WARNING: This Article Contains Some Spoilers!
[dropcap size=small]B[/dropcap]y now, hopefully, you’ve had a chance to catch the premiere of the new series The Flash on the CW (If you haven’t, get on it!).
Much to the delight of Flash comic book fans, the episode was bursting at the seams with Easter eggs and refrences to the titular character’s long history.
Here are some of the fun things you may have noticed, and maybe some you didn’t!
PEOPLE
Perhaps the category with the most abundance of nods to the comic books, the episode featured some familiar characters – some who will go on to have a much bigger role in the Flash’s story.
GRODD
One of the more obvious, but “Hell yeah!” inducing moments came during Dr. Well’s tour of S.T.A.R. labs. The scene settles on an animal cage that has been broken out of by the creature inside. A dangling name tag reads, “Grodd”. This of course is a reference to one of the Flash’s longtime enemies, Gorilla Grodd — a super-intelligent resident of Gorilla City.
LINDA PARK
When Barry returns to his lab on the night of the particle accelerator disaster, a news report shows on the television with breaking news about the catastrophe. The news reporter delivering the story is Linda Park, who in the comics goes on to be the future wife of Barry’s nephew and the next Flash, Wally West!
EDDIE THAWNE
Remember pretty-boy detective Eddie Thawn, who seems like he’s going to butt heads with Barry down the road? His name is a definite play on comic character Eobard Thawne, an obsessive super-fan of Barry Allen who goes on to become the Flash’s arch nemesis, Reverse-Flash! While it’s pretty clear will be seeing Reverse-Flash in the show’s future, will it be Detective Thawne who adopts the identity, or is his name just a playful nod? We’ll have to wait and see! Check out some behind-the-scenes photos of Reverse-Flash here!
CAITLIN SNOW & CISCO RAMON
Two other characters introduced in the pilot episode who may have bigger futures in store are Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, some of the staff members at S.T.A.R. Labs. Comic fans will recognize Caitlin Snow as one of the several people who will adopt the identity of Killer Frost. Cisco Ramon later becomes the superhero Vibe, who attains extradimensional vibrations and shockwaves.
PLACES
Most of the entries in this category are more fun little nods to the comics, but probably won’t have a large impact in the course of the storyline.
BIG BELLY BURGER
Fans of the CW’s Arrow will recognize the little burger joint that has now franchised and made its way into Central City! In the DC Comic Universe, Big Belly Burger originated in Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s Coast City, where it was a fast-food chain owned by Lex Luthor. Big Belly Burger in the DC Television Universe is ending up like The Big Kahuna Burger restaurants in Quentin Tarantino’s cinematic universe. That is a tasty burger!
JITTERS
It seems like Starbucks hasn’t made its way to Central City yet (surprisingly). Instead, the coffee joint of choice is Jitters, the workplace of Iris West. This restaurant is lifted right from the pages of Flash #1 from the New 52 relaunch! Perhaps one of the less obvious Easter Eggs, but it’s still cool to see the show creators paying that much attention to detail.
GAMBI CLEANERS
In the scene where Barry Allen first begins testing his super-speed powers, you’ll recall we runs straight into the back of a dry cleaning service van. The business name on the side of the van is Gambi Cleaners. This is a reference to comic character Paul Gambi, a tailor in Central City, who is responsible for creating the costumes for Flash’s adversaries, The Rogues.
FERRIS AIR TESTING FACILITY
For fans of the Green Lantern comics (good for you!) or folks who saw the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern film (what the Hell were you thinking?), you may recognize this location as the company that employed Hal Jordan before he joined up with the Green Lantern Corps.
THINGS
In addition to characters and places, a nice handful of references to events from the Flash’s storied history. Some of these are nice little homages, while others are prophetic bombshells.
SLOW-MO FOOD
When Barry Allen visits Iris at her work, a clumsy waitress fumbles some food on a tray. This is when Barry Allen first gets his experience with “Flash Time”, as he watches the food fall in slow motion. This is a direct reference to the 1956 comic, in which Barry Allen discovers his new powers in exactly the same way.
UNRAVELING A TORNADO
When the Weather Wizard is able to conjure a giant tornado on the outskirts of Central City, Barry’s plan to stop it is to run around it in the opposite direction. This far-fetched plan may seem a little comical, because it literally is. This is a nod to The Flash #190, in which Flash diffuses a tornado by creating a whirlwind moving in the opposite direction.
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
Perhaps the most “holy s***!” reference of them all occurs at the end of the episode. We discover that Harrison Wells possesses a Central City Citizen newspaper issue from the distant future. The blaring headline reads “Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis” – This of course is referencing one of the most iconic comic events of all time, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Crisis was a twelve-part series published by DC in 1985 as a way to unclutter much of their 50 year history. In the series, Barry Allen sacrifices himself to save the universe. Barry wouldn’t make his full-time return as the Flash until 23 years later. By dropping this bombshell in the first episode, the CW hints that it has some big plans for The Flash.
Of course there are many more Easter eggs than the ones listed here. Which ones did you catch that were your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
