and when the Flash disappeared, the author of the article, etc.)
• "You are also The Flash. Founding member of..." -Gideon. (The Justice League? Gideon were you about to say the fucking Justice League??)
• Very interesting piece of information that Barry created Gideon. Pieces are starting to fall into place and make sense on the current end of the time stream, but there is still so much about the future Eobard came from that we don't know
• Wind funnel arms! Another classic Flash move in the repertoire. Now we just need to see some helicopter action:

I expect to see Barry flying alongside Firestorm and Atom by season 2

• The inner struggle that Barry is having with accepting Wells as a mentor but also knowing his true motives was very palpable in tonight's episode
• Cisco's dream sequence was cool, even if it was just a reiteration of what happened in the "Out of Time" episode.
• Joe's flashback to the hospital really captured the "deal with the devil" vibe between him and Wells
• The S.T.A.R. Labs team had a pretty solid trap planned out, but Harrison Well's trap was just a little bit better. They all must subscribe to Traps Illustrated

The authority on modern trap-setting

• Eddie: "So this has all been about me?" Eobard: "Not a chance". Has nothing to do with anything but it brought a smile to my face
• Harrison's flashback to an unconscious Barry was really interesting. We got a real taste of what their dynamic was like before Eobard got stuck in the past but there was still a lot left ominously unanswered. Even when his identity is completely out of the shadows, Eobard Thawne still proves to be a very enigmatic villain.

Low Points: 

• For an honest cop just trying to make the city a better place, Joe really sticks to his "put 2 in the chest" method of police work. 
• I am not buying Iris's realization at the end of the episode. That electric shock doesn't seem like viable grounds to make a connection between Barry and The Flash. I get static shocks touching people and things all the goddamn time and you don't see me jumping to conclusions. I mean Barry even said he would bring Eddie back, which was almost identical to what he said to Iris about Joe in the alternate timeline. They could have easily done a weird timeline flashback thing there and I would have readily bought it over the electric shock thing
• As funny as I thought Eddie and Eobard's exchange was, I am still waiting on how Eddie truly plays into all this..

Verdict: The Flash is roaring down the homestretch for this season and we are still learning things about Eobard Thawne. Up until now the focus has been entirely on trying to figure out who Harrison Wells really is. Now that we know the answer, the question has shifted to what is the story with Eobard Thawne? Tonight we got some hints both from the opening and the closing sequences. We know that Gideon really belongs to a future Barry Allen and somehow came to fall into the hands of Thawne. We also know that in the future, Thawne and Allen have squared off a number of times and that The Flash disappeared in 2024 during a battle in the streets with Thawne. Likely that is when the two traveled back in time. We also saw Thawne find it ironic that he ended up being the one to create The Flash this time, which means originally Barry didn't become the Flash until 2020, when the real Harrison Wells originally created the particle accelerator. So we are slowly getting details to form the entire story of The Flash's and Thawne's complicated relationship but there is still a lot to be answered in the coming weeks. On a semi-related side note, we also learned that The Flash was a founding member of something by the year 2024. Now I am not going to say we should expect a fully formed Justice League by season 9, but I am going to pray for it every single night for the rest of my days and hope a miracle happens. 

CW's The Super Seven. I'd watch

                Tonight we also learned that not only is there still more to learn about Eobard Thawne, but that he is a formidable opponent in more ways than just being a faster version of The Flash. It turns out that he made sure that he was aware of everything going on with everybody from the very beginning, and his counter-trap using Everyman as a ploy was a clever ruse that caught me completely off-guard. Which means that yes, for the briefest of moments I was actually starting to think that all this build-up ended with Joe dropping the Reverse Flash like a hat and calling it a night. Luckily we have a villain on our hands who is as calculating as he is fast, which makes me even more excited to see how these next few episodes play out. Besides the opening scene and the last handful of minutes of the episode though there was not too much to talk about. Cisco's dream sequence was cool but it was literally just a recap of things we the viewers already knew. Couple that with some out of place Eddie-Iris-Barry love triangle action and you got a good chunk of tonight's episode. I am also still waiting on Eddie's purpose to shine through. Wells said he took him as "insurance", so what does that mean? Does he want to keep Eddie safe because he needs the Thawne bloodline to live on in order to eventually be born? Do you think the S.T.A.R. Labs crew will reach this realization and send Joe in to put two in the back of Eddie's head? Seems a bit out of character for all or any of them but hell who knows. Drastic times am I right? This long-awaited Wells confrontation episode scores an 8.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review! What do you think will happen in these last few episodes? What is your opinion on Iris's choice to hyphenate? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back regularly for more reviews, articles, and news about your favorite comic book characters. The Flash returns same time next week with "Grodd Lives".

