Category Archives: Flash News

The Flash Renewed for Season 3

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Not that this will surprise anyone, but the CW has officially renewed “The Flash” for a third season!

CW actually renewed their entire slate, from new shows like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” to double-digit veteran “Supernatural.” That means we’re also getting a fifth season of “Arrow,” a third season of “iZombie,” and a second season of “Legends of Tomorrow.” Add in CBS renewing Supergirl for a second season, and it’s clear DC Entertainment has had another successful year of TV shows! (No word yet on renewals for Gotham or Lucifer, but they seem safe.)

“Flash” and “Arrow” were safe bets for renewal, but there’s been discussion as to whether “Legends of Tomorrow” can keep up the scale of the crazy sci-fi adventure on an ongoing basis. I’ve been worried about “iZombie” because it reminds me so much of “Pushing Daisies,” which barely squeaked into half a second season, and I’m thrilled that they’ll be continuing for a third year!

So…after the Flash stops Zoom at the end of this season, what super-speed feats, adventures, guest stars and threats do you want to see in season three?

Flash goes twice-monthly after DC Universe: Rebirth

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DC Universe: Rebirth is revealed. After the New 52 line reaches issue in May, an 80-page special “DC Universe: Rebirth” sets the stage for a rolling update of the new DC line:

  • 32 ongoing series total, 17 of them twice-monthly, ALL of them $2.99.
  • Not every series will start the same month. They’ll roll out a few at a time starting in June and running through fall.
  • Everything is renumbering at …except for Action Comics and Detective Comics, which will pick up their original numbering.
  • 23 books will kick off with a “Rebirth” special before the new ongoing begins.

Flash: Rebirth and Flash both hit in June. Both? Yep, Flash is one of the 17 comics that will ship twice a month.

As for the shape of the DC Universe going forward, Dan Didio says it’s “designed to bring back the best of DC’s past, embrace the stories we currently love and move the entire epic universe into the future. We are returning to the essence of the DCU.”

CBR has an interview with Geoff Johns in which he says it’s less like “Crisis” or “Flashpoint,” and more like “Green Lantern: Rebirth” and “Flash: Rebirth.”

“DC Universe: Rebirth” is about bringing back what makes the DC Universe the DC Universe. There are certain things, like legacy, that are missing. There are other things that I don’t want to totally spoil. But there are a lot of things in there that I think are unique to the DC Universe, and really need to be pushed back to the forefront.

DC continues to insist that they’re not going for a total reboot. It sounds more like they’re re-incorporating parts of the DCU that the New 52 abandoned. A merging of the pre-Flashpoint and New 52 universes, perhaps? (The new line does include Gotham Academy and Red Hood & the Outlaws.)

CBR has the full list of titles in the new lineup.

I’m really not sure what to think at this point. Knowing the titles is one thing. What I really want to know is the tones they’re going for, what elements are staying, going, or returning, who’s working on these books, etc. Also the page count: If they’re cutting pages again, going twice-monthly isn’t quite as appealing.

I do think that launching with a one-shot instead of dragging out the transformation over six months to a year is a good move. I frankly don’t have the patience to drag myself through six issues of rearranging furniture again. Conversely, I also think it’s a good idea to stagger the roll-out so that people aren’t overwhelmed by 52 choices in one month.

What do you think, based on what we know so far? Good move? Bad? Reply hazy, try again?

Flash vs. The Riddler in May’s Flash #52

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Flash #52 Cover

From DC’s May Solicitations:

THE FLASH
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI and VAN JENSEN
Art by JESUS MERINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
New 52 Tribute Variant cover by JESUS MERINO
On sale MAY 25 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T

The Riddler has seized control of Central City. If The Flash moves, he’ll put everyone he loves in mortal danger. To save the city—and himself—he’ll need help from the unlikeliest of allies.

A few things come to mind in relation to recent rumors and hints from DC. We know that Van Jensen is leaving the book (no response yet from Venditti), though it was suggested that he was leaving after #51. It looks like is his actual final issue.

Speaking of final issues, contrary to rumors that “Rebirth” might be another line-wide renumbering, none of DC’s main books is marked as “final issue” in the solicitations. That’s not proof of anything, of course, given that we know at least Starfire is ending (Conner and Palmiotti have said that they’ve wrapped up a 12-issue plan and the book is ending with it), and a lot of the summaries sound like they could be either finales or epilogues.

Then again, there are several miniseries that aren’t quite done, and Teen Titans #20 promises that a “game-changing epic begins.”

