8 Big Reveals From The Flash Season 3 Trailer

Without any disrespect to the other comic book shows that are due back later this year, the most anticipated new superhero season is surely The Flash. Apart from being a very consistent show with strong fan support, we can't wait for it to return because the series threw a big spanner in the works in its season two finale. If you need reminding, it saw Barry Allen go back in time and save his mother’s life, thereby wiping the entire continuity of the show clean. This immediately made clear that the next season would adapt "Flashpoint," the popular comic book storyline that kickstarted the New 52 timeline in 2011. But how would the series tackle it? Well, now we have a much better idea of what to expect. Thanks to this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, we have our first look at the new season in a fist-pumpingly exciting trailer, which features surprises and great moments galore. There was a lot to digest, but read on for 8 of the biggest reveals that were hidden within the footage. 8) Henry’s Alive The first look at the Flashpoint reality the trailer gives us is one we all expected – both of Barry’s parents are now alive and well. That was the aim of his changing the timeline, after all. Before now, though, we weren’t 100% sure that Henry Allen would also be resurrected – after he was murdered at the hands of Zoom last season. However, it seems that the time boom caused by Barry saving his mother reverberated through the timeline and negated Zoom’s actions somehow. Plus, Henry also never had to spend years in prison for the murder of his wife. Yay for Barry for now, then, but this will make it all the more difficult when he eventually has to say goodbye to both parents once again to put the timeline back on track? That remains to be seen... 7) “You Look Really Familiar…” Fans of the so-called WestAllen relationship were heartbroken when Barry and Iris finally cemented their feelings for each other in season two’s finale – only for Barry to completely undo their life together in order to save his parents. The trailer reveals that not only are the pair no longer a couple, and not as close in general because they didn’t grow up together, but Iris doesn’t even remember Barry. Presumably in this timeline they haven’t seen each other much since they were friends as kids, or perhaps even that didn’t happen as before. Nevertheless, the trailer also promises that, whatever the timeline, Barry and Iris are meant to be together. Within a minute, the pair are already locking lips again and alt-Iris has deduced that they were closer in the original timeline. You just can't keep those crazy kids apart. 6) Don't Call Him Cisco In the comics, most of the changes in the Flashpoint timeline were for the worst (e.g. Bruce Wayne died as a child, Superman was kidnapped by the government, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were at war etc.). The Flash's version is skewering a bit lighter, though, as the new take on Cisco proves. Instead of the loveable tech whizz who likes naming supervillains, this timeline’s Cisco is “the richest man in America” and the CEO of Ramon Industries (formerly STAR Labs). To go with that, he’s now arrogant and standoffish, boasting about his helicopter rides to work and walking around with a beautiful woman on his arm. Interestingly, though, he still seems to know Iris and Wally. It’s a little sad to see Cisco not getting on with Barry, of course, but you can’t help but raise a smile at seeing a Tony Stark-ified Cisco. 5) Joe And Barry Aren’t Friends As mentioned above, in the Flashpoint timeline Barry never had to live with the Wests and so he never came to see them as his surrogate family. As well as Iris not really remembering him, this also has the unexpected effect of Joe not liking him in the least. At one point in the trailer, the usually jovial Joe storms off, yelling “we’re not partners and we’re not friends.” Interestingly, this mirrors the relationship of parallel Barry and Joe from Earth-2, where the pair despised each other despite being father and son in law. It's hard to guess right now though quite what alteration in the timeline would have affected Joe’s feelings for Barry, or his personality in general, to this extent. 4) Reverse-Flash Returns If you know the original "Flashpoint" comic or its animated movie adaptation The Flashpoint Paradox, you’ll know that Eobard Thawne AKA the Reverse-Flash is a big part of the story. Though he isn’t actually to blame for all the trouble caused to the timeline for once, he basically serves as the arc’s villain - taunting Barry for causing more havoc with the universe than he ever did. As could be expected, the season three trailer confirms that this aspect of the story will be largely kept in place for the TV show. We see the original non-Harrison Wells Reverse-Flash (as played by Matt Letscher) behind bars, goading his nemesis and manically shouting “who’s the villain now, Flash? Now who’s the villain?” Naturally, this seems to get under Barry’s skin. The trailer does not provide any answer as what has happened to Harrison Wells in this timeline, but let’s hope he turns up somewhere. 3) Doctor Alchemy Now here’s a real shocker. Earlier on in the trailer, we see Barry getting strange visions of the word ‘alchemy’ etched onto a mirror. Later, Flash faces a hooded masked figure in the night. If you put these two hints together, it means only one thing – Doctor Alchemy is coming to The Flash. Created in 1958 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Doctor Alchemy AKA Mister Element suffers from multiple personality disorder. While half of the time he's a law-abiding citizen, he also has a criminal persona who is able to transmute the elements using the power of the philosopher’s stone (yes, the one in Harry Potter). From the show’s SDCC panel on Saturday, we know that the bad doctor will be voiced by Tobin Bell (most known for playing Jigsaw in the Saw movies). No doubt he will provide a brilliantly terrifying voice for the character. 2) The Black Racer But that’s not the only villain the trailer debuted. As per leaked photos from filming, the promo showed a black-clad speedster with pointed ears on his mask and a yellow/red lightning emblem. Comics fans will no doubt recognize this as the Black Racer. So, who is it behind the mask this time - could it be yet another of Barry’s trusted circle gone rogue? Actually, an interesting edit in the trailer suggests that it's Barry himself. In one shot, we see the Black Racer race to meet a certain hero who we will get to in a minute. This transitions to the same location, but with Barry in the Racer’s place. Coincidence? I think not. 1) Kid Flash The trailer’s final big reveal is to give us our first look at Wally West in action as Kid Flash. A couple of weeks ago a few promo images of Wally in costume were released, but here we get to briefly see him square up against a villain and another Flash. Yes, an intriguing factor of the trailer that it is easy to miss is that Barry appears in his Flash suit on a few occasions. This suggests that Barry will still have his powers, meaning that he was also hit by the particle accelerator in the Flashpoint timeline. This is different from the original comic, where Barry has to get help from Thomas Wayne to electrify himself with lightning in order to regain his powers. Something similar was done last season, however, so perhaps they did not want to repeat themselves here.