Who is Jay Garrick? Who is this Atom Smasher guy? And what's the deal with Earth 2? Our guide to The Flash season 2 easter eggs is here!
This article consists of nothing but The Flash season 2 spoilers. Caution is advised.
The Flashseason 2 is finally here, and with it, a whole stack of new DC Comics references, easter eggs, superheroes, and supervillains. I'll continue to catalog all of them in my weekly reviews of The Flash, but for ease of access, I'll also start compiling everything (sometimes more in a slightly more in-depth version) in this post, which I'll update weekly.
While my weekly reviews will reflect what we learn week to week, I reserve the right to change any entries here based on what we learn in later episodes. With that in mind, read on with caution if you're behind on episodes. Also, if it was already covered in season one, you probably won't find it here. If you're just looking for a complete guide to the DC Comics references from last year, click here.
If there's anything I missed, please let me know in the comments or on Twitter, and if it checks out, I'll update the article.
Click the episode titles to go to full reviews of each episode, too! Newest episode will always be at the top, and then they'll be chronological after that...
The Flash Season 2 Episode 2: Flash of Two Worlds
Full disclosure: if you're reading these words right now, know that I haven't had time to watch "Flash of Two Worlds" yet because, well, sorry, but the Mets make the playoffs about once a decade, so that's what I'm doing with my Tuesday night. I'll update this in full as soon as I watch it. BUT, there are a few little things I can tell you, even without having seen the episode. Don't worry, this will be complete ASAP.
- Jay Garrick is arguably the third most important DC character of the Golden Age of comics (even though at the time the company wasn't called DC, but that's another story. If you want a quick (well, it's not THAT quick) primer on why Jay is so awesome, I wrote this article for you to check out.
- While Sand Demon is one of those poor unfortunate souls who's getting ported over from Earth-2 for tonight's fight, he was never an Earth-2 kinda guy (unlike last week's "villain" Atom Smasher). Instead he was a minor (really minor) Firestorm villain. Perfect villain of the week fodder!
He first appeared in Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #51 in 1986. He hasn't been seen a whole helluva lot since then.
More to come after I've actually seen the episode!
The Flash Season 2 Episode 1: The Man Who Saved Central City
- There was an Al Rothstein mentioned in passing in an episode of season one, as someone who disappeared after the particle accelerator exploded. Ummm...whoops! That's not the real Flash Fact here, though...
Al Rothstein/Atom Smasher was a member of DC Comics' Earth 2 superteam Infinity Inc. (back when he had the unfortunate name of Nuklon and an even more unfortunate mohawk) before eventually becoming a full fledged member of the JSA in the early 21st century. He was also the nephew of Al Pratt, the original (non-shrinking) Atom, and the grandson of supervillain Cyclotron.
He was traditionally played as much younger than the Adam Copeland version we get here, but that actually works in the show's favor. The implication here is that the heroes (and villains) of Earth 2 have been operating for much longer than the ones we know on CW TV Earth 1, so that's kinda cool.
His turn to somewhat reluctant villainy here also has some comic book precedent. Al often struggled with anger issues and his own perception of justice, and even went to work for Black Adam for awhile. He was never an out and out villain, but he definitely made some questionable choices in his career. The questionable choices he makes in this episode, then, are perfectly in keeping with what we know about him. I just wish it had been explored/explained over the course of more than one episode in order to give things some more weight.
- Is this the first time we've seen that there's a Queen Street in Central City? I guess the Queen family's money and influence is far reaching. Alright, maybe it's just a coincidence.
- Flash Day is the first sign of the special relationship that Flash has with the citizens of Central City (as opposed to, say, Batman). It's also a major step towards the opening of a Flash Museum, something that we saw teased in the season one finale.
- This episode marks the return of Vito D'Ambrosio as Mayor Anthony Bellows. D'Ambrosio was a regular as Officer Tony Bellows on the original Flash TV series that starred John Wesley Shipp.
- The color scheme of Ms. Snow's Mercury Labs workspace not only hints at her villainous future as Killer Frost, but recalls that of the relatively obscure DC speedster Max Mercury!
- Jay Garrick, as has been beaten to death in virtually everything I've written about this show since day one, is the original Flash. He first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in 1939 (cover dated 1940), and it was his Mercury lookin' winged helmet that flew out of the wormhole in the season one finale. Yes, I have lots more to say about Mr. Garrick, but that's all stuck in this article here.
See you all next week for the next update!
