"The Flash" season 3 finally premiered for DC television adaptation fans everywhere and it adapted one of the most famous storylines from the comics; "Flashpoint." But as is standard for any adaptation, not all elements from the original "Flashpoint" are present with some major changes done to fit in with the story of "The Flash" season 3 premiere's "Flashpoint."
One of the first things that viewers will notice in the "The Flash" season 3 premiere is that Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) retained his speed in this version of the "Flashpoint" reality. In the Geoff Johns' "Flashpoint," Barry saving his mother from Reverse-Flash changed everything about Barry's life including his powers as the Flash.
The "Flashpoint" comics story had Barry completely powerless sin the new reality and had to recreate the accident that gave him his powers, a couple in times in fact with the initial attempt even burning off most of his skin. This is not so in "The Flash" season 3 premieres as in this "Flashpoint," Barry somehow managed to retain his speed although the world around him did change.
Another new change with Barry's character in this "Flashpoint" reality is, apparently, that Barry is now a pervert after finally regaining the chance to live with his family. "The Flash" season 3 premiere included some interesting scenes of Barry using his Flash powers for to do less than savory deeds.
"The Flash" season 3 premiere had Barry do stuff like picking Iris' (Candice Patton) purse to force a meeting between the two of them, which was after Barry apparently stalked Iris for months in this "Flashpoint" reality, and giving a Joe (Jesse L. Martin) a bath. Though admittedly, Barry did that last part to force Joe to clean up so he shows up for his job as a detective.
But as all good things must come to an end, so too must Barry's somewhat idyllic life in the "Flashpoint" reality. "The Flash" season 3 premiere featured the main story as Barry coming to terms with having to set right what once went wrong once again, and letting Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher) go to kill his poor mother all over again and undo the effects of his actions in "The Flash" season 2 finale.
Yet even the "normal" reality was apparently not as fixed as Barry initially believed when he let Thawne murder his mother again to erase the "Flashpoint" reality, with "The Flash" season 3 premiere's main story finishing with the reveal that there is apparently something wrong that happened between Iris and Joe. Yet the real kicker showed up in the episode's stinger, featuring the prime reality's version of Edward Clariss (Todd Lasance).
Back in the "Flashpoint" reality, Clariss was the villainous speedster The Rival that was terrorizing Central City and fighting against that reality's Flash, Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale). He was defeated in at the climax of "The Flash" season 3 premiere's main story, but his prime version was shown alive and well at the episode's stinger and receiving a scratched message on his bedroom mirror.
The message spelled out "alchemy," which might seem flabbergasting at this point in time. Something most contemporary Flash fans might not know is that Edward Clariss as the Rival is a character back during the Golden Age of comics fighting against Jay Garrick, essentially Garrick's Reverse-Flash nemesis, with "The Flash" season 3 premiere including the character in essentially the same role as the "Flashpoint" reality's villainous speedster.
Clariss received his speedster powers by trying to recreate the formula that gave Garrick his speed, although he only ended up with the short term Velocity 9 drug that was a major plot point in the last season. The "alchemy" message in "The Flash" season 3 premiere's stinger could very well be referring to that experiment, with the mysterious voice urging Clariss to regain the powers he had in the "Flashpoint" reality.
With Todd Lasance's status as recurring actor in the "The Flash" season 3, he will very well be back as another villainous speedster with his "Flashpoint" version's powers; he could also team up with the owner of the mysterious voice, likely Doctor Alchemy himself who will show up in this season played by Tobin Bell. Moreover, the Rival's could also play up with this show's Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) since Shipp will also apparently return this season.