The Flash "Who Is Harrison Wells?" Review/Thoughts

The focus of the S.T.A.R. Labs crew shifts to figuring out who Harrison Wells is this week and we get a bonus trip to Starling City as well as a crafty shapeshifter terrorizing Central City. An interesting mix for an interesting episode.

Episode Description: Barry works on stopping a metahuman named Hannibal Bates, a.k.a. Everyman, who is a shapeshifter who commits crimes by taking the forms of innocent people. Meanwhile, Joe and Cisco travel to Starling City to investigate the car crash that killed Dr. Well's fiancee.

High Points:

• Start the episode off with a quick zip over to Coast City for some pizza (Coast City is the home of Hal Jordan. Potential foreshadowing?)
• I really enjoy how the Flash/Arrow cast crossovers are becoming more and more of a casual event that everyone can get in on. 
• Cisco's fan-girling over Black Canary was an entertaining addition to the episode plus his role in working on Sarah's sound bombs was exciting for two reasons: 1) At long last we will get The Canary Cry! and 2) Another glimpse of Cisco proving his Vibe-like mastery of sound wave technology
• Everyman may have just been another "villain-of-the-week" type, but his shapeshifting escapades were both tricky and entertaining at times, making him a slightly better character than other villains that have come and gone on this show.
• I enjoyed the fight between The Flash and Everyman. Granted it was completely one-sided but we don't see Barry pull out the high-speed punches too often and he was all about that approach tonight. 
• Every time the Flash's heroism gets recognition from the Central City Police I get excited for the future grand opening of The Flash Museum (It's gunna happen)
• I found the scene between Harrison Wells and Joe to be interesting. I may be reading into it way too much but Harrison mentions both checking in on Eddie (his "distant relation") and then ominously brings up Joe's wife, a character who has not been mentioned or alluded to at all this whole show. Could have all just been fluff, but I'm willing to bet there was more to that exchange than meets the eye
• The discovery of the real Harrison Wells by Joe and Cisco!
• The discovery of Eobard Thawne's secret room in S.T.A.R. Labs by Cisco, Caitlin and Barry!!
• The discovery of the newspaper headline from the future by Barry!!!

The original Daredevil suit was partially yellow...Coincidence?

Low Points:

• I wasn't feeling the floating liquid thing this time. I get that it happens when certain shit is going down like when time barriers are broken and when the particle accelerator exploded but it seemed out of place in this context. I get that there were tachyons on the scene but they were literally just digging up a body on the side of the road. Didn't seem overly floating-coffee worthy..
• Could Barry really not have put 1 and 2 together when "Eddie" came to the door? For a brilliant scientist he suffers from some pretty massive lapses in judgement from time to time..
• I am a bit lost on what to think about Eddie these days. Ever since we found out that he is not the Reverse Flash but rather a distant relative of Eobard Thawne, I have been curious to see how he plays into the story. There seems to be moments of cooperation and potential friendship between him and Barry but there is also definitely tension between the two characters as well. Hopefully Eddie will pan out into something more consistent than this on-the-fence frenemies bullshit that is going on right now so I can finally establish a solid opinion on this guy.

Verdict: The S.T.A.R. Labs team split up this week to cover more ground as Cisco and Joe went to Starling to do some investigating while Barry and Eddie hung back in Central City to deal with a shapeshifting problem. I for one am a big fan of relaxed the crossovers between the two shows have become. Don't get me wrong, it is always fun when The Flash has to team up with Ollie or Ray to take down an evil that is too much to handle alone, but it is also great to see that Joe can swing by the Starling City police department, get some help from Quentin Lance and then offer up some family advice in exchange. Is it as thrilling as watching Ollie and Barry fight Captain Boomerang? Not really. But does it show a deeper level of connectedness between the two shows than just the guys in the suits teaming up? Hell yes. Plus it allows for each show to draw solutions to their respective problems from each other. Example: We have a Black Canary running around Starling City without the "Canary Cry". So we could either beat around the bush about that unforgivable fact in Starling City for a few more seasons, or we could get Cisco Ramon on the case to do what he does best: weaponize the shit out of things. Joe West, a true family man, needs an inside look at the crash site in Starling City where Tess died and Officer Lance has been struggling with familial issues for the entire back-half of this season. Why not get them together and have them scratch each others backs? It's a universe building business we subscribe to when we tune in to these shows nowadays, and I am very fond of the idea that it can be built in ways both big and small. 

