The Flash (1990-1991): Comic Influences

[Silver Nemesis]

Special thanks to Azrael for restoring the pictures to this thread.

With the new Flash TV series set to debut next month, I thought now might be a good time to look back over the original series from the early nineties and highlight some of the comics that influenced it. Executive producer Danny Bilson has cited the Silver Age Flash comics, the comics of the eighties and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) as influences on the show:

"It was very influenced by the Batman movie [from 1989], which in turn was very influenced by the comics in the eighties that influenced us. We were trying to do the TV equivalent of the eighties comic version of The Flash. We mixed [the Silver Age and current Flash] and had a retro world going on [...] The Silver Age Flash was the Flash from our childhood. Wally West felt like a redo, a reinvention. We were too young for the Golden Age Flash. He didn't resonate with us. We also felt Barry Allen had the biggest audience. It was purely an emotional choice."

http://www.dvdverdict.com/interviews/bilsondemeo.php

Executive producer Paul De Meo has said:

"What was important was the show was made and run by people who like comics, who have a real love for the mythology, and wanted to do it right."

http://www.dvdverdict.com/interviews/bilsondemeo.php

Now let's examine the show in more detail and see which aspects are most indebted to the source material.

THE FLASH & HIS ALLIES

The original Flash was a character named Jay Garrick, who first appeared in the Golden Age story 'Origin of the Flash' (Flash Comics #1, January 1940). The TV series focuses on the second Flash, Barry Allen, who first appeared in 'Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!' (Showcase #4, October 1956). Showcase #4 has additional significance on account of it being the issue most comic historians use to denote to beginning of the 'Silver Age'.

Much of the 'Pilot' episode is adapted from Showcase #4. Both stories begin on a dark and stormy night in Central City.

Police scientist Barry Allen is working late in his lab. In the TV series Barry is played by Emmy-winning actor John Wesley Shipp. Barry has blond hair and blue eyes in the comics, while Shipp had brown hair and brown eyes. But other than that, he looked a lot like how artist Carmine Infantino drew Barry in the comics.

It's worth noting that Barry Allen's hair did actually change to brown during the Trial of the Flash story arc in the early eighties. This occurred following a brutal attack on the Flash by Big Sir in 'Trial and Tribulation!' (The Flash #341, January 1985) that left Barry horribly disfigured. The Flash then went to Gorilla-City in 'Smash-Up' (The Flash #342, February 1985) and underwent corrective surgery at the hands of advanced simian scientists. His new appearance, including his dark hair, was revealed in 'Dead Man's Bluff' (The Flash #346, May 1985).

Returning to Showcase #4, Barry is working late in his lab when a bolt of lightning crashes through the window and strikes the shelf he was standing beside. The combination of electricity and chemicals has a strange effect that grants him superhuman speed.

He first becomes aware of his super speed when he rushes to catch a taxi. In the 'Pilot' episode of the TV show he hurries to catch a bus, then later rushes to keep up with his pet dog. In both scenes his super speed causes him to overshoot his target, just like he did in the comic.

Barry's personality in the show is a mixture of the Barry Allen from the comics and his successor, Wally West, who was the Flash at the time the series was being made. He possesses the comic book Barry's straight-laced, analytical temperament, but also displays certain characteristics of Wally's: most notably his sense of humour and his need to consume vast quantities of food to fuel his super fast metabolism.

In the comics Barry was inspired to adopt the costumed identity of the Flash after the original Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, who first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940). In the TV series Jay Allen is Barry's older brother. He doesn't have superpowers but he does protect Central City as the leader of the police force's motorcycle division. He has silver hair like the Jay in the comics.

The episode 'The Trickster' features a statue of the Flash sporting Jay Garrick's tin hat and boots. This statue also bears a striking resemblance to the Barry Allen Flash from Alex Ross' Kingdom Come (1996).

