The Flash Season 2: Complete DC Comics References Guide

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 3: Family of Rogues

- Lewis Snart being a scumbag and Len's complete devotion to Lisa is straight out of Flash history. Again, I do wish they had built this up a little more over time before Lewis was sent to the great prison in the sky, but whatever.

- And despite what I thought was simply a Suicide Squad reference was actually something much cooler, and I owe it all to the folks in the comments. Scanners star Michael Ironside got to do some head-exploding once again in this episode!

- Not strictly a DC Comics reference, but the way they handled Barry's bullet catch at the commercial break struck me as a callback to old movie serials. Instead of just cutting to Barry on the floor with the bullet in hand, we see him get shot again, then they show the explanation of the catch, and there's our resolution. If you're ever in the mood to see what these things were like, do yourself a favor and watch The Adventures of Captain Marvel, which is honestly one of the best live action superhero things of all time, and certainly the very best of its era.

- I enjoyed Jay's crack about how there's a Big Belly Burger in every universe, although to be honest, to the best of my knowledge, I've only ever seen it in "main" DC continuity.

Also...did Jay get a haircut? 

- I'm just gonna straight up quote the ever-reliable NotBob with his telescopic vision, because I can't even pretend this one is me.

"The baseball game the security guards are watching contains canon teams. The Central City Diamonds were introduced by Venditti and Jensen last year (along with the Miners, their Basketball team and the modern version of the Coast City Angels). They are playing the Keystone City Salamanders, established by Tom Peyer in 2008 (so Wally West era). Assuming real-time, that would make the Arrowverse World Series a cross-the-river affair that should be getting some headlines." 

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.

The Flash Season 2 Episode 2: Flash of Two Worlds

- 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. 

His origin story is mostly in place from the comics, right down to the "heavy water" he was experimenting on (it was originally "hard water") in the first Flash story. There are some flourishes, though, like the mysterious flash of light that causes his accident. I'm sure this will be explored further as the season goes on.

TV Jay explains that the helmet was his grandfather's (presumably minus the wings), which he wore during "the war of the Americas." Since the Jay of the comics first appeared in 1939, it was later explained that his helmet was actually his father's World War I helmet. Obviously that won't quite work here.

It's also interesting that while Jay is several years older than Barry, he's only been active as Flash for about an extra year. I'm surprised they didn't play him as much more experienced than that.

- I absolutely love the way they made Earth-2 look. It's like an art deco hybrid, full of Flash Gordon style hi-tech. That's a nod to the fact that the Earth-2 of the comics was the world that all of the World War II era superheroes operated in. I was wondering how they would handle that, and this was a really cool visual flourish. I really want to spend more time there.

By the way, the model rocket visible during the Earth-2 STAR Labs tour looks an awful lot like one of Alex Raymond's original Flash Gordon designs...something that was copied quite closely by Superman's creators for the first ever comic book looks at Krypton and Superman's origin. And of course, Garrick's yellow lightning bolt on a red shirt was borrowed from Raymond's Flash Gordon, as well. The name? What name? What are you talking about?

God, I love this show.

- They did their best to re-create the cover of The Flash #123 when Jay and Barry show up to rescue Patty, right down the simultaneous "coming" dialogue. Ummm...it's cute,  but it worked better in theory. Comic book movies and shows really need to stop trying to do panel for panel translations of stuff. It doesn't work.

- 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, but just that...fodder.

He first appeared in Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #51 in 1986. He hasn't been seen a whole helluva lot since then. With good reason.

- Zoom. Hoo-boy. For the moment, please refer to this article I wrote last year, which touches on various Reverse-Flashes through the years, including Zoom. Assuming, of course, that's the Zoom we're talking about. I'm going to have to perform some major surgery on that one soon, though.

- Martin Stein's explanation of Multiverse theory is right in line with DC Comics lore. For more on the implications it had for the comics, and it's potential implications for DC TV shows (and yes, even the movies), allow me to direct you here.

- Patty Spivot has been kicking around the DC Universe since 1977, and she was created by Flash writer extraordinaire Cary Bates with artist Irv Novick. She was more interested in the scientific side of police work in the comics, but it's clear she has some aptitude for it here, as well.

Also, the show mentions that Patty went to Hudson University, which was mentioned in season one...it was also the college that Dick Grayson went to when he moved out of Wayne Manor. 

- The abandoned grow house that Sand Demon hides Patty in is "Woodrue." Jason Woodrue was the plant-loving Floronic Man, villain of one of the greatest Swamp Thing stories ever told. I really hope he shows up one of these days.

- Cisco utters the magic word, "Vibe" when explaining his slightly metahuman abilities to Professor Stein. Are they giving his superhero code name an entirely different connotation for this series, or will he eventually become the Vibe comic book fans know and are mostly indifferent to?

- And thanks to the ever-reliable NotBob, it should be pointed out that the Earth-1 Sand Demon's alibi was that he was locked up at Blackgate. We're used to Iron Heights, but Blackgate is where Gotham City criminals go if they aren't sent off to Arkham Asylum. 

See you all next week for the next update!