Hey guys, Sharp-O back once again with some more LEGO as I give my thoughts on the latest Mighty Micros for two of DC Comics’ most well-known characters!

Run, Iris, Run might share a thematic similarity to last week’s Enter Flashtime, in as much as this is a story that could be pulled right out of the silver age of comics, but is so poorly paced that no single plot element really has a chance to fully develop.

Take for instance the crux of this episode; Matthew Kim aka Melting Point (played by Leonardo Nam who you might remember as the put-upon lab tech Felix in Westworld). This bus meta’s power is to transfer meta-abilities between hosts and seems to have a strong sense of right and wrong. With his ability, Matthew takes the flame powers of a would-be bank robber because he ‘doesn’t deserve them’.

He feels that metahumans have a responsibility to go with their great powers and he can make sure the system kinda regulates that, switching powers to those who he feels worthy. It’s a neat idea and his day job as an EMT certainly paints him as someone who wants to do good but we get basically no time with him in this episode.

In the B-plot, Harry wants to build a device similar to DeVoe’s thinking cap, which everyone agrees is a good idea… Except Cisco. I mean, he does have a valid point that DeVoe has clearly been sent mad by using it but we know he’s going to help anyway so unfortunately, a good ten minutes is devoted to this plot point going round in circles until Cisco relents.

Finally, we come to Iris gaining Barry’s speed thanks to Matthew’s abilities and it couldn’t come at a more convenient time because, for some reason, Ralph has decided to be a massive tool to Iris about being the non-powered woman in the chair. It’s such a bullshit conflict that serves no purpose than to make Ralph look like an asshole and to make Iris look weak when SHE apologises to HIM by the end of the episode.

Iris using the opportunity to prove to herself that she still has her courage is a good motivation for her this episode though. Ever since Savitar, she has been a lot less gung-ho, preferring to stay in the cortex as the team’s coordinator/leader and who is paying this woman? She doesn’t have a job, Barry doesn’t have a job… who is paying for their apartment? Hrm…

Anyway, with less of a field role, Iris has been feeling complacent and Ralph’s out of character comments got under her skin so she revels in having super speed, something we haven’t seen Barry do in a while. She gets a short amount of training before her first mission which goes pretty good, despite her getting trapped under concrete.

Barry, meanwhile, is doing an amazing job of being supportive while also having a massive moan. We get it, you feel inadequate, you should! I would rather watch any other speedster than you, Barry.

Iris, naturally, gets a costume and I do like that it incorporates the motorcycle jacket she was wearing earlier in the episode and that despite both her and Barry’s reservations in switching roles, they both perform admirably and take out a firenado while also nabbing Matthew Kim in the process.

In the end, everything is reset to how it was and now they have another meta they will inevitably lose for stupid-drama reasons.

I really wish the Matthew and Iris elements of the plot were given more time to breathe. More time talking to Matthew about the whys and wherefores of his creed and more time training Iris, giving her some valuable combat experience. Overall, just a touch over mediocre.

Flash Facts will be on a break until April 11th when we’ll see the return of Kevin Smith as director and I’ll be hoping the episode won’t leave me Null and Annoyed.

Enter Flashtime is probably the best episode this show is had in a while because it’s a classic The Flash plot straight out of the comics. A nuclear bomb detonates and Flash spends the entire episode figuring out how to stop it while the seconds slowly tick by.

The villain du jour is Veronica Dale, leader of eco-terrorist group, Eden Core. She gets next to nothing in terms of motivation or speaking lines in the show while her comic counterpart left more of an impact by killing Oliver Queen!

Assisting Barry is the returning Jesse Quick and Jay Garrick. I did love Barry’s little quip about Wally, since he’s now running around with the Legends (something I hope continues and he gets more to do in that show than he did here)

Jesse’s main reason for returning to Earth-1 is to get her dad to open up about her mother, the one we have yet to be introduced to though we do hear echoes of her voice via telepathy in a rather touching scene that demonstrates just how hard it is for Harry to talk about her death.

Flash Fact: The equation featured predominantly on the Speed Lab’s writing board, 3×2(9yz)4A, is an equation/mantra that Jesse’s comic counterpart inherited from her father, Johnny Quick, and allowed them both to access the Speed Force.

