With so much occurring on Day 2 of the CW’s four-day crossover among all the network’s superhero shows, it would be easy to overlook some of the major hints that Tuesday night’s episode of “The Flash” provided about the future of the Scarlet Speedster.
This episode was a major superhero get-together. That stands in contrast to Monday’s “Supergirl,” which featured a quick cameo from Barry and Cisco, as they used Cisco’s vibe powers to breach the dimension of Supergirl’s Earth, to ask her for help with a pending alien attack in the Arrowverse (the Earth that features the Green Arrow, the Flash and the Legends of Tomorrow).
After bringing Supergirl back to their Earth, Barry brings Team Arrow, Team Flash and the Legends of Tomorrow to a giant S.T.A.R. Labs facility that he refers to as some type of “hall,” where the groups can get to know each other before teaming up to take on the invading Dominator aliens.
The “hall” has an pretty geektacular view from the outside. For a split-second, you might feel as if you were watching an episode of “Super Friends.” That’s because it was obvious that this facility could — sometime in the future — be the location of the Hall of Justice, a.k.a. the headquarters of the Justice League, the legendary DC Comics superhero team of which The Flash is a founding member.
There hasn’t been too much chatter about The Flash’s future because he’s been so concerned with the effects his tampering with the timeline — by changing events in the past via time travel (or Flashpoint) — have had on the present.
Cisco now hates Barry because Cisco’s brother died in the new timeline. That wouldn’t have happened if Barry hadn’t altered time.
Caitlin and Wally now have powers. Caitlin chooses not to use hers, but Wally is ready to become Kid Flash, even though no one thinks he’s ready.
Yet when Professor Stein (the older half of Firestorm) gives Barry a message that Barry left him 40 years into the future — warning the Legends that Barry can’t be trusted if he reached out for help — Barry realizes that Flashpoint has created problems not just in the present, but also in his future.
Barry takes Oliver to the secret future computer in S.T.A.R. Labs and calls up the newspaper from the future that hints about a Flash crisis. The article, which was always written by Iris Allen-West (serving as an indicator that no matter what, Iris is Barry’s future love), is now written by someone else.
Barry is overwhelmed that he’s had such an impact on time. He’s consoled by former mentor Oliver Queen/The Green Arrow, who brings up all the tragedy that he’s suffered at the hands of Death (his parents, Laurel) and lets Barry know that if he had the power to travel through time, he would have done the same thing.
Barry eventually is forced to let the entire supergroup know that his Flashpoint error has had many effects, including wiping John Diggle/Spartan’s daughter from existence.
The team doesn’t trust him, and when the president is abducted by Dominators, Barry is told to stay behind.
The CW’s crossover “Invasion!”: David Ramsey as John Diggle (from left), Willa Holland as Speedy, Melissa Benoist as Kara/Supergirl, Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer/Atom, Caity Lotz as Sara Lance/White Canary, Franz Drameh as Jefferson “Jax” Jackson and Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory/Heat Wave. (photo by Michael Courtney/The CW 2016)
The Dominators take control of the minds of Supergirl, the Legends and Team Arrow (minus Oliver), which leads to a Green Arrow and Flash team-up vs. everyone else. Wally zooms in for an assist after realizing that Barry and Oliver can’t handle things, with Supergirl being an X factor.
Barry gets Supergirl to destroy the mind-control device being used on the team, but not before the Dominators abduct everyone (minus Barry).
Now, with the future so unclear, Barry has to wonder whether he’ll ever get the timeline back to normal, and we can wonder whether “The Flash” will race toward the formation of the Justice League in future seasons. With Superman now on “Supergirl,” anything is possible.
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