Barry's own costume in the TV show is more or less identical to his outfit in the comics. The only major discrepancy lies in the boots; in the comics they're yellow and feature miniature wings, but in the TV show they're red and wingless. The nose on the cowl is also a slightly different shape.

Incidentally, I've always wondered if the Silver Age Flash costume was inspired by the power-man uniform worn by Flash Gordon during the 'Power Men of Mongo' storyline (1940). Gordon's costume even had a similar lightning bolt emblem across the chest.

The Flash's abilities in the show match those in the comics, allowing him to apply his super speed in a variety of inventive ways. In the 'Pilot' episode the Flash runs around a villain at super speed to create a cyclone.

In 'Double Vision' he catches a bullet in his hand by matching its velocity. He does this again in later episodes.

In 'Child's Play' he vibrates his molecules at super speed in order to pass through a solid wall.

In 'Fast Forward' he runs so fast that he crosses the 'time barrier' and journeys into the future. In the comics he is able to travel through time with more precision using the Cosmic Treadmill.

In the episode 'Good Night, Central City', Barry is imprisoned in a holding cell at police headquarters under suspicion of aiding the villains. In order to clear his name, he has to use his super speed to sneak out of his cell and capture the real culprits, then sneak back again so no one will notice his absence. The Jay Garrick Flash did the exact same thing in 'Stone Age Menace' (Flash Comics #86, August 1947).

The Allen family are of Irish extraction in the TV show, and in the episode 'Good Night, Central City' Barry's middle name is revealed to be Patrick. In the comics their lineage is unclear and Barry's middle name is Henry. Barry's parents in the TV show are called Henry and Nora, the same as in the comics. Henry is a doctor in the comics, while in the TV show he's a retired policeman. John Wesley Shipp would later play Henry in the CW Flash series.

Barry's high-maintenance girlfriend in both the comics and the first episode of the TV show is Iris West. In the comics she and Barry ended up getting married, but she doesn't appear in the TV series beyond the first episode. In the comics she's a newspaper reporter, but in the TV show she's a flaky artist.

Instead the main love interest in the TV series is Dr Tina McGee, played by Amanda Pays. In the comics Tina was a scientist working at S.T.A.R. Labs who served as an ally of the third Flash, Wally West. She was Wally's main love interest in the comics at the time this series was being made, so the show's makers decided to have her play a similar role in the TV series. Her back story, where her husband had met a terrible fate after conducting experiments on himself, is also lifted from the comics. Pays would later reprise her role as Tina in the CW Flash series.

During the press conference in the 'Pilot' episode Barry is asked a question by a reporter named Linda Park. In the comics Linda Park is a television reporter and future wife of the third Flash, Wally West.

The WCCN reporter Joseph Kline (Richard Belzer) is a recurring character in the TV series. He was created especially for the show, but Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo introduced him into the comics during their 'Lightning in a Bottle' storyline for Flash: The Fastest Man Alive (2006-2007). Actor Richard Belzer would return to the DC universe a few years later to play Inspector Henderson in the first season of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

In the episode 'Fast Forward' Kline refers to the Flash as the "Scarlet Speedester", his nickname from the comics.

In the comics Barry has several colleagues who work with him at the crime lab. In the TV show he has just one: Julio Mendez. Julio can be seen as a composite of Barry's comic book co-workers, such as James Forrest and Patty Spivot.

Barry's boss in the TV show is Captain Garfield, who seems to have been loosely based on the comic character Captain Darryl Frye.

CENTRAL CITY & COMIC CREATOR REFERENCES

In 'Out of Control' Barry receives a call for backup from the "corner of Gardner and Fox". This is a reference to comic writer Gardner Fox, co-creator of the Jay Garrick Flash.

In 'Honour Among Thieves' the Flash calls in a car crash on 4th and Garrick. This is a nod to the original Flash, Jay Garrick.

There is also an art gallery called 'Garrick Gallery' in the episode 'Mirror Master'.

