Before the DC Cinematic Universe came to fruition, DC gave us the Arrowverse. As you can guess, it all began with the popular DC hero, Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow. Season one began in late 2012 and the final season ended in the beginning of last year.
Now I’ll be honest, I haven’t been keeping up with the most recent seasons of Arrow. I actually stopped after season 6. Like many fans, I was invested in the first two seasons, but after seasons 3 and 4, I just lost interest. Seriously, those seasons were massively disappointing. In fact, I skipped over much of season 4, especially after they killed off Dinah Laurel Lance. Yes, she was always called Laurel, but I’ll stick with calling her the Black Canary’s comic name.
Now speaking of that, there’s something about the Arrowverse that has become a bit of a running gag for me. No matter how many times some particular characters are killed off, they always seem to find a way to come back. Dinah Lance, for example, was killed by Damien Darkh in the fourth season of Arrow, but that didn’t matter, because she came back shortly after. Well, only it wasn’t the exact same Dinah Lance we saw in the beginning of Arrow.
We all need to remember that the Arrowverse is very much a fictional universe set in the DC Universe. A universe based on comic books is a universe where literally anything can happen. A common thing that typically happens in comics is the resurrection of dead characters. The mainstream Dinah Lance of the Arrowverse died, but there was another Dinah Lance from another Earth who stuck around in the prime Earth. This Dinah Lance was a more villainous version introduced in the Flash show called Black Siren.
The Flash show is actually what I want to talk about here. Now I give the Arrowverse a lot of credit for starting a shared universe on television. It set some high standards for the future of television and showed how a shared universe for television can work. Speaking of which, it seems like the Arrowverse actually paved the way for the creation of the Marvel shows on Disney+.
And since I’m on the subject of dead characters not staying dead, The Flash series likes to use that a lot. How many times has Eobard Thawne died and come back? The Flash’s greatest enemy has continued to plague him for pretty much every season of the show and I wager he’ll stick around until the end. Speaking of the end, I have a strong feeling the Arrowverse will end with the Flash series. And to tell you the truth, I think that’s the best route.
So why the Flash show? Well, for one, Green Arrow is already dead. I haven’t watched the full episodes leading up to his death, but I did watch how he died on YouTube. You know what? I didn’t like it. In fact, Stephen Amell didn’t really like it either. I can’t blame him, considering how dedicated he was to the role and it’s a shame how his run on the character came to an end.
Well, since the Arrowverse clearly won’t end with Green Arrow, it can very well end with The Flash. Let’s look at the current status of the other shows that are set in the Arrowverse. Supergirl is reaching its last season and Batwoman’s ratings are lower than ever. It’s just recently been confirmed that Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and The Flash are being renewed for more seasons. That’s good news for the fans, but it’s no question that The Flash series is the most well-received out of all those shows. That’s rightfully so, because it’s actually the best out of the Arrowverse shows.
Personally, I never really got into Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, or Batwoman. I mean, they got rid of Kathy Kane for goodness sake. In my opinion, that’s like basically cutting off the legs of the running horse. The other shows are just a bit too corny for my taste. Some people dig them and that’s okay. I’m not trying to downgrade anyone’s opinion, but those shows just didn’t do it for me. The Flash, on the other hand, has stayed consistently good for all seasons and kept my interest.
I’m currently still watching the latest season, but each season makes me want to revisit the next. I mean, isn’t that the point of every season of a television series? Well, I’m not done yet with season 6, but I remember checking out the trailer for the upcoming season 7. I do think it looks cool, but there were a few things about it that bothered me.
First of all, I’m not sure how I feel about gender-swapping the villain Mirror Master and turning him into a female supervillain called Mirror Mistress. Mirror Master is a villain with rather confusing abilities of illusions and I really want to see how the show explores that. Mirror Mistress can be awesome or she could be lame. Does the gender-swapping really matter? As a comic fan, I like seeing the characters portrayed the way they’re usually portrayed in the comics, but I do like seeing different takes on them. As long as she’s a challenge to the Flash and gives us cool Mirror Master stuff, I’ll take her.
So the villain is always the big piece of the pie when it comes to these shows. But what happens when we’re served too much of it? My point is, after seeing the trailer for season 7, it just seemed like a been there, done that scenario. How many times is Barry just going to have to “run faster” or ” think harder” to defeat the villain? We’ve seen him grow wiser and master his powers throughout the series, but now that he’s basically a veteran Flash, we can only see him be that hero for so long.
The Flash has recently been renewed for an eighth season and I have a feeling that might be the last season. Barry has come close to death many times before and he’s always barely managed to cheat it. How can his story end? Will death finally catch up to the Flash or will he actually have a happy ending? As long as he gets a better ending than Oliver, right? Well, it may not be poetic for the Arrowverse to end with The Flash series, but it is appropriate.
For me, The Flash show has the most heart out of all the Arrowverse shows and respects its characters the most. Heck, it even made an original character for the show who quickly went on to become one of the best characters in the whole universe. Here’s a hint, he’s not just one, but many characters. Heck yes, I’m talking about Harrison Wells. He began as a villain (only because Reverse-Flash was posing as him) and went on to become Team Flash’s most valuable ally. I also appreciated how the show touched on Barry’s relationship with Joe West, something we didn’t see in the comics. Their chemistry is phenomenal and it gave Barry a father figure to actually come home to.
Speaking of which, the scenes where he actually talks to his father brought a tear to my eye. The emotional moments in the show really sell and for a show about superheroes, that really says something. That’s probably the best element of the Flash show, which is that family element the other shows lack. For instance, Barry actually ends up with Iris, his wife from the comics. That’s a cue that Arrow really should’ve stuck with. For real, the Olicity romance didn’t work.
But what about Barry’s other friends? Vibe and Killer Frost are characters he has had little to no interaction with in the comics, but in the show they’re his closest friends from the beginning. Team Flash has built up over the years and they’ve really become a family. And yes, I’m mad Ralph Dibny won’t be a part of that family anymore. Say what you want about Hartley Sawyer, but he did a fantastic job with that character. Despite that loss, Team Flash will keep going strong and backing up Barry when he needs them.
So with all that in mind, who else thinks the Arrowverse should end with the Flash series? If it does, how will The Flash of the Arrowverse end his story? I have some theories, but all I know is that this show has been the most consistently good out of all the Arrowverse shows. It’s got heart, it’s got action, and it’s just a fun superhero series that respects the characters. Arrow itself made that mistake and that’s why The Flash series needs to end on a high note so this fictional universe can go out with a bang.
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