                  On the Central City front this week we got Barry and Eddie teaming up to find a metahuman that can take on the form of people he touches. They really decided to stay on a family-friendly path with this villain because much like his namesake implies, the original Everyman was able to shape-shift into people only after he ate a part of them. I guess the The Flash just didn't think their audience was ready for full-blown cannibalism in an otherwise light-hearted show. Plus you can't really have a no-namer like Everyman come in swinging darker and grittier shit around than some of the headliner villains have on this show. 

"The Reverse Flash doesn't eat his victims? What a bitch" -Everyman

However I wasn't bothered by that choice. Everyman ended up being a pretty decent villain of the week who was both clever in his shape shifting game (the "help I'm a kidnapped child" card works every time) and entertaining  in his attempts to portray the people he was imitating. I respected his acting choice to play Barry Allen as aloof yet sexually aggressive as well as his shoot-first, never ask questions take on Eddie Thawne. It's that type of brass-balled method acting I like to see from my villainous thespians. I also liked the growing tension between Caitlin and Barry over the episode. We discussed last week that Caitlin didn't seem very comfortable in siding with Barry and Cisco over Wells and this week only added to that claim. However, she was there when they wheeled in the body of the real Wells and she did see Eobard's man-cave for herself so I find it difficult to believe she will continue to side against Barry. So perhaps this is not the beginning of the Killer Frost transformation we had hoped it was. However, with so much else going on in this show right now with The Reverse Flash at large, and Gorilla Grodd prowling the sewers, and Firestorm off learning how to be Firestorm, there is plenty to keep us occupied until that transformation naturally flows into the story arch. Until then, the stage is set for these last handful of episodes this season. Barry's hunch about Dr. Wells is now a straight-up fact and he saw the newspaper headline forewarning his future disappearance. I suggest we all buckle down and prepare for some time-traveling, tension breaking, speedster style action heading our way in the next few weeks. As for this week, the Flash gets an 8.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review! Do you think there is a chance Caitlin could still side with Wells? Do you think you personally could have handled graphic, on-screen cannibalism in a CW show? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back regularly for more comics news, articles and reviews. The Flash returns same time next week with "The Trap".

The Flash "Tricksters" Review/Thoughts

Throwback Thursday came early this week on The Flash as the man, the myth, the legend himself, Mark Hamill, descended from his DC voice acting throne to reprise his original live-action role as the Trickster from the 1990s Flash television series.

Episode Description: When a criminal starts antagonizing Central City under the name "The Trickster", Barry and Joe seek out James Jesse, a.k.a. the original Trickster, in hopes of using his help to stop the copycat. Meanwhile, Harrison Wells senses Barry's growing suspicions and reflects back on how he got to where he is today.

High Points:

• A very exciting opening to this episode! We start off with a look at the fight that happened in Barry's house the night his mother was murdered AND we get the explanation for why Eobard Thawne got stuck in the past. Plus Gideon mentioned the Speed Force! 
• When The Reverse Flash pulled off his hood in the street after learning he couldn't access the speed force and it wasn't Harrison Wells...

Eobard Thawne is going to drive me to drink...

• Much like the Spidey picture from last week's post, Barry and Joe have their own conspiracy board going on Dr. Wells
• Mark Hamill, the voice behind the animated versions of The Joker and The Trickster, and the original Trickster from the 1990s Flash, was amazing as always! And the performance was absolutely an homage to both characters he is known for. Well done sir
• The original Trickster's cell was some Hannibal Lecter level shit
• Mark Hamill told Axel Walker "I am your father". Darth Vader would be so proud
• The Tricksters' scheme was a fun change of pace this week. Usually the villains are doing something pretty straightforward like straight-up shooting a place up, or straight-up kidnapping somebody. You gotta love a good old-fashioned convoluted plan every once in awhile
• The Lesson of the Week from Professor Zoom: Phasing through solid objects! Plus his explanation of the utilizing the speed force was intense
• Eddie Thawne, distant relative of Eobard Thawne, knows Barry is The Flash. Will this decision to reveal himself to Eddie come back to haunt him later on?
• Everything about the "Harrison Wells" flashbacks! RIP Actual Harrison Wells. I feel bad for not saying it sooner because it turns out you were dead the entire show. Mind sufficiently blown.

Low Points:

• Henry you literally just watched half of those parachute presents explode upon hitting the ground and you are still going to go for it? The balls on you kid..