Scenes from several episodes take place at the Infantino Hotel. This is named after comic book artist Carmine Infantino, who co-created the Barry Allen Flash and many of his classic rogues.

Keystone Drive is mentioned in the episode 'Tina, is that you?' This likely is a reference to Keystone City, the stomping ground of the Jay Garrick and Wally West Flashes.

Helltown is mentioned several times throughout the series (first time in 'Watching the Detectives'). This is an area of Central City in the comics.

In 'Flash Forward' the Flash travels into the future and discovers a Flash Museum has been created in his honour. The Flash Museum is a longstanding feature of the Central City in the comics.

In 'Deadly Nightshade' Lieutenant Garfield reads a letter from one of his predecessors on the police force named Julius Schwartz. This is a reference to the DC Comics editor of the same name who was responsible for reviving the Flash during the Silver Age.

REFERENCES TO OTHER DC HEROES

In the episode 'Watching the Detectives' Tina tells her secretary, "If Dr Carter Hall calls, can you tell him I'm going to be in the gene-splicing lab?" Carter Hall is the alter ego of the superhero Hawkman.

The Flash teams up with an aging superhero named Nightshade in a couple of episodes. This character bears a resemblance to the Golden Age superhero Sandman.

In 'Child's Play' Barry mentions the "Arkham expose". This is likely an allusion to Gotham City's Arkham Asylum, as featured in the Batman comics. Later in the same episode Barry walks past a cinema where Superman: The Movie (1978) and Batman (1989) are being shown. This moment is punctuated by a musical quotation from Danny Elfman's Batman theme. Elfman also wrote the main theme for this series.

In 'Captain Cold' Barry sarcastically compares would-be reporter Terri Kronenberg to Lois Lane.

During the fancy dress party at the end of 'The Trickster', one of the guests can be seen wearing a Superman costume.

THE ROGUES

In the episode 'Twin Streaks' the Flash goes up against a clone of himself named Pollux. Pollux has all the same powers as the Flash and an almost identical costume. Actor John Wesley Shipp has said that Pollux was the TV show's answer to the Reverse-Flash (aka Professor Zoom, aka Eobard Thawne), Barry's arch nemesis who first appeared in 'Menace of the Reverse-Flash' (The Flash #139, September 1963).

Pollux can also be seen as a variation of Bizarro Flash, an imperfect copy of Barry Allen that first appeared in 'Superman's Unbeatable Rival!' (Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #74, May 1967).

The original Silver Age Bizarro Flash sported the inverted colours of the Flash's own costume. By contrast, Pollux's costume features a blue and silver colour scheme. I suspect this was done to avoid comparisons with the better known villain Professor Zoom, who also wears an inverted version of the Flash's red and yellow outfit. Note that Bizarro Flash and Pollux both wear a different emblem on their chest, whereas Professor Zoom sports the same lightning bolt design as the Flash.

The super fast fight scene between the Flash and Pollux is visually reminiscent of the many comic book battles between the Flash and Professor Zoom.

Barry uses the name "Professor Zoom" as an alias in the episode 'Mirror Master'. John Wesley Shipp would go on to play Zoom in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

In the episode 'Deadly Nightshade' the original Nightshade reminds Fosnight of their last encounter back when the latter was "short counting for Gorilla Grodd out of Helltown". Gorilla Grodd is one of the Flash's greatest adversaries in the comics. Debuting in 'Menace of the Super Gorilla' (Flash #106, May 1959), Grodd is an intelligent gorilla with the ability to control other people's minds. Lieutenant Garfield dresses as a gorilla at the policeman's ball in 'The Trickster', though this may just be a coincidence.

The Trickster (aka James Jesse) appears in two episodes of the TV show, played by Mark Hamill. Hamill would later reprise the role in the DC animated universe. Jesse first appeared in the comics in 'Danger in the Air!' (Flash #113, July 1960). In the comics he came from a family of circus acrobats and developed an interest in crime after becoming fascinated with his namesake, the outlaw Jesse James. No mention is made of his circus background in the TV show. Instead he's depicted as a psychopath with an obsessive fixation on a nonexistent sidekick called Prank.

