It’s no secret, everyone has fallen deeply in love with Grant Gustin’s Flash. It’s really a great series, knowing when to keep it serious but then just as easily flipping into cheesy all out fun. The action is intense, the characters are well fleshed out and the special effects are jaw dropping at times. Now to say The Flash is perfect would be an exaggeration, there are elements that could be improved, characters who could be written better(Iris) and at times the dialogue can be a bit simplistic. My biggest problem though with the Flash isn’t a problem really, it’s a worry. Here’s a question for all of you out there to ponder, is the Flash speeding through all it’s villains at breakneck speed? I think The Flash is, but there is a way around it and hell, there’s a way to extend their shelf life, but it will mean they may go into unknown territory and studios are infamously bad when it comes to taking risks. Here we go though, my opinion on what The Flash can do to keep up the momentum.

Introduce more of the DC Universe;

The DC Universe is vast and ever expanding and in recent years they’ve done some stuff with the Flash and his supporting cast to flesh him out. Introducing the friendship between Barry and Hal in the New 52 Justice League comics means that it’s still relevant and it gives Barry a more fun superhero buddy(Arrow is very mean). There is some great back and forth between the two heroes that could shine on the small screen, sadly with Green Lantern coming to the big screen, albeit in a few years, I don’t think we’ll see that friendship even begin.

Show off the Speed Force;

Pre 52 there were a huge “family” of Speedsters. Not just Barry, but his family of speedsters. He had built a super powered family centred around his super identity, one that surpassed every other superhero family. Let me list them out for you just so you understand how crazy it was.

Flash: Jay Garrick

Flash: Barry Allen

Flash/Kid Flash: Wally West

Kid Flash/Impulse: Bart Allen

Jesse Quick

Max Mercury

This isn’t even all of them, this in a way are the most mainstream of them, below you will find the remaining speedsters and when you see some of the names you may laugh, but understand this, Geoff Johns and several other notable writers made each and every one of these characters layered and nuanced, well except for Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash, he’s weird. My personal favourite is Wally West, Iris’ nephew who has been announced to appear in season two of The Flash.

Black Flash

Christina

Dark Flash: Walter West

Flash: John Fox

Impulse: Iris “Irey” West

Johnny Quick (all)

Justice Guild: The Streak

Justice League Beyond: Flash: Danica Williams

Lightning (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents)

Reverse-Flash

Savitar

Speed Demon

Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash (Super Young Team)

XS: Jenni Ognats (Legion of Super-Heroes)

Zoom

Look to Earth 3;

Now one element everyone has loved in particular about The Flash is his arch nemesis, The Reverse Flash. A character so twisted, so dark and so wonderful that every time he’s on the screen your eyes are immediately drawn to him, but when he’s gone what then? Well in my opinion the way to answer this is to answer another question. What do we do after time travel? Well the next step after time travel is universe hopping and Barry doesn’t even need to do the universe hopping, his Earth 3 counterpart Johnny Quick could be the next big bad for the Scarlet Speedster. Imagine seeing twice the Grant Gustin, the charming do-gooder we’ve all come to love and a twisted, monstrous version of him. This could be something even darker than what we’ve seen so far from The Flash.

There you have it, my humble opinion on what could save the Flash from going stale, it might be difficult but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. The Flash has bottled lightning, something fantastic, full of energy and life. This might be stupid to say but the team at the Flash might need to slow down on all the villains they’re unleashing, but this can be rectified if they tap into the deep well of the Flash’s roots.