The CW’s The Flash is a great show for comic book fans. It has several comic book moments, awesome humor, an excellent supporting group and Barry Allen himself is in it. But the show, after season 1, has received massive backlash. Some fans have even stopped watching it altogether. Let us see why….
10. Barry’s Constant Whining
Barry Allen is lovable not only because of his quick wit but he is loyal to his people. He is super fast but he also has one more superpower – his superhuman ability to look for the single ray of hope when everyone else has given up. Barry is one walking, talking ray of sunshine in the comic books.
But the shows have introduced an Emo-Barry, one that whines and makes sorry faces a lot. After Season 1, Barry hasn’t been the same. He is carrying too much emotional baggage which is so unbecoming of being a superhero. We need a fighter Barry who knocks the hell out of bad guys, needs not worry about his near and dear ones all the time. Give him a break…
9. Caitlin Snow
Believe it or not, Caitlin Snow is one of Barry Allen’s deadliest enemies. She has intentionally tried to kill The Flash several times in the comic books. She is ruthless and brutal and she does not care about her so-called friends ending as collateral damage if that’s what it takes to defeat The Flash.
The TV Show version uses a split personality to achieve the effect of an Evil Caitlin but it just does not ring that much of a bell. She is always torn and conflicted from inside, she is neither Caitlin nor she is Killer Frost. She feels guilty of turning into Frost which is in total contradiction to her comic-book personality.
8. Jesse and Wally
What is up with this two?!?! Jesse and Wally for a second looked as if they were going to become the next big thing of the Arrowverse. But then suddenly in Season 4, Jesse breaks up with Wally and things die out.
The story never had a real ending if you ask me. This sudden turn of events is not welcoming. The writers should not make Wally play second fiddle. Well, the brutal fact is Wally West is actually faster than Flash in several comic-book plots and has even saved him from evil speedsters. While in the TV show, even the Team Flash feels awkward when he is around, Jesse was just a filler and the show completely ignored her incredible back-story.
7. Time Travel mechanics go down the drain
Time Travel has two specific rules – If you change even a minor detail in the past, it is compounded with time and affects the future in a big way. And if you successfully change the past, then it was meant to happen anyway. Now coming to The Flash, the show has broken the first rule several times.
The second rule is even more blatantly broken in the show. If Barry’s future self could not stop Savitar from killing Iris, how could the present Barry do it?? Don’t tax your mind now. Just move on.
6. The Flash’s inconsistent power levels
On some occasions, the show projects Barry Allen running somewhere just below Mach 1 – the speed of sound. On other episodes, Barry can be seen running so fast that he could virtually stop a tsunami or do things nigh impossible if his max speed is sub-Mach 1.
Several villains who are far too slow have outrun the fastest man alive. In the comics, Barry Allen has run fast enough to defeat Gods and stop the rotation of the Earth. This is Blasphemy. This is an outrage.
5. Weak Villains
Let me be clear – The Flash has one of the most colorful and powerful villains in his Rogues Gallery. Even Batman’s falls short in this regard. Gorilla Grodd, Zoom, Reverse Flash, Savitar are some of the most formidable and memorable ones.
But The Flash’s dreaded Villain of the Day approach has not only long been the subject of constant ridicule but also waters down interesting villains. Except Reverse Flash in season 1, I would argue that none of the major villains have been tapped to their fullest potential. In case of both Zoom and Savitar, it seemed they were set to win and then they just lost without any good fight put up by Team Flash. Never once fans felt that Barry might even lose, he is just made to come back and defeat his foes, while bad guys will just stand there and fall.
4. Barry Allen has become an Asshole
Now, this is something new. How come the Hero of the Show be termed with such derogatory remarks? Let us show you why. Barry used to be down to Earth and a happy-go-lucky personality that people loved. Then Flashpoint happened.
After literally changing the lives of an entire civilization, Barry still believes Time Travel should be kept under his final authority. He has grown distrustful and arrogant. And this is not the Barry Allen we know and love. He is neither clever nor lovable so what the hell should we do with him. Infact, ‘The Thinker’ has shown the mirror to him and beat him so easily. Hopefully, Barry will get his act together and fight back.
3. Extremely high doses of unnecessary melodrama
The Flash comics are filled with high octane adventures where the Flash saves the planet, solar system or the entire universe (sometimes the Multiverse even) from grave threats. It has drama but it is more balanced.
The TV Show has been reduced to a form of Soap Opera, where interpersonal relationships and romance takes center stage while the bigger picture is reduced to secondary status. The Flash has still not got over the fact that it is supposed to be a matured superhero show and not a teenage drama.
2. The Departure of Captain Cold
Wentworth Miller’s portrayal of the Master Thief with a Moral Code was dead on. He not only perfectly recreated the Love-Hate relationship between him and The Scarlet Speedster like in the comic books; he also became a fan favorite while doing so. But now Miller is leaving Arrowverse for good and fans just can’t let go of the one awesome thing that the CW shows had.
The Flash respected Captain Cold because he had enough wits and ingenuity to bitch-slap the Flash without any superpowers. The show then lets the Villain go and become a member of the Legends of Tomorrow show. He was killed swiftly during the Climax of Season 1 of the latter.
1. Iris West
Oh my God where do I start with this one!! An entire page could be dedicated to this useless moron of a Woman. An entire season was dedicated in The Flash for the sole purpose of saving her sorry life. After more than a dozen episodes, she still couldn’t figure out one simple thing – Iris West is the most useless character in the history of useless characters.
Her character has never progressed from being the Damsel in Distress. The Flash Season 4 finally had some hope for Iris developing some utility but that flame went out a long time ago as the season progressed. Well, I have heard fans just skipping her scenes now. She is that awful.
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