No offense to Superman and Wonder Woman, but one of my favorite characters from DC Comics is The Flash. Unfortunately, the only show that ever focused on him was the live action show that debuted in the early 1990s (sort of an early version of Smallville). Other than that, there haven’t been any shows that were strictly about him. But with shows like Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the plethora of Justice League cartoons and movies over the years, he’s been gaining more and more exposure to those who aren’t big comic book readers. Marvel Comics is already giving more exposure to their lesser known characters and DC needs to do the same, starting with the Scarlet Speedster.

BEGINNING OF THE LEGEND

Because of the popularity of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, most people think that Wally West is the only Flash. Though I am a big fan of those shows, I think they portrayed his character as too immature. If this is supposed to be someone about the same age as Nightwing in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), I would expect him to be a little more serious. Just like with Green Lantern, people need to know where the legend truly starts. You can’t appreciate certain characters unless you know where they started. For The Flash, his modern legend began with…wait for it…Barry Allen.

SUPERHERO CSI

Thanks to the CSI television franchise, people see forensic scientists as more than just cops who wear lab coats. These are the guys that solve crimes that require more than just beating up criminals. Even Batman refers to forensics when he’s not busting heads in Gotham City. But what most people don’t know is that Barry Allen IS a forensic scientist. He’s even said that he “was CSI before anyone knew what CSI stood for.” This new appreciation gives people a chance to see what that life is like in a different setting. After all, forensic scientists solve the mysterious and unusual crimes. And what’s more unusual than the crime scenes in cop dramas? You guessed it, SUPERVILLAIN CRIME SCENES! With the right writers, DC can probably make an episode of two where the Flash does more crime-solving than crime fighting.

THE VILLAINS

Next to Batman, no one in DC Comics has a longer (or weirder) list of enemies than the Flash. Seriously a lot of super criminals in the comics show up for maybe two issues and are never heard from again. For a cartoon show, villains like Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, and Trickster could form the main part of the Rogues, with characters like Weather Wizard and Abra Kadabra making small appearances. A villain like Captain Boomerang can be upgraded in this show to throw his energy boomerangs from the Brightest Day comic series. Would be conquerors like Gorilla Grodd and Vandal Savage (who had had an unrevealed conflict with the Flash in Young Justice) would be a great addition to a show, while villains that were created during Wally’s tenure as the Flash can be re-imagined (characters like Magenta and Girder can be teenagers with Axel Walker’s Trickster). Lame villains like The Turtle Man, Razer, and The Pied Piper can either be changed in a cool way or just be shown as villains to fight in between detective focused stories. Certain episodes can focus on the Rogues’ relationship with one another to show that they’re not just a group of criminals. They actually act as a surrogate family to one another. Which brings me to my next point…

SUPPORTING CAST

 Each member of the Flash legacy has always had a strong belief in family and teamwork. In Young Justice, Barry’s family was well aware of his and Wally’s superhero lives and regularly got together on special events. Hell, Barry and Iris even took Jay Garrick and his wife Joan out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. That was a refreshing change of pace from characters like Batman who rarely do anything ‘family-like’. In an animated show, even if it used his New 52 origin story, characters like Tina McGee and Julio Mendez can be put in as people who can be the brother and sister Barry never had. Even a Kid Flash focused episode can show how a teenager with super-speed would act in today’s world. Now that the family part is covered, let’s move on to teamwork, more specifically…

JUSTICE LEAGUE EPISODES

Even with his powers, Barry Allen seems like a normal guy who is on a team that regularly includes a couple of powerful aliens, an immortal Amazon warrior, a brooding billionaire with a gadget fetish, an intergalactic policeman, and a super strong mere-man who talks to fish! Though I wouldn’t recommend a bunch of episodes with the JLA, a few team-up episodes can be fun. There can be a competitive ‘whodunit’ story with Batman. With Green Lantern, you get a classic Brave and the Bold episode. A ‘science versus magic’ episode can occur if Wonder Woman is involved. And if nothing else, a Superman/Flash race will always be appreciated by fans.

Let me know what you think of the idea of an animated series about the greatest speedster in comics (sorry Quicksilver)