The Flash - Episode 2 - Fastest Man Alive - "Copier ink is thicker than water."

With the pilot out of the way it's time for the Flash to get up to speed as a hero.

Sprinting in, Barry Allen is eager to get into the hero business. He helps save people from a fire so fast they have no idea what's happening.

The trouble is that Barry isn't finding the work easy. When he runs he is getting woosey.

"Okay I guess  a gallon of ice cream and super speed don't mix."

What it turns out to be is the classic speedster issue. He's caloric intake is not matching his output. He needs to take in more calorie or he will only get weaker and risk severe results.

His other issue is getting into the groove of heroics. He has the heart, but he has lessons to learn. Like telling people when you are passing out after using your power.

As well he has to get his team going. People to keep him alive, equipped, inform, and backing up when needed.

Cisco is eager. Caitlin is pissed and terrified they are going to get him killed. Wells wants him to test himself.

But they need one other person. Joe West. Joe is Barry's surrogate father, and an authority. He doesn't want Barry fighting crime. He is scared he'll die or get hurt or cause damage.

"...And you! Stop giving me nicknames!"

And that becomes an issue in the episode. As Barry struggles with how to handle a man that seemingly can split into infinite persons, he doubts he's fit to handle criminals with super powers. So he decides to quit the masked business.

So Wells pushes Joe to reach out to Barry and inspire him to keep using his abilities, and believe in himself.

So Barry and Joe strengthen their familial bonds. As well, Joe declares to Barry that he will help him prove that his dad is innocent of murder. Barry isn't alone.

We also get some shout outs to comic history. Wells and the gang have Barry get on a new suped up treadmill for tests. It's built to handle Barry's speed. Maybe we are on the way to a certain Cosmic Treadmill?

And then we get Simon Stagg. An industrialist with very dubious intentions. He has a bit of a history in DC Comics. He is the reason the hero Metamorpho was created.

I bring it up because of Wells confrontation with him.

Stagg has a certain history and potential as a villain. And he seemed to make it clear he was planning to chase down and capture the Flash, so he could find out what he is.

So Wells revealed that he wasn't infirm, and then stabs Stagg. And Stagg is dead. Add to that, Stagg's bodyguard Java was killed. He to has a history in comics working as Stagg's agent.

I am fine with this. As I've said in regards to Gotham, I am fine with a show playing with characters and storylines in their own way. Flash, and the TV universe for DC, should feel free to create their own paths.

But this is the second episode, and they've offed 3 villains in it. And last episode they offed the villain. At this point Gotham has a better record for not killing off episode villains than the Flash. (To be fair. I could see Multiplex tricking Flash, and faking his death.)

Flash feels like it should be a show where villains more often be captured and locked up. Granted, part of the issue is the fact that the Nu52 (comic book universe) has gone about making the villains of the Flash super powered. Most of them used to be people with tech gimmicks. So you could capture them, take away their toy, and they could go to prison. Now it's not as easy.

So the show is in an uncomfortable position. How do they detain these people, without bringing Amanda Waller from Arrow? We'll see. Because they can't keep killing off villains. We have Pied Piper, Captain Cold, etc appearing soon.


But the other issue with the death toll is Harrison Wells. He has an agenda. And this week he went out and killed for it. To protect the Flash, and keep him on his path. He could still be a good guy, of some sort. But killing, man. Does he need Barry to go along a temporal path to meet Wells' ends? Or is he trying to help restabilize time after some mistake? Or is he just part of a time loop, and he's trying to go through the motions to take things to the event that sends him back to the start again?

Stagg may have been a potential threat to the Flash's future. He may have been someone that would have made Barry's life hell. But now he's been removed from the equation. Is Wells trying to balance the equations? Or tilt the equations?

There are a number of possibilities. But killing? Is he zealous? Or is he just amoral?

Who is he really? Is he someone Flash, or DC fans will know?

Time will tell.