'The Flash' Season 2: What We Know So Far

Season 1 of The Flash ends with a singularity threatening to swallow all of Central City. Following the heroic sacrifice of Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), which deletes Reverse Flash from history, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) throws himself into the swirling void hoping to save his city and the world.

So now what?

Where We Left Off

Barry is still weighed down with his decision to not save his mother’s life after traveling back in time and meeting his future self. Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Ronnie (Robbie Amell) are married, but Amell’s absence from Season 2 cast lists suggests the newlyweds won’t be physically together very often. Cisco (Carlos Valdes) is still dealing with memories of his murder at the hands of Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) as well as the revelation of his still-untapped metahuman powers. Joe’s (Jesse L. Martin) love for Iris (Candice Patton) and Barry has made him overprotective, but he’s finally learning to let go. And now that Iris is privy to all of Barry’s secrets, she’s poised to make a serious impact at S.T.A.R. Labs.

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The New Look

One of the philosophies that both The Flash and Arrow seem to share is the movement of both characters towards their iconic comic book selves. The big change with Barry’s suit in Season 2 is pretty subtle, but it’s important. The yellow bolt with the red background is now a yellow bolt with a white background, which is more in keeping with the classic Flash costume.

Time Travel and Stranger Things

The action begins six months after last season’s finale. Within that half-year, Barry has a crisis of faith, and it’s up to Iris — now fully aware of his decades-long crush on her — to bring him back from the brink.

“In Season 2, we will see Barry struggle with what it means to be a hero,” says executive producer Gabrielle Stanton. “He will have to juggle his responsibilities as the Flash with his personal life,” which means danger for everyone associated with him.

As the below picture from Season 2 shows, most of the main cast will be returning: Martin, Gustin, Patton, Panabaker, Victor Garber (“Dr. Martin Stein,” who remains a guest star, though he will be a regular on Legends of Tomorrow), and Valdes. Obviously, Cosnett won’t be returning because he died, but Cavanagh — and this is where it starts to get confusing — will continue to be a regular.

Since Eddie killing himself has created an alternate timeline — one in which his descendant Eobard never came back in time to kill Flash — the door has been opened to Earth-2. Originally created in 1961 both to help explain why there was a Golden Age and a Silver Age Flash and to allow them to team up, Earth-2 means that Dr. Wells will be back, as will Matt Letscher as Eobard Thawne. In fact, executive producer Andrew Kreisberg has gone so far as to say, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Eddie Thawne.”

And let’s not forget those brief glimpses of the future as Barry ran through the Speed Force in the finale: Barry in jail, the Flash Museum, and Caitlin as Killer Frost.

New Faces:

Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears)

In the comics, Jay Garrick is the original Golden Age Flash, and his appearance was hinted at by the winged helmet that fell through the wormhole. In the show, he will show up at S.T.A.R. Labs to warn them about the “demonic” Zoom. He will also act as a mentor to Barry — hopefully teaching him to use his powers without the same ulterior motives that Dr. Wells had last season.

Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale)

The nephew of Iris in the comics — though there’s no word on whether that will be his relationship in the show (has Joe ever mentioned a sister?) — Wally is the third person to take up the mantle of Flash. In fact, we see him grow into the role of hero, and that arc will be reflected in the show as well. “Just like with Colton Haynes, who eventually one day put on the Arsenal costume,” says Kreisberg, referring to the actor and character from Arrow. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one day Wally West becomes Kid Flash.”

Zoom (Tony Todd)

Rather than reveal who’s under the mask early on, as they did in Season 1, producers decided to keep the face hidden and focus instead on the voice. Todd has one of the most resonant voices in the business (remember Candyman?), and the parallels to Darth Vader and James Earl Jones are deliberate. Hunter Zolomon (aka Zoom), in the comics, was once a friend of Wally West. But Zolomon decides that West isn’t enough of a hero, and that a real hero needs to experience tragedy, so he tries to kill his wife. On the show, Kreisberg said the new costume would resemble that of the Spider-Man villain, Venom. “The Zoom outfit is much more organic than the Reverse-Flash suit. In a way, it’s hard to tell if it is a suit or alive.”

Patty Spivot (Shantel VanSanten)

A fellow cop obsessed with metahumans? Of course she’ll fall in love with Barry. But will he feel the same way? And what will Joe think about his new partner’s attraction to his adopted son? To make matters more complicated, the comic book version of the character actually adopts some speedster powers at one point. Hopefully, the TV version fares better than her comic counterpart, who’s deceased.

Jesse Quick (Violett Beane)

Another speedster? Sometime partner of Wally West, Quick (real name: Jesse Chambers) is actually the daughter of two superheroes, Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle. Though she’s inherited both her parents’ speed and strength, in the comics, she chooses to head to school rather than fight crime. That’s reflected in the show as well: We’ll meet her as a college student in Central City.

Atom Smasher (Adam Copeland)

Another legacy metahuman, Albert Rothstein inherited his powers of super-strength and growth from his grandfather. Rothstein has been both hero and villain in his 32-year history, and the television version will be similarly conflicted. The Other Worlds trailer (below) shows him to be a pawn of Zoom, perhaps the first of many to be thrown at Team Flash. He’s played by Copeland — formerly WWE wrestler Edge — which led to “a real-life Cisco moment,” in the words of Valdes. “I was, like, holy crap, Edge is on the show!”

Lewis Snart (Michael Ironside)

An actor who has perfected the chilly snarl in films such as Total Recall, Top Gun, and Starship Troopers, Ironside is the perfect choice to play the father of the coldest man in Central City. Lewis is a hardened career criminal, and his return endangers both his children, Captain Cold and Golden Glider.

Demore Barnes (Tokamak)

Henry Hewitt will be a familiar face at S.T.A.R. Labs. He is a cocky scientist who was also affected by the accelerator explosion. His comic book counterpart — like Plastique from last season — is a Firestorm villain and, like Firestorm, requires a special suit to contain his rampant nuclear powers. Will he remain a friend of Team Flash or will he embrace his darker side?

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We’re still not sure who that second villain in the Other Worlds trailer is. Back in April, Kreisberg teased both Mirror Master and Dr. Alchemy. And, of course, none of this even dips into the monster crossover building up with Arrow that leads to Legends of Tomorrow. Who or what are you most looking forward to seeing this season?

The Flash premieres Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. on The CW.