‘The Flash’ starring Grant Gustin is continuing to develop. It’s already been reported that Barry Allen’s long-time love interest, Iris West will be part of the series, along with her father a senior police officer. In a slight twist, The CW is looking to cast African Americans in the parts. Now comes word that two more characters are being added to the show as regular characters. One is to be expected, but one is a surprising choice.
The first role is that of Detective Eddie Thawne, which is clearly an adaptation of Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash who is one of The Flash’s archenemies in the comics. This is no surprise as Barry’s description of his mother’s death on ‘Arrow’ clearly hinted at that villain’s existence. Somehow Thawne gained his super powers when Barry was still a child, so we’ll have to see how they explain that on the show. In the classic comics, Reverse Flash was responsible for killing Iris, but I wouldn’t expect to see the show follow that closely to the comics, since ‘Arrow’ is merely inspired by the source material.
The second rumored addition to the show is a total shocker.
Fransisco Ramon, who in the comics is the vibration-powered hero Vibe, is also slotted to appear in the pilot episode and carry on as a series regular. Since ‘The Flash’ obviously focuses on the title character, I wouldn’t expect for Ramon to be Vibe from the start, but surely he’ll develop his powers at some point. This character has had a checkered history to say the least. He recently headlined his own comic, which only lasted seven issues and is a member of the Justice League of America. He can create sonic vibrations and detect beings from other dimensions. Interestingly, Vibe was recruited as part of that team in order to serve as a counterpoint to The Flash and since the book was written by ‘Arrow’ contributor Geoff Johns, expect that to factor in at some point, especially if Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) crosses over to the spin-off show. Another interesting thing to note is that ‘The Flash’ pilot is being written by Andrew Kreisberg, the writer of the ‘Vibe’ comic book.
While ‘Arrow’ has drawn in several non-powered characters from the comics, from The Huntress to Deathstroke the Terminator (Slade Wilson played by Manu Bennett), it sounds like ‘The Flash’ will open the door to actual super powered characters. What do you think? Are you looking forward to the Reverse Flash and Vibe appearing on the show? Who else would you like to see join the cast?
Sources ComicBookMovie, Blastr
