The Flash: 10 Action Sequences That Totally Blew Our Minds
Superpowers never looked so super.
Of the three new DC Comics shows to premiere on primetime television in Fall 2014, The Flash on The CW was the only one to really deal with a superpowered protagonist. As such, there was a great deal of pressure on the freshman series to deliver on the fantastical front. With The CW not exactly in the same league as the big four networks of American television, and having an unfortunate reputation for teen melodrama, The Flash faced an uphill battle for acceptance with the general audience.
The series was helped right out of the gate by sister series Arrow. With Barry Allen actually first appearing on Arrow and The Flash featuring semi-regular appearances by faces familiar to the Arrow audience, the two have been entwined from the beginning. Still, Arrow has always been based in realism as it follows the adventures of a man who is essentially an urban archer. The template for the much-lauded Arrow stunt sequences wasn't going to be transferrable to The Flash.
Fortunately, the 23 episodes of the first season delivered a combination of practical stunts and CGI that managed to create some epic action sequences impressive enough to rival those of the big screen. Here is a look at the ten biggest action sequences that totally blew our minds from Season 1 of The Flash.
10. The Supersonic Punch
Episode: 1x06 - The Flash Is Born
Combatants: The Flash vs. Girder
What Happened: Barry encounters a metahuman who possesses the unlikely ability to turn his body into metal and therefore withstand most physical assaults. To Barry's surprise, this metahuman happens to be his childhood bully Tony Woodward. When Tony - dubbed "Girder" by Cisco Ramon - sets his sights on facing down with the Flash, he kidnaps Iris to try to draw him out. Despite Cisco and Caitlin's protests that Barry isn't prepared to go fist-to-fist with Tony, Barry hastens to Iris's rescue. When Girder proves to be too much for Barry's usual tactics, he flees the scene... for 5.3 miles.
He races back toward Tony and uses his momentum to knock the bully flat with one massive supersonic punch.
Why It Was Great: While the showdown with Girder wasn't the - forgive the pun - flashiest of Barry's battles, the mix of good old-fashioned schoolyard brawn with superpowers something that hadn't yet been seen on the show, and the supersonic punch added a twist to Barry's usual tactic of "run really fast to save the day."
Winner: The Flash, with an assist from Iris