The Flash "The Nuclear Man" Review

 Barry attempts to blow his load while Firestorm tries not to blow his in an all new The Flash. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: After Ronnie (Robbie Amell) attacks a physicist (Bill Dow), Barry (Grant Gustin) and the team realize they need to go after Caitlin’s (Danielle Panabaker) fiancé who is now a dangerous meta-human.

If Ryan thought the soundtrack to last episode should be Boy George then this one's has to be Nelly.

High Points

• The heat was on in this episode in more ways than one. The Firestorm storyline really heated up. Barry was getting ass. Spicy food and ghost peppers were running amuck. MILFs were trying to bang Joe West. And I was sweating just watching it.
• Joe employs Cisco to help him with his investigation into Nora Allen's death. (Watch your ass, Wells!).
• The use of flashbacks helped add to the episode. (Nice autobiography cover, Wells).
• Robbie Amell does his best Victor Garber impression as he attempt to show how Stein is in control of Ronnie's body. (Ronnie definitely drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon).
• The science behind how Cisco was able to render images from the night of Nora murder was awesome.
• Wells is once again quick to decide to kill a man in order to save other people. His philosophy differs from Barry's and will hopefully bring his secrets to light. (He is not a good guy Cisco!).
• Seeing Wells in his secret room never gets old. Especially when he is forced to delay his plans in order to try to save Central City.
• Adult Barry's blood is found at his mother's crime scene. (FLASHPOINT HERE WE COME!)
• General Eiling's search for Firestorm will be interesting going forward. Could it lead to the General's other pal, Grodd??
• The Amell cousins hate shirts and I dig it.

This show was steamier than being in an underground spring with Jon Snow and Ygritte

Low Points

• No real villain this week, but the Firestorm conundrum more than sufficed.
• Eddie Thawne is lucky Barry showed up to stop that suicide jumper. "You have so much to live for" is all you got, Eddie?
• Iris West is the new mayor of Cockblock City.
• You did a good job in this week, Robbie, but nobody gives a shit about your movie The DUFF. Compared to your cousin Steve, Grant Gustin, and David Rasmey, you're the DUFF of the Flarrow-verse.

Verdict: After weeks of build-up, Firestorm finally became the focus of an episode instead of just a sub-plot. "The Nuclear Man" was all about letting us know what is going on with Caitlin Snow's ex-fiance. First we discovered that Martin Stein has been in control of Ronnie Raymond's body. Actor Robbie Amell did a good job of portraying the old scientist inside the young man's body. And that struggle between the two men was the main conflict this week as it led to a potential nuclear blast. Ultimately Firestorm did explode. Ending with General Eiling ordering his men to bring him Firestorm. Could the General's return to Central City lead to a meeting with his old buddy who's living in the sewer named Grodd? Maybe, but I'm gonna bet that the writers are setting up Grodd for season 2. Elsewhere Cisco helped Joe with his investigation into Nora Allen's murder. The two of them made a pretty startling discovery. They found blood on the wall from an adult Barry Allen!! That means that Barry was the second speedster there that night alongside the Reverse Flash. The shows producers have hinted at DC's Flashpoint storyline before, could this be the beginning of it? Could we see Barry go back in time and stop his mother's murder thus altering the Flawrrow-verse? The possibilities would be endless. Imagine a world where Robert Queen is a more violent and unforgiving version of the Arrow because Ollie died on the island (Taking the place of  Flashpoint Thomas Wayne as Batman instead of Bruce). Imagine Captain Cold becoming the vigilante Citizen Cold and attempting the stop the other rogues. Imagine Mama Smoak becoming the Canary because she is wicked hot. I'm getting way too excited just thinking about it. Anyway "The Nuclear Man" may not have had a villain, but it paid off on the weeks of Firestorm build-up and gave a new pairing of characters (Cisco and Joe) discovering a huge revaltion that will definitely affect the future of the show. So at the end of the day "The Nuclear Man" gets an 8.5 out of 10.  

Thanks for reading! Got any theories for how Flashpoint could play out? Would you eat a ghost pepper to get laid? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. and @cstrand73. Be sure to check back regularly for more show/movie reviews and breaking news/stories regarding the comic book universe. The Flash returns same time next week with "Fallout".

MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!

Breaking News: Arrow Casts for Katana in Season 3!

Some very important news from the Arrow Team today that they casted Devon Aoki as Tatsu Yamashiro aka Katana for season 3 of the CW series Arrow.

This is a big new addition for the Arrow cast and it will add a whole new perspective to the story. From what the sources have said, she is going to be Oliver's mentor from the past in flashbacks that they are going to add in and is most likely to appear in the present day world as well.

For the people that don't know, Katana is a Japanese martial arts expert that has had some minor roles in the DC universe as of late. She was first sighted as a part of the Outsiders series back in the earlier years and got a reboot like many others in the comic world after Flashpoint where she joined up with Black Canary and Stirling making the Birds of Prey. It was after this that Katana was put into Green Arrow #27 where she was added to the origin of Arrow. I believe that her role in season 3 will have its main influence from this comic.

She is also a great pick for the role. She looks the part and she looks like a natural holding a katana in her hand. She has had work in a few other movies, such as Sin City, Dead or Alive, and 2 Fast and 2 Furious but I feel that this new role will be her best as of yet.

Son of Batman Review/Thoughts

Son of Batman is DCAU's 20th direct-to-video release. It is based off of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 2006 storyline Batman and Son. This is the first film set in the continuity started by Justice League:War and in my opinion Son continues the trend of mediocrity started by War. DCAU has produced much better films than this, but there are some bright spots. Here is my spoiler free thoughts and my review with some minor spoilers.

What I Liked:

• Damian and Bruce's interactions
• David McCullum's spot-on Alfred
• Damian vs. Deathstroke Pts. 1+2
• Killer Croc and Nightwing Cameos 
• Deathstroke's raid on The League of Assassins 
• Damian's characterization
• Mature Humor- Lots of sex jokes
• Brutal and Bloody Battles
• Old Robin vs. New Robin

What I Disliked:

• A watered-down Deathstroke voiced by Thomas Gibson
• Morena Baccarin's voice acting of Talia
• Deathstroke's "Master Plan"
• Batman's fight with Deathstroke
• League of Assassins are easier to kill than ants
• Still not digging Jason O'Mara as Batman

Review with Minor Spoilers:           

          The highlights of this film all come from it's title character the Son of Batman, Damian. He is vengeful like his father, but Damian is willing to go a step further and kill. This aspect of Damian causes much of the antagonistic relationship between him and his father. Batman has never had to deal with a Robin like Damian before nor has he ever been a biological father. So best parts of the movie come from Batman guiding his son down the path of justice.

          Speaking of Papa Batman by the way, he likes to get down. He finally admits he likes sex. In fact there are a fair amount of funny sex jokes through the film. Dick talks about how Bruce always lectured him about using protection. Deathstroke calls Batman, Damian's "sperm donor". This humor is much more mature than most other DC animated projects and I hope that trend continues.

          The fighting between Deathstroke and Damian is bloody, brutal, and unforgiving. Which is great, except it leads to the real letdown of the film, when Batman fights Deathstroke. Their fight lasts maybe 20 seconds and Deathstroke is easily defeated. This water-down version of DC's greatest assassin gets his ass handed to him by pretty much everyone. Not to mention, he ends up running away from most of his encounters. Thomas Gibson's voice didn't help matters much either. He sounds like a cheap James Earl Jones rip-off. I was waiting the entire film for him to tell Damian he owns all the land the light touches and not to go to the elephant graveyard.

          Besides the lackluster battle between Batman and Deathstroke, what really was disappointing is Deathstroke's plan. He wanted to create an army of ninja man-bats. It was a nifty idea that was easily defeated by Batman throwing a few batarangs that produce sonar. Thank God, Damian had to fight Deathstroke a second time in the climax or it would have been Batman's easiest victory in all of his DCAU outings. 

          Overall this is a mediocre film for DCAU standards. You won't be saying that this film is better than the Dark Knight Returns or Flashpoint Paradox anytime soon. But for all it's flaws, this is not a bad film by any means. Damian is the saving grace. His personality provides plenty of action and humor. I give Son of Batman an 7 out of 10.

The film has yet to be released on Blu-ray, but has been made available for digital downloading. Get your Blu-Ray or DVD copy, May 6th.