The Flash is Likely Coming to Television (Again)

Grant Gustin, cast to play The Flash, image from Huffington Post.

I'm not sure I can figure out what DC Comics is up to. As a long-time fan, I've watched with jealousy while Marvel Comics fans have reaped most of the rewards, with their ultra-successful string of superhero movies. After failures (Daredevil, Electra, The Punisher), middling successes (The Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider), and mid-sized hits (The X-Men series), and blockbusters (Spider-Man, two series) Marvel's own production house has had the Midas touch with everything from Iron Man through The Avengers, and on to even more sequels.

Meanwhile, DC fans had to be happy with various versions of Superman on the small screen (Superboy, Lois & Clark, Smallville) and big screen to varying degrees of success, and two successful Batman movie series. Most everything else has been a flop or at least didn't land in the public I liked Green Lantern and Superman Returns, I would seem to be in the distinct minority. Even Man of Steel, which made 2/3 of a billion dollars, was seen my many as a "disappointment," leaving many DC fans in the doldrums. Recently, that's changed with Arrow, oddly another DC Universe similar to, but different from Smallville, this time centered around the Green Arrow character. Like Smallville, Arrow is showcasing other DC heroes. But this time, one of them is getting a spinoff.

Last time The Flash came to TV (1990), he was John Wesley-Shipp.

consciousness as a "DC Comics" success story. Even though

I've been a Flash fan as long as I've been a comics fan. He was always my favorite, probably because of his wacky "rogues gallery," and the fantastical, bizarre situations he'd find himself in. Even as a kid, I'd seek out back-issues, as far back as I could afford. When a customer on my paper route volunteered that she'd sell me her son's old 60s Flash comics, it was like winning the lottery for me. So, a TV adaptation of my favorite hero is quite exciting. It's been done before, of course, in 1990, in a fun but quirky one-season run (pun intended). But I'm hoping that they do it right, and manage to work the Arrow/Flash universe into the Man of Steel/Batman universe. Otherwise, a future Justice League could be very confusing for consumers. Though I'm sure there are a few Smallville fans who are a bit confused by the new Arrow universe anyway.

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'The Flash': Grant Gustin Cast As Barry Allen For 'Arrow' And Potential Spin-Off

"Glee's" Grant Gustin has been cast as Barry Allen (AKA The Flash) on "Arrow," The CW announced Friday. He'll appear in episodes 208, 209 and 220 of "Arrow" Season 2, and if the character is well-received, headline the proposed Flash spinoff. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post