Hey everyone! Welcome to my weekly series of blog posts, which will review Comic Book Themed TV Shows. I will be giving my TOP 5 Moments in the weekly episodes, Easter Eggs (if applicable) and my Predictions for future episodes and seasons (also if applicable) and my Final Thoughts!

BE WARNED, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!!!

So, if you haven’t seen the past week’s episode, DO NOT READ THE REVIEW!

The Flash (Season 1, Episode 7, “Rogues”; Airdate: 01/20/15)

Plot Synopsis

As result of his encounter with the Reverse Flash aka Man in the Yellow Suit, Barry is struggling with training designed to develop his super speed. Meanwhile, Captain Cold, returns to Central City with the help of a NEW rogue, Heat Wave, who team up to destroy the Flash.

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Top 5 Moments

• The Rogues unite! I was as excited as a kid in a candy store when I saw Captain Cold aka Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller) and Heat Wave aka Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) together on screen and gunning for The Flash! The only way to top this, in my opinion, would be to have a season ending cliffhanger which included all of the entire Flash Rogues Gallery attacking the Flash together (see Predictions). I think Miller and Purcell did excellent jobs as the villains and given that both actors appeared as brothers in the TV series, Prison Break, it was a reunion of sorts for them.
• Project F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.! I like the way that the search for Ronnie Raymond by Caitlin was handled as a secondary plot thread to Barry’s confrontation with the Rogues. It not only foreshadowed the development and full on debut of the Firestorm character, but it also allowed Caitlin to develop as well. I think it was great to see her outside of S.T.A.R. Labs.
• Enter: Jason Rusch! My understanding is that the Firestorm matrix will consist of Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Martin Stein, however it was a GREAT shout out to have the Jason Rusch character from the comics to show up and be heavily involved with the creation of Project: F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.
• Flash Training 101! Barry is on a mission to learn how to use his powers in order to beat Reverse Flash aka Man in the Yellow Suit. It was interesting that when it appeared that the Flash was in trouble during the training exercise, Harrison Wells took a step, as though he were going to rescue him at super speed. (We know Wells is the Reverse Flash, although we still don’t know which one he is.) Wells came to Barry and proclaimed friendship (we all know how that’s going to end up!).
• Eddie Thawne and the Flash! It appears that Eddie’s dislike for The Flash has softened as a result of Barry saving Eddie’s life during a confrontation with the Rogues. Eddie even went so far as to return the favor and give credit to the Flash for capturing the Rogues.

***On a side note, Iris moved out of Joe’s house to live with Eddie, while Barry moved in. It will be interesting to see the development of Eddie’s romantic relationship with Iris (who now knows that Barry is in love with her) and his relationship with the Flash. If Eddie turns out to be another of the Reverse Flashes, such as the Hunter Zolomon character, when he learns that Barry steals Iris from him and that he was The Flash all along, there’s no telling what kind of crazy that will unleash from him.***

Easter Eggs

The introduction of the Rathaways, a wealthy couple whose million dollar painting is stolen by the Rogues (Captain Cold and Heat Wave) are also the parents of Hartley Rathaway aka Pied Piper, the next Rogue to be introduced in the upcoming episode. I liked the way the Rathaways were woven into the stories plot and used to set things up for their son to debut in the following episode.

Jason Rusch mentioned that he was working at Mercury Labs (which is a shout out to Max Mercury).

At the end of the episode, the Rogues are being transported to Iron Heights Prison, when they are sprung by Snart aka Captain Cold’s sister. Comics fans will recognize that his sister is none other than Lisa Snart aka Golden Glider.

Predictions

Given that it has been announced that virtually every major villain in the Flash Rogues Gallery will be introduced this season, in some way, I think that it will all lead up to a situation where they unite to bring down The Flash, possibly as a season ending cliffhanger (I can only hope), since we already know that the show has been renewed for a second season.

Major Rogues Members

Weather Wizard (introduced)
Gorilla Grodd (mentioned)
Captain Cold (introduced)
Captain Boomerang (introduced)
Roy G. Bivolo aka Prism (introduced)
Heat Wave (introduced)
Pied Piper (coming soon)
The Trickster (coming soon)
Golden Glider (coming soon)
Mirror Master (coming soon)
Dr. Alchemy (coming soon)

I think that this would be an excellent way to give Barry a BIG challenge, but also a way to get him to team up with Firestorm, Team Arrow, Atom and maybe even a live action Vixen!

(If you didn’t know, there will be an animated spinoff within the Arrow/Flash TV universe, featuring the DC Comics character named Vixen!)

Final Thoughts

The manner in which this show is written, they have hopefully learned from mistakes made with Arrow (underdevelopment of Laurel Lance aka Black Canary) and will begin to develop Iris West’s character a bit more. They have done more with her for the past couple of episodes, but I think they still have a ways to go. Her charisma with Barry on the show is a plus, and hopefully will be enough to bridge the gap between now and when they further explore her character.

I really didn’t have any complaints about this episode. However, in general I hope that since Barry’s uniform was severely damaged in his battle with the Rogues, he gets (in my opinion) a much needed upgrade.

I’m truly excited to see that this show, along with Arrow has been renewed and that they are doing will amongst viewers. I can only see BIG things for The Flash and hopefully a bevy of NEW character introductions throughout the remainder of this season and into season two!

I enjoyed this episode and think it was a great way to come back from the winter break. I give this episode an A rating.

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