The Flash Rocks Out to Queen's Flash Gordon Theme in "Into the Void"

Before The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) showed up with a word of warning, The Flash's most talked-about moment on social media tonight was probably the use of "Flash" (the theme song from Flash Gordon) by Queen, during a key scene. In what feels like a callback to the show's hundredth episode (when The Flash's time-travel was accompanied by "Back in Time" by Huey Lewis and the News), Cisco (Carlos Valdes) plays "Flash" over the comms while Barry (Grant Gustin) is running into a black hole in order to save a young man's life and stop its path of destruction. When he cues up the tune, Cisco says he has been waiting for the right moment to deploy it.

Told that "Flash" might actually be a little bit too on-the-nose, Cisco defends the call by saying that Barry is literally running into a black hole as it plays. Most of the series' actors aren't old enough to have been alive when Flash Gordon was released in theaters back in 1980, but those of us who lived through the '80s remember that the popularity of the Queen song and the visibility of the movie was enough that if you were a fan of the character of The Flash, somebody at some point responded to that by saying, "you mean Flash Gordon?"

The premiere effectively managed introducing a new threat for season six, having an episodic baddie (ish), and establishing the status quo for Barry, Iris (Candice Patton), and the rest of the team going forward.

The Flash returns for its sixth season this fall, pitting Barry Allen against new and old foes while on an apparent suicide run toward the destiny he has been hoping to avoid since the series premiered. Way back in 2014, fans learned that — as in the comics — Barry Allen would give his life in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, helping to turn back the Anti-Monitor and save the multiverse. That event would take place in May of 2024…or so we all thought. Due to some changes to the timestream during the last season of The Flash, Barry's date with destiny has been moved up to December 2019, when all five of The CW's interconnected DC Comics shows will cross over for "Crisis On Infinite Earths," and fans will get to see how Barry tries to outrun his fate.

The Flash season six will debut on October 8, 2019. "Dead Man Running" will debut on October 22.