We still don’t know exactly what “Rebirth” — excuse me, — is, so even if it does turn out to be another reboot, relaunch or renumbering, it looks like it won’t be quite so hard a line as Flashpoint/New 52 or even Convergence/DC You.

Changes Coming to the Flash Comics

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Van Jensen, half of the current Flash comic book writing team, has announced that he’s leaving the book after Flash #51.

As for the future, a bigger change is in the works. DC has teased some sort of “Rebirth”. Those original New 52 series are almost to issue 52. And another long-running creative team, Snyder and Capullo, are leaving Batman the same month.

There are rumors of a relaunch refocusing DC’s comics line to emphasize those characters who have the most media presence: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad in this year’s movies, Flash, Arrow and presumably Supergirl in TV. This of course has led to speculation of a return to previous continuity, though that seems more like wishful thinking to me than anything solid.

That said, superhero comics are wrapped in an ever-tightening circle of nostalgia, with new ideas jettisoned for old ones on a regular basis. Whether you consider this a return to form or a step backwards depends on whether you liked the particular changes involved.

Flash & Supergirl TV Shows to Cross Over in March!

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Long-rumored, finally confirmed! Grant Gustin will be guest-starring on Supergirl as the Flash in the March 28 episode of the show!

Flash and Supergirl are much closer in tone than Flash and Arrow, so a crossover is natural. And of course, there’s a long history of Flashes racing against Superman — here’s hoping we see a race between the Scarlet Speedster and the Maid of Might!

“We are so incredibly excited to announce something that we have dreamed of happening since we starting making Supergirl—The Flash and Supergirl are teaming up!,” said The Flashand Supergirl Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. “We want to thank Grant Gustin for making the time to come visit (on top of his already immense workload) and all of the folks at CBS, The CW, Warner Bros. and DC for working this out. And finally thanks to the fans and journalists who have kept asking for this to happen. It is our pleasure and hope to create an episode worthy of everyone’s enthusiasm and support.”

Early episodes of Supergirl pointed out that Superman was the world’s only public superhero at the time, and had been operating for over a decade before Kara went public. Early episodes of the Flash made it clear that the world wasn’t aware of anyone with super powers, with metahumans only appearing after the particle accelerator explosion, so Superman and Supergirl presumably aren’t part of the Arrowverse.

But there’s that multiverse, and this season of the Flash is built on interdimensional travel…

Flash by Mark Waid Collection Finally in the Works

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Flash #62: Born to Run Part 1DC Comics has been releasing collections of the Geoff Johns and Morrison/Millar runs on the Wally West Flash series, but the classic stories by Mark Waid have been out of print for years. (They are available digitally, though.) That will FINALLY change toward the end of the year. Lee Hiley spotted an Amazon listing for a paperback collection of Flash by Mark Waid Book One, scheduled for September 13, 2016.

It’s clearly just a placeholder — there’s no cover, description, or page count, so we can only speculate as to what might be included. The recent Flash By Geoff Johns Book One covered 13 regular issues plus three longer specials, so let’s figure on around 15-16 issues’ worth.

Flash #62-65: “Born to Run,” the four-part retelling of Wally West’s origin and his first summer as Kid Flash, is a safe bet.

Flash #66 is an Aquaman quest spot.

Flash #67-68 feature a new take on Abra Kadabra’s origin, as the Flash follows him to his home era.

Flash #69-70 and Green Lantern -31 have Wally West and Hal Jordan teaming up against Hector Hammond and Gorilla Grodd for “Gorilla Warfare.”

Flash #71-72 are a Dr. Alchemy story, looking at what happens when a new villain gets his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone.

Flash #73 features Jay Garrick’s return to the recurring cast, after the Justice Society was brought back from an editorially-imposed limbo. There’s also a Christmas get-together with a surprising guest at the very end of the issue as a cliffhanger.

That’s twelve issues (not counting the Green Lantern half of “Gorilla Warfare”), and #74 starts off the epic “Return of Barry Allen” (Flash #74-79). They might add six more issues, but I think it’s more likely that they’ll stop at #72 or #73 and fit in two annuals:

Flash Annual 4 (1991) is a tie-in to “Armageddon 2001” and looks at a possible future in which Wally West has spent years retired in the Witness Protection Program. When one of his old enemies finds him, they kidnap his son, forcing him out into the open.

Flash Annual 5 (1992) ties into “Eclipso: The Darkness Within.” Golden Glider recruits three other Rogues to rob a museum and they all double-cross each other. The gem she wants to steal drags them into the larger story running through that summer’s annuals.