The fastest man alive gets the Smallville treatment this fall

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the flash CW

Barry Allen, also known as The Flash, gets his own TV show this fall on the CW, the network that brought you Smallville for ten years.

In this extended trailer (below), we get to see the fastest man alive’s origin, which in this version seems to be a combination of getting hit by lightning and being doused in some weird green chemicals.

While the exciting superhero scenes in the trailer below are probably culled from the best bits of the show, which will may more likely consist of mostly long, lingering looks and beautiful people in soft lighting, we have to say we’re pretty excited to see the return of the DC speedster to the small screen, even if his costume looks a bit silly.

The original Flash was created in 1940 by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. This golden age superhero was named Jay Garrick and had the wings of greek god Mercury on his metal helmet. The character lasted until 1951, and then was replaced in 1956 by Barry Allen, a police scientist with a penchant for being slow and methodical while investigating crime. This newer Flash sports a full-on red spandex suit with the Mercury wings attached to the head- and face-covering superhero cowl that has lasted until the current day in the books, published by DC Comics.

The CW take on the character looks to be full of fun fan service, with some nerd cameos like Ed’s Tom Cavanagh as a sort of mentor for Allen, and a special cameo by Arrow’s Stephen Amnell. The trailer also hints at a larger story arc, like the current CW hit show based on DC’s Green Arrow character, the cleverly named Arrow: Barry Allen’s mother was killed (or abducted? it’s unclear) by lightning and a man that looks strangely like the yellow-clad Reverse Flash, one of the original Flash’s arch enemies from the comics.

Without going too deep down the comic rabbit hole, though, this new CW show is looking good, and could join Arrow as another must-watch comic-based TV show this fall.

Source: DC Comics

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