In honor of Henry: The Kid from that One Scene in the Park Who Gave 0 Fucks

•  The Chicago Cubs do not need to be reminded that they haven't won a World Series in 106 years. They literally have 106 years worth of not winning a World Series to do that for them.
• Wasn't really feeling the "New Trickster". He pretty much spent the whole episode standing in the "Old Trickster's" shadow. But then again when you put a rookie like that next to a savvy veteran like Mark Hamill, what can you honestly expect to take away from the rookie? Maybe next time we will get some more out of the new guy

Verdict: Mark Fucking Hamill ladies and gentlemen. We first see him in his Hannibal Lecter-style glass cell with his face shadowed but we know who it is. That villainous voice rings into our ears and instantly reminds us of the childhood we spent watching Batman thwart the Joker's plans time and time again on Batman: The Animated Series. Hamill has accrued quite a resume of villainous voice acting over the years, dabbling in everything from comic book villains like The Joker and The Trickster, to villains in other animated universes like Firelord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender and that sly bastard Turtle from My Friends Tigger and Pooh. 

Behold the vilest creature to ever crawl out of the 7th ring of hell

Mark Hamill also played The Trickster in the original live-action The Flash that aired in the early 1990s. Tonight's episode was a fun homage to that and even came complete with little joke references to the original show like when Joe said his lair hadn't looked like it had been touched since the 90s. However, Mark Hamill's performance was also very much a nod to The Joker in my opinion. The convoluted schemes that had multiple thought-out layers were classic Joker-style schemes and even the small little quips that Hamill would make like calling Axel a "rank amateur" and his comical response of "Well that wasn't very sanitary" in response to Barry giving everyone the antidote were reminiscent of Hamill's quick-witted Joker. And if the flower on the lapel of his suit wasn't a blatant nod to the animated character design of the Joker then I don't know what else it could have possibly been. All that was missing was the laugh. Hamill's Trickster chuckled a handful of times throughout the episode and every time he did I just wanted him to break into that full-on Joker laugh. I understand why he didn't though. His laugh is the trademark "Joker laugh" and at the end of the day Hamill was playing The Trickster, not the Clown Prince of Crime. However, Hamill's reprise of The Trickster made for an incredibly fun-to-watch episode on the villain-of-the-week front, and the episode didn't stop there.

Segway into the weekly Harrison Wells Report where we got a mind-blowing look into Eobard Thawne's past this week. The episode opened up with Barry and The Reverse Flash duking it out in Barry's living room the night of the murder. We then learn Eobard drained his powers jumping back in time and can no longer harness the speed force to get him back to his own time. And when the Reverse Flash removes his hood in defeat, we see no Harrison Wells, but instead a man who actually resembles Eddie Thawne. I know we have all been saying "Harrison Wells isn't the man we think is" and boy has that been an understatement! He isn't even Harrison Wells! We thought the Reverse Flash's true identity was exposed until this episode slapped us around with the fact that he had an even truer identity that still needed to be discovered all along. I mean Jesus Christ is there another person hiding beneath this new identity? How many layers do we have to peel back to get the god's honest truth around here??

But in the best possible way

And now that Eddie knows Barry's identity are we going to see some sort evil story arc evolve around him? Eobard Thawne is from 100s of years in the future but that doesn't mean we couldn't see a present day Thawne/Allen rivalry begin to grow. And what about the already present tension growing between Barry and Eobard? The mind games that are being played between the two right now is palpable and only one of two things can come of it: An intense, season-finale worthy, clash of titans, or a mind-blowing sexual encounter. I'm more inclined to believe the first one is going to happen but I am in no way about to go on record as saying I don't want the second one to happen either. Simply put this was a great episode all around. 9.5 out of 10.

Thanks for reading the review! What is your favorite voice acting role that Mark Hamill has done? Who else should know about Barry's identity before Iris? Let us know what you think in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Check back here regularly for news, articles and reviews of other shows and movies. The Flash is taking a week break, but will return on April 14th with friends from the cast of Arrow in an "All Star Team Up" episode. 

The Flash "Rouge Time" Review/Thoughts

From holding up a casino for fun with the Snart siblings to shooting the shit about high school girlfriends with the Ramon brothers, this week's episode of The Flash sat us down and taught us all about the importance of sibling bonding.

Episode Description: After accidentally running back in time, Barry gets a chance to alter his future for the better. However, things take a bad turn when the Rouges return to Central City with their newest member, Lisa Snart, a.k.a. Golden Glider.

