The CW
Superheroes are all the rage right now and as a card carrying nerd, I am undoubtedly here for it. The most epic of comic book rivalries has always been the friendly competition between Marvel and DC – and I’ve been happy to represent Team DC since I was a child. That’s one of the reasons why I’m going absolutely crazy over The CW’s four-night crossover event, “Heroes Vs. Aliens” featuring all four of their DC superhero programs. Last night’s episode of The Flash really kicked things up a notch.
While The CW marketed the crossover as starting with Monday night’s midseason finale of Supergirl, The Flash really got things started by uniting the various cast members of all four shows for the first showdown with the Dominators, the alien terrorists from outer space. A four-night crossover would be a daunting task for any network and The CW deserves praise for taking on such an interesting endeavor. For the most part, The Flash succeeds.
Balancing its ongoing storylines with the new alien plot, however, proves to be a bit tricky. Not only does the story of Wally adjusting to his new Kid Flash powers feel tacked on to an overstuffed episode, but it feels redundant because we literally saw the exact same thing with Jesse Quick a few episodes ago – along with her parents being overly protective and not wanting her to use her newfound abilities. The same exact same thing happened with Wally all the way down to the Star Labs crew lying to him by saying that they need to run more tests. Like I said, very redundant.
Nitpicking aside, it was fantastic seeing all of the characters interact, and after being isolated on her own world for so long, it was nice to see Supergirl meet the gang as well. However, what I really enjoyed was seeing that the writers aren’t shying away from the fact that Barry really screwed everyone over when he created Flashpoint. Perchance Cisco shouldn’t have told everyone before the actual war started, but they did have a right to know. It’s going to be a long time before some of these characters – Diggle especially – start to warm up to him again and for that matter, the same goes for me.
The CW
Barry screwed up. He needs to own it. The Flash has been my favorite superhero for a while now. I collect his comics and have been really impressed with his Rebirth series. The Flash from the comic book series is radically different from The CW’s version and it’s hard for me to trust the TV version when he’s irresponsible and makes such rash decisions. This is further cemented when Dr. Stein and Jefferson, the two halves of Firestorm, obtain audio of future Flash warning the team to not trust the younger version. All I know is that Stein’s wife better still be alive. I was fond of her.
Another thing that the show got right was all of the action sequences along with the nods to comic book lore such as the hangar designed to look like the Hall of Justice from the old Super Friends series. The CGI for the Dominators was also on point and I liked seeing the TV version of the trinity – Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl share a moment together. All in all, it was a very solid hour of television, a real treat for any comic book enthusiast. It was awesome.
The CW
Other observations:
- So, Sara has the hots for Supergirl, eh? Nice!
- Sheesh! Cisco really doesn’t care for Barry anymore. Well, me neither.
- I know Caitlin doesn’t want to use her powers, but it would have been nice seeing her lend her friends a helpful (frozen) hand.
- Is it just me or does Iris being overprotective of Wally seem a bit out of character? That’s Joe’s job. Amirite?
- Speaking of Iris, are we ever going to see her back in the office being a reporter?
- HR is training Wally?! Oh, boy. This. Will. End. Badly.
So, what did you think of The Flash’s installment of the “Heroes Vs. Aliens” saga? Don’t be shy. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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