‘The Flash’: What is Flashtime?

Tonight’s episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow saw Zari (Tala Ashe) found herself locked in a time loop which eventually culminated with a scene of totally frozen time, wherein only she and the shipboard AI Gideon (Amy Pemberton) could move and talk. So…why not talk about Flashtime?

In an upcoming episode of The Flash, titled “Enter Flashtime,” Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp) and Jesse Quick (Violett Beane) will return to the series and help Barry (Grant Gustin) defuse a nuclear bomb that threatens to destroy Central City.

The episode description, released last week, described the process of the three speedsters moving between ticks of a clock as “Flashtime.”

There is no concept called “Flashtime” in the comics, and it is not yet clear how (or if) the episode will be significantly different from previous episodes in which Barry and other speedsters have moved so fast that the rest of the world appeared to be standing still.

They have used the device before on TV, although arguably the most effective recent use was during the tunnel battle with Steppenwolf in the Justice League movie, in which Barry managed to help turn the tide by gently tipping Wonder Woman’s sword back into her hands.

Without giving it such a name, the song “The Ballad of Barry Allen,” recorded by the band Jim’s Big Ego, describes what we imagine “Flashtime” to be like effectively, talking about moving at a speed so fast that everything seems too slow to become emotionally invested in.

You can see the video for that song above. Jim’s Big Ego frontman Jim Infantino is the grandson of comics legends Carmine Infantino, credited as the co-creator of the Barry Allen version of The Flash. The elder Infantino provided the cover art for the LP on which “The Ballad of Barry Allen” was released, which you can also see above.

With three speedsters running at speed so fast time seems to stop, what can possibly be a threat to them?

Well, as a wise (Bat)man once said, some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.

The Flash airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW. New episodes return on February 27.