Flash TV/Movie Rumor Update: Script Review, Audition Tape

Superhero Movie News has what purports to be a detailed-spoiler-filled review of the leaked Flash movie script by Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim, based on a story by Guggenheim, Green and Greg Berlanti. It’s interesting, particularly where reviewer Michael J. Petty compares it to the Green Lantern movie script by the same team…and to elements that have already worked their way into Arrow.

Speaking of the Arrowverse, a video surfaced briefly, claiming to be an audition tape for the role of Iris West in the Flash TV show pilot before it was taken down.

MTV analyses the video and the script review in extensive detail. (TBH, I’ve only skimmed it myself so far.) You’ll want to read the whole article at MTV, but beware…there are SPOILERS galore (for a movie that may or may not ever be made in that form).

Two things to consider:

  • Movie scripts go through many revisions before being produced, and the Flash film has been scrapped and restarted a number of times since it was announced nine years ago.
  • Auditions sometimes use early drafts and sometimes use scripts that are specific to the audition, and not intended to be filmed for the final product.

Secrets Revealed! Review of Teen Titans #26

teen titans 26 coverWe are finally getting to the story that has eluded us for over two years – the real story behind the New 52 Kid Flash.  We’ll try to not be too spoilerish here, but this is a significant issue in every sense of the word.  We can finally see what has been driving Bart all this time, and what has been hidden till now…even from himself!

LIGHT SPOILERS ONLY

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This Week: Flash #26 vs Spitfire, Digital Impulse Genie

Flash #26Comics are out a day early this week to avoid New Year’s Day, including The Flash #26, a done-in-one story by Christos Gage and Neil Googe. You can read a preview of the issue at DC Comics’ blog.

Barry Allen is hot on the tail of Spitfire after investigating the death of his mentor, Dr. Carlson. But to catch the villain responsible, The Flash must figure out how to use his powers in the one place where they do him little good: the sky! Spitfire is sure to escape unless The Flash can go airborne! A special standalone issue, THE FLASH #26, written by Christos N. Gage and illustrated by Neil Googe, will be available in stores on December 31.

Update: I forgot to include Teen Titans #26, featuring the continuing exploration of the New 52 Kid Flash’s origin.

Impulse 86Digital re-releases continue for Impulse on ComiXology. Impulse #85 was already up, having been released as part of the “World Without Young Justice” crossover. Bedlam, the genie from World Without Grownups, has been forcing Bart’s “time scouts” to alter history. But his spells are all aimed at blocking Impulse…not at Kid Flash!

Today, DC releases Impulse #86. Bart Allen has gained the powers of a genie, and sets about creating the perfect world! But do we really want a reality designed by someone with the attention span of a fruit fly? Todd Dezago and Carlo Barberi.

Poll: Favorite Flash Stories of 2013

Gorilla Warfare, Reverse Flash, Villains Month/Forever Evil — plus guest spots in Smallville, Justice League Beyond, and of course the Arrow TV show. What was your favorite Flash story of the year?

Update: The survey is closed — here are the results!

Gorilla Warfare (Flash #13-#17) 2% (2 Votes)
Flash vs. Trickster (Flash #18-19) 1% (1 Votes)
Reverse Flash Saga (Flash #20-24) 15% (18 Votes)
Flash #25: Zero Year 31% (38 Votes)
Flash #26: Flash out of Water
Villains Month: Reverse Flash 1% (1 Votes)
Villains Month: Grodd 1% (1 Votes)
Villains Month: Rogues 4% (5 Votes)
Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion 3% (4 Votes)
Smallville Season 11: “Haunted” guest-starring Bart Allen and Jay Garrick
Justice League Beyond: “Flashdrive” introducing Danica Williams 2% (3 Votes)
Justice League Beyond: The Flash (Danica Williams origin) 1% (1 Votes)
Injustice: Gods Among Us Chapter 13 (Flash spotlight) 2% (2 Votes)
Arrow: The Scientist / Three Ghosts 16% (19 Votes)
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox 12% (15 Votes)
My collection of back-issues 9% (11 Votes)

There’s a clear winner, and a sharp division between the top five and the rest:

  1. The “Zero Year” flashback in Flash #26 took the top spot handily with twice as many votes as the next one down. Is it the farewell to the Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato team? Or do we Flash fans just like our Barry/Iris moments?
  2. Arrow‘s “The Scientist” and “Three Ghosts”, guest-starring Barry Allen, came in next, another strong showing for a pre-Flash story.
  3. The Reverse Flash story to which Manapul and Buccellato had been building for their whole run on the series came in third.
  4. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, the first animated feature to focus on the Flash (even if Warner Bros. was afraid to brand it anything other than Justice League), made a solid fourth-place showing, though not as strong as I was expecting.
  5. Back-issues took a surprisingly high slot with more than twice as many votes as the next item on the list — a reminder that there are still a lot of Flash fans out there who like the characters, but not the current direction.

Two choices pulled in no votes at all: Flash #26, which hit stores during the second day of the survey — no surprise, since most people hadn’t had a chance to read it by the time the survey closed, and I actually considered leaving it off because of that. Smallville Season 11: Haunted, a digital-first comic now available in print that focused on Bart Allen and introduced the Smallville universe’s Jay Garrick. Maybe Flash fans are just tired of characters getting killed off.

One problem with the survey: I had to relaunch it after it had been up for about an hour and a half because I realized I’d forgotten to include Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. (Seriously, how did I do that?) I had to decide whether it was better to relaunch the poll and lose about 40 votes, hoping most of them would see the notice and resubmit their votes, or leave out the Flash’s premiere animated movie. I’m still not sure I made the right call, but it’s a thoroughly unscientific survey.