Barry must learn to live life in the slow lane, but in this week’s Flashback, we learn the comic book origins and Easter eggs from this week’s episode as everything gets Back to Normal.
“A meta human with super strength named Griffin Grey mistakes Harry for Earth-1 Harrison Wells and kidnaps him, demanding that wells cure him from his current condition. Realising another brilliant Wells could Track Griffins Location, Barry asks Jesse to help. Meanwhile, Wally corners Joe About the Flash.”
THE SLOWEST MAN ALIVE
While things are supposed to be getting back to normal in this episode, I couldn’t help but think that Barry Allen is the slowest man alive – a title that has been used multiple times over the years the Flash series.
The first time, is one we’ve actually seen before in the pages of All-Flash #21, where Jay Garrick takes on the Turtle. Then, in The Flash #230, Barry Allen and Wally West (as Kid Flash) discover a plot by the Turtle to once again get The Flash out of the picture by speeding up the rotation of the Earth using a centrifugal booster. Finally, in Flash #124 from 1997, Wally West squares off against Mister Frost (no relation to Killer Frost), and a series of holograms that makes him think he is the slowest man alive.
i find it interesting that the Turtle appears in two of those stories, as the Turtle’s death at the hands of Harry Wells is the point of contention between Wells and his daughter Jesse, who does get the name check of Jessie Quick again in this episode.
GRIFFIN GREY
Griffin Grey first appeared in Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 in August 2006, a time when Bart Allen was the Flash and trying to get used to the post Wally universe. The two were roommates, working at Keystone Motors. Griffen gained his powers when a disgruntled worker set off a bomb at the factory. Griffin discovered he had powers, and tried to use them for good by bringing the bomber to justice, but unfortunately, using his powers caused him to prematurely age. While Grey’s powers are not the same as those seen in the television show, the end results were the same – Griffin died from the side-effects of his powers.
Griffin Grey was created by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
A number of locations popped up this week:
Ace Chemicals
Probably the most famous chemical company of all time (next to Dow of course), is Ace Chemicals. First appearing in Detective Comics #168, Ace Chemicals is located in Gotham City, the plant was first part of Kane Chemicals, a company owned by Martha Wayne, which was then sold to Apex Chemicals, which then became Ace Chemicals.
In February 1951, Bill Finger told the tale of the Red Hood Gang robbing the factory, only to be foiled by Batman. While attempting to escape, the Red Hood fell/jumped into a vat of chemicals, only to emerge later as The Joker.
Nathan Newbury
Ace Chemicals is located at Newbury Road in the Central City, and we’re betting that Newbury is a reference to Nathan Newbury, a CPA and juror during the Trial of The Flash. Interestingly, in Flash #349, Nathan Newbury reveals that he came from the future to make sure the verdict would come out as innocent, but thanks to time travel hijinks, Professor Zoom attacked Newbury and took his place, thus convincing the jury to find him guilty.
Sasha Woodman
Another street name check this week was Woodman and Shore, and I’m guessing Woodman may be a nod to Sasha Woodman, aka Queen Bee. That may be a pretty big stretch, but still better than pointing out Woodman was the principal on Welcome Back Kotter. We last saw Queen Bee in All Star Team Up last season.
There have been a number of villains that have gone by the name of Queen Bee; one is the leader of an interstellar species, and controls people with her mind, another is the ruler of the nation of Bialya who has fought against the Global Guardians, Justice League International, and Justice League Europe. A third is part of the Creature Commandos, while Queen Bee 4 is the sister of the second Queen Bee (and also the ruler of Bialya), who has created a legion of cybernetic humans to act as the police force in her country. One other is an impersonator from the early Silver Age, who took on the role of leader of Gotham’s criminal organizations for fear that Eclipso would killer her, while the New 52 version claims to be the daughter of Brainiac.
DWARF STAR ALLOY
There’s a nice nod to The Atom and Felicity Smoak, who first appeared on Arrow, and is now a series regular on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. While I don’t know about the ability to create armor from a dwarf star, Ray Palmer did use the mass of a white dwarf star to create a lens that enables him to shrink any object to any degree he wishes.
FLASHPOINT
The craziest idea of all time, or the greatest idea of all time? At the conclusion of the episode, Harry Wells suggests that the best way for Barry to get his powers back, they should recreate the particle accelerator accident. This idea is very similar to the DC Comics Flashpoint arc, where Barry attempts to get his powers back by having Batman (Thomas Wayne) strap him to an electric chair during an electrical storm, surrounded by chemicals, in hopes the lightning/chemical/Barry combo will give him his powers back.
The first time doesn’t go so well, leaving Barry severely burned. This makes me wonder if we are going to see a terrible accident in the next episode, or if the upcoming particle accelerator explosion will give Jessie Quick and Wally West speed powers. This episode pretty much set up the Barry/Wally mentor relationship, so I think we’ll see that in the near future.
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IT’S CALLED A SECRET IDENTITY FOR A REASON!
No secret identity reveals this week, but I think we’re getting close to adding at least one more name to this list real soon.
Dr. Harrison Wells(deceased)- Eobard Thawne (as Dr. Harrison Wells)
- Dr. Harry Wells (Earth-2)
- Dr. Caitlin Snow
- Dr. Cisco Ramon
- Detective Joe West
Ronnie Raymond(deceased)- Dr. Martin Stein
- Mrs. Clarissa Stein
- Hartley Rathaway (Pied Piper)
- Felicity Smoak
- General Wade Eiling
- Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)
- John Diggle
Bette Sans Souci(deceased)- Dr. Henry Allen (out of prison)
Iris West(in another timeline)- Iris West-Allen (in the future)
- Iris West (via spark touch)
- Iris West (of Earth-2)
- Leonard Snart (Captain Cold)
Detective Eddie Thawne(deceased)- Ray Palmer (The Atom)
- Brie Larvan
- Laurel Lance (Black Canary)
Hannibal Bates (Everyman)(deceased)- Gorilla Grodd
- Lyla Diggle (Harbinger)
- Jay Garrick (The Flash of Earth-2)
- Dr. Henry Hewitt
- Jefferson Jackson (Firestorm)
- Linda Park
- Malcolm Merlin/Al Sa-Her/Ra’s al Ghul
- Vandal Savage
- Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl)
- Cater Hall (Hawkman)
- Thea Queen (Speedy)
- Patty Spivot
- Barry Allen (of Earth-2)
- Killer Frost (of Earth-2)
- Jesse Quick (of Earth-2)
- Supergirl/Kara Zor-El (of Earth-CBS)
- James Olsen (of Earth-CBS)
- Alex Danvers (of Earth-CBS)*
- Martian Manhunter (of Earth-CBS)*
- Winn Schott (of Earth-CBS)
- Cat Grant (of Earth-CBS)
- Lucy Lane (of Earth-CBS)
- Everyone at the DEO (of Earth-CBS)
And that should be everything! What did I miss? What did you catch? Use the comment section below to share your thoughts on this episode, and until next week – RUN, BARRY! RUN!
FLASHBACK: THE PODCAST
Want to hear Matthew Peterson and I sit down to discuss this episode in detail? If you are a Major Spoilers VIP, look for the Flashback Podcast hitting the VIP site very soon!
