CW’s The Flash episode “Back to Normal” was filled with some subtle, and some forthright Easter eggs. Here are our top five from Tuesday’s episode.
Armored Flash Suit
In order to provide the Flash with the means to defend himself without his superspeed, Felicity Smoak lends a small amount of dwarf star alloy to S.T.A.R. Labs for use in armoring the Flash suit. This is a subtle Easter egg to the Flash’s Earth One Regime suit, which incorporates a significant amount of armor.
Griffin Grey
Griffin Grey was first introduced to the comics roughly 10 years ago, and was a close friend of another speedster, Bart Allen. In a nuclear explosion, he gained super strength. Sounds familiar? There is more. The comic book Grey experienced a peculiar side-effect from the explosion: rapid aging that occurs as a result of using his powers.
S.T.A.R. Labs Break-In
When Griffin kidnaps the doppelganger of the former Director of S.T.A.R. Labs to cure his disease, this is a subtle reference to a similar storyline in which Griffin kidnapped not Harrison Wells from Earth-2, but Jay Garrick from S.T.A.R. Labs in order to reverse his aging process.
Ace Chemicals
Did you happen to catch the name of the warehouse where Griffin went to retrieve the chemicals to cure his disease? Ace Chemicals in the comics is the chemical factory and processing plant that is notable for housing the vat that the Joker fell into… turning him into the Clown Prince of Crime.
Eobard Thawne’s future newspaper from last season gave us another hint to Batman’s side of the comics when it mentioned Wayne Enterprises. Could this be a hint to a possible Batman appearance?
Flashpoint Paradox
In case you haven’t seen the next episode‘s promo, you missed one of the biggest Easter eggs of the bunch: Flash is going to get struck by lightning again. Comic book fans will immediately see the reference to the Flashpoint Paradox, an event in which by traveling back in time to save his mother, Flash causes a temporal ripple in the timeline that results in a world where the Justice League never forms, Superman does not exist, and most importantly, the Flash never becomes a speedster. In order to regain his powers, he straps himself to a chair, and becomes the Scarlet Speedster once again.
You can catch the next episode, titled Rupture, on May 3 at 8 p.m. EST. Just how much longer until this episode? You can see exactly how much longer here!