His costume is faithful to his comic book outfit, consisting of a domino mask, patchwork jumpsuit and a cape. The Trickster in the comics has special boots that allow him to walk on air. The TV show version lacks these, although his boots do visually resemble those from the comics.

In 'Trial of the Trickster' the Trickster uses sneezing powder to distract the Flash.

Later in the same episode he uses a brainwashing device to turn the Flash into a villain. The Trickster in the comics has a similar device called the 'Mesmeratron'.

In the same episode, the brainwashed Flash tells the Trickster, "I could vibrate my fingers through somebody's brain!" This is the same method Reverse-Flash used to murder Barry's wife Iris, as depicted in 'Flashback' (Flash #283, March 1980).

Leonard Snart/Captain Cold appears in the episode bearing his name. This character first debuted in the comics in 'The Coldest Man on Earth!' (Showcase #8, June 1957). In the TV show he's portrayed as an albino assassin who wields a special gun capable of freezing things. He doesn't wear the comic version's classic blue and white costume. However the blue and white colour scheme is reflected in his albino hair and pale complexion.

The Captain Cold in the comics abides by a moral code that prohibits unnecessary killing. He'll kill when he has to, but will generally favour non-lethal methods when possible (except when dealing with the Flash). By contrast, the Captain Cold in the TV series is much more ruthless and sadistic and seems to derive pleasure from murder.

At one point in the episode Captain Cold freezes the ground beneath the Flash's feet, causing him to lose his footing. The Captain Cold in the comics has used this same trick on many occasions.

Sam Scudder/the Mirror Master appears in the episode 'Done with Mirrors'. This character first appeared in the comics back in 'The Master of Mirrors!' (Flash #105, March 1959). The Mirror Master in the TV show doesn't wear the orange and green costume of the comic version, instead favouring an all black look. He does however wear gold ties, which may have been designed to evoke his orange costume from the comics.

Like the comic version, he uses false images to distract and confuse his enemies. But instead of generating those images using mirrors, like in the comics, this version of Mirror Master creates them using hi-tech holographic devices. At the end of the episode, he creates multiple illusions of himself to confuse the Flash.

Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson had plans for other comic villains that never made it into the finished show. Speaking to Starlog in November 1990, De Meo said:

"We're toying with the idea of making the Pied Piper a female jazz musician who works in a club in the dirty underbelly of the city."

In an interview in The Flash TV Special (January 1991), Bilson and De Meo also indicated they had plans for an episode centred around the villain Captain Boomerang. This episode was rumoured to have been put aside for Season 2.

The premiere episode of Season 2 was allegedly to have depicted the Trickster, Captain Cold and Mirror Master teaming up to destroy the Flash. But of course Season 2 was never made, so we'll never know if these things would have come to pass.

And on that note I'll end this analysis.

[The Laughing Fish]

Nice analysis there.

Is it only me or does Prank come across as an influence for Paul Dini and Bruce Timm when they created Harley Quinn? Both are obsessed fans of Trickster/Joker and loyal sidekicks, even though they are betrayed at some point.

[Silver Nemesis]

The relationship between the Trickster and Prank is uncannily like that of the Joker and Harley. There are a couple of other possible influences behind the Harley Quinn character. According to Paul Dini, he was inspired after seeing Arleen Sorkin dressed as a clown on Days of Our Lives.

Another possible influence is the Pre-Crisis Duela Dent, who for a while went by the name of 'Harlequin' and wore a costume similar to Harley's.