Jay’s presence is as an additional advisor and to cut Barry’s dumb ideas down, especially when they involve the destruction of the Speed Force. I don’t care how much you hate Thawne, Barry, Jay is not letting you take his speed, you little shit.

Using the technique he used in the courtroom a few episodes ago, Barry is able to communicate one-on-one with his closest allies and is a nice chance for some bonding and character pieces.

The solution to the problem is classic Flash; a hail mary pulled from the deepest part of his scarlet underoos. Grabbing the speed McGuffin that was tricking the Speed Force into thinking Barry was being held within it’s prison, Barry throws it at the nuclear explosion causing it to destablise and just vanish? Yeah, that’s a real old school comics way of dealing with a problem but given how it fits perfectly in with the episode’s vibe as a whole, I can forgive it.

Barry is laid up in the aftermath, his speed utterly spent and promising to take it easy so that sets up next week’s episode. Jay also announces his retirement but he won’t leave Earth-3 sans speedster, promising to train up a female replacement! To my knowledge, Jay never had children so it’s up in the air as to who this could be but there’s been a couple female speedsters debut in the past few years so maybe it’s one of them!

We also get another cameo from Mystery Girl, being decidedly more sinister than previous appearances. Not sure why, maybe she has beef with Frost and Wells? I guess we’ll find out eventually!

Overall, this was a pretty good, stand-alone episode that could have taken place anywhere in the season but allows a nice breather from all this Thinker nonsense. Next week, we go Freaky Friday as Iris and Barry’s “We’re The Flash” mantra takes on a whole new twist in Run, Iris, Run!

What? If the episode can overuse that pun, so can I! As the (rather suggestive) title suggests, this episode is primarily focused on Ralph Dibny’s graduation from zero to hero and, I have to say, it’s really enjoyable!

I have to give props, again, to Hartley Sawyer’s performance because his Jim Carrey-esque mannerisms really suit Ralph’s personality as an elastic-faced goober. He’s so expressive and gets a fair amount of sensible chuckles out of me any time he’s on-screen.

Not so much a fan of his new costume though. It’s too dark and looks more akin to the Firestorm suit than the white and lilac one Ralph is known for. Hell, I’d even take the Plastic Man rip-off suit! I’m surprised Ol’ Plas wasn’t name-checked as a potential title for Ralph.

Another surprise came in the form of Bill Goldberg, the WWE/WCW icon! He plays a prison hard man called Big Sir who knew Henry Allen and subsequently protects Barry. It’s a neat little role for someone who is both old and hench, and Bill does the job admirably.

Yet another surprise was both the return of Axel Walker, aka The Trickster, but also a The Flash ‘93 alumni, Corinne Bohrer! She plays Axel’s mother and the ex-partner in crime of the original Jesse James Trickster, again referencing the ‘93 series’ continuity while adapting it to the new one. Together, Axel and Zoey are quite a delightful, boisterous duo and really inject some energy and fun into their roles, something other villains on this show fail to do.

You and me both, sister! We get a little more time with Barry and Iris, in scenes that are VERY reminiscent of the first seasons Barry/Henry discussions and it feels played out already. We know Barry isn’t going to be in jail for long because god knows they’re not going to let Wally take over…

Finally, we come to the return of Jessica Parker-Kennedy’s Mystery Girl, who offers some slightly odd but very friendly words with Ralph and Cisco after paying for their coffee. Her bubbly personality seems to throw the pair off-guard but I think I would be the same — then again I’m British and we subsist on a diet of quiet indignance and distrust of the blissful.

Since I didn’t get the chance to talk about her more in Crisis on Earth-X, I guess I’ll give my theory on who she could be given she reveals to be writing in the same odd language that Barry did when he returned from the Speed Force. I’m putting a fiver on this and saying that Mystery Girl is… Jenni Ognats aka XS!

Naw, I’m playing with you! It’s most likely Dawn Allen, one of Barry’s twin kids but having XS show up could link to the Legion of Super Heroes which would also mean we could get a “Legion of Three Worlds” style crossover going. Nah, it’ll be Dawn. Good choice though since she looks an awful lot like a mix between Barry and Iris.