High Points:

• Scumbag Barry Allen: Is asked not to tamper with the timeline in any way. Goes ahead and tampers with the timeline in every possible way
• Positives to this include the Weather Wizard being put away in record time and Cisco getting to live
• I was interested by Harrison Well's reaction to learning Barry traveled back in time. We learned last week he is waiting for Barry to be able to break the time barrier so he can go home, but even when he was alone in his back room this week he seemed more nervous about Barry's newfound ability. We may know who Wells is now but we still need to find out what causes the Flash to "go missing" in 2024.
• I loved the interactions between Captain Cold and The Flash this week. This is the third time this season the Rouges have faced off with the Flash and the arch-rivalry between Snart and Allen is really starting to show. 
• On top of that, I especially liked the exchange Snart and Allen had in the woods. It established A) a true superhero/villain arch rivalry between Captain Cold and the Flash and B) their "game". In the New 52, Captain Cold and The Flash have a similar relationship where they continue to go head-to-head over time as long as no one has to die as a result. I really enjoyed seeing this similar relationship form in this episode
• I was a fan of Golden Glider as a character. I am not overly sold on her "gold gun" but I enjoyed the dynamic between her and her brother Leonard
• Barry has a heart-to-heart with Eobard Thawne in which he asks Barry how many other people might have to die if he goes back in time to save his mother (Flashpoint Paradox anyone?)
• Cisco has a heart-to-heart with Eobard Thawne that goes a lot better for Cisco this week than it did last week
• Rest In Peace Mason Bridge. We thought your appearance in the show may signal a potential relationship with The Flash, but you barked up the wrong tree and got your heart stopped by The Reverse Flash (that really seems to be Eobard's go-to move)
• Finally after everyone else has had a run at being suspicious of Dr. Wells, it is Barry's turn

Low Points:

• I am still not overly sold on Heat Wave. I know that an unhealthy obsession with fire is kind of THE defining characteristic of Heat Wave, but right now he just kind of strikes me as a goon with a flamethrower. I'd like to see a bit more character development there
• I also wasn't sold on Golden Glider's "gold gun". Sure it looked kind of cool but Golden Glider is named more for the ice skates that allow her to skate around in midair than anything having to do with gold. I feel like they just want Cisco to have to make a gun for every villain that ends up being on the Rouges. 
• Why the hell does Cisco's family give him such crap for being a mechanical engineer? "You think your mechanical engineering can help us now?" -Dante Ramon. And your piano playing is going to help out all the more Dante? Get a job hippie.

Preferably one that pays this time Dante

Verdict: As exciting as the last 15 minutes of last week's episode was, It was clear that all that ground was going to give way to an alternate timeline when Barry ended up running back in time. Zero time was wasted in wrapping up the whole Weather Wizard storyline which allowed time for the Rouges to make their third appearance this season. On a small side note I found it very interesting that very different events occurred because of one thing Barry changed when he went back in time. The Rouges didn't pull their casino heist the first time around, only after Barry went back in time. Sounds like there may have been a "time boom" involved in Barry's tie traveling, similar to the large scale one that occurs when The Flash goes back in time to save his mother in Flashpoint Paradox. I'm not speculating anything in the way of a full-scale Flashpoint Paradox scenario, but it is exciting to see that more events are effected by Barry's time travel than just the events he chooses to tamper with. This time the unforeseen event was Captain Cold and his gang rolling back into town to do what they do best: commit petty theft and crime just because it is so gosh darn fun. Gold gun aside, I enjoyed the Rouges' newest addition to the team, Golden Glider, and I think her personality compliments her brother's very well. I am also an ever growing fan of this Captain Cold and the dynamic he has with Barry Allen. As the leader of the Rouges, Captain Cold is one of The Flash's oldest rivals and this episode did a great job in really establishing them as just that. Like I was saying in my high points, The New 52 comic run of The Flash alludes to a "game" that Captain Cold and The Flash have. Essentially it is a sort of agreement that no one has to get killed in this constant back and forth between the two, and it is exactly what was established between the two characters in tonight's episode. Barry can't put Cold away without revealing his own secret identity to the world, but Barry was able to use Leonard's ego to keep him from killing people in the future. It is an interesting hero/villain relationship that commands that each party have a level of respect for the other while still being directly opposed to one another, which I think is going to make for a great arch-rivalry between the two in future episodes. Also, in the New 52 Captain Cold only breaks from their "game" when he suspects that The Flash was responsible for his sister's death, so there could be potential for a storyline involving the death of Golden Glider in the future. In the meantime there was not too much that happened on the Harrison Wells front during this episode. We saw him in his back room checking the newspaper from 2024 and we watched him as he killed Mason Bridge. We are starting to reach a point in the show where the questions start shifting from "Who is Harrison Wells?" to "What are his true plans/motives?". We know that he is trapped in this time and needs Barry to get back to his own time, but when is that? Usually Eobard Thawne is a man from the 25th century so why is he so obsessed with making sure that happened The Flash disappears in 2024? It appears to me we have two options on our hands. Either we are forced to wait through nine more seasons of The Flash before we reach an end to this storyline in the real 2024, or we are going to see some time-travel into the future fairly soon. As much as I would love to see the show run for that long, I hope to god it is the second one because the episode cliffhangers this season alone have made me speculate almost to the point of paranoia. I feel like I'm trying to get to the bottom of some huge conspiracy theory every time I flip on my TV on Tuesday night. 

