Fans of The Flash know that the character’s powers aren’t limited to just running really, really fast. The Scarlet Speedster can run so fast, in fact, that he can also travel through time. And while the upcoming TV series on The CW exists in the more realistic and “grounded” world constructed by its sister show Arrow, a new synopsis for The Flash gives a pretty big hint about Barry Allen exploring both the past and the future with his newfound abilities.
Here’s the extended synopsis, courtesy of SpoilerTV:
Standing still emotionally since the day his mother was murdered (and his father unjustly jailed for the crime), Barry was taken in as a child by the investigating Detective West and raised in a cop’s home alongside West’s supersmart daughter (and Barry’s dream girl) Iris. But when an unexpected and devastating accident at the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator facility strikes Barry, he finds himself suddenly charged with the incredible power to move at super speeds.
While Barry has always been a hero in his soul, his newfound powers have finally given him the ability to act like one. With the help of the research team at S.T.A.R. Labs — including billionaire visionary Harrison Wells, biogenetics expert Caitlin Snow and the eternally upbeat Cisco Ramon — Barry begins testing the limits of his evolving powers and using them to stop crime, ensuring that no one suffers a similar tragedy to his own family history. Working with his adopted father Detective West, West’s conceited partner Detective Eddie Thawne and Iris West, who’s earning her degree in Criminal Psychology, Barry uses his superhuman abilities to help the people of Central City and stop the rogues’ gallery of villains — many of whom have also been altered by the particle accelerator explosion.
Concealing his identity behind his incredible velocity, Barry can not only accomplish feats faster than human comprehension, but also taps into an energy that allows him to access moments out of time — both past and future. With a winning personality and a smile on his face, Barry Allen — aka The Flash — is finally moving forward in life… very, very fast!
Based on the last paragraph alone, it’s clear that we won’t only see time travel factor into the show but the Speed Force – an extra-dimensional energy force that gives speedsters their power – will factor in as well. It also sounds like the show will draw inspiration from Geoff Johns’ comic book arc “Flashpoint,” which saw Barry Allen going back in time to prevent his mother’s death. We already know that Barry’s mother suffered a similar fate in the series while his father has been wrongfully imprisoned for her murder (and that time-travelling baddie Reverse-Flash will appear on the show), so really it was just a matter of time (pardon the pun) before time travel entered the equation.
Now the biggest question is, will we see the famous Cosmic Treadmill show up on the show, or is that just too goofy for television? We’ll just have to wait until The Flash debuts on Tuesday October 7th, 2014 on The CW to find out.