Overall, a damn good episode with some good laughs, neat cameos and fun overall plot. Next week seems to be walking back this episode’s good will by taking one of the DC’s most deranged murderers and playing his abilities for laughs in Honey, I Shrunk Team Flash.

PS, y’all should be watching Black Lightning because no other CW show has had a stronger beginning than this show. It’s got such a unique feel, between the cinematography and utilising Atlanta as a filming location, it’s well worth your time.

What? No, I didn’t watch The Flash. It’s not out for another we-What? Oh. Um…

So Barry’s up the creek with no paddle, ain’t he? Thanks to the clever scheming of the now body-swapped DeVoe, Barry is standing trial for DeVoe’s murder and the fact that it’s so perfectly orchestrated is bewildering.

I would complain that DeVoe was able to arrange for all this evidence to incriminate Barry but Thawne was able to literally be in two places at once in the first season so I can let this slide. The episode is more focused on everyone’s efforts to save Barry and Barry himself doing Sweet FA because that’s… what… his… dad… did? I think it’s been properly established by now but Barry is an idiot and him thinking he will somehow be vindicated despite ALL OF THE EVIDENCE against him.

Meanwhile, Iris and Cecile have the right idea; Barry should reveal he’s The Flash. Not only has he garnered enough good will in Central City to earn a medal of valour, which is nicely juxtaposed with the judge calling Barry a sociopath during sentencing, but the old cliché about putting his family in danger doesn’t apply here.

Team Flash is constantly in danger and, more often than not, by the main arc villains who already know who Barry is! After Thawne, Zoom, and Savitar, who is he so scared of? Mirror Master? Peek-a-Boo? That jobber Rainbow Raider? Please. But no, Barry’s love convinces Iris not to do it and that’s so dumb and I’m moving on to some of the good parts of the episode.

We get a couple scenes of Joe and Ralph which are really good, the second of which sees Joe try to convice Ralph to plant evidence in DeVoe’s house. We get a powerful monologue from Ralph that really delves into his feelings on his own fall from grace for doing the exact same thing Joe is contemplating. It’s a fantastic scene with some genuine pathos and I hope they let Hartley Sawyer have more scenes like this.

In the B-Plot, the rest of Team Flash are dealing with a new Meta dubbed ‘Fallout’ due to being a walking nuclear reactor. While the character is absolutely nothing, it does lead to one of the funniest exchanges between Cisco and Wells and a reluctant Caitlin.

The only thing that I kinda like in the main plot is that the cell that Barry is placed in was his dad’s. Yeah, it’s trite and arguably a dick move on the Warden’s part but it got a smirk out of me.

So yeah, I wasn’t overly impressed with this mid-season opener since I watched this after the far superior Black Lightning premiere, which I earnestly recommend watching because it’s amazing. We’ll be back next week with Ralph taking centre stage while Barry is in jail with The Elongated Knight Rises.

We’re into the second half of the Crisis on Earth-X crossover event and they don’t let us the majority of our heroes are trapped on Earth-X while Supergirl is going under the knife of Eobard Thawne.

Stakes are high and we catch-up with our heroes in a concentration camp which is surprising given that the Nazis have won… I imagine there’d be some resistance but I thought they would have a less WWII-y mindset and be more akin to The Empire from Star Wars. Those purely Empire worlds are pretty idyllic from what I remember but hey, it’s Nazis, gotta have ze camps. Surprisingly, Earth-X’s Quentin Lance is in charge with an accent that can’t decide if it’s going full-Nazi-stereotype or British-people-playing-Germans-in-war-films.

There we meet Ray Terrill, Earth-X’s exclusive hero – The Ray. Russell Tovey, who you may remember from Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Being Human, is kind of an odd duck since he’s from Earth-1 but somehow got transported to Earth-X and is in a relationship with Leo Snart (Earth-X’s Captain Cold). That’s pretty much it in terms of character. Unfortunately, with everything else going on and with bigger character moments, Ray comes up short.