Even Spidey wants to know what the hell is going on in this show

We also got the death of Mason Bridge tonight but I don't feel to shaken by that personally. He was a character who was known to be friends with Wally West so originally there was the thought that his presence in the show could signal a potential appearance of the second Flash. However, he only ended up serving as a character who poked his head in now and again to be generally suspicious of Harrison Wells. And who knows, with all this timeline hopping who can truly say who will remain dead for how long (I'm looking at you Cisco). All in all it was another strong appearance by The Rouges this week and Captain Cold has turned out to be a great foe for The Flash to butt heads with time and time again. An 8.0 out of 10 seems in order.

Thanks for checking out the review! Who do you think should be the next addition to the Rouges Gallery? Who had a worse time with the ladies this week: Barry or Cisco? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments and on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back here for more show and movie reviews as well as news and original articles concerning your favorite comic heroes. The Flash returns same time next week with "Tricksters". 

A Lesson in Time Travel from Professor Zoom: In case anyone felt like they were woefully uninformed on the scientific complexities of what constitutes a "time boom", please take a brief moment to watch as Professor Zoom explains this concept in simpler terms. Also watch him fight The Flash and get pumped for the potential showdown later this season.

A Note from Christian: Everyone who has every been alive needs to watch this video.

The Flash "Out of Time" Reviews/Thoughts

Welcome back to the weekly The Flash review! After a second month-long hiatus this season, The Flash returned this week with about a month's worth of stuff to discuss. We got a taste of just about everything this week from romance to great action scenes to the utterance of the name we have all been waiting to hear: Eobard Thawne!! Throw in a surprising time-travel based plot twist and you got yourself a hell of an episode to talk about.

Episode Description: Mark Mardon, a.k.a. Weather Wizard, returns to Central City to seek revenge on the man who killed his brother: Detective Joe West. Meanwhile, Cisco starts to become suspicious of Dr. Harrison Wells and attempts to understand what went wrong the night they had the reverse Flash briefly contained in S.T.A.R. Labs.

High Points:

• I was wondering when/how/if we were going to get the real Weather Wizard. Enter Mark Mardon, who in my opinion was a much better villain than his one-episode worthy, god-complex having brother Clyde Mardon. (Mark called himself a god as well, but at least it wasn't a defining character feature for him)
• The scenes where the Weather Wizard used his powers were awesome. Especially during his attack on the police station. He has much better control over his powers than his brother did which makes him a more formidable opponent for Barry.
• I am enjoying the Joe West/Mark Mardon rivalry. One of the things I have come to like about this show is that everyone seems to have their own personal rivalries going on, whether it is Barry and the Reverse Flash or Harrison Wells and General Eiling or even Cisco and Hartley Rathaway. It gives other characters something to do and it adds to them as characters overtime as well. 
• Harrison Wells has become the talk of Central City. First we got Joe suspecting him of murder and now we got Mason Bridge getting Iris to ask around as well as Cisco starting to look into it himself. 
• Cisco creates a "wand" that allows Barry to negate Mardon's weather powers. Sounds like another one of Cicso's gadgets could potentially fall into the wrongs hands (Weather Wizard's weather wand anyone?)
• The episode hit a certain point toward the end where suddenly shit started getting crazy. The following points highlight said craziness
• Dr. Harrison Wells reveals himself to Cisco as Eobard Thawne!! 

• Eobard Thawne then tells Cisco that Eddie is a distant relative and he shows Cisco that by using his super speed he can appear to be in two places at once! (Thus explaining why he was able to confront himself during "The Man in the Yellow Suit" episode)

• Thawne then kills Cisco! By vibrating his hand fast enough to reach into his chest and stop his heart!

• Meanwhile Barry not only gets a kiss from Iris but he also reveals to her that he is The Flash!

• And finally, Barry runs so fast that he goes back in time! And it turns out that the figure he saw running next to him in the beginning of the episode was himself!! And since Barry knew nothing of the events that unfolded between Wells and Cisco, we are basically right back to where we started!!!

It's a lot to take in Larry...It's a lot to take in...

Low Points:

• Most of the major events of this episode took place within the last 10 minutes of the episode so the beginning seemed slow by comparison, with a lot of focus being put on how Eddie and Linda felt awkward during their bowling date
• It seemed like  Weather Wizard was able to get away a lot this episode. He attacked Barry twice at close range and when the attack was over it just kind of ended there. There wasn't much of an attempt on Barry's part to pursue or contain him. Mardon was just left to drive/walk away.
• Because Barry went back in time at the end of the episode, it seems like a lot of the ground that got covered in this week's episode may be erased. However, that doesn't change the fact that Harrison Wells IS Eobard Thawne. 

