By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
Dec. 11, 2014 -- Comics characters are filling the airwaves, and they’re bringing more than costumes.
Take, for example, the concept of the crossover. That’s comic book terminology for a story that starts in one book and continues in another, with the two stars of those books guest-starring in each other’s book.
That is precisely what happened the first week of December in The CW’s Arrow and Flash series. Not only did Arrow guest star on Flash Dec. 2 (in “Flash vs. Arrow”), followed by Flash guest starring on Arrow Dec. 3 (“The Brave and the Bold”), but the ads and descriptions even referred to the event as a “crossover.”
Now, various characters have guest starred on each other’s show before. Back in the ‘60s, for example, ABC’s Batman and Green Hornet guested on each other’s shows. And on related shows like Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, characters like Mr. Drucker (the Hooterville grocer), Mr. Haney (the traveling salesman) or Arnold the pig (a pig) might show up anywhere.
But to my knowledge those events weren’t called crossovers. That term is pure comicspeak, and every comics fan in America reacted to the word like meercats.
But there’s more! For one thing, these two characters were subbing for a more famous pair of heroes. See if you can guess:
There are at least two speeches on Arrow where Oliver Queen says that his home, Starling City, is “meaner” than the Flash’s home, Central City, “where it’s sunny all the time, and your enemies get cute nicknames.”
Flash counters that guys like him and Ollie have to overcome their personal tragedies and not use them as excuses. They need to inspire instead of just punish.
Got it? Substitute “Metropolis” for Central City and “Gotham” for Starling City, and this is one of a million arguments that Batman and Superman have had for years. And yet, this mis-matched pair, the super-powered guy and the urban vigilante, are still fast friends, and often team up … just like the super-powered Flash and the urban vigilante Arrow did in these two episodes.
Also, the title of the Arrow episode with the team-up was “The Brave and the Bold.” That was the name of a comic book where Batman co-starred with another DC Universe character every month for decades. As if to cement the point, secret agent Lyla Michaels says “sometimes bravery isn’t enough. Sometimes the world requires us to be bold.” Which makes no sense at all, unless you realize she’s referencing an old Batman title.
And then it gets really meta. There’s a long-running joke on Arrow that Ollie doesn’t like it when people call his lair “the Arrow Cave.” In “The Brave and the Bold,” not only does Cisco – visiting scientist and uber-nerd from Central City – reference the Arrow Cave, he asks if they have an Arrowmobile.
Why is that funny? Because once upon a time, Green Arrow did actually have an Arrowmobile. And an Arrow Cave. When the Emerald Archer was created in1941, he was – it has to be said – simply a knockoff of another, more famous character … who lived in a Batcave in Gotham City, and drove a Batmobile.
Of course, Green Arrow has gone through a lot of changes since his early copycat days, or he wouldn’t have lasted so long. But still … you don’t have to squint too hard at the Battling Bowman before you see a little Bat underneath.
Choking on all the Easter eggs yet? There’s still more:
* Cisco says that Arrow and Flash are “in a league of their own.” (They’re both in the Justice League.)
* Lyla calls Flash “Speedy,” and Arrow gets confused as to whom she means. (“Speedy” was Green Arrow’s sidekick in the comics for years, although on the show it’s his sister’s nickname.)
* Felicity Smoak says Oliver uses the Salmon Ladder “every Wednesday.” (Arrow airs on Wednesdays.)
* Det. Lance accidentally calls Barry Allen “Bart.” (Bart Allen is Barry’s grandson from the future, who is also a super-speedster.)
* Flash’s Captain Singh refers to his boyfriend. (Who in the comics is reformed supervillain Pied Piper.)
* The police mention the intersection of Infantino and Adams. (Carmine Infantino was the co-creator of Flash, and artist Neal Adams designed one of Green Arrow’s costumes.)
* Caitlin jokingly calls color-themed villain Roy G. Bivolo “Rainbow Raider.” (Because that’s Bivolo’s nom du crime in the comics. And if you want to know how they came up with “Roy G. Bivolo,” just take the first letters of the colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, etc.)
But there’s one silly name that might stick: When Cisco says “Screw you, Captain Boomerang,” he’s christening a character with a long lineage in comics. The Australian killer was for many years a member of the supervillain pseudo-team in Flash called the Rogues (which explains why Lyla says he’s gone “rogue”), and also a central figure in the government’s team of supervillains called Task Force X, a.k.a. the Suicide Squad … which has already been referenced on Arrow.
So I’d expect to see a Suicide Squad pretty soon in either Arrow or Flash or both, with characters like Captain Boomerang, Deadshot (who has already appeared) and Deathstroke (ditto), characters that will be forced to do what Amanda Waller wants because she implants little bombs at the base of their skulls. (She does that in the comics, too.)
Unfortunately, we won’t see one of the major Suicide Squad players on Arrow, a lady by the name of Harley Quinn. The Bat-rights for TV are tied up elsewhere. (Like Gotham, on Fox.)
On the other hand, we will see her, and those other villains, in an entirely different setting: the movies. A Suicide Squad film is already in the works, according to Variety, starring Will Smith as Deadshot, Tom Hardy as squad leader Rick Flag, Jai Courtney as our old friend Boomerang, Cara Delevinge as Enchantress, Jared Leto as The Joker and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. The film is tentatively scheduled for an Aug. 5, 2016, debut.
And, yes, it will be slightly different than the TV shows, just as Flash and Green Arrow, if they appear on the big screen for Justice League in 2017, will be slightly different. Unlike Marvel Entertainment and their Avengers franchise, DC Entertainment has decided that each medium will feature a separate take on their iconic characters.
But don’t worry about Flash and Arrow. Ratings were boffo for the crossover, with Flash having its best ratings since its premiere, and Arrow its best ratings ever. So expect more such crossovers, at least wherever broadcast companies can come to an agreement.
Meanwhile, both shows feature Big Reveals for their mid-season finales. On Dec. 9, Barry will meet “The Man in the Yellow Suit” – Reverse Flash, who killed his mother. And on Arrow Dec. 10, Oliver may learn who killed Sara Lance, while he takes on Bat-villain Ra’s al Ghul in a sword duel that looks suspiciously like one that occurred in Batman #224 (1972).
So, yes, these superhero shows are chock full of more comics goodness than you can shake an arrow at. And whether you’re a comics fan or not, they’re an awful lot of fun.
Reach Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), the Internet (comicsroundtable.com), Facebook (Captain Comics Round Table) or Twitter (@CaptainComics).
Replies
The arguing sounds like what went on in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series. Unfortunately GL got a movie that flopped so it's unlikely he'll get another shot any time soon so Flash is getting his lines.