The Flash returned tonight and saw Team Flash attempting to apprehend one of the final two “Bus Metas” before The Thinker could get to her first.
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While some of the previous “Bus Metas” have been ordinary people who just happened to get metahuman powers thanks to being in the right place at the right time, Janet Petty/Null (Bethany Brown) used her powers to her criminal benefit — manipulating gravity comes in handy for a jewel thief it would seem. This meant capturing her not only kept her safe from The Thinker/Clifford DeVoe but got another metahuman criminal off the streets of Central City. Seems like a win-win.
Of course, this is The Flash and things are never that easy, but with tonight’s episode being directed by Kevin Smith it was certainly a fun ride — one that was chock full of Easter eggs and mentions. In case you were too busy trying to see just how Team Flash would capture a gravity defying foe to keep track yourself, we’ve got a list of those Easter eggs and pop culture references. Read on to see what we found in “Null and Annoyed”!
Doc Ock
Early in tonight’s episode, Barry (Grant Gustin) and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) are shown doing battle with The Thinker — the version in the body of Izzy Bowin — in their superpowered chair. The battle is revealed to be part of a simulation and one that went off script, thanks to Ralph. However, despite frustrating Barry by not taking things seriously, Ralph does get a great one-liner when he refers to The Thinker as Doc Ock.
The Flash is no stranger to Marvel Comics references, specifically those relating to Spider-Man, and tonight’s episode was no exception. In case you aren’t familiar, in comics Doc Ock is Doctor Octopus a highly intelligent mad scientist typically shown as utilizing mechanical appendages not unlike what The Thinker has with their chair. The character, whose real name is Otto Octavius, is one of Spider-Man’s iconic villains.
Turtle Power
The Doc Ock reference wasn’t the only clever Easter egg in the simulation scene. Right before ducking his head literally into his neck, Ralph called out “Turtle Power!” It was a fitting thing to call out as Ralph did look kind of like a turtle who had retreated into his shell, but it was also a great little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles call-out. Given that Ralph’s costume is purple-toned, we’re guessing he’s Donatello.
DC Comics
Marvel isn’t the only comic company to get a nod in “Null and Annoyed”. As they’re leaving the training area, Ralph is still hamming it up and suggests to Barry and Iris (Candice Patton) that there might be something to superheroes as stand-up comics. He even offers that should they take the show on the road to Washington D.C. they could be “the DC Comics.”
It kind of has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?
Crucifer
Danny Trejo returned to The Flash tonight with his character, Breacher, showing up at STAR Labs needing Cisco (Carlos Valdes) to help figure out why he has suddenly lost the ability to vibe blast. Breacher explains that he discovered the issue when fighting vampires, specifically one named Crucifer.
Crucifer is a real DC Comics character. First appearing in JLA #94 in May 2004, Crucifer was a member of the ancient cult of immortality known as the Tenth Circle. The cult were really vampires and of the group, Crucifer figured out how to return, using human beings as vessels. However, regular humans weren’t quite hardy enough so when super heroes emerged in the 20th century they piqued Crucifer’s interest as ideal hosts thus making this vampire an enemy of the Justice League.
Trejo Coffee & Donuts
This is less a direct Easter egg and more of an interesting element of the episode, but doughnuts are mentioned a few times in “Null and Annoyed”, specifically with Cisco suggesting that Breacher eat some of the weird flavored doughnuts available on this Earth — we’re pretty sure we heard something about nacho doughnuts.
In real life, Trejo owns a coffee and doughnut shop in Hollywood, aptly named Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts. The shop sells locally roasted coffee and doughnuts with a Latino twist, including a Mexican hot chocolate flavor, and, you guessed it, a nacho variety.
Jay and Silent Bob
Kevin Smith directed tonight’s episode and brought a little bit of his View Askewniverse along for the ride — sort of. Smith, along with real-life pal Jason Mewes, appeared tonight in the episode as museum security guards. Many fans will remember Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) as being staples in Smith’s films, shown to regularly be loitering in various places in the films — most notably in when they were selling marijuana in the front of the convience store in Clerks.
While Smith insisted that he and Mewes weren’t playing Jay and Silent Bob directly in tonight’s episode, he did acknowledge that Mewes’ character spoke and his didn’t — just like Jay and Silent Bob. Interestingly, IMDb notes that their characters names are “Jay the Security Guard” and “Bob the Security Guard”. Smith played Jay in this case.
Charlie Bucket
Dealing with a gravity-controlling metahuman was a challenge for Barry, one that left him literally up in the air. After being touched by Null, Barry ended up floating. At STAR Labs, the team tries to figure out how to bring Barry back to Earth and Ralph helpfully suggests that he can just burp like Charlie Bucket.
The reference is to a scene in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factor in which young Charlie Bucket and his Grandpa Joe break the rules and try a bit of the “fizzy lifting drink” Wonka (played by the late Gene Wilder) is developing. The drink sends the pair floating into the air and right for the dangerous blades of the factor’s exhaust fan when they discover that burping brings them back to the ground.
‘Lost’
Ralph isn’t just full of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jokes and Marvel references tonight. He’s also not really taking much seriously, which is evidenced when he reveals that, instead of paying attention during a serious moment, he’s thinking about the ending to the ABC television seris, Lost.
It’s a pretty complicated thing to think about. The series, which is considered among the best television series of all time, ran for six seasons between 2004 and 2010 and followed the survivors of a plane crash on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. However, the series blends in elements of science fiction and the supernatural with the ending of the series still a question for many fans as to what the fates of the characters really was — complete with a type of limbo in the afterlife portrayed in a so-called “flash-sideways” timeline during the series’ sixth season which shows a reality where their flight, Oceanic 815, never crashed.
‘From Dusk Till Dawn’
Not able to explain to Breacher that the reason he has lost his powers is due to aging, Cisco lets Breacher believe that taking allergy pills will cure him. This prompts Breacher to go after Crucifer again — and risk his life in the process. To save his girlfriend’s father, Cisco goes to stop Crucifer for Breacher and makes a reference to From Dusk Till Dawn before firing a light gun at the vampire. Crucifer isn’t harmed by light and Cisco and Breacher have to flee but the reference to From Dusk Till Dawn is notatble as Trejo played Razor Charlie in the original film and later appeared as The Regulator in the television series.
Earth-47
Eventually, Cisco has to come clean with Breacher. It initially doesn’t go over well, but he did come to terms with it being time for him to retire. He stopped by to talk to Cisco before heading off to a dragon farm on Earth-47. In DC Comics, Earth-47 is the psychadelic Earth where the immortal teenager President Prez Rickard finances a team of heroes called The Love Syndicate of Dreamworld. Making up the team? Sunshine Superman, Shooting Star, Speed Freak, Magic Lantern, and Brother Power. Groovy, man.
Did you catch any Easter eggs that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