Leo Snart is a much more jovial rendition of the Snart we’re used tobut is every bit the hero ours was. Wentworth Miller is always welcome to come back in my eyes but with this being his swansong (though he seems to be staying on The Flash until the mid-season finale apparently), he does a fair amount ingratiating himself with the Earth-1 heroes and even sharing a scene with Mick, where we find both have lost their partners.

In terms of action, we get a fight to secure our heroes’ way home with Flash and Ray fighting Red Tornado, a weapon unleashed by Resistance Leader Winn Schott, which is weird because the poster had Tornado on the Nazis’ side and I thought that would be a connecting point to Freedom Fighters: The Ray but I guess not? Odd. Still, the design they use is a marked improvement to the awful suit used in Supergirl’s first season.

There’s also fight between the captured Team Arrow, Cisco, the Legends and Metallo while they rescue Kara which is pretty cool and then we have the final battle which I marked out for super-hard because this kind of line-up is rarely seen in the West but is a staple of Japanese Super Sentai/Kamen Rider shows. It tickled me just right. Sure, it devolves into a schmoz immediately but we have several key points to cover.

Flash Fact: The Gideon equivalent on Earth-X’s Wellenreiter is voiced by Susanna Thompson, who long-time Arrow viewers will recognise as Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother!

Barry. Lets. Thawne. GO! This is why you get all the bad things happen to you, Barry! Because you’re god damn idiot!

This moment right here? Perfect. Melissa Benoist continues to prove that she is worthy to wear the S-Shield and that a “Super” character can shine bright even when having inner turmoil, something the movies seem to be struggling with.

And then I have to talk about the thing that broke me. Two characters I’ve neglected to mention until now has been Jax and Stein, the two halves of Firestorm. Throughout the crossover, they’ve been butting heads about their upcoming break-up. The dissolution of Firestorm would leave them both pwerless but Stein could return to his family but it’s not that simple. These two have been, figuratively and literally, inseperable for the better part of two years (give or take, time travel’s weird, yo) and they have grown closer than even Ronnie and Stein did.

Jax became more confident in his own skills and ingenuity thanks to Stein and Stein became a more accepting and warmer person because of Jax’s influence. They’re so close as to consider each other family and admit to it during this event, but during the siege on the Nazi’s breach building, Stein is mortally wounded. Fusing into Firestorm to keep his partner alive, Jax starts to cough up blood back on the Waverider. The two are linked, body and soul, and if one dies…

It was after this scene that I had to stop. I don’t know how to explain it because I’m usually not overly-mushy when it comes to father-son talks (growing up sans-father will do that) but the performances of Victor Garber and Franz Dremah were powerful, heartbreaking and I genuinely cried as Stein sacrificed his life to save Jax, the son he wished he’d always had.

Martin Stein died a Legend and that sticks with the team even to the end of the crossover as it hits each of the Legends who knew him personally and to the others who have their unique goodbyes at his funeral. It was a tough sit through both those scenes, I’ll admit but they’d never end this on a down note and the story ends off with Barry and Iris.

Since they were rudely interrupted by invading Nazis, the pair decide on a simpler ceremony just to make it legally binding. Felicity points out that Diggle is ordained and Barry wastes no time messing with his day (because it’s a crossover tradition at this point) so, amongst the scenic park and Diggle’s puke wafting in the air, Barry and Iris get married. And then Felicitiy ruins the moment by spontaneously deciding to marry Oliver despite spending the last four hours not wanting to FUCK THIS IS WHY NO ONE LIKES YOU FELICITY FUCK! But yes, the crossover ends with the big two ships of Flarrow tying the knot and it’s all hunky-dory. So what is my final verdict on Crisis on Earth-X?

I loved it! Strong character dynamics, lots of action, lore-building and genuine fun makes for a fantastic four-hour superhero movie that even DC’s big budget outings can’t match. If I had to nitpick then I’d have to say that a lot of the ropey CGI, The Ray’s lack of development, alongside Kid Flash’s absence and Felicity being Felicity are some of the weakest parts of this crossover but the rest more than makes up for it.

I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and be sure to let me know your favourite moments down in the comments but next week we see the return of Amunet Black as Barry and Cailtin are both trapped in desperate situations in Don’t Run.

