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 "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

The Flash "Crazy For You" Thoughts/Review

Barry Allen is all about pushing himself to be faster and faster so he will be ready for The Reverse Flash when the time comes. But tonight, Mr. Allen is slowing things down as he and Caitlin hit the Central City bar scene for a shot at romance.

The Musical Accompaniment for Tonight's Review

Episode Description: Barry and Caitlin attempt to balance their crime-fighting/work duties with having a social life while Cisco uses Hartley to try and discover what happened to Ronnie on the night of the particle accelerator accident.

High Points:

• Not only are we seeing Barry do his casual superhero thing, but the people he saves are starting to interact with him/thank him (that's the type of gratitude that leads to museums being built...)
• Despite what I said about Barry "slowing things down" he actually hit a new top speed tonight. They didn't say what it was but The Scarlett Speedster is getting faster!
• Every second that Cisco and Hartley were together during this episode seemed to hint at a potential Vibe/Pied Piper rivalry ("I know about vibrations too Hartley", dueling intellects, and even a physical fight on the rooftop)
• Branching off from that last point, it was kind of exciting to see Cisco throw down with Hartley even if it was for a brief moment (Who knew Cisco could throw a guy over his shoulder like that?)
• Though we had pretty much put the pieces together at this point, tonight it was officially spelled out for us that Ronnie Raymond did fuse with Martin Stein the night of the accident to become Firestorm
• Barry sensing and catching the bullet was insanely cool and unexpected. Also the resulting "I guess I'm faster than a speeding bullet" line from Barry is the second fun little nod to Superman that this show has had this season (The first being "Hmm...A Man of Steel" referring to Girder) 
• Barry is relentlessly hit on by Linda Park at the bar (Another indicator of Wally West perhaps?)
• Grant Gustin reminds us that he was on Glee before he became The Fastest Man Alive 
• After a week of kinda iffy effects, they were back on point tonight, especially the bullet catch and the scene of Barry running around in the blacked-out tunnel
• Gorilla Grodd! Gorilla Grodd!! GORILLA GRODD!!!

Look at it! Look at it! I want all of you to look at it!!

Low Points: 

• All-in-all tonight's episode was a bit slower and a bit less action packed then usual. The focus was less on Barry as The Flash and more on Barry as Barry. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a bit of a break in the action.
• Shawna Baez, a.k.a. Peek-a-Boo was a pretty weak villain this week. She was essentially Nightcrawler from X2 except that teleporting was literally all she could do (and she wasn't a blue mutant with a tail)
• I don't necessarily know how to feel about Barry's dad knowing he is The Flash. I don't think any immediate harm will come of it, I just think it was a bit of a forced conclusion for his dad to have come too..

Verdict: Tonight's episode did a lot to support some of the things talked about last week concerning Cisco and Hartley. We knew they were going to have to team up and as it turned out, they wasted zero time doing so. We got to see a brief skirmish in which Cisco revealed he can handle himself in a fight, and we saw both of them best each other using sonic vibration technology. Now if that isn't a big foreshadowing of what is to come then I don't know what else that could possibly be. Speaking of things to come, are we gonna get Wally West? Because it is really starting to look that way. Last week we were introduced to Mason Bridge, a character who is usually known to be a good friend of the Wally West Flash under the name "Trollbridge". This week Barry scored the digits of none other than Linda Park, a character who has been known to end up as the wife of Wally West. I for one would love to see Wally come on the show and it almost makes perfect sense. Think about Arrow for just a second. Roy Harper made a few brief appearances in Season 1 of Arrow, became a regular character in Season 2, and by Season 3 was The Red Arrow, and even occasionally referred to as Arsenal. Perhaps we slowly but surely start to work Wally into the mix on The Flash. First via these obscure references like Mason Bridge, then the actual character himself and then keep going from there until finally we get Kid Flash. It is too early to say anything of that nature for sure, but if I were to make a bold prediction, I would say that the bricks for Wally West are being laid and therefore, so are the bricks for Kid Flash. Now I am going to segway from talks of a bold prediction to talks of a bold cliffhanger: Gorilla Grodd is chilling in the sewers of Central City! If you haven't done so yet I ask that you take this time to scroll up and take in the photographic evidence of Grodd on a CW show. We got our first good look at him tonight and I am impressed. I am also extremely interested to see how they work him into the story. We know that he is the product of an experiment that involved both General Eiling and Dr. Wells but as of right now that is it. Will he come into play this season? Are we just being reminded that he is lurking around so he can take the spotlight next season? Could Reverse Flash and Gorilla Grodd potentially team up? Right now there are so many possibilities for Grodd and I love it! I can't wait to see what they do  and if it is anywhere as intriguing as the Reverse Flash storyline has been this season then we are in for another great storyline. Despite a sub-par villain of the week, and a bit of a break in the action, we once again got handed a lot to look forward to both definitely and potentially, and I'm honestly not sure which one of those is better. In the spirit of tonight's romantic theme, an extremely sensual 8.0 out of 10 is in order.