Verdict: Usually when I sit down to watch The Flash I expect to get smacked upside the head with some new plot-forwarding information, but tonight was just straight-up offensive barrage:

What I have come to expect while watching The Flash

What happened during this episode

Let's start with Dr. Harrison Wells confession. We learned last month that Wells was definitely the Man in the Yellow Suit when he unmasked himself to General Eiling. Now we finally got him to say the name that I have been writing without a definite face to match it to for months now: Eobard Thawne! He also displayed his ability to create a "speed mirage" which finally gives a solid explanation for what the hell was going on during the midseason finale. Unfortunately, this puts to rest the speculations of two yellow speedsters running around (at least for now), but I am very ok with that just knowing that Eobard Thawne and Gorilla Grodd are already present in Central City. We also get a quick glimpse into Eobard's motives, as he tells Cisco he needs The Flash to be able to get back to his own "world". Did the Reverse Flash travel back in time with no idea how to return hime? Did he have a way of getting back originally but something went wrong? And if he originally meant to kill Barry why did Nora end up dead? These are just some of the questions caused by a complex time-travel based storyline, and luckily for us, Barry did his first bit of time-traveling this episode! It was accidental and he only went back a handful of days but it was extremely exciting to see! However, Barry's impromptu time-travel does make it a bit difficult to seriously talk about the other events that took place during the last 10 minutes of the episode because it looks like Barry is going to get a second chance to keep things from escalating to that point. It looks like Barry will have the insight next week to stop Weather Wizard before Joe gets captured, which means him and Iris probably won't kiss, which means he probably won't reveal himself as The Flash to her. On the other side of town Cisco probably won't get the chance to fully investigate the night they almost had the Reverse Flash, which means Harrison won't have to reveal himself as Eobard Thawne to him which means Cisco doesn't have to die! So there is good and bad to come out of this alternate time-line, but whatever happens next week, it does not change what we now know to be true about Eobard Thawne. As for the other 40 minutes of the episode, there was not too much going on besides the most awkward bowling date ever and a lot of cool Weather Wizard action. I'm not saying that Mark Mardon was an overly spectacular villain but I did enjoy him as the Weather Wizard a lot more than his brother. Plus I am glad to see that the Weather Wizard will get more screen time than just one episode. He is a decently notable villain of The Flash and is a potential member of the Rouges so he deserves slightly more than taking two in the chest during the show's pilot. Also next week's episode is titled "Rouge Time" so who knows. Maybe Mark will join the Rouge's roster when they swing through town again. All in all this ended up being a very exciting episode, even if half of it was erased by Barry's time-traveling. However, I guess if we are going to start diving headlong into the time-traveling aspect of Barry's powers we better get used to having alternate timelines thrown at us. An 8.0 out of 10 is in order.

Thanks for reading the review! What are your thoughts on Barry's unplanned trip back in time? Did you shit your pants as hard as I did when Harrison Wells introduced himself as Eobard Thawne? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back here regularly for more reviews of your favorite comic books shows and movies as wells as other articles about your favorite heroes. The Flash returns same time next week with "Rouge Time". 

The Flash "Fallout" Review/Thoughts

Tonight on The Flash we received an unprecedented amount of dynamic-duo action. I am talking old-school superhero team ups, unlikely partnerships and, dare I say it, a long-awaited villainous collaboration.

Episode Description: After an explosion separates Ronnie and Dr. Stein, General Eiling returns to Central City in search of the key to unlocking F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.'s weapon-grade potential. Meanwhile, Barry makes a key realization about the night his mother was murdered.

High Points:

• Episode picks up immediately after the events of "The Nuclear Man" (and with an immediate resolution to last week's dilemmas as well)
• Joe shares his crime scene notes with Barry thus opening up a much anticipated time-travel conversation!
• The ensuing time travel conversations (It's happening! It is really truly happening!)
• You know how people joke about twins being able to feel each other's pain and emotions? That is no joking matter for Ronnie and Dr. Wells
• I actually really enjoyed all of the gadgets that Eiling brought to fight Barry with (the kinetic-energy seeking shrapnel, the acid missiles, etc.) They create newer obstacles for Barry and also made Eiling a more formidable and unpredictable foe
• Everyone seems to be conducting their own personal investigations nowadays. First we get Joe looking into Harrison Wells and now we are getting Iris and Mason Bridge snooping around S.T.A.R. Labs.
• The way Ronnie communicated with a captive Dr. Stein was some Black-Quilled, Hogwarts-Level shit
• We got some sweet, consensual body fusing between Ronnie and Dr. Stein to get our first glimpse at a fully-functioning Firestorm (The aforementioned unlikely partnership)
• We then get a brief Firestorm/Flash team-up to finish off Eiling and the army for the episode (The aforementioned superhero team up)
• The episode ends with The Reverse Flash unmasking himself to reveal that he is in fact Harrison Wells, while simultaneously delivering Eiling to an angry Gorilla Grodd!!

