When we last left Team Flash, they were celebrating defeating the villainous Savitar only to face a new obstacle: losing Barry Allen. After a season filled with selfish behaviors, including creating Flashpoint, Barry finally owned up to his wrongs and gave himself over to the Speed Force. And we’ve never been prouder.
With The Flash set to return to Comic-Con this month, we’ve got a ton of questions following that emotional cliffhanger that left us uncertain about Barry Allen’s future as The Flash.
Obviously Barry Allen isn’t gone from us forever — there would be no show! — but what will we be coming back to when The Flash returns this October?
Here are five – of many – questions we want answered at San Diego Comic Con:
1. Where will we find our characters in the season premiere?
Assuming The Flash keeps with tradition of its real-world time jump, about six months will have gone by since Barry Allen disappeared much to the shock and sadness of those that love him. It’s safe to assume that Barry will return. It’s also safe to assume that Barry’s return is something that’ll happen on screen. So when the season premiere picks up six months later, what can we expect from our characters? Where will we find Iris? Joe? Cisco? Caitlin? Wally? Harry? Jesse? Is Wally filling in on behalf of Barry as far as protecting Central City is concerned? What can we expect from Killer Frost, who made it clear she’s no longer Caitlin nor the Killer Frost we knew as villainous. And what about Iris? She’d just gotten her future back only for Barry to be taken from her. What can we expect from Iris with Barry’s absence? So many questions, so little time.
2. Can we expect Barry & Iris to tie the knot this season?
The Flash really played with our WestAllen emotions last season. We saw the beautiful start to their romantic relationship, which included two proposals. But there was also the matter of Savitar killing Iris in the future, which certainly added some emotional struggles to the equation. After defeating Savitar, it seemed like we were getting a happy ending for Barry and Iris. That is until Barry gave himself over to the Speed Force. Now, we know that this isn’t permanent, and it’s a matter of when we can expect Barry to win. Also a matter when is when can we expect Barry and Iris to tie the knot? We’ve gotten two engagements — and they’re technically still engaged — so when Barry returns, can we look forward to a WestAllen wedding in season 4? Surely we can, right? It’s just a matter of when — and a matter of any other obstacles the writers decide to throw their way. We’re so ready for a WestAllen wedding!
3. Who is the new big bad — and how are they a threat to The Flash?
Our annual “who’s the new big bad” question. I’m actually quite curious as to who The Flash’s new villain will be this season because it’s not something we’ve come to expect. This is the first big bad that isn’t a speedster of some kind. So that means this villain has to be an imposing match for our hero Barry Allen (assuming Barry returns, which come on)? While the first three seasons were repetitive with big bad speedsters, it was never a question whether they were a match for Barry. So this new big bad has to be a convincing foe that can give Barry a run for his money. Could it be a familiar face in Grodd? Or could it be a new face that is similarly imposing in physicality?
4. What can we expect of this new Killer Frost?
When we last saw Killer Frost, she made the decision to stand behind Team Flash instead of Savitar proving that she still has some of her humanity intact. But when Cisco approached her at HR’s funeral, Killer Frost made it clear that while she’s no longer that villainous Killer Frost, she’s also not the Caitlin everyone used to know. And when she made the decision to leave, that’s what she was going to go find out. Now that six months have passed, what can we expect to find with this new Killer Frost? Will she prove to be an ally or a foe? Has she really changed? How has she changed? Will she be working with Team Flash? Will she be doing something else entirely? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
5. How has the Team Flash dynamic changed since Barry’s departure?
With Barry making the decision to own up to his selfish actions with Flashpoint, he gave himself to the Speed Force. In doing so, he left not only his loved ones but also Central City without him. So what can we expect from this new dynamic with Team Flash? We have to assume that Kid Flash has stepped up in The Flash’s absence, as well as the other members of the team, including Iris, Cisco, Joe, and Harry. And what about Caitlin/Killer Frost? The last time we saw her she was leaving Central City to discover the person she’d become. Can we expect her to return and have a role on Team Flash? The interesting thing is that we’ll have seen the product of six months of Team Flash continuing on in Barry’s absence, which means that they should be a well-oiled machine of sorts. It’ll be interesting to see how they function without Barry.
The Flash will appear at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday at 5:10pm in Ballroom 20. The Flash season 4 premieres Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8/7c on The CW.