I’m not even kidding; as good as last year’s Invasion crossover was cool, this year’s kicks off it’s two-night spectacular in style with Supergirl and Arrow, even if the casts are so meshed that you can’t even really tell which episode is which.

They don’t bury the lead either as we open on Earth-X itself, with crimson, lightning filled skies that bring to mind the Dark Multiverse worlds from the recent DC Comics event, Dark Nights: Metal. Black and crimson banners fill the skyline along with strange architecture and zeppelins. Oh yeah, we’re in Nazi Country.

A resistance warehouse is attacked and decimated by one lone archer, showing that Earth X’s Dark Arrow is not to be trifled with and he proves that by taking on that Earth’s James Olsen aka Guardian, in a way more beat-up patriotic version of his suit. He unfortunately dies but assures DA that there are more like him, nicely hinting at the upcoming animated Freedom Fighters: The Ray, which serves as a prequel to this crossover.

We catch-up with our main heroes as they’re all discussing the upcoming wedding, with nice location titles using the font of each respective series. It’s a neat little sequence, overall and serves as an introduction to the majority of the players for these first two parts.

During the build-up to the event, we get quite a lot of information dumped on us for those who may not watch every show and to show how all these disparate groups interact and it’s nice to see Barry catch up with Ollie and Kara again. They built up a real bond over the past couple of years and it’s paid off here as Ollie is best man and Kara does a beautiful rendition of Runnin’ Home To You, an original song from the musical team-up, Duet.

Kara’s adoptive sister, Alex, and Sara Lance hook-up the night before the wedding! Alex, rebounding from a recent break-up, and Sara, a notorious puss-hound, make for some nice, awkward comic relief but given how funny this collective cast is, there’s plenty to go around…

Like Mick! Dominic Purcell is frequently the funniest cast member on Legends of Tomorrow and is used to decent effect here, partnering up with Caitlin, most likely as a Snart surrogate. Get the whole fire and ice motif rocking again. They even have a go at Dark Arrow before being jobbed out (along with the rest of Team Arrow).

Back to the wedding where Nazis invade! It makes sense in hindsight since nearly every CW hero is gathered together but this gives the show the ample opportunity to have everyone show off what they do best and it gives one notable absence a real highlight…

While Kid Flash won’t be partaking in the event proper, Wally does get a really slick moment that made me smile and then made me sad because he’s amongst the three other black heroes that are sadly missing from this team-up.

OH! I should make mention of another odd attendant besides the assemblage of heroes and the Nazi gate-grashers. This odd little moment between Grant Gustin and a rather excitable Jessica Parker-Kennedy who is playing an unnamed character but my Spidey-Sense is tingling and I think she’s going to be important. There’s two theories I can offer but I’ll keep them under my hat for now.

Now, I guess I should talk about some of our villains and while Dark Arrow and Overgirl are just married versions of Ollie and Kara (gross, I know), they do make a menacing power couple and there’s a fair amount of affection between the two. The real odd-balls are Metallo, with some of the ropiest CGI this poor stretched production could muster and Eobard Thawne. Our Eobard Thawne. Wearing Wells’ face. I know they make mention of time shenanigans but this is ridiculous. I know they’re only doing the Wells-face again because they’re burning through their budget like no tomorrow and Tom Cavanaugh is up for literally anything but it’s still super weird.

Not as weird as Tommy Merlyn being Prometheus though! Holy shit! This was a swerve and a half and I applaud the writing team for bringing Colin Donnell back to Arrow after 5 seasons of his character being dead! Though I will admit that I didn’t recognise him immediately and only marked out when I heard his name.

I know there’s still a lot I haven’t covered and I’m already pushing 800 words but rest assured, I loved every second of the Supergirl and Arrow parts of this crossover and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s episodes when we’ll see Overgirl try to steal Kara’s heart and the rest of our heroes try to escape from Earth-X alive! Are you enjoying this year’s event so far? Let me know your favourite moment in the comments and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow for The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow!

