I should start by mentioning that I’ve never seen an episode of Arrow before, and thus many of the established characters and ongoing storylines were a bit of a mystery to me. That said, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out what was happening. Spoilers after the cut.
So as I am writing this Arrow has ended about 4 minutes ago and I’m extremely jazzed up from watching it. I’m just going to give my overall impressions and then after the break you can look forward to some details on the Barry bits. I will also add that I’m a huge fan of the show and it alone has made me care more about Green Arrow than I ever have before. With every episode I believe the show improves and I love keeping an eye out for all of the easter eggs and little nods. So many just in this night’s episode alone.
As far as this episode goes…while a lot of the Barry Allen stuff was extremely heavy-handed I can also understand why they chose to go that route. Overall they did a fairly good job introducing Barry Allen to new fans although does anyone else find themselves getting a Peter Parker vibe from Grant Gustin? I guess it doesn’t help that I rewatched Amazing Spider-Man last night. I do like how right in the first episode, we’ve established Barry’s general temperament, what he brings to the table as far as skills and resourcefulness, and his motivations. Bing, bam, boom. I can’t say that I am thrilled that certain aspects of his revised Brightest Day/New 52 origin were retained for that adaptation but I also can’t say I’m totally surprised as that was kind of the point of doing the New 52; streamlining origins and making characters easier to relate to. We also got some great hints of things to come, including a certain opposite who has yet to get his due in live-action.
Please do not read any further if you do not wish to read Spoilers. Spoilers are after the break.
Tonight’s ARROW episode guest-starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen hits in about 10 minutes on the east coast. This extended trailer for the mid-season finale two-parter, “The Scientist” and “Three Ghosts,” features what looks like a glimpse at the Flash’s origin, the lab accident gives Barry super-speed. (via FlashTVNews)
The big Flash release this week is, of course, Barry Allen’s first appearance on the TV show Arrow tonight. Not yet the Flash, Barry comes to Starling City to investigate a robbery. (Check out our round-up of Flash TV news.)
There aren’t any new Flash comic books this week, but there are two new digital re-releases at ComiXology on Wednesday:
Impulse #84: With Max Mercury still missing, Bart moves to Keystone City to live with Jay and Joan Garrick. The cover is a reference to the very first Flash cover ever: Flash Comics #1.
Green Lantern #67: Part 2 of “Fast Friends,” as Wally West and Kyle Rayner try to avoid sniping at each other long enough to stop Sonar.
This “Gustin”: Flash fans have more than enough reading to keep them busy before Barry Allen’s hotly anticipated debut on The CW’s Arrow. Let’s not waste time – let’s hit the links!
Just in time for Barry Allen to make his first appearance on “Arrow” (tomorrow), The Flash Podcast has launched to focus on the new TV version of the character as played by Grant Gustin (and other media). Head over to soundcloud for the first episode and listen to host Andy Behbakht talk about what you can expect from the show!