Christian sent this my way about a week ago and it ended up being immediately relevant. Good show sir!

Low Points:

• Iris seems to be the only person in Central City at this point who has zero idea that Barry is the Flash. Even Barry's dad put two and two together and the man lives behind bars.. I don't dislike this as much as a plot point as much as I dislike it because Iris's character is just starting to seem really air-headed at this point. At least she is slowly starting to piece things together with Firestorm..
• I thought it was a little strange how both Ronnie and Dr. Stein were both suddenly prepared to immediately leave their loved ones so they could figure out their Firestorm powers. It was a split-second decision but there was no going back after that
• As amazing as it was to finally see Harrison Wells take off his mask and reveal it truly was him in the Yellow Suit, it brings my constant speculating on the subject to a halt, and for that I shed a single tear

It was fun dreaming up an infinite number of possibilities while it lasted

Verdict: We got ourselves a real humdinger of an episode on our hands here. Where do we even begin the conversation? How about with the cold hard fact that Barry Allen is going to time-travel and it is shaping up to look like some Flashpoint level shit. Of course we have been hit constantly with time travel implications throughout the course of the season but this marked the first time that the S.T.A.R. Labs gang gathered around and had a full-on conversation about it. Everyone is now aware that Barry is eventually going to become fast enough to break through the time barrier, including Barry himself. Plus he is now motivated to not only go back in time, but also to save his mother. If Barry succeeds in doing this we can expect to see some interesting alternate timeline action and I think we may have already been given the indicator that Barry initially succeeds. I am talking about the newspaper headline that we saw in Harrison Well's secret back room back at the beginning of the season. It was dated for April 25, 2024 and it read "Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis". Could this be the supposed end result of an alternate timeline? It is definitely starting to look that way. Unfortunately we probably can't expect an alternate universe similar to one detailed in Flashpoint, mostly because we can't possibly expect to get big names like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Thomas Wayne Batman dropped on us out of nowhere. However, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that the Arrow gang would be affected by an alternate timeline. Either way a time-travel storyline is on its way and the a whole new world of possibilities and is opening up. In other words, I now have something new to obsessively speculate about.

#cantstopwontstop

On top of all this time-travel talk, we finally got to see some legitimate Firestorm action as Dr. Stein and Ronnie combined willingly to take on Eiling. Plus after their successful merging, the decided to go learn how to use their powers meaning that we are definitely going to be seeing more of this version of Firestorm later on down the line. Could The Flash be making its way into the spin-off generating business that Arrow has made itself? I couldn't help but notice they name dropped "Coast City" during the episode, a.k.a. home of Hal Jordan. If I remember correctly, on Arrow they started just by acknowledging Central City was there before they introduced us to Barry Allen a season later. I'm just saying, the parallels are worth looking into. And to round out the episode we get another amazing cliffhanger sequence, where the Reverse Flash delivers General Eiling to Grodd in his underground/sewer lair. Now I thought we were just going to get Grodd waved in front of our faces this season so he could be the big bad next season, but now we are getting a clear partnership between Wells and Grodd?! We knew that there was a connection between these two characters from previous episodes, but a team-up this soon? The show never fails to give us something to look forward to and I love it! I just hope they are able to follow up in future seasons because right now this is looking like a tough act to follow. Also did Grodd kill Eiling or did he take him somewhere? Part of me hopes Eiling is just locked away somewhere in Grodd's layer because if he is dead we will never have the possibility of Eiling eventually becoming The General. Perhaps Grodd will do tests on Eiling like Eiling used to do to him? Just another potential outcomes out the 100 that this show cranks out every week. From time-travel to speedster-gorilla team-ups to even more untold potential, this episode scores a 9.0 out of 10.

Thanks for checking out the review. What are your thoughts on the Reverse Flash/Gorilla Grodd partnership? Would you watch a spin-off about the wacky misadventures of Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Stein? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Also be sure to check back regularly for more show reviews, movie reviews and other articles relevant to the comic book universe. The Flash is unfortunately going on a month-long hiatus but will return March 17th with their 15th episode.


In case the reference was missed: Let me be clear what I meant by the term "Black-Quilled, Hogwarts-Level shit":

This...This is what I meant