Call me a fanboy, but I was THRILLED when the first live-action Flash, John Wesley Shipp, was cast in the upcoming Flash series this fall as Henry Allen, the father of the show’s lead Barry Allen (Grant Gustin).  It seems a lot of fans actually wanted him to play Jay Garrick, the 1940s Flash who later became a mentor to the later Flashes.  But in the New 52, Henry was wrongly convicted of killing his wife– the real culprit was the new version of the Reverse Flash, a plot that was hinted at when Gustin guest appeared on ‘Arrow’ earlier this season.  (And Jay Garrick was de-aged and shipped back to Earth 2.)

Shipp put in an appearance at the Fanboy Expo in Knoxville, Tennessee and opened up about his role on the new show.

“It has been fantastic. Both with a combination of having done the 1990/91 first live-action Flash and now having the good fortune to be in the [Andrew] Kreisberg/[Geoff] Johns/[Greg] Berlanti reboot…it’s not really a reboot, it’s sort of a recreation. Or a reimaging. That’s what they’re calling it of The Flash experience with Flash 2014 starring Grant Gustin. Between the two, it’s been a very lively weekend in terms of people asking question and wanting to know the difference and what it’s like now to be playing the father of the character I created in the 1990s show. It’s been a lively experience… I’m very cognizant of the rare position that I’m in. Very few people get to revisit a character they created 23 years later and be integrated into the story, the way that I have been, with so much respect and affection. The showrunners were fans of the 1990 version. It’s been a love fest. I just can’t say enough good about it.”

As for his 1990-91 turn at the character, he stated:

“We did it in ‘90/’91. The DVDs didn’t come out until 2006. That’s when I started doing conventions. To see fathers come up to me who had grown up with The Flash now saying ‘I’m introducing it to my son and we’re watching it together.’ That’s good stuff! A lot of people now are saying ‘I’ve just got it. I haven’t seen it before, but I want to see all the episodes in preparation for seeing the new Flash.’ And that’s going to pay off for them. Because these guys [Flash producers], like I said, they were fans at that time. There are lots of sort of homage and throwbacks. It will be good.”

Are you getting psyched to see ‘The Flash‘ this fall?  How cool is it that the original Flash is playing his father?

Source: Comic Book Therapy