Thanks for reading the review! Got any theories for the show's future? On a scale of 1 to apeshit, how crazy did you go when you saw Grodd? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. 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 "The Nuclear Man".

The Flash "The Flash Is Born" Review/Thoughts

This week on The Flash, Barry takes on his most relatable nemesis to date: THAT douchebag from high school. You know the one I'm talking about.

Episode Description: Barry faces off against his grade school bully, Tony Woodward (a.k.a Girder) who has acquired the power to turn his body into steel at will. Meanwhile, Detective West and Dr. Wells compare notes on the murder of Nora Allen.

High Points:

• "Hmm..A Man of Steel..." - Dr. Harrison Wells
• Joe West actively trying to get to the bottom of Nora's murder (asking all the tough questions)
• Barry and Eddie starting to form a friendly relationship (Will it turn sour when Eddie turns out to be Eobard?)
• Joe West and Dr. Harrison starting to form a friendly relationship (Will it turn sour when Dr. Wells turns out to be Eobard??)
• Some people peak in high school. Tony Woodward peaked in elementary
• Barry starting to learn a thing or two about fighting
• Barry is getting a bit faster with each episode (a new PR of 837 mph)
• Iris is writing about a man who lights on fire but doesn't burn? (Firestorm perhaps?)
• R.I.P. "The Streak" (Oct. 2014-Nov. 2014) Hello "The Flash"
• Professor Zoom's message to Joe at the end of the episode

 Our Usual Eobard Thawne Suspects                           

Low Points:

• How does a punch from Iris knock Girder out cold when a Mach 1 punch from Barry does not?
• There is no way that Barry revealing his identity to Tony is not going to come back to bite him in the ass at some point...
• Barry spent a lot of time on the sidelines recovering from previous Girder encounters (made for a bit of a slower episode than past weeks)

Verdict: After a couple weeks of high-intensity name dropping on this show, The Flash returned to the villain-of-the-week scenario in this episode. Girder wasn't terrible but he isn't necessarily what I would hope for in a reoccurring nemesis for Barry, and unfortunately I get the feeling he is going to be. There is a scene in this episode where The Flash reveals himself as Barry Allen to Girder in a moment of pure stubborn pride and I just cannot see how that will not come back to haunt him later on in the show. Despite that rookie mistake, we continue to see Barry grow as a character both in his personal relationships and how he handles situations as The Flash. Joe West and Dr. Well's interactions this week made me distrust the good doctor all the more, especially when we see Eobard Thawne appear for the first time since Nora's murder to tell Joe to back off before Iris gets hurt. Of course, we do not get a clear glimpse of Professor Zoom's face, but it is quite suspicious that this would happen after Joe was grilling Dr. Wells so hard about his particle accelerator. This show is either slapping us in the face with the obvious or it is trying its hardest to get us to believe that Dr. Wells is evil when he isn't and I for one have no idea which one to believe. I know which one I want to believe though, and my reasoning for is this: If Harrison Wells is in fact Eobard Thawne, then that means Professor Zoom and Gorilla Grodd are directly connected. Think of the fun this show could have if those two teamed up to take on The Flash. Back to old tricks means back to old scores as The Flash is Born pulls out a respectable 7.0 out of 10.

Thanks for reading! What did you think of this week's episode? Who do you think Eobard Thawne really is? Give us your best theories, comments, and concerns in the comments section or on our twitter @Caped_Informers. Check back regularly for weekly updates on your favorite comic book shows. Next week The Flash returns with "Power Outage".

The Flash "Plastique" Review/Thoughts

The Flash returned this week after a brief hiatus, and with it came new tricks in Barry's repertoire, more backstory on the suspicious Harrison Wells, and the first meta-human to not be evil since The Flash himself.

Episode Description: After a massive explosion is caused by Plastique, (a meta-human who makes items spontaneously combust when she touches them) General Eiling arrives in Central City looking to utilize her powers.

High Points:

• Barry starting to get daring with his powers (running up walls and on water)
• Barry's Super Sobriety (he should grab a drink with Captain America sometime)
• "The Streak" seems to be the pre-Flash name for Barry, much like "The Hood" was the pre-Arrow name for Oliver
• General Wade "Eugene Krabs" Eiling makes his debut (potential for Captain Atom?)
• The scene where The Flash confronts Iris, mostly because Barry vibrated his vocal chords to disguise his voice
• Joe West wants Barry and Iris and none of this Eddie and Iris crap
• Plastique's homemade bombs (basically metal balls she touched) 
• Our weekly dose of suspicious behavior from Harrison Wells, this time connecting him to General Eiling
• Gorilla Grodd!!