Her creator, Bob Rozakis, has said:

"Actually, I consider Harley Quinn to be a reincarnation of Duela."

http://www.titanstower.com/bob-rozakis-teen-titans-interview/

Interestingly, Duela originally went under the name 'The Joker's Daughter' and was ultimately revealed to be the offspring of the Earth-3 Joker: the Jokster. I suspect this was the inspiration for having Harley Quinn be the Joker's daughter in Batman Triumphant. As with his portrayal of Batgirl in Batman and Robin, Schumacher was amalgamating two different characters with a shared costumed persona into a single being: in this case, the Bronze Age Duela Dent/Harlequin and the DCAU Harley Quinn.

Combine Prank from The Flash, Duela Dent and Arleen Sorkin herself, and you get Harley Quinn.

[The Joker]

Very cool info, Silver Nemesis.

Appreciate you posting that video of Sorkin. I had never seen that. 

Also, very interesting stuff on Duela Dent as well.

Considering some of the similarities, I can understand why Bob Rozakis would comment on Harley being a reincarnation/Post-Crisis version of his creation. Especially considering the time frame where Harley first appearing in the DCAU, and subsequently in the DC comic books themselves, was very much in a period where DC continually shied away from their Silver Age Multiverse concept for the most part.

Quite a different approach since the relaunch of the New52.

[Avilos]

I thought you would appreciate to know John Wesley Shipp himself linked to this thread on his Facebook page!

[Avilos]

I am not sure if it was intentional or not but Trachmann in "Double Vision" is similar to the DC villain the Puppeteer. He is able to control the Flash like his puppet. In one of the Flash's dreams he is even portrayed as a marionette. Biggest coincidence of all is the Puppeteer had sunglasses or a visor as part of his costume. Which was along with is control glove, Trachmann's notable part of his appearance.

[Silver Nemesis]

I thought you would appreciate to know John Wesley Shipp himself linked to this thread on his Facebook page!

That's awesome. I didn't see his Facebook post, but I did see him retweet a link to this thread on Twitter. I guess we can add John Wesley Shipp to the list of famous people who've visited the site.

[Silver Nemesis]

In an interview in The Flash TV Special (January 1991), Bilson and De Meo also indicated they had plans for an episode centred around the villain Captain Boomerang. This episode was rumoured to have been put aside for Season 2.

I wrote some of the OP in this thread from memory, and this is one particular detail that I misremembered. I'm pretty sure I did read an interview somewhere in which Bilson and De Meo expressed an interest in using Captain Boomerang in the second season, but it wasn't in The Flash TV Special (January 1991). I can't remember where I read that. They do discuss other villains they were hoping to use in the TV Special, but Bilson highlights Weather Wizard and Vandal Savage rather than Captain Boomerang. Also note how he acknowledges the similarities between Sandman and Nightshade,

Recently I've been expanding my collection of Pre-Crisis Flash comics and I'm also currently re-watching The Flash TV series, and the two things have got me thinking about what the show's writers might have done had they got a second season.

Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo said the second season premiere would have had the Trickster, Captain Cold and Mirror Master teaming up to form the Rogues. We also know from the quotes in this thread that they wanted to do episodes with Weather Wizard, Vandal Savage and Pied Piper (and Captain Boomerang, if I'm remembering that untraceable quote correctly).

Who could have played Weather Wizard? My top pick would have been Miguel Ferrer. Ferrer was friends with Mark Hamill and Bill Mumy, and all three of them were diehard comic fans. Here's a picture of them visiting the offices of DC, along with Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel and Bob Kane.

Hamill and Mumy both got the chance to play villains in The Flash, but Ferrer didn't. Possibly because he was busy shooting the second season of Twin Peaks at the time (a lot of Twin Peaks actors appeared in The Flash, including Eric Da Re, Ian Buchanan, Walter Olkewicz, Ian Abercrombie, Lenny von Dohlen, Claire Stansfield and Victor Rivers). Ferrer later voiced Weather Wizard in Superman: The Animated Series and portrayed Weatherman (who was clearly based on Weather Wizard) in the live action Justice League of America (1997) TV movie. He would have been perfect as Mark Mardon in the nineties Flash series.

