THE FLASH Casts 1990s Barry Allen In Mystery Role


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Over the past several weeks we’ve been getting a lot of news on the actors joining The Flash pilot as regular characters. This time, however, the producers are keeping one of the roles a secret. John Wesley Shipp, who played Barry Allen in the 1990s Flash series, will guest star in the pilot as a “mysterious character,” although the part is intended to be recurring if the show gets ordered to series. Shipp joins Grant Gustin, Jesse L. Martin, Rick Cosnett, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes and Tom Cavanagh.

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Shipp’s Flash series aired for one season from September 1990-May 1991. His co-stars included Amanda Pays as Dr. Christina McGee and Alex Désert as Julio Mendez. The show also featured several appearances from Mark Hamill as The Trickster, who would later go on to play a similar (but way more psychopathic) role as The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series.

I have two guesses for who Shipp might play. The first is Barry Allen’s father. Just like the comics, Barry stated in his Arrow appearance that his father was convicted and imprisoned for murdering Barry’s mother. Barry’s primary goal in life is to his father’s innocence, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a scene in the pilot of Barry visiting him in prison.

The second guess is mostly wishfulness on my part, but perhaps Shipp is playing Jay Garrick, known in the comics as the original Flash. Obviously Garrick in the show wouldn’t have superpowers, but I could see him as an older cop who acts as another one of Barry’s mentors.If that happens, maybe we’ll get some of the other Flashes on the show. Wally West could appear, although probably not as Iris’ nephew but as her brother or cousin. I honestly don’t know how Bart Allen could appear other than through time travel. Either way, it’d be cool if we eventually saw the whole Flash family, regardless of whether they have superpowers or not.

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SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly