The Flash #1.1 – City of Heroes
By Anna @Traveller15 – Oct 7, 2014
As Barry Allen says “To understand what I’m about to tell you, you need to do something first, you need to believe in the impossible”.
This is Barry’s story as S.T.A.R Labs particle accelerator explodes Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) is hit by lighting and placed into a coma. When he eventually awakens he has the ability to move at superhuman speed and thus the Flash is born. We are going to watch Barry Allen evolve and learn to accept his powers he now has. He has to also learn that he can’t save everyone. He becomes the fastest man alive.
As an 11 year old child, Barry Allen witnessed his mother’s murder but is whisked away by a mysterious red and gold lightning flash. His dad is framed for his mother’s murder and is in prison. Barry is now a crime scene investigator hoping to one day fine the killer behind his mother’s murder now that he has these powers.
Barry is running late to a crime scene. Detective Joe West (Jesse L Martin) covers for him. Joe took Barry in and looked after him growing up. He is looking out for where the Mardon brothers are hiding out who have committed a bank robbery.
Iris West (Candice Patton) whisks Barry away to witness S.T.A.R Labs particle accelerator. They have been close friends most of their lives. You can sense that Barry would like to date Iris but she wants to be friends. Dr Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) countdowns the accelerator. While Barry and Iris are watching her bag is stolen and Barry chases after the guy. He is no match for this guy, can hardly run and is breathless and weak. The bag snatcher gets away. Eddy Thawne (Rick Gossett) catches the bag snatcher and Iris refers to him as “pretty boy”.
Joe West heads out to a farm to see if the Mardon brothers are there. Joe’s partner, Charlie, is shot and we believe that the brothers are killed in the storm.
Barry is back at his lab where lightning strikes the particle accelerator and explodes. Barry is hit and knocked out and goes into a coma.
Nine months later Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Frost (Danielle Panabaker) are monitoring Barry and he awakens out of his coma. Lightning gave him abs. Barry is trying to fathom what has happened to him. He meets Dr Wells who was also injured in the explosion and is now in a wheel chair. Tests are needed to be done on Barry, but he just wants to leave. The first person he goes to see is Iris. Strange things begin to happen which Barry has no idea what is happening to him.
Clyde Mardon aka Weather Wizard (Chad Rook) is back robbing a bank. This time with powers of changing the weather.
Iris takes Barry to the police station to see her father. Eddy Thawne is now Joe’s partner.
Barry starts to experience unexplained speed which he cannot control. So he goes back to S.T.A.R Labs where the team starts testing to see how fast his abilities are. To Cisco, Caitlin and Dr Well’s surprise Barry runs pass 200 m.p.h. He loses focus while remembering his mother’s death and the ball of lightning and ends up in a barrel of water and breaks his arm. Within a few hours his arm is healed.
Iris meets Eddy who she is dating without her father’s knowledge. Barry finds out and seems jealous. While they are taking a stroll, the police are in pursuit of Mardon. The roads are slippery and the police car begins to slide into Barry and Iris. Barry’s fast reaction saves them. He then takes off after Mardon but he creates a fog to escape. Joe is not happy that Iris is amongst the action. Barry tries to explain to Joe but doesn’t believe him when he tells him about Mardon and his weather powers.
Barry goes to S.T.A.R Labs seeking answers as to how many people are out there affected from the particle accelerator explosion. Nobody knows how many people were affected in Central City with powers and Dr Wells has been searching for meta-humans similar to Barry. Dr Wells believes that it is important to do research on Barry for genetic therapies and medicine and for Barry not to go out and save people and be a hero.
Flashback to a young Barry finding his mum dead and his father (John Lesley Shipp) is taken away by the police who is accused of the murder.
Barry races off to Starling City to tell his story of searching for the impossible to the Arrow (Stephen Amell) never imaging that he would become the impossible. Arrow advises him that becoming a hero he will make mistakes like him, but the good he does will far out away the bad. He thinks the bolt of lightning chose him to inspire people and be a guardian angel watching over Central City and saving people in a FLASH. Arrow tells Barry to take his own advice and wear a mask.
Back at Central City, Barry goes over unsolved cases over the past 9 months and learns that there have been an increase of deaths and missing people who he believes is the meta-humans. Barry wants Caitlin and Cisco’s help to catch Mardon and anyone like him. Carlos has invented a special suit for Barry to wear and they will be able to track his movements.
Joe and Eddy head out to an abandoned farm to find Mardon, the last place he was 9 months ago. Mardon creates a wind storm which turns into a tornado. Joe and Eddy try to escape but Flash comes to their rescue. To stop the tornado he unravels it by running the opposite direction. Caitlin and Carlos monitor the situation. Dr Wells now believes that he created the madness but Barry can stop it all. Joe witnesses the events. As Mardon goes to shoot Barry, Joe shoots and kills him. Joe now believes Barry for all the things he has seen over the years and that his dad is innocent. Joe doesn’t want Iris involved and to know about Barry’s powers.
Barry visits his father in prison. He tells his father that he knows he didn’t kill his mother. Barry is going to find the real killer to have his father released.
So the fastest man alive has been born and a friend once said he moves like “FLASH”. It is going to catch on.
Dr Wells is not who we believe to be, a paraplegic. He can actually walk. There is a twist at the end in which he reads a newspaper from April 25, 2024 ”Flash missing “Vanishes in crisis”. Dr Wells is not who we believe to be.
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