Straying away from its comic book roots is something that Flash has not been afraid to do.
This was clear in the Season 2 premiere and within the first minutes of the episode itself.
By the time the episode had ended, a major character died, Barry’s father was released from prison, a new metahuman was introduced along with a new villain known as ‘Zoom’.
Also, Barry got to meet his alternate reality counterpart, Jay Garrick. This is exciting for a couple of reasons.
For one, with him being touted as the original Flash acknowledges the comic book fans and a commitment to use the superhero’s source material in the television series.
Secondly, it also acknowledges the multiverse which is known as Earth 2. This was a concept that was developed in the comics to explain the existence of two Flashes, namely Barry Allen and Jay Garrick.
This idea was developed in 1956 by DC which was five years after they canceled the Flash comics that featured Garrick as its titular character. Of course, fans missed Garrick and so a parallel reality was born.
Now it can be quite complex to include alternate reality along with time travel but the CW doesn’t have a problem doing both. In fact, they have approached the former, as if diving in headfirst.
Dr. Martin Stein gives us an idea as to how this works and with the establishment of these two alternate realities, the rest of Season 2 is bound to be as exciting as ever.
Of course, the second season is not just about Zoom but also about the return of Harrison Wells whose motives aren’t very clear yet.
Without a doubt, the show is only going to get crazier with the inclusion of Earth 2 and this is only the beginning.