For the part of Vandal Savage, I thought Welsh actor Roger Rees. Rees would have been in America working on Cheers around that time, and later that decade he became one of the main cast members in M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994-95), which was another Bilson/De Meo superhero show.

Bilson and De Meo's idea for Pied Piper was to turn him into a female jazz singer. I'm not sure who could have played that version of the character. In The Flash TV Special, Bilson and De Meo mention that they had approached Alice Cooper about playing the villain Lesko in the episode 'Child's Play'. Cooper turned the role down – most likely, so they speculate, owing to the drug element – but expressed an interest in playing a different villain in a later episode. Perhaps if they'd made Pied Piper a male rock musician instead of a female jazz singer then Alice Cooper could have played the part.

They could have easily made an episode based on 'The Flash of Two Worlds' (Flash Vol 1 #123, September 1961). For the casting of Jay Garrick, I'd have gone with the obvious pick of Tim Thomerson.

In the TV version, Barry could have visited an alternate Earth on which his family name was Garrick instead of Allen. In this universe, Jay had been visiting his brother in the crime lab on the night of the fateful storm that gave him his powers, and consequently it was he and not Barry that got struck by lightning. Jay would reveal that his brother, Barry Garrick, was killed during a drive-by attack on the police station by the Dark Riders. A similar attack took place in the 'Pilot' episode, in which Barry saved Julio with the aid of his super speed. But without similar powers, Barry Garrick was gunned down and his brother Jay had to avenge him. The two Flashes would then bond over their shared grief of losing their brothers and ultimately take solace from the knowledge that they were still alive in another reality.

This storyline would also offer a good excuse to bring back Nicholas Pike as the villain. Perhaps the Pike of that alternate reality had somehow become Reverse Flash, and Barry and Jay would have to team up to defeat him. Then Reverse Flash could find a way of transporting himself to Barry's Earth in future episodes.

There could also have been an episode about Kid Flash. Mark Waid wrote a story called 'Meet Kid Flash' for The Flash TV Special, but instead of Wally West that character was just a criminal who acquired super speed after breaking into Star Labs during one of Tina's experiments.

A heroic version of Kid Flash could have appeared in the TV show. He'd have worked best as a guest star rather than a series regular, similar to how Nightshade was used in the first season. One child actor who looked practically identical to Carmine Infantino's depiction of Wally West was Justin Shenkarow, star of Eerie Indiana (1991-92). He would have been 11 going on 12 in 1991, so he was probably a bit too young.

I think the best pick for the role of Kid Flash would have been Jonathan Brandis. He'd already played John Wesley Shipp's son in The Neverending Story II (1990) and had guest starred in the 'Child's Play' episode of The Flash's first season. He would have been 15 in 1991 and had both the right look and the acting ability for the part.

Instead of having Brandis play Wally West, I'd have had him reprise his role as Terry Cohan from the first season. They'd already written Iris West out of the show following the first episode, which would've made it difficult to use Wally, so I'd have had it so that Terry was this universe's version of Kid Flash. He could have temporarily gained super speed only to lose it again in such a way that would leave the door open for his powers to reawaken in future episodes.

Another character they could have adapted for the show is Speed Demon. They already referenced Jerry McGee (or David McGee as they renamed him in the TV series) in 'Pilot' and 'Out of Control', with his photograph appearing briefly in the latter episode.

His back story was already established in the first season and his inclusion would have created a good opportunity for a more Tina-centric episode, with Speed Demon targeting Barry out of jealousy. For casting, how about Amanda Pays' real life husband, Corbin Bernsen? Apparently he was originally meant to play the Ghost in the first season episode 'Ghost in the Machine' but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict. He'd have been a good pick for Speed Demon.

