Long before the New 52 sent purists into an uproar, DC set into motion what many comic book scholars would call its first linewide reboot with 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-issue limited series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez that consolidated the multiverse into one distinct universe. Basically, it was an ambitious continuity cleanup – and it worked.
One of the many memorable things to happen during that run was that of the “death” of Barry Allen, something that actually stuck for years until Grant Morrison brought him back in 2008’s Final Crisis. And knowing how insanely sci-fi The Flash TV show can get, it comes as no surprise that the creative minds behind the series aim to one day pull off a successful live action adaptation.
Actually, series lead Grant Gustin said as much when speaking with ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic-Con:
“We don’t really talk about it on a yearly basis but it was mentioned early on and that’s a goal. Obviously we’d have to go I think ten years to reach that, so there’s a possibility for sure. It’ll be fun to get there.”
As you’ll no doubt recall, the newspaper headline from 2024 reading, “Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis” has been looming over the series since the pilot episode aired, kind of serving as a recurring measuring stick whenever the S.T.A.R. Labs crew need to make sure the timeline is just right. Granted, pulling off such a thing would have to wait until season 10 for continuity’s sake, but let’s hope that this and some of the other shows occupying the Arrowverse stick around long enough for it to happen. Crossovers are obviously here to stay, and this would most assuredly be the mother of them all.
The Flash returns for its fourth season on Tuesday, October 10 on The CW.
