Jump to content

The Flash


Greywind

Recommended Posts

Arrow has been even better this season, in my view. With the exception of the character of Laurel who really got annoying (and even SHE might be on the mend) all the characters have been engaging.

 

I think they wanted to do a full on addiction storyline in homage to the Speedy storyline in the comics and she got nominated. Conjecture spoiled for people who haven't watched the show:

 

 

I think that she's eventually going to be the new Black Canary, and they wanted something to do with her in the meantime. Which is sad. The current Black Canary/Sara has actually grown on me. The actress is a good fit for the role. But I also think she's been shown as kind of tragic and may eventually be killed in a season finale.

 

After Tommy dying, the death of her sister may be enough to push Laurel to the point that Ollie comes clean with her about his Arrow activities. She then joins the team and starts training. She's already got some martial arts training established, so not a stretch that she'd at least get more training to defend herself from all of the threats Ollie is bringing down on her head. Given the last episode, the whole process may start sooner rather than later. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I totally agree that there's a good chance Laurel taking her sister's eventual place works. Laurel was shown as being good at self defense in the first season, and IS intelligent. So it wasn't lost on me that she could eventually pitch in. The down side is Sara has been so interesting that Laurel will have a hard time not coming across as second best.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also: Suicide Squad coming up, based on the latest ads. They've been setting it up a long time, will be interesting to see how they put it into action.

I'm certainly looking forward to it.

 

Overall, I think they've done a great job on the show of staying true to the comics while adapting / adjusting the material to appeal to a wider audience.

 

I think what's impressed me most in the second season is focusing on the struggle to do the right thing. It obviously started during the first season but it became arguably the primary focus of this one. It's done in a very overt way - like announcing it right in the opening credits - but it still seems natural and organic instead of forced and ham fisted.

 

Sure there are some gritty elements, but the heroes have become more heroic, not less, as a result. That's a comic book element very few TV or movie adaptations have captured, and even a lot of comics fail pretty badly at it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

I...

am...

 

pleased.

 

While I'm not sure about the change Johns made in the comics (Having Barry's mom killed) it works well enough in TV, and does not plunge either the character or the show into gloom and doom. Indeed, while Barry wants to save people, bring bad guys to justice, etc, he also just shows enjoyment in having superspeed period! Hey, how about that, no moping about powers and their side effects "Lightning gave me abs?".

 

My gripe about 'superhero tv shows' is they often seem embarrassed to BE about superheroes. They might have costumes, but no powers, or powers, and no costumes. Or they'd have 'realistic' villains. Not to say those don't have their place, there are excellent shows without one or the other, but here we have a show that out of the gate has it all, or at least 90% of it.

 

This is not a perfect pilot, but it is an incredibly promsing one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I often wonder if the fact Hiro became such a fan favorite on Heroes due to the fact he wanted to embrace his powers and be a superhero despite the fact he was supposed to just be comedy relief didn't help pave the way and sell the fact that maybe real superhero stories could work on tv.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The superhero show is the new police procedural

http://qz.com/277644/the-superhero-show-is-the-new-police-procedural/

Yes yes... depending on your definition of superhero show and many supernatural themed shows are also the new police procedural. We're not likely to escape the Police Procedural anytime soon (and yes, I get bored with it too) but there are GOOD shows that happen to be police procedurals (I'm actually fond of Rizzoli and Isles, and the new more 'out there' Sleepy Hollow)  so gems will shine in even an overdone market.

 

Supereheroes don't have to be JUST a police procedural, however, but as they have to do with crimefighting, it makes sense that they do fit the niche. Smallville is getting some praise in that story, and yet I found it pretty cowardly in it's no costume no codename rule that it started out with. It may have not been a police procedural, but it was a soap opera (Another niche superheroes fit in nicely) and soap operas arent terribly original either.

 

So the complaint on superheroes confuse me. It's like blaming a flavor of soda for the existence of soda itself. Police procedurals are not going to vanish even if you took every comic book related show off the air.

 

With time and success, maybe superhero shows will branch out even more, until then, this is a case of 'don't hate the player, hate the game'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw it, and I liked it, not perfect. But perfectly fine....they even have some supervillians on tap....though, they seemed to kill weather wizard kinda quick...?

 

Oh, and I read someplace Amanda Pays will be making an appearance as well...

As for Weather Wizard

He has a brother, who may also have survived, and thus may have gained very simliar powers

 

 

And yes, the lovely Amanda Pays, who once played, Doctor Tina McGee in the 90s Flash live action series, will be making an appearance as... Doctor Tina McGee!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only bit that bothered me about this show was the scene where West and his partner try to arrest Mardon (the Weather Wizard).  Instead of referring to himself as "God," he should have had a line like, "I can do magic.  I'm a wizard!"

To which West would have replied, "Well, get your hands in the air, Voldemort--you're under arrest!"

There were a lot of things that reminded me of the Raimi Spider-Man movies--the narration at the beginning and end of the episode (which was also part of the Wally West era of the comics) the science geek aspects of Barry's character, his amazement at his physical transformation ("Lightning gave me abs?") and the fact that he's "just friends" with the hottest girl he knows.

I would not call this a Smallville rehash as some people have, for the simple reason that Barry has put on the costume and accepted his identity as The Flash.  It took ten emmin-effin seasons for Clark Kent to become Superman--and even them we didn't quite see him in costume.  (Seriously, would it have killed Tom Welling to wear the Big Red Cape and the Big Red "S" for one scene?  Plus dialogue?)  Granted, we didn't see the Weather Wizard in costume, but that doesn't mean the other villains can't have costumes or villain names.  ("So everybody's impressed with The Flash, huh?  Wait'll they get a load of Heat-Wave!")

I remember seeing the first The Flash TV series in 1990.  I had been waiting for that show since I was eight years old, and I tell you it was worth the wait.  So is this show, and I hope it gets the chance the first one didn't.

The Fastest Man Alive is back--and I couldn't be happier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I like is the Superman/Batman dynamic between Ollie and Barry. Despite being almost polar opposites, they are friends. And Ollie recognizes that the best he can do is combat crime and put fear in criminals, where Flash can inspire people to be better then they are.

Did they actually say Weather Wizard was dead? I know, 2 gunshots to upper chest, but Barry healed in 3 hours. What if Wizard has a little of that.

LIked that we saw a bit of the Reverse-Flash.

Also, love the nod to 90s Flash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The hearling's part of the speed power set. He's just faster at everything. I don't think that'd apply. Of course, something like 80% of people shot with handguns live, so no reason he couldn't be saved by a trip to the ER.

I've always wondered if the Flash's super-fast metabolism will eventually wear out a lot faster than a normal human's, substantially reducing his natural lifespan.

 

It's a depressing thing to mention in a comic book, so it's never come up, but it's something I'd be tempted to include in the flavor text of a flash-like PC in an RPG. It won't come up in play unless the character is starting to deteriorate when the game begins -- he knows he doesn't have much time left, so he's in a hurry to accomplish everything he needs to before his system utterly collapses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...