One other thing I thought they could have done in the second season is some kind of tie-in with Batman Returns. Batman Returns was being shot at the same studio and would have been released shortly after The Flash season 2 concluded in 1992. Connecting the two productions would have been a cool marketing strategy to build hype for Burton's film. Obviously they weren't going to get any of the major actors from BR, but it might have been possible to get some of the stunt performers playing the Red Triangle Gang members to come over to The Flash set and shoot some scenes. In place of DeVito, they could have created a new character who would've served as the Penguin's lieutenant and the episode's main villain. This idea is far less likely than the others I've suggested, but I thought I'd add it to the list anyway.

Those are just a few ideas. They give us the following episodes:

•   The Rogues (Trickster, Captain Cold and Mirror Master)
•   Weather Wizard
•   Vandal Savage
•   Pied Piper
•   The Flash of Two Worlds
•   Kid Flash
•   Speed Demon
•   Red Triangle Gang (extremely unlikely, but we can dream)

Those episodes alone could have formed the foundation of a strong season. I imagine there also would have been standalone episodes featuring the Trickster and certain other returning villains, and of course there would have been some less interesting filler episodes to keep the budget down. The second half of the first season saw a shift towards a more comic bookish sensibility, and had that trend continued I think season 2 might have been even better than the first. I'd love to explore that potential in a Flash '90 comic.

What does everyone else think? Are there any other characters or storylines from the comics that you think would have worked well in this show? Would season 2 have been awesome, or was one season enough?

[thecolorsblend]

I think the best pick for the role of Kid Flash would have been Jonathan Brandis. He'd already played John Wesley Shipp's son in The Neverending Story II (1990) and had guest starred in the 'Child's Play' episode of The Flash's first season. He would have been 15 in 1991 and had both the right look and the acting ability for the part.

I originally thought that was where things would go with Brandis's character. Since Iris wasn't a major part of the show, it made sense to create a Kid Flash out of whole cloth. Brandis was already uniquely positioned to fill that role.

The one thing Brandis had working against him was his age. Labor laws being what they are, it could've been very challenging to cast a 15 year old in an effects heavy role like that. But I'm not convinced that would've been a fatal issue, esp if he wore a masked costume where an extra or a stuntman could've taken over the majority of the costume stuff and Brandis could've done the closeups.

[Silver Nemesis]

I always liked Brandis. He was a good actor and a lot more likeable/less obnoxious than certain other child actors of that era. The first thing I saw him in was seaQuest DSV, which I used to watch every week back when it first aired in the UK. Then later I saw him in things like The NeverEnding Story II (1990), It (1990) and Sidekicks (1992). It's very sad what happened to him. He would have been perfect as Kid Flash. I've always really liked the classic Kid Flash costume – the one that debuted in The Flash Vol 1 #135 (March 1963) – and I would have loved to have seen how the wardrobe department might have realised it in the early nineties.

I also like the idea that Barry first meets his future sidekick when he catches him trying to break into his car, which is similar to how the Post-Crisis Batman first met Jason Todd when he caught him stealing the tyres off the Batmobile in Batman Vol 1 #408 (June 1987).

Going back to The Flash TV Special, another interesting titbit that Danny Bilson mentioned was an unproduced Trickster episode set in a mental asylum. He specifically compared it to Batman: The Killing Joke (1988).

He mentioned another Trickster episode that would have taken place on Halloween and featured Barry's nephew Shawn going trick-or-treating. I'm a sucker for anything set on Halloween (just one of the many things I liked about Matt Reeves' The Batman), so that's another episode I'd like to have seen.

Speaking of the Trickster, before James Jesse adopts that guise he initially appears in the persona of a homicidal stage magician. His costume at this point, consisting of a tuxedo, cape and goatee, evokes the appearance of fellow Flash villain Abra Kadabra.

I doubt this was an intentional reference, since their costumes are both clearly based on those of generic stage magicians, but I thought it was worth noting anyway.

Another villain that could have worked well on this show is Heat Wave. They already had an arsonist character in the episode 'Watching the Detectives', and one of the bad guys in 'Honour Among Thieves' was a demolitions expert equipped with a handheld miniature flamethrower, so Heat Wave clearly would have been within the show's budgetary means.