#FlashxArrow was set to be another amazing crossover, with an even greater purpose – to act as a springboard for the upcoming ‘Legends of Tomorrow” series. Introducing us to Vandal Savage, having Hawkgirl discover her powers, giving us some important developments on several fronts, this pair of episodes carried a tremendous weight of expectations. Given that, it’s a good thing that FLASH and ARROW exceeded every expectation. Want to know more? Just follow us after the jump…
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
Legends of Tomorrow has cast Hawkman and Vandal Savage.
Falk Hentschel will play Carter Hall alongside already-announced Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders a.k.a. Hawkgirl. Legends of Tomorrow is using the reincarnation origin, tying the pair to ancient Egyptian mythology.
Casper Crump has been cast as Vandal Savage, the main villain for Legends of Tomorrow. As in the comics, Savage is an immortal, who has manipulated history for millennia as he moves toward world domination. (In some versions, he’s been various famous conquerors throughout history, faking his own death and then starting again. In others, he’s been the power behind various thrones.)
Both Hawkman and Vandal Savage will make their first appearance in this season’s Arrow/Flash crossover before moving on to Legends.
Round Two (the round of 32) is on at SUPER VILLAIN MARCH MADNESS, and you’ll find Gorilla Grodd vs. Professor Zoom and Vandal Savage vs. Circe…along with a host of other DC and Marvel baddies! There are less than 24 hours left to vote, so be sure to have your voice heard! Here’s a link to the match-ups, which end at 10 PM Eastern Time USA on Monday, March 23rd:
CLICK HERE for Round 2A of Super Villain March Madness!
Over at TMStash.com, you’ll find a LOT of Flash Rogues and other bad guys in Super Villain March Madness! Today’s match-ups include Zoom, Grodd, Vandal Savage and more! To vote, just CLICK HERE to follow the link to the post with all EIGHT matches today! The voting for this group ends at 10 PM Eastern Time on March 18th, so be sure to make your voice heard!
The New 52’s Kid Flash gets the spotlight in this week’s DC Universe Presents #12. CBR has a preview of the issue
KID FLASH stars in his first solo adventure, racing against time as he deals with the prehistoric trouble the TEEN TITANS brought back from MYSTERY ISLAND!
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Jorge Jimenez
Cover by Ryan Sook
Meanwhile, ComiXology’s digital back-issue releases continue with Flash #49 (1990) and Impulse #9.
Flash #49 is the second part of a three-parter leading up to the big Flash #50. Vandal Savage is dying, and he’s going to take the worldwide drug trade with him…no matter the collateral damage. But before he goes, he issues a very special challenge to the Flash: Wally West vs. a bullet…without his speed.
Needless to say, this cover made my gallery of Dead Flash Covers.
Impulse #9 is a prelude to the Dead Heat crossover with The Flash. Bart Allen gets a surprise visit from a strange girl who turns out to be his cousin Jenni Ognats (A.K.A. XS) from the future. She’s been stranded in the past on a mission for the Legion of Super-Heroes. Can Bart help her get home? Can she blend in at a 20th-century middle school? And can either of them find the missing Max Mercury?
XS’ trip to our era takes her into “Dead Heat,” then one more issue each of Impulse and Flash, then Legionnaires Annual #3, in which she briefly meets her grandfather Barry Allen while jumping through time trying to make her way home.
I’m beginning to wonder about the Flash/Impulse schedule at ComiXology. After months of three Flash issues a week, they’ve slowed to one and added Impulse. Going sequentially, the next Flash will be an anniversary issue, and the next Impulse is part of a crossover with The Flash. Meanwhile, we’ve got the current Flash #12 coming out next week and The Flash Annual #1 the week after. Meanwhile on the print side, August sees three Flash reprint volumes: Flash Archives vol.6, Flash Chronicles vol.3, and Flash Omnibus by Geoff Johns vol.3. Could ComiXolgy be gearing up for a “Flash 201” sale sometime in the next few weeks?
Flashback covers via comics.org.
Among this week’s ComiXology releases are The Flash vol.2 #13-14, in which Wally West, still early in his solo career, battles Vandal Savage and a host of Savage’s pawns given super-speed by the drug Velocity 9.
This completes the Mike Baron run on the character, except for the 1987 Flash Annual #1 (a stand-alone story mixing the Flash with movie-style martial arts as Wally accidentally develops the “death touch”). Since ComiXology already had the first four issues of the William Messner-Loebs run (including the recommended “Adventures of Speed McGee” three-parter), this also completes the first 18 issues of the series, and the Vandal Savage/Velocity 9 story that spans the transition between writers.