The Flash: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References in “The Darkness and the Light”

Today’s episode of The Flash was pretty heavy on the exposition and the big concepts — not so much on the Easter eggs, per se.

Still, there were some pretty exciting moments.

So…what did we see? What did we miss? Read on…!

HAWKGIRL

We knew it was coming, but Hawkgirl is now…working at Jitters?!

Well, Kendra Saunders anyway. She’s there, and Cisco tries and fails to get a date with her.

We know that she’s going to be part of the forthcoming DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, where she’ll team with Firestorm, White Canary, The Atom and other fan-favorite guest stars from the Arrow and The Flash universe.

And, just so it’s been said, The Flash star Candice Patton confirmed during our recent visit to the set in Vancouver that she and Kendra both worked at Jitters — but not at the same time. There’s no Secret History of Hawkgirl and Iris West to be explored later.

Curiously, Cisco doesn’t “vibe” on her, but he does have a vision moments later, which leads Team Flash to…!

DOCTOR LIGHT

In the comics, there’s more than one Doctor Light.

The original Doctor Light was a villain — Dr. Arthur Light — who used light-based weaponry, photokinesis and his genius-level intellect to become a persistent (if generally fairly minor) threat over the years. Eventually, it was revealed that he had assaulted and raped Sue Dibny, the wife of the Enlongated Man, when he once found her alone on the Justice League satellite. This precipitated many of the events of Identity Crisis and the lead-up to Infinite Crisis. After that revelation, Light was generally rejected by the readers as irredeemable and on the rare occasion he made appearances, he was almost always reduced to a slobbering, misogynistic pervert. Eventually, he was killed by The Spectre.

Kimiyo Hoshi, the Doctor Light upon which the TV version seems largely based, was a hero and a longtime member of the Justice League. First appearing in Crisis on Infinite Earths, she would take up with the League during the Giffen/DeMatteis era and make such an impression that she would periodically be called back. She had a number of notable adventures, and took part in World War III — a battle against the forces of Black Adam during the weekly comic book event 52.

It was generally assumed by fans that a reference to “Dr. Light’s” gun on Arrow — used by Cisco against a Mirakuru soldier — referred to Arthur Light. In the post-Flashpoint DC Universe (the current continuity), Arthur Light was an A.R.G.U.S. agent who died during a freak Superman-related accident, and never a villain.

JESSE QUICK

Making her first onscreen appearance this week is Violett Beane as Jesse Quick.

The speedster, who has ties to the Justice Society of America, was one of a number of legacy heroes trained by the World War II-era heroes of Earth-2, including Jay Garrick. She played a significant role during Waly West’s time as The Flash.

ATLANTIS

“One of my best friends is from there,” says Jay Garrick of Atlantis, the second time the writers have referenced the home of Aquaman but the first time it’s actually made its way to the episode’s final cut.

The fact that Earth-2’s Atlantis is above water is interesting, too, and reminds me a bit of the Sub Diego storyline, where regular folks were interacting with Atlanteans because San Diego sank.

SUDDENLY BECOME EVIL

Team Flash members aren’t likely to “suddenly become evil if we got powers, even if they were from Dr. Wells,” says Caitlin.

Of course, that could be a wink-and-a-nod to her destiny as Killer Frost, which Barry saw in the timestream at the end of Season One.

SPEED MIRAGE

Every time Barry uses a new power for the first time, somebody comes in the comments to make sure we note it as a comics reference. 

And while, yes, this is the first time Barry has used the “speed mirage” power that he used to beat Doctor Light in the series, it isn’t the first time we’ve seen it or heard the phrase: Wells used something similar to be in two places at once back in Season One.

VIBE

Cisco Ramon is now officially Vibe!

Will he get a costume? Who knows? The way his powers are used so far hasn’t been the kind of thing you send out into the field.

But..yeah. He’s got his own codename now, like a Justice Leaguer and everything.