Red vs. Green. Light vs. Dark. Adorkable vs. Handsome. Who will win?  
The CW’s DC superhero line-up is fantastic, not just The Flash (which you’ve been following here) but Arrow, which is on it’s third season. Arrow has been building the televisual DC universe for some time and now with The Flash running with it, it’s only built up speed so it’s only natural that we’d get an epic team-up between the two! Running on consecutive nights and linked loosely by a common thread, both episodes of Flarrow have been FANTASTIC to watch. More entertaining than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been, I dare say.

Now, I can’t really do a blow-by-blow of 90 minutes of superhero action in one simple review so I’ll be covering both Flash vs. Arrow and The Brave and The Bold together but focus on specific parts for ease.

The Villains:
For Flash vs. Arrow, Team Flash is investigating the metahuman, Roy Bivolo aka Prism (aka Rainbow Raider), a meta with the power to manipulate emotions. I can understand the nickname change but I love that Caitlin offers ‘Rainbow Raider’ and is immediately sandbagged by Cisco. I’m also a big fan of the several hints to the Green Lantern mythos they made in relation to the emotional/colour spectrum. Prism jobs out off-screen and is thrown into the pipeline. The big draw is obviously Captain Boomerang, who was hinted at in Flash vs. Arrow but appears in full force in The Brave and The Bold. Rogue (I see what they did there) Australian Secret Intelligence Service agent and former member of the Suicide Squad, Digger Harkness (played by Nick Tarabay) has an axe to grind with Diggle’s ex-wife and thus garners the attention of Team Arrow. While Tarabay doesn’t play up a stereotypical Australian accent, I’m still impressed with the character’s portrayal as a tactical badass who is easily on par with Arrow (and his sidekick, Arsenal). They lock him up in the Argus prison on Lian Yu so one can only assume that when Slade Wilson makes his escape, so shall Captain Boomerang and I can’t wait to see both.

The Tone:
Team Arrow and Team Flash, as well as their respective shows, are VERY different and that’s reflective in each episode. Flash vs. Arrow is true to the series so far with Team Flash taking the job seriously but still goofing off to a certain extent (mostly Cisco) but even Team Arrow isn’t immune as Diggle’s introduction to Barry is one of the funniest scenes in either series as the usually stoic Diggle is reduced to a slack-jawed oaf in the face of actual super-powers. This is flipped on it’s head when Team Flash heads to Starling City and Barry soon learns that Oliver has a harder edge to him. As Oliver explains, Central City is always sunny and the villains get cute nicknames while Starling is full of murder and is being blown up every other week (they even had an earthquake machine go off once) and it really plays up the contrast between the shows. Light and dark, jokes and drama, but throughout all of it, the two teams get along very well and even exchange gifts at the end of The Brave and The Bold. The two-parter balances light and dark as well as the respective heroes can.

The Action:
Given this is a team-up between the hooded street vigilante and the scarlet speedster, they balance out the action quite well between CGI effects and live action sequences. Flash has his typical ropey CGI in places but the above moment is hype as fuck! The real fun, however, is in the Arrow half, with an awesome 2-on-1 fight with Arrow, Arsenal and Boomerang. The martial arts and fighting sequences in Arrow have always been a hoot to watch but this was highly entertaining.

The Brave & The Bold:
Both Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell are on fantastic form, especially since they have a history acting alongside each other in the Arrow episodes The Scientist and Three Ghosts, which were the first appearance of Barry Allen in this shared universe. Grant plays Barry as the slightly naïve, over-excitable younger brother to Stephen’s seasoned, veteran hero. While they banter like friends and do look like the actors enjoyed every second playing off each other, there are some harsher moments between the two. The scene where Ollie tells Barry that Starling City is meaner than Central and that he doesn’t have the luxury of being light-hearted springs to mind while Barry calling him out on his dark brooding crap and saying that he can be an inspiration shows that there is a genuine bond between the two.
Flash vs. Arrow gives us the old comic book cliché of the heroes meet and then fight and The Brave and The Bold has the resolution with them teaming up to fight a tough bad guy and I’m a sucker for tradition.

The Stinger:
While The Brave and The Bold doesn’t have a stinger, Flash vs. Arrow shows us the return of Ronnie Raymond aka FIRESTORM. I know Robbie Amell would be returning but I still marked out for this moment!

Final Thoughts:
Flarrow, as the fans have dubbed the two-parter, was fantastic. That’s it. Start-to-finish, this crossover was an immensely fun tour de force and an absolute joy to watch. Easily my favourite television moment this year and I urge you all to watch it if you haven’t (and shame on you if you haven’t). Next week is the mid-season finale so be sure to come back as we come face-to-face with The Man in the Yellow Suit.

1966 TV Batmobile

Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed. The classic Adam West ride. I have no love for this design but I appreciate its revered status amongst Batmobiles. The swept fins, the black and red, even the pseudo bubble cockpit is iconic and well represented in this tiny scale.

1989 Batman (Hard Nose variant)

The classic Anton Furst design is just as familiar and iconic as its TV predecessor. This is the Batmobile many of us grew up on. Apart from the front end being bulbous and having flames painted on it like a low-rider GOD DAMMIT, HOT WHEELS! A classic design turned into a ludicrous caricature. Like the design but not this execution.

The Batman

I liked The Batman! Honestly, I think the only reason it got a bashing was because it wasn’t Batman: The Animated Series. It was fun, the animation was cool and it played up the gadget oriented aspect of Batman. He even got two Batmobiles! A little sports coupe deal and this sleek and sexy number. It’s a simple design but quintessentially Batman.

The Brave and The Bold

My esteemed colleague, Colin, can attest to the brilliance of Brave & the Bold and I’ll agree wholeheartedly. Everything that was, and is, goofy about Batman was represented in that show and it was glorious because of it. This Batmobile takes cues from some of the classic silver-age designs and the end result is pretty cool. It looks iconic without having to be around for decades.

Arkham Asylum

The 2009 smash-hit game brought us this Batmobile and it shares the same general aesthetic as Batman’s gear in that game. Bat-themed, yes but it’s not overstated. If anything, the design brings to mind a subdued variation of some of the Schumacher era Batmobiles. It had a great moment in the game and is worth space on any Batman aficionado’s shelf.

So, that’s all, Bat-Fans! A quick review, I’ll admit, but they’re Hot Wheels. There really isn’t much I can say about their playability other than “they roll dead good, like!” but if you’re a Batman fan, it’s worth checking these out. I’ll see you guys next time on Mint in Box.

Same Bat-Time! Same Bat-Channel!