So far, CW has done well by DC's comic book characters: both Arrow and Flash have proven that the publisher can survive on modern-day television, and both series have done a fantastic job of bringing the heroes to life. Of course, the characters are nothing without a story to tell, and thankfully, CW has been great about adapting years of lore into something that old fans can enjoy and new fans can get into.
That being said, time travel complicates everything, and the Flash is no stranger to such stories. Flashpoint, one of DC's biggest comic stories in years, focused on our hero using his superhuman speed to rearrange the past - and based on the the latest teasers, it seems like CW's series is headed in a similar direction. Here is a look at next week's episode of The Flash:
Time travel has been done on television before - just watch any random episode of the original Star Trek series - but this looks like something else entirely.
For starters, the promo seems to follow the basic plot of DC's animated feature Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, which was inspired by the comic book crossover Flashpoint. In both stories, Flash wakes up in an altered reality in which his mother - who was previously murdered by Professor Zoom, and helped inspire Allen to fight crime - is alive. The rest of the DC Universe has been turned on its head, and Flash is the only one who seems to notice that absolutely everything about reality is different. In the comics, this led to The New 52, which acted as something of a reboot for DC's continuity (in the animated feature, everything was simply reset).
Now, it'd be crazy to think that CW and DC would think about resetting the timeline for its shows, seeing as Flash hasn't made it through its first season. However, it does open up a number of different possibilities, including that of alternate realities and multiple dimensions. Time travel will also answer the question of how an adult Barry Allen's blood got into his house in the past on the show.
For comic readers, DC is known for creating multiple universes - alternate realities in which different versions of the same characters live, fight and die. For years, it's been the crux of DC's overarching story - it's not something that's ever been addressed in any other medium, but with Flash's latest story, there's a chance that could change.
DC has already said that its TV show continuity and the film continuity exist in separate realities - not unlike the comics. So, if Flashpoint - a story that is based entirely on alternate realities - is really coming to the Flash TV series, is there a chance that the two universes could cross over?
At this point, it's more likely that Flashpoint will set the stage for something grander in the future: after all, the first of DC's new superhero films won't see its debut until 2016. However, the introduction of a story like Flashpoint could hint at an interconnected world between DC's TV shows and its films...it'll just be a while before anyone knows for sure.
Flash airs Tuesdays at 8pm on CW.
