‘The Flash’ Episode 2.4 “Fury of Firestorm” (8 out of 10) Starring Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, and Jesse L. Martin. Guest starring Victor Garber, Shantel VanSanten, Franz Drameh, Demore Barnes. First broadcast October 27, 2015
There are pretty extensive spoilers in this review. Just so’s you know.
In the first episode of this season, we found out that it wasn’t just the Flash who saved Central City from a wormhole singularity, but also the hero Firestorm. Firestorm is a gestalt being, composed of two different people who merge. Professor Victor Stein and Ronnie Raymond were the first Firestorm. Ronnie, Caitlin’s husband of a few minutes, died in the attempt to close the singularity. That leaves Professor Stein breaking down, because he needs to join with someone to maintain his cellular integrity. Or something. It’s up to the S.T.A.R. Labs crew to find a compatible host to save Stein’s life, and to let Firestorm continue being a hero on the series. More pointedly, on the new CW spinoff series, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.”
Caitlin and Cisco search for a new Firestorm leads them to two candidates: Henry Hewitt, a physicist (and Caitlin’s personal favorite) and Jefferson “Jax” Jackson, a star high school quarterback who’s now a mechanic. Both were affected by the particle accelerator explosion, both seem to a match with Professor Stein. Hewitt wants it. He wants it bad. But when the time comes to merge, he can’t. There’s an energy exchange, but he doesn’t merge successfully. Jax doesn’t want to be a hero at all, so he shoots the team down, and goes back to his garage.
Hewitt ends up with some energy powers anyway, ones he can exercise without an additional person to merge with. His egomania pushes him over the edge to supervillainy, and he’ll go by the name Tokamak next time we see him out of the S.T.A.R. Labs cell.
Of course Jax comes around and fulfills his heroic destiny by becoming the body and face of Firestorm. I’ve gotta say, Firestorm is a hero I never cared about in the comic books or cartoons. Here…he’s growing on me. As one of the heroes spinning off onto the new series, there’s potential there. And Jax seems to bring a different voice, a different kind of hero to the mix. More naive in some ways, more down to earth in others. He had an appropriate amount of “gee whiz” as he was visiting S.T.A.R. Labs, and they even managed to work in the term “Cosmic Treadmill” for the first time on the series. I’m interested to see what he’ll bring to that dynamic. We never found Ronnie Raymond’s body of course…so there’s a chance he could turn up again, in a non-Firestormy role.
Firestorm is at the heart of this story, and that story is told well. Other developments happen with Iris’ mother Francine back in Central City, revealing to Joe and Iris that she has the fatal MacGregor’s Syndrome. That seems to be the fatal disease of choice for DC Comics; it’s what Nora Fries and Alfred Pennyworth both had in the execrable “Batman and Robin,” and has turned up a few other places. Anyway. We find out Francine is dying. Aaaaand that she has a son, a few years younger than Iris. I’m betting the kid’s name is Wally. Wally West. AKA Kid Flash. We’ll meet him soon enough.
The other story that I can’t get enough of is the whole Barry Allen/Patty Spivot thing. They’re pretty much the cutest thing ever. No drama, no stress, they’re just easy going and relaxed and happy and I love them. Look at them smiling. Dawwww.
The episode ends in what was a true shocker, another example of WTF THEY DID THAT DID YOU SEE THAT WTF ZOMG CALL MOM — as King Shark (KING EFFING SHARK) emerges from the shadows to throttle Barry. Gorilla Grodd’s an A-lister. I figured if they could figure a way to bring Grodd to life, they’d do it. But King Shark? He’s icing on the cake. He’s gravy. And for TV special effects? Pretty damn impressive. He’s stopped of course. But I hope he’s not dead. Because wow. This just makes me happy. It’s so comic booky. But it works. It’s the last 90 seconds of the episode, but wow. Wow. Thank you.
Next week’s episode is “The Darkness and the Light,” which brings back Jay Garrick, introduces Dr. Light (we’re not quite sure yet if she’s as a hero or villain), and has us meeting the future Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders. There’s a lot going on in Central City, but if they keep juggling things as deftly as they have been, we’re in for a good time.