Therefore I Am does a lot of good to redeem this season for me because it lays out exactly what the threat for this season is and it’s a doozy! DeVoe’s origin is something that takes us all the way back to the night of the particle accelerator explosion and nicely retcons certain events to include this new information.

Clifford DeVoe, from the outset, is a very understandable and relatable character; a brow-beaten teacher that struggles to engage with his students but, with the help of his wife and fellow teacher, and devises a ‘thinking cap’ to boost his intelligence.

Naturally, being around the time of the particle accelerator explosion, things don’t quite go to plan and while DeVoe’s intelligence is boosted, his body is slowly dying. We see him struggle with the fact that while his abilities can do good, it’s killing him while others are using their powers for evil and getting on with their life, which naturally turns him evil because he’s really gotten the short end of the stick, honestly.

I do like that DeVoe’s origin serves as a dark mirror to Barry’s and while he’s still clearly evil now, there’s still enough good to level with Barry about everything and to even allow him and Iris to get married in peace. At least from him, anyway…

Meanwhile, we see Barry’s impetuousness and desire to be proactive against this new threat have consequences as he is suspended for harassing the DeVoe’s without probable cause. While the rest of Team Flash rightfully admonish his behaviour initially, they back-peddle super hard once his suspicions are confirmed which I find odd because his behaviour is still sketchy as hell.

Luckily, the return of Wally means that the threat can be dealt with twice as fast! It’s great to have Keiynan Lonsdale back though I can’t be the only one who wished we could have seen his battle against Starro in Blue Valley. Also, if Wally’s back, how come he’s completely absent from next week’s mega-crossover? Why does Kid Flash always get side-lined!?

A really good episode this week and I’m excited to see more mind games with The Thinker going forward but before that, we’ll be taking a detour to parallel world next week as I will be covering the whole Crisis on Earth-X crossover event with reviews for all four episodes going up on Tuesday and Wednesday! I can’t wait!

I mean, yeah, there’s a couple funny gags but it’s not enough and I felt myself drifting off much like Team Flash at the beginning of When Harry Met Harry… which brings me to my major gripe; The Council of Wells.

While I’m usually riding Tom Cavanagh’s dick for his range, they had the perfect chance to expand the lore of their established multiverse and they utterly squandered it on some comedy accents that were utterly awful. Not only that but two of the parallel Earths have significance in the wider DC lore.

The Nihilist-Wells is from Earth-12, a world which, in the comics, is inhabited by the extended cast of Batman Beyond. Lothario-Wells comes from the psychedelic Earth-47, which is like a 60’s Hannah-Barbera interpretation of DC and the most egregious of all… Mad-Wells, from a “post-apocalyptic landscape where man and machine are one”, Earth-22 which SHOULD be the world of Kingdom Come, the seminal Mark Waid/Alex Ross graphic novel. That said, Supergirl is from Earth-38, which is nothing like it’s comic counterpart but I actually know these ones so it bugs me something fierce.

Thank the maker, then, for Hartley Sawyer. Ralph’s journey to becoming a hero continues here as he starts going out on missions and learns a valuable lesson in humility. His stupid expressive face got me through most of this episode.

Your villain du jour is Mina Chayton, a reimagined Black Bison (played by Chelsea Kurtz) who has the ability to bring inanimate effigies to life, a rather cool, unique power considering the Black Bison of the comics is the biggest Native American stereotype outside of Apache Chief. Solid performance and casting so good job, production team!

We end up at DeVoe’s house thanks to the Council of Wells, all tooled up and ready to kick an ass when a humble looking man in a wheelchair greets them as Clifford DeVoe, automatically disqualifying him as a villain no doubt because no real villain would be handicapable, right? Barry should have learned his lesson after Season 1! Weird to see Neil Sandilands with hair given we’ve only seen him in Metron cosplay up to this point.

A solid enough premise for the episode but brought down by Cavanagh’s ropey performances and an ultimately forgettable villain (and maybe by my own lack of sleep) but next week we’ll see how Barry handles his new foe (spoilers: not very well!) in Therefore I am.

I’m sick and sniffly so I apologise but I just wanted to talk about a bunch of bootleg LEGO minifigures from China! Hope you enjoy!

All of these minifigures were bought on Ali Express.