Summer is already flying by and Season 3 of The Flash will be here before we know it. The CW network has released their fall premier dates and The Flash is scheduled to return on October 4th at 8pm ET/PT. Grant Gustin who plays the scarlet speedster; took to twitter a few days ago and leaked the title for S3 episode 1, and it will be Flashpoint. This clears up all speculation as to whether or not The CW intends to take the show in the Flashpoint Paradox direction. After the season 2 cliffhanger in which Barry ignores all warnings from his past/future self and rescues his mother Nora Allen from the clutches of the Reverse Flash, it was clear to fans Flashpoint was inevitable. To some fans this is very disconcerting because they feel like the past 2 seasons have just been magically erased. I’ve heard quite a bit of grumblings about this point of view but in my opinion Flashpoint can be a really amazing thing if given the chance.

The CW network is being bold and taking a page right out of the comic books with Flashpoint. Originally it was a comic book story “event” called Flashpoint Paradox in which Barry Allen decided to use his super speed and travel back in time to stop his mother’s murder. This one little action has catastrophic consequences on the time line and rewrites the history of all our favorite heroes; essentially it has a rippling butterfly effect . There is a great animated film called Flashpoint Paradox that I highly recommend you check out if you want the cliff-notes version of what went down. With Barry essentially rewriting history, this give the shows writers a chance to really play with some wild ideas and get uber creative. Here are some of my creative ideas as to what we could see on season 3 of The Flash, writers take note.

The Love Factor: On the season finale of season 2 we learned some very pertinent information; that our earth was indeed the connecting point to all of the other earths within the multiverse. This combined with the possibility that Cisco (Carlos Valdes) could essentially learn to open these doorways; we now have a way to bring Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) crashing into Flash’s world. With Supergirl having been picked up for season 2 by the CW network, this now leaves lots of room to explore the relationship between these two positively perky heroes. If the writers stay true to Flashpoint then Barry is going to come back to a much different world than he remembers it. He will have all his past memories of people and events but they will not. Barry will be left remembering that last kiss with Iris and her promise to wait for him but upon returning; he may find something incredibly different, like Iris has married Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) who just might be alive in this new time line. I would love to see Eddie alive even just for a short time, Rick did a great job at playing this complicated character. This could lead to a heartbroken Barry seeking a somewhat more lighthearted relationship with Kara Danvers. There has been much talk as of late that a Barry and Kara romance is in the works. Granted it would just be a temporary thing, as Barry will inevitably have to correct time and he and Iris will always find their way back together again.

Dead or Alive: Saving Nora Allen from certain death at the hands of the Reverse Flash (Matt Letscher) could have dire consequences that Barry had not considered. In fact Eobard Thawne could very well be alive, along with other lost favorites like Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell), Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy), Henry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) and the original earth 1 Harrison Wells. Tom Cavanagh has been announced as returning for season 3 and I couldn’t be happier about this. The Flash wouldn’t be the same without Tom Cavanagh playing at least one version of Harry. He has already played 2 different versions of Harrison Wells masterfully and I’d love to see him take on a third. The earth 1, pre Eobard Thawne body snatching Harrison Wells. That Harrison was a brilliant man who originally founded Star Labs. He wouldn’t have necessarily died at the hands of Eobard Thawne in this alternate time, and could still very well be alive. It would make total sense for Barry to naturally seek him out for help in correcting the time line. Barry always seems to seek out Harrison; these two have a destiny that is intertwined on every earth and in every time.

Total Reversal: With the timeline completely altered Barry could be returning to a world that seems co mpletely upside down, sideways and downright backwards. In the original comic book version of Flashpoint Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert really took this concept and ran with it. They took Captain Cold, one of Flash’s greatest nemesis and turned him into more of an anti hero called Citizen Cold. If Leonard Snart can be mayor of Central City on earth 2, he could certainly be a celebrated local hero on our earth. With Snart (Wentworth Miller) being killed off on Legends of Tomorrow, how great would it be to see him back for a bit on The Flash? With Flashpoint the writers have such a unique opportunity to give the fans exactly what they want for a limited time and then take it all away again. Another huge twist would be to get a glimpse at a much different version of Batman, this version being Thomas Wayne and not Bruce. With Batman really being off limits for the DC television shows due to the version on the big screen; this would be a nifty little loop hole for the CW to exploit. During Flashpoint Barry finds that his friend Batman does not exist as he once knew him. Bruce Wayne died that night in the alley and his father Thomas Wayne took up the mantle of the Batman. I’m just saying if I were the writers I’d take the gloves off and run with it. I would love to see some of our favorites become villains like they have done before with Killer Frost, Reverb and Black Siren. What if Barry returns to find his best friends are a trio of villains running the city? Who wouldn’t love to see the return of Robbie Amell as Darkstorm with Danielle Panabaker as Killer Frost and an evil genius Cisco running the show? Eeek, the possibilities are enough to give me a total nerdgasm!

Power Switch: Last but certainly not least is what effect if any will this have o n Barry himself? The biggest thing that could happen is that Barry returns to all this chaos and he has no powers. The way things play out in this alternate version of time is that Barry never gets struck by lightening or the particle accelerator and he is no longer the Flash. This would be devastating for Barry who now would realize he has to choose saving his mom or being the Flash. I’m pretty sure this is what the speedforce was trying to tell Barry all long during the episode directed by Kevin Smith titled The Runaway Dinosaur. He just can’t have both, the universe won’t allow it; and as unfair as that is, it’s kind of the way the world works. Some might even say that Barry was being extremely selfish and arrogant to think that he could even try to have it both ways. So if Barry doesn’t hold the power of the speedforce in this reality, who might? I see this being an excellent chance for them to give the power to Wally West. We could see a version of Kid Flash, and that would be a really fun idea for them to play with. It could also be Henry Allen is the Flash in this time. We already know he is part of the Garrick family lineage and could hold the speedforce as well. I’d love to see Barry’s face as the Flash races by to save him and his mom from a speeding car or something as they emerge in this time line, a little disoriented I expect.

As you can well see I have plenty of wild ideas and theories for season 3 of The Flash. I can not emphasize enough how much I hope that the CW takes full advantage of this one time opportunity to give fans everything they want. Let me leave you with this one final thought. If Barry did indeed alter the time line of the whole universe, these consequences could very well bleed out into the other CW shows as well. Who knows what kind of effects this could have for team Arrow and undoubtedly Rip Hunter would be pissed as he just worked his ass off to save time itself on Legends of Tomorrow; and here Barry has done screwed it all up! To all those Flashpoint skeptics I say just give it time. The last 2 years have not been for nothing, as Barry will eventually have to straighten things out and return things to the normal continuity. How long this process will take is anybody’s guess, could be a few episodes, to winter hiatus or even the whole of season 3. I have every confidence in Greg Berlanti and all involved that in the end it will be handled beautifully and everyone will be happy with the results of Flashpoint. What would you love to see from season 3 of The Flash? Leave me a comment and let me know where you stand.