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 week’s episode, DO NOT READ THE REVIEW! I’ve broken it down by show, so you can skip reviews of episodes you haven’t seen yet, or don’t intend on watching. The blog post for the prior week will be posted the day following the episode’s airdate or at least sometime by the end of the week. Reviews for prior episodes than what’s current, will be release sporadically until I’m caught up.

The Flash (Season 1, Episode 5, “Plastique”; Airdate: 11/11/14)

Plot Synopsis

Following an explosion in downtown Central City, U.S. Army General Wade Eiling commandeers Central City Police Department’s investigation, much to Detective Joe West’s chagrin. This leaves Joe suspicious, so he tells Barry to work with his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs to look into the Army’s involvement. Eiling is known to Wells, who informs the team of experiments Eiling conducted on his own soldiers to transform them into Super Soldiers. Cisco is able to determine one of Eiling’s soldiers, Bette Sans Souci, was present at the bomb site. The Flash is able to track her down and soon realizes that she’s not a bomber and is instead a meta-human with the ability to cause objects to explode on contact. Meanwhile, Joe discovers that Iris has been writing a blog about “The Streak,” and asks Barry to stop her. However, when Barry realizes Iris refuses to stop writing about him, he decides to pay her a visit as The Flash.

__________________________________________________________________

Top 5 Moments

• We have Plastique! I was very excited about this character appearing on the show and from her first scene it was on! I think Kelly Frye did a GOOD job of portraying the character and I could have seen her coming back for future episodes. Her apparent death was one thing that kind of pissed me off about this episode. (see Final Thoughts)
• General Eiling is introduced! I’ve always liked this character and wondered if he would show up someday, when S.T.A.R. Labs was introduced in the Arrow. I thoroughly enjoyed the iteration on The Justice League Animated Series and find the similarities here very refreshing. Clancy Brown is a FANTASTIC actor, both on screen and as a voice actor. Despite his somewhat limited number of scenes, he has the acting chops to make his presence felt even off screen. A little Clancy, goes a long way…and I can’t wait for more!
• The Flash running up the side of a building! I always loved seeing this effect/speed application in the comics, but seeing it on the screen was TOTALLY AWESOME! It’s amazing how far television special effects have come over the past thirty years.
• The Flash running on water! Just when I geeked out over him running up the side of a building, I get even more geeked out by seeing him run on water! This was another AMAZING effect and I’m so glad that it looked as cool as it did.
• Grodd! I almost freaked out when he was shown in the very last scene of the episode! I am so stoked to see how they develop this character and the story line utilized to do it. It would be so WICKED if they got Powers Boothe to voice Grodd for this show, as he did for the Justice League Unlimited Animated Series.

Easter Eggs

• Cameron Scott. Dedicated comic book fans may recognize this name, as it is the alias used by none other than, Captain Atom! I like that this opens up the possibility for him to appear in future episodes/seasons and gives General Eiling a GREAT reason to appear again as well. Growing up, Captain Atom was one of my favorite characters, even when he was still with Carlton Comics, before he wound up with DC Comics. I would love to see him on the small screen, along with other former Carlton Comics alums, Blue Beetle, The Question and the villains, Punch and Jewelee!
• Harold Hadley. This character was a member of the Captain Atom Project and a member of the Manhunters. He first appeared in Captain Atom #1 (1987). With all of these characters related to the good Captain showing up, it makes me wonder if he isn’t too far behind. Inquiring minds want to know!
• General Eiling and Wells were in on the experiments which led to the creation of Gorilla Grodd. This isn’t an Easter Egg, so much as a reveal. However, the fact that Eiling eventually becomes a version of “The Shaggy Man,” is too cool not to mention.
• Barry discovers that his Super Fast metabolism prevents him from getting drunk. Despite Caitlin’s attempt at providing 500 proof liquor, he only gets a buzz that lasts less than a minute.

Predictions

I could totally see Plastique coming back, as her powers could have her reconstitute herself, as we don’t know the full extent of her abilities. I know it may be wishful thinking, but with comic book characters, more outlandish things have happened. Either way, I’m still invested as DC Comics builds its small screen universe. Like McDonald’s, “I’m lovin’ it!”

It’s obvious that Grodd escaped when the particle accelerator exploded and that eventually he’ll show up in the future. I could see him controlling an army of apes like Caesar in “Planet of the Apes” and exacting revenge on mankind for what was done to him.

Captain Atom is coming! I think there were far too many nods to this character for them not to introduce him at some point in the future. I have to admit, when I first saw the trailer featuring the villain Girder, I actually for a split second thought it was him. I think it would make for an awesome storyline to have Captain Atom being forced to work for General Eiling and having to have an Atomic Showdown with Firestorm, sometime after he’s been introduced.

I expect to see quite a few more heroes and villains from the Flash, Captain Atom and Firestorm mythos, now that this thread has been presented. The possibilities are virtually endless!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I think that a lot was revealed and with the introduction of General Eiling, his ties to Wells and the fact that there are other meta-human test subjects/villains forthcoming, we will be seeing quite a few introductions in this season alone, not to mention future seasons, as I’m pretty confident this will be renewed for next fall.

What I wasn’t very happy about was Plastique’s death. Even though I mentioned my suspicion/wishful thinking that she may appear again, there is no guarantee of that. If she doesn’t resurface, I think this was a waste of a really good character, a good actress and good potential storylines for the future.

Also, I’m growing tired of Joe, Barry and his team keeping Iris in the dark about his dual identity as The Flash. I hope they reveal it to her by end of season at the latest, because this “Lana Lang Syndrome” (clueless love interest, who doesn’t know the hero’s true identity or that he’s in love with her) is getting old really fast…no pun intended. Don’t get me wrong, I like Iris’ character and I think Candace Patton does a good job of portraying her, but I want to see her as more, unlike how Lana Lang was interpreted on Smallville.

While I enjoyed this episode and with the exception of the two gripes I mentioned, I have to give this episode a B rating. Had they not killed off Plastique, this would have easily been an A or A+.

Please be sure to subscribe to my blog and let me know what your thoughts are on the episode. Also, if you spot any Easter Eggs that I missed, please be sure to point them out in the comments section. Thanks!