It’s no secret that The Flash is coming to TV during season two of Arrow. Grant Gustin (Glee) will portray the Scarlet Speedster and his alter ego, forensic scientist, Barry Allen. While Flash already had a shot at the small screen in a very cool (and underrated) TV series in 1990-1991, this is the first time he’ll be interacting with other DC heroes in an ongoing fashion…beating the long-promised Justice League movie to the punch by several years. The coolest thing is, the Flash mythology is uniquely suited to television, perhaps more so than the big screen. Here are eight reasons why…

The Villains

Flash boasts some of the most diverse, colorful, and fun villains in comic book history. His rogues’ gallery only lacks some serious mainstream exposure to rival the guys who routinely torment Batman or Spider-Man. But what sets these guys apart from the usual collection of freaks and madmen is that Flash’s baddies aren’t necessarily evil or even all that insane (although some of them are). Most of them are just straight-up super CRIMINALS. The Rogues have their own code of honor, their own unique fashion sense, and have generally been portrayed as more interested in big scores and outwitting their nemesis than world domination or body counts.

If the Flash showrunners are smart (and the early involvement of Geoff Johns, who was responsible for some of the best Flash stories of the last decade or so makes this all seem promising), these won’t be “villain of the week” scenarios, but rather an ongoing supervillain “problem” that plagues Central (or Keystone) City…possibly one that predates Flash coming on the scene! In other words, while most superhero shows (like Arrow) build the supporting cast around the hero, with Flash, there’s the unique possibility that the villains and their relationships to Flash, the city, and each other, will be at least as important as Barry’s relationship with his civilian (and heroic) supporting cast. Which brings us to…