A Flash pilot is on the way starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen—and here’s the first look at his costume. It was designed by Academy Ward winner Colleen Atwood, who also works on ARROW. (Her Oscars include Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs of a Geisha and Chicago.)
This image says scarlet, it says foreshortening…does it say Speedster? What say you, peanut gallery?
THE FLASH pilot is executive produced by the ARROW team of Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and David Nutter. Nutter is directing from a script by Berlanti & Kreisberg and Geoff Johns.
Why did they wait so long after introducing him in Arrow? On the other hand, his introduction is just one of so many dangling plotlines in Arrow. What happened to Summer Glau (or rather, what was the point of introducing her at all?)
Pretty cool. But how’s he going to fit that whole costume into his ring?
My first thoughts:
1. Wow!
2. It does look a little dark, but again that’s partly backlighting.
3. The earpieces ARE raised ever so slightly. It’ll take a bit of getting used to, but I think it works.
4. While I prefer the white circle around the chest symbol, I think the brighter red on a darker red background works better for the universe established by Arrow.
5. I wonder what the belt looks like.
I think it needed a more aerodynamic, “tactical speed skater” kind of look. Looks kinda cosplay to me.
I like the woven material.
Hollywood’s idea that costumes should be made of hardened leather, kevlar and plastic works okay for knuckle fighters. But for the Flash… the leather pants would seem restrictive, so the woven material (at the joints and arms) not only looks good, but seems practical without losing the essence of the character.
Does anyone else get the sense that superheroes work much better in films than on television? While TV shows have more similarity to the serial nature of the comics, films can construct a limited story (and have the budget) that can sustain the concept of someone deciding to wear a theme outfit in order to fight people who wear other theme outfits. I think making a live actor on the small screen wear a costume to have adventures eventually makes him/her look kind of silly. You either go for the camp or walk a pretty fine tightrope of plausibility. It takes some deft writing to make that work, which most superhero-type TV programs don’t seem to be afforded. There’s some inherent qualities in the medium that ride against the genre really working.
@Allen Rubinstein – you make some valid points, but (for me personally) I would have to take the superhero genre seriously in the first place. It will always be on the edge of camp when talking about sci-fi level mutations like this.
Plausibility? There are so many science problems with the reality of The Flash that I could never take it seriously. Nolan’s batman and Iron Man are about as close to reality as one can get. But those heroes are really just normal people in tech suits. The Flash…? I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show. I hear what you’re saying, but (again, for me) I’ll take what I can get and let it slide.
Seeing as how this is coming from the same group/network that’s given us the surprisingly-good “Arrow,” I think we should have confidence that they will do a good job with the Flash series.
I’m looking forward to seeing it, and am psyched that they had the good sense to involve John Wesley Shipp. A nice nod to the 80’s series, one that REALLY should have gotten a longer life…
Ah yes, delete “plausibility” and insert “suspension of disbelief”. I’ve never seen anyone so much as try to reasonably explain how the Flash does what he presumably does. It’s all wish-fulfillment fantasy, obviously.
Things that vibrate fast can slip through atoms! Whee!!!!
A leather-reinforced costume makes sense the same way biker outfits do.
If something makes if trip, that could be nightmare-levels of road rash.
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