Being the residential DC guy within the Digital Crack crew, I have a strong opinion on the goings-on in the DC universe. Let’s start off with this opinion on the recent events in the Arrowverse, DC’s television universe: DC and WB you done messed up!
Warning, there will be SPOILERS ahead!
I understand that you want to keep the TV and Extended Universes separate, but you are putting on a strain on the TV Universe. When you decide to take out characters that are being used within your TV Universe to use on your Extended Universe, you have basically crippled your series.
Let’s start with Arrow. In Season Two, we were introduced to Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. Task Force X consisted of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Shrapnel, Ravan Nassar, Cupid, Captain Boomerang and Amanda Waller. After DC decided to announce the Suicide Squad movie, Task Force X had to be killed off. One by one they were killed, including Amanda Waller. How in the blue hell can you kill off Amanda Waller just because you decided to have her in your movie?
Season Four, the most recent season, was weak. Nothing was consistent throughout the whole season. And having the main baddie of the series, Damian Dark, kill off Black Canary…? DC, what are you doing?!?!
Towards the end of the season, Green Arrow had to find a way to fight off the dark magic that Damien Dark uses by seeing the Light. The whole theme was hope, having hope within themselves to be able to fight the darkness of Damien Dark. After everything is resolved, the group spits up.
As for the Fastest Man Alive, the Flash’s most recent season, Season Two, was better than Green Arrow’s. Arrow’s show is dark and gritty; The Flash’s is all bright.
We are introduced to the multiverse within Season 2. Earth-2 is revealed along with the Earth-2 Flash, Jay Garrett. As Jay is introduced and becomes a part of Team Flash, we find out that he is dying from taking a speed drug called Velocity 6. Within Earth-2, we also get to see Killer Frost, Black Siren and other bad guys set up within the DC and Flash universe. The biggest of the bad guys of Earth-2 is named Zoom. Zoom is the main baddie for the season, and he is intimidating and more interactive than the Reverse Flash was in Season 1.
After a fight between Zoom and Team Flash, we find out who the man behind the Zoom mask is: Jay Garrett aka Hunter Zolomon. Zolomon assumed the Jay Garrett persona to befriend the Earth-1 Flash and catch him off guard. His main objective was to steal the Flash’s speed to become faster, as he wants to be the fastest there is.
Once Zoom steals Flash’s speed, Barry tries to regain it by trying to replicate the accident that gave him his speed but fails. The Flash is presumed dead, but in reality he is stuck within the Speed Force. Once returned from the Speed Force, the Flash becomes a little too cocky and believes he is unstoppable.
There is a death within the season for Team Flash. It is Barry’s dad as Zoom kills him. In the finale, Barry messes with the timeline once more, which brings in a Time Wraith and, after Flash finally defeats Zoom, the Time Wraith ends up killing Zoom.
Here is where I get pissed off. Season 3 will be the whole Flashpoint paradox story line, where Barry Allen goes back and stop the Reverse Flash from killing his mother, preventing Barry from becoming the Flash. Dammit it, DC, you’re screwing shit up in my opinion. You’re bringing in Flashpoint too soon. That story arc is too big to happen now, when you’re still establishing characters within the TV Universe!
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is all over the place, which is what tends to happen when you’re working with time travel. Rip Hunter goes back to 2016 to recruit a group of heroes and villains to prevent a tyrant known as Vandal Savage from destroying the future. The heroes that are recruited are the White Canary, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Heat Wave, Captain Cold, the Atom and Firestorm. Going into the details of this series will take too long, and I don’t have enough booze in my bar, but here is the gist:
Rip wants to stop Vandal Savage, the man who killed his wife and son. The group never knows about this until later on within the series. Hawkman is useless! Hawkman is mostly dead throughout the series and does not come back until later on towards the last episodes of the season. Vandal being an immortal has lived through killing and stealing the essence of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. We do get to see a Dark Knight Returns future where Oliver has one hand as in the comic. We do get a small story with Jonah Hex and he was handled much better than he was in his movie. Throughout the whole time, Rip’s former bosses, the Time Masters, have been manipulating the time stream and guided Vandal Savage to kill Rip Hunters family, feeling it has to happen. The season has a slow start and not following what happens may end up getting you lost, but there are times where you don’t have to watch an episode and you are not lost. In the end, Captain Cold sacrifices himself to save the group from impending doom, allowing the team to go and kill Vandal Savage. With the death of Savage three times in three time periods, Hawkman and Hawkgirl decide to leave the team as they are safe now from Savage.
Warner Bros. and DC have given us the chance to enjoy the characters and see the series grow, but they keep limiting the TV Universe by removing specific characters that will appear in the DC Extended Universe. That makes less sense because there are two Barry Allen Flash characters, one in the TV Universe and one in the Extended Universe (that hopefully will not be screwed over by Zack Snyder). I do love my Arrowverse series and I can’t wait for these shows to come back. Now with Supergirl coming to the CW, she will be finally a part for the Arrowverse . Hopefully, we get a better story line for Arrow. Hopefully, the Flash doesn’t mess shit up and will allow us to see how Barry will deal with not having his powers. What the new adventures will DC Legends crew jump into? How will Supergirl fit into the whole universe that was created?
Do I advise for everyone to watch these shows? Of course, as every show should be given a chance. I think the series are great and their stories can be made great again as well, as long as they don’t keep messing things up!
