The Flash Season 4 premiere is tonight and we are sure to be in for a whole new collection of guest stars from across the DC Universe. Last season I was truly blown away by the inclusion of Abra Kadabra on The Flash. Kadabra was a character that has, traditionally, been very important to the comic book version of the Flash, but maybe didn’t seem like the most easily translated to the on-screen continuity. It turned out that I was mistaken and Kadabra was awesome.
One thing we won’t be seeing this season—at least as far as the main villain goes—is another speedster. Considering we’ve gotten three seasons of Barry battling evil variations of himself, that’s probably okay. But I do hope the show hasn’t scrapped the idea of using speedsters entirely. That’s because when it comes to guest stars on The Flash, one of the categories the show consistently nails season after season is the speedsters. Everyone from Jesse Quick to Jay Garrick has had an outstanding costume and brought a new interesting aspect to the show about what being a speedster means.
In the spirit of this, I’d like to present you with three speedsters from the comic book side of the DC Multiverse that I think would be awesome additions to The Flash this season!
Meena Dhawan
You might be familiar with some of the reviews that I’ve been writing for DCComics.com where I dive into writer Joshua Williamson’s adventures of Barry Allen in Rebirth. One of Williamson’s best contributions to the current FLASH comics continuity is Doctor Meena Dhawan. During the first arc of his run, she is struck by the same Speed Force lightning that bequeaths so many civilians with the power of the Flash—including the villain Godspeed. Luckily, Meena is not a villain. She’s a scientist working at S.T.A.R. Labs who develops a school-for-speedsters of sorts on her work campus in order to teach some of the civilians with these unexpected power sets. As you might be thinking, she’s pretty much the perfect woman for Barry Allen and the two characters enjoy a brief romance before something crazy happens! Comic books!
Dr. Meena Dhawan would be a great addition to The Flash on television because she would add even more diversity to what is, admittedly, one of the more diverse casts on the air. Including another scientist on the show is always a good idea, in my opinion, as the cast just as frequently needs to science their way out of a problem as often as they can tackle it in traditional head-on combat. In the past, the S.T.A.R. Labs crew has also had issues with some of their scientists having a dark side and Doctor Dhawan could be more solidly on the side of good (or maybe not, seeing how she seems to be up to some sketchy stuff these days in the comics).
Plus, she has a pre-existing super hero identity that she developed under the tutelage of Barry Allen—Fast Track! I’d particularly love to see Fast Track make it to television because the black suit needs some rehabbing! Black speedster suits are pretty much relegated to baddies on The Flash and Fast Track has such a stunning black and silver suit that would set her apart from the rest of the show.
Avery Ho
Let’s look at another post-Rebirth character, only this time she’s largely from the NEW SUPER-MAN title (from the bottom of my heart: if you are not reading this book you need to pick it up because it is so completely magical). I’m talking, of course, about the Flash! Yeah, yeah, I know I probably have you scratching your heads and wondering if I was out too late last night. But no, I’m referring to Avery Ho, the Flash of China! Like Meena, Avery was in Central City during the Speed Force storm and struck by the same lightning that Meena was struck by, resulting in spontaneous super speed. Unlike almost everyone else who was struck by that lightning, Avery refused to give up her newfound powers and after a brief period of training under Barry Allen, she made her way to China to do her superhero-ing there.
Avery Ho would be another character that could bring diversity to The Flash—both in ethnicity AND personality. Avery has an edge and a spunk to her character that we haven’t seen from many of the ladies on Team Flash. I’d love to see Avery Ho get off the plane from a quick tour in China, meet Barry Allen and maybe at the end of her first arc return to China as an auxiliary member of Team Flash in the same vein that comic book fans are used to seeing from Batman in BATMAN, INC. Maybe we can just call it Flash, Inc. and put one of the Harrison Wells in charge of it?
Also…I did mention Meena’s super cool black-and-white suit, but Avery’s is even better! The Justice League of China has some of the best design work coming out of Rebirth (shout out to early series artist Viktor Bogdanovic), and Avery Ho has a stunning purple costume with the typical gold lightning bolt iconography. I’m exceptionally fond of the use of purple because it is an atypical color scheme for a DC Comics speedster that both highlights the character’s inherent femininity and makes her jump off the page.
Bart Allen
To close out this article, I would be remiss in not mentioning the speedster I want to see on The Flash television show more than I have ever wanted to see something on the show ever in my life ever, ever, ever, ever: BART ALLEN!
Bart Allen is, of course, the grandson of Barry Allen and Iris West Allen who was born in the 30th Century and travels back in time to try and save the world. He’s probably most famous for his speedster identity as Impulse, but has also been Kid Flash and the Flash in his day as well. I think including one of the Allen-West progeny would cement once and for all that Barry and Iris are destined to be together, and no matter what they go through over the course of the show, that they will wind up building a family together. In many ways, he is the consummation of many of the best aspects of Barry Allen’s life.
Bart is also beloved for being the Flash with the most struggle. He has a steeper learning curve than some of those who came before him, and learning along with him through the lens of a character-out-of-time might force Barry to mature in a way that we haven’t had a chance to see from him up to this point in the series.
Plus, this #DCTV universe is rife with references to the Legion of Super-Heroes with whom Bart has a lot of ties (they come from the same time period!), which means that there might be potential for him to cross over onto DC’s Legends of Tomorrow or Supergirl. There’s a lot of crazy potential with Bart. He can do everything Barry can do and everything that he can’t with his responsibilities as the leader of Team Flash!
Those are just a few of the speedsters that I have a fondness for and want to see show up on The Flash. However, with so much comic book history, we’re still really just scratching the surface of who they could bring on. (Johnny Quick, anybody?) Let me know if I left out one of your favorites that you are hoping to see make it to the screen. And don’t forget to hop back onto DCComics.com tonight after The Flash to read my Couch Club column looking at tonight’s new episode!
Ashley V. Robinson covers The Flash as a part of the #DCTV Couch Club. You can find her on Twitter at @AshleyVRobinson and on the Jawiin YouTube channel. The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CST) on The CW.
