So it’s a rare occasion where a spin off can be as good as or better than the original (Two examples would be Frasier and SVU) but I feel that The Flash may be able to go toe to toe with its parent series Arrow. Arrow is now on its third season and seems to be going from strength to strength, showing people out there that DC is more than just Batman and Superman. True Marvel may be winning the battle on the big screen, with DC taking home the best direct to DVD produced films, but thanks to Agents of Shield (who was kind of meh at first) the battle for the small screen was in a deadlock, now DC has sent forth its scarlet speedster and he is making waves and gaining fans.

Grant Gustin stars as our beloved hero, he is just your typical, intelligent, boyishly handsome, single forensic scientist (who can really hit those notes) and maybe someday it will explain why he is single, because no woman wants that in their life. I have heard a lot of naysayers complain that Grant does not look the part, but hey they said the same thing about Daniel Craig when he played Bond and I will say now what I said then, Grant embodies the role and that’s what’s important. He brings a certain naivety and innocence to the role that really helps bring it to life and it helps set him apart from Arrow, where the hero was driven by anger, here Barry is driven by a need to be good, plus a few other things. I think it prudent to mention that though he may not look the part of Barry Allen once he dons the suit he really looks like the Flash and in the end is that what truly matters?

The suit manages to do the Man of Steel thing where it embodies enough of the aspects of the original art and mixes them with real world ideas that it feels familiar and fresh at the same time. Let’s face it television has tried twice now to bring the Flash to life and both times the suit has not quite worked, this time they have hit the nail on the head.

FAIL

FAIL AGAIN

The series has done a lot to give itself a good running start, it has used the accident that created the Flash to help create other meta humans too. Again a few people where angry that Weather Wizards origin was altered but I find making him a meta-human a little more ummm realistic than saying he was some guy whose powers came from a wand that let him control the weather. There are plenty of little hidden gems in the series for Die Hard fans such as reference to Gorilla Grodd, Professor Zoom, Reverse Flash (different characters), Vibe and Killer Frost. In a nice twist we also have the original 1990s flash back playing the role of Barry’s Father.

You can really see the family resemblance

I always said the hardest aspect of this series would be making the running not look lame and well I feel that the special effects team have really pulled this off, so my hats off to them, they have done an amazing job.

The Flash seems like it’s going to be one of the brighter beacons out there in the world of superheroes, lord knows it’s what we need. With Arrow dark enough as it is, Nolan’s great additions to the big screen and also Constantine, it’s nice to see DC comics giving the Flash a chance. I know his stories can be as dark, if not darker than the majority of the other heroes, but he always seemed to be a bit more upbeat and less whiny than the other guys. This is going to be a strong contender and I really can’t wait to see more of the series, the only thing it’s going to lack is a shirtless Green Arrow but oh well we will have to make do.