Forever "The Flash"

 We are truly in the "Golden Age" of super hero films. 

Since 1978, when Christopher Reeve donned the blue tights of Superman, there has been a continuing renaissance of superhero films and tv shows. A film series is born, rebooted, then reimagined. By doing so, the franchise remains fresh and relevant. 

The biggest films have been from the ongoing DC/Marvel rivalry, DC has churned out numerous "Batman", "Superman", and "Wonder Woman" films, while Marvel has had success with the "X Men", "Avengers", and "Spider-Man" franchises. 

This supremacy has been challenged by other hero films and tv shows such as "Hancock" (Columbia Pictures, 2008), "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (20th Century Fox, 2003), "Mystery Men" (Universal Pictures, 1999),  and "The Incredibles" (Walt Disney Pictures, 2004).

Super heroes go all the way back to the old "Popeye" short cartoons. Yes, he does fill the criterea of a super hero. He has superhuman strength and speed, and is virtually indestructible. Although created in 1929, he began to gain his super strength from eating spinach in 1932.

Then came the caped comic book heroes. "Superman" and "Batman" were certainly the giants of the genre. They both went from the pulp pages to the big screen in the 1940's.  Between the two heroes, each has been played by at least 10 actors each on the big and small screens. This doesn't include any animated or LEGO versions.

"Catwoman", in the upcoming film version of "The Batman" will be played by a ninth different actress. "Wonder Woman" has been played by at least five different actresses. "The Joker" has, likewise, has also been portrayed in various versions by five different actors. At least four different actors have played "The Riddler", while "The Penguin" tops out at three actors.

Ben Affleck has played two different heroes in different universes. He was Marvel's "Daredevil" and DC's "Batman" as well. He also played Superman actor George Reeves in the film, "Hollywoodland". He dons the blue and red tights as Superman in several scenes.

Ryan Reynolds also played two different heroes in two different universes. He was DC's "Green Lantern" and Marvel's "Dead Pool".

Other DC/Marvel crossover actors are J.K. Simmons, who is famously the Farmer's Insurance commercial guy. He was "J. Jonah Jameson" in the "Spider-Man" films and "Commissioner Gordon" in "Justice Leage: Dawn of Justice". Australian actor Callan Mulvey who played "Jack Rollins" in the "Captain America" franchise and "Anatoli Knyazev" in "Batman vs. Superman". Certainly not last, we have Willem Dafoe as "Green Goblin/Norman Osborn" in "Spider-Man 3" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and as "Vulko" in "Aquaman" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League".

In the world of live action tv and film, at least twelve different actors have played the The Flash. Starting in 1979, it was Dan Aykroyd playing "The Flash" along with Bill Murray as "Superman, Garret Morris as "Ant Man", John Belushi as "The Hulk", and unknown actors playing "The Thing", "Spiderman", and "Spidergirl" in a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Interestingly, Aykroyd also played "Übermann", in a "what if Kal El landed in Germany instead of Kansas" skit.



 Later that year Rod Haase, would play The Flash in both episodes of  "Legends of Superheroes" (1979).

then John Wesley Shipp in "The Flash" (1990), 



Grant Gustin in "The Flash" (2014), 



and Ezra Miller in "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016), "Suicide Squad" (2016), "Justice League" (2017), "Arrow" (1 episode, 2020), "Zack Snyder's Justice League" (2021), "Peacemaker" (1 episode, uncredited, 2022), and as "Barry Allen", "younger Barry Allen", and...

"Dark Flash", the older, corrupted Flssh trapped in the Time Bubble, forever trying to repair his reality.

Other notable "Flashes" have been Teddy Sears as "Hunter Zolomon" who is the villian "Phony Flash/Zoom". 
Sears also plays "Dark Flash", a death-like being controlled by the Time Wraiths.

Also in an odd plot twist, Stephen Amell who normally plays "Oliver Queen/Green Arrow" in the TV series "Arrow" plays "The Flash" from an alternate reality where Oliver Queen and Barry Allen switch personalities.


In this episode, The Flashes team up with other heroes and each other.  John Wesley Shipp who is also "Barry Allen/The Flash"  from another Earth teams with Stephan Amell as "The Flash" while Grant Gustin is now "Green Arrow" in the crossover episode "Elseworlds".

Gustin and Shipp, both as "Barry Allen/The Flash" also team up!

     Perhaps the most interesting series of Flash appearances occurs in the hit TV show, "Big Bang Theory". Here, no less than five different actors appear as The Flash.
     In the episode "The Middle-Earth Paradigm", all four main characters appear as The Flash. In the photo are left to right, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), Dr. Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons).
     Sheldon Cooper appears again dressed as The Flash in the episodes "The Work Song Nanocluster" and "The Justice League Recombination". Sheldon Cooper also often wears a red t-shirt with The Flash logo on it. 
     In the episode  "The Dependence Transcendence", The Flash appears to Sheldon Cooper in a dream. In this case, The Flash is played by Brandon W Jones.
     Additionally, McFarlane Toys has issued a collectable figure of Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper as The Flash.

What about one actor playing different versions of the same charachter? Is that possible?
Meet John Wesley Shipp. In 1990, he was cast as "The Flash" in the upcoming TV series of the same name. In it he played Barry Allen, who as the result of an accident, becomes "The Flash". Sadly, the series lasted only one season, but it is availableon DVD and various streaming platforms.

In episode 18 of the one year run, Shipp plays a dual role. Shipp appears as "Pollux", his cloned twin and wears a blue outfit, similar in design to Flash's suit. "Pollux" died taking a bullet intended for "The Flash".


His third incarnation came in 2010 in the animated series "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" where Shipp voiced the character of "Professor Zoom" otherwise known as "Reverse Flash", arch enemy of "The Flash".


In 2018 he went uncredited when he reprised his role as "The Flash" in an episode of "Supergirl". 

He also appeared uncredited as "The Flash" in the 2018 "Arrow" episode "Unmasked" and credited as "Earth-90 Flash" in "Arrow" episode "Elseworlds" as seen in the photos above.

In the current series of "The Flash", Shipp portrayed Henry Allen, Barry Allen's father in the pilot and in several subsequent episodes.


In the episode "Race For His Life", Shipp plays "Jay Garrick/The Flash", commonly known as "Golden Age Flash". "Jay Garrick" is now a recurring character and mentor to "Barry Allen".
In the final episode of Stargirl, Shipp appears one last time as Jay Garrick/The Flash, a surviving member of the JSA, time travelling to the future.

Is there an "Old Flash" somewhere that John Wesley Shipp can play sometime in future? Maybe, maybe not.

So, is there some sort of rivalry or off camera backstabbing amongst The Flashes? Quite the opposite. Is there a sort of brotherhood or bond amongst The Flashes? It appears so.
 
"Flashes" John Wesley Shipp and Grant Gustin.

 
"Flashes" John Wesley Shipp and Stephen Amell.


"Flashes" Ezra Miller and Grant Gustin.

 So what happens when Flashes meet and are totally unaware of each other's existence? Some of the most memorable moments in super hero history. Click here to see.









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