"Can ya feel it Mr. Krabs? Can ya feel it Mr. Krabs?"

Low Points: 

• There seemed like there was potential for Plastique's character had she remained alive...
• I am still not enjoying Iris. Her obsession with The Flash seems like it is only there to serve as the force that drives her and Barry apart
• Every time The Flash rushed to Plastique's aid during this episode, Plastique got shot...

Verdict: The Flash is starting to really build on his repertoire of skills which is exciting to see. Not only is he starting to run fast enough to cross water and scale buildings, but he is also getting into the powers that stem from his ability to vibrate parts of his body at super speed. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think it is only a matter of time until we start to see him vibrate through solid objects. I was a bit disappointed that Plastique only lasted one episode. Although she isn't the biggest name in the world of DC villains, she is one of the main villains to a character who we know is on the way: Firestorm (Robbie Amell). She is also the wife of Captain Atom, which brings me to my next point: General Wade Eiling is shaping up to have a reoccurring presence in this show. Not only does Eiling tend to have connections to Cadmus but he is also usually the one responsible for the creation of Captain Atom and Major Force. Dr. Wells did say that he liked to experiment on his own men, so would it be completely out of the question to start speculating on an appearance by Nathaniel Adam? Also for the first time since this show began, I am suddenly very unsure that Harrison Wells is the man I thought he was (Eobard Thawne). It has suddenly become very clear that both he and Eiling have something to do with Gorilla Grodd, who may be making a sooner appearance then we originally anticipated. We have only seen glimpses so far, but I for one am pumped to see Gorilla Grodd in live-action. Another great episode that dropped a lot of big names and opened up a lot of future possibilities means that an 8.5 out of 10 is in order. 

Thanks for reading the review. This show just drops names left and right so let us know what you think in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check in regularly for more weekly reviews and other comic book universe news and rumors. Next week The Flash returns with "The Flash is Born".

The Flash "Pilot" Review/Thoughts

The moment we have all been waiting for since "The Scientist" episode of Arrow's second season has finally arrived. The debut of the CW's new series The Flash came in with a strong start that did not disappoint. 

Episode Description: CSI Investigator Barry Allen acquires super speed through a freak accident and becomes The Fastest Man Alive, a.k.a., the Flash. 

High Points

• Barry's backstory 
• The man Barry saw the night his mother died (Eobard Thawne perhaps?)
• The cool Sherlock-esque inner workings of Barry's mind at the crime scene
• Eddie Thawne... (Eobard Thawne perhaps?)
• A single shot of a torn open cage with the name Grodd on it 
• Barry's super metabolism already at play (super-fast healing, rapid heart rate, etc.)
• Oliver "The Arrow" Queen himself making an inspirational appearance 
• The super speed effects looked great 
• The cryptic ending featuring Dr. Harrison Wells and a newspaper from 2024 (Eobard Thawne perhaps?)

Low Points

• "Run Barry, Run!" 
• Dialogue a little rough in some places 
• Weather Wizard's god complex and over-all portrayal
• Oliver's "In a flash" line a little forced/unatural...
• Unexplained change of heart from Dr. Wells

Verdict: I don't know about everyone else, but I certainly got all I needed and more out of this series premiere. A backstory that reminds me quite a bit of The Flashpoint Paradox, name drops and references to big villains like you would not believe, super speed powers that do not have to do solely with being able to run fast, and of course the first (of hopefully many) The Flash/Arrow crossovers, thus solidifying a continuous DC universe on TV (keep your silver screen universe Marvel, we have the CW now!). Of course The Flash also leaves room for improvement, specifically in the dialogue department. Some lines and exchanges came across as rigid and unnatural at times, but that was also a big problem with Arrow when it was getting underway. Give them time to grow into the characters a bit more I am sure that problem will fix itself. It is certainly nothing that has me worried about the success of this show. I give this Pilot an 8.0 out of 10, with plenty of room to keep improving. 

Thanks for reading the review. Feel free to tell us your opinions of the premiere in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers   and be sure to check back for weekly reviews, and other articles about the most recent happening's in the comics universe. Tune in next week for a review of "The Fastest Man Alive".

Semi-Related Observation: So who else noticed that the particle accelerator in The Flash sounds suspiciously similar to the comet from Smallville, in respects to the super-human abilities they both give people. Anyone? 

-Ryan Keough