Flashback: Dead or Alive (S03-E11)

H.R. is in trouble, and it is up to… Cisco… to save the day?

DC COMICS’ GYPSY ARRIVES ON EARTH-1 – H.R.’s (Tom Cavanagh) past catches up with him when a bounty hunter with vibe powers named Gypsy (guest star Jessica Camacho) arrives in Central City to bring him back to Earth-19 to stand trial for his crime. It turns out inter-dimensional travel is illegal on their Earth. H.R. surrenders but when Barry (Grant Gustin) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) find out that H.R.’s only hope would be to challenge Gypsy to a fight to the death, they intercede and Cisco offers to fight Gypsy instead.

GYPSY

Gypsy makes her appearance in this week’s episode, but the Gypsy we see in the show is quite a departure from the Gypsy in comics.  Cynthia “Cindy” Reynolds (aka Gypsy) debuted in Justice League of America Annual #2 in October of 1984.  Born to a suburban couple, Gypsy developed the powers of illusion at the age of 14. For whatever reason, Cindy ran away to Detroit and eventually became a member of the JLA Detroit.  It’s interesting that her powers are primarily illusion casting, which is a contrast to her powers which are exactly like Vibe’s seen in the episode.

Gypsy’s illusion-casting can also be used to project frightening illusions into the minds of other people. These illusions usually show what the affected person fears most. This ability can affect other living things besides people, and Gypsy can use this ability in combat situations. Gypsy has the ability to project an illusion to appear as another person, but that person needs to be her approximate height and weight for it to appear authentic.

While Gypsy was created by Gerry Conway and Chuck Patton, her New 52 reboot is quite a departure from the comic book series. First, she does’t wear a Gypsy costume – which is probably a good idea, considering Gypsy is considered a slur. In the New 52, Gypsy is a metahuman from another dimension who was fleeing from Vibe’s brother Rapture. She’s been captured by Amanda Waller, and it is revealed she is the daughter of Mordeth, a supervillian from the alternate dimension.

SO MANY EARTHS

Fans were treated to many many Earths this week, and for a multiverse fan, this was a treasure trove of fun.

• Earth-1: This is the Arrowverse we all know and love.
• Earth-2: The home of Harry Wells and Jay Garrick/Zoom/Hunter Zolomon.
• Earth-19: Even though we didn’t “see” this Earth, the fact that H.R. and Gypsy both come from here deserves inclusion.
• Earth-38: The world of Supergirl! Did you see Miss Tessmacher in the shot? of course you did, you’re a super smart Spoilerite.
• Earth-X: An Earth full of storms and lava? Where could this be? Is this the world of Kamandi? Or is this an Earth that never fully developed? It kind of looked like Mustafar, which would be kind of fitting since Cisco quotes Star Wars all the time.

IT’S CALLED A SECRET IDENTITY FOR A REASON!

It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together this week, so I’m almost 100% certain Gypsy knows Flash and Barry are the same person.

• Dr. Harrison Wells (deceased?)
• Eobard Thawne
• 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 (deceased)
• Iris West (in another timeline)
• Iris West-Allen (in the future)
• Iris West (via spark touch)
• Iris West (of Earth-2)
• Iris West (in yet another timeline)
• Leonard Snart (Captain Cold) (deceased)
• 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-38)
• James Olsen (of Earth-38)
• Alex Danvers (of Earth-38)*
• Martian Manhunter (of Earth-38)*
• Winn Schott (of Earth-38)
• Cat Grant (of Earth-38)
• Lucy Lane (of Earth-38)
• Everyone at the DEO (of Earth-38)
• Dr. Tina McGee
• Wally West
• Nora Allen (no longer deceased deceased once more)
• Zoom (aka Hunter Zolomon)
• H.R. Wells (of Earth-19)
• Mick Rory (Heat Wave)
• Rip Hunter
• Sara Lance (White Canary)
• Commander Steel
• Vixen
• Julian Albert Desmond
• Olga
• Gypsy

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 remember – Run, Barry, Run!

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FLASHBACK: THE PODCAST

Matthew Peterson and I sit down each week to discuss this episode in detail on the Flashback podcast. If you are a Major Spoilers Patreon Member, look for the Flashback Podcast very soon!

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