TV MEGA REVIEW: Flash vs. Arrow/Brave and the Bold

By Justin Carter

On paper, the idea of crossing over a universe full of dark grittiness with a world built on intentional comic relief, hope and the idea of inspiring goodness in others (without needing a tragic thing to happen to them) sounds like a bad idea. After all, when one of the things holding up this crossover is mediocre writing and an extremely convoluted mythology it’s not exactly faith-inspiring. Yes, this is the problem that Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be facing, but it’s not the issue plaguing Flash vs. Arrow, the epic Flash/Arrow two-part crossover that CW has been hyping like crazy for the past few weeks.

Both leading men have shown up in each other’s shows earlier in their respective seasons, but this time they’re sharing the full spotlight. First up is Flash, with Team Arrow showing up in Central City to track down the killer with a boomerang who showed up at the end of their last episode. It’s also around this time that a new metahuman by the name of Roy G. Bivolo (no seriously, and his supervillain name “Rainbow Raider” isn’t much better) starts robbing banks, using his eyes to unleash the rage in people and cause a commotion long enough for him to get the money with no problem. In the Arrow episode, Team Flash shows up at Starling, with literally no other reason other than “it was fun last time, let’s do it again!” Former Suicide Squad member Digger Harkness (again, seriously, and his comic book name “Captain Boomerang” is barely better than “Rainbow Raider”) is a formidable foe, but like Bivolo, he’s not the highlight of the episode. Neither villain is.

Given their different tones, as established in the opening paragraph, the two shows shouldn’t really be able to merge as well as they do. Even ignoring the fact that they’re in the same universe and headed up by the same people, their crossover episodes both have different goals. The goal of “Flash vs. Arrow” is to show that while he’s young and lacking in experience, that doesn’t mean that Barry can’t save the day with the best of them; on the other hand, “Brave and the Bold’s” goal is to tell Oliver to get his head out of his ass and learn that swooping in, beating four dudes unconscious, and then grappling away to do it again is kind of fun, in a bit of a psychotic way. Basically what I’m saying is that throughout both episodes, a fun tone is maintained throughout, boosted by the scripts and the performances.

Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell work well off each other, particularly in Gustin’s series. There’s a scene where the two of them are training, and their back and forth feels completely natural. Barry’s sass and Oliver’s ability to not just punch the smug kid’s face make things funnier. Felicity and Caitlin make for an entertaining science duo, and I would definitely love for them to have more screentime together. David Ramsey’s constant shock at Barry’s speed is always good for a laugh, and Carlos Valdes is nearly the MVP in “Brave and the Bold”.

Of course, the highlight of this crossover, aside from the sheer awesome of an actual live action comic book crossover on the small screen, is the action. Bivolo “whammies” Barry and unlocks his inner rage, which causes him to lash out at Oliver, Caitlin, and Joe. This all comes to a head when he tries to go after Eddie and Oliver has to put him down. Instead of showing Oliver trying and failing to hit blur after blur, time slows down to show Barry give Oliver quick jabs and dodge all his attacks about half a second before they actually land. As Diggle and Cisco argued about at STAR Labs, Oliver has experience and precision, but Barry has speed. In the Arrow episode, Arrow and Arsenal go up against Captain Boomerang in the ARGUS facility, and it’s shot and done really well. The budget definitely went into this crossover, and it shows. One of the coolest moments is when Oliver shoots Barry with a tranq arrow, and then he literally vibrates it out of his system. It’s just one of several moments in the event that are comic book-y in the right way. It just feels like something that was made by fans and for the fans, naturally integrated into things and the least bit pandering.

There are other developments made in the overarching storylines of both shows. On Flash, Eddie is assembling a task force to take down the Flash, who’s also not on good terms with Iris after attacking her boyfriend, and the reveal that Ronnie is still alive and hot for his former fiancée; on Arrow, Harkness’ attack on an ARGUS facility and the lair inspires Diggle to propose to Lyla, and Felicity enlists Caitlin’s help to find Sara’s murderer. These are minor developments, but they’ll certainly pay off down the line.

Taken as a whole, Flash vs. Arrow is a great crossover for two surprisingly great shows. Separately, I think I’d give this one to Flash, if only for the fun in watching Barry try to school Oliver and then get shot in the back with an arrow. Either way, it’s still a treat to see the two prepare to face off for real with no mind control getting in the way at the very end of “Brave and the Bold.” Whomever ended up the victor in that fight, the winner was everyone who watched.

Additional Notes

• Both shows use effects from the other’s title card for this crossover, and it’s cooler than it has any right to be.

• “We can talk about giving your enemies silly code names later.” “You mean over coffee with Deathstroke and the Huntress?” Maybe Barry should change his codename to The Burn, because DAMN.

• “How do you have super speed, but still manage to be late?” The speedster curse, Oliver. The speedster curse.

• Quentin calls Barry “Bart Allen” by mistake. Close, but no cigar; he’s Kid Flash in the future. It’s complicated, leave it at that.

• “You’ll never be as fast as I am. You’ll never be WHAT I am.” Love that line.

• Wells figures out Oliver is the Arrow surprisingly quick, meaning that he either faked being oblivious (incredibly likely), or he actually didn’t know and use natural deduction. Either way, Oliver thinks that there’s something off about him. You have no idea, Ollie.

• The lair is now unofficially dubbed the Arrow Cave. They should take notes from the Injustice comic and call it “the Quiver”. It makes way more sense.

• Barry uses the Salmon Ladder at crazy speed. Sadly in costume.

• Arrow is usually good with subtle references to comics, and tonight was no exception. The episode title comes from an old Batman comic called The Brave and The Bold, which was also turned into a fantastic cartoon a couple of years ago. Check it out, especially the musical episode.

• There’s a certain amount of glee in hearing the characters talk about how this is a “one-time thing”, when after the ratings numbers are given, I doubt it’ll be anything but.

• “Everything alright between you and Speedy?” “What, Roy? Yeah, we’re fine.” “I meant him [Barry].”

• There’s probably some sort of planning in DC announcing the casting and lineup of the Suicide Squad movie in 2016 and it featuring Captain Boomerang the same week as Arrow debuts him. On the other hand, it’s probably just mere coincidence, and Hollywood needs to stop trying to make Jai Courtney a thing.

• Next week will be the winter finales for both series. Barry will confront the man in yellow, and Oliver will face off against Ra’s al Ghul himself.