The Flash: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References in “Family of Rogues”

We’re running a little behind due to a visit to the set of The Flash earlier this week, but after a couple of days of requests, we’ve found time to put together this week’s Easter eggs and DC Comics references from The Flash.

Sorry about that!

It wasn’t a super Easter eggy episode, either, although there were certain things that hadn’t appeared since Season One and we elected to mention here as a result.

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

THE “L” WORD

Lewis Snart is the father of Lisa and Leonard.

Say that five times fast.

Well, in the comics, Daddy Dearest isn’t named Lewis, but instead Lawrence. Like here, he was abusive to his children, forcing Leonard to grow up fast.

SPEED CANNON

From the DC Wiki: 

Scientists on the planet Savoth had a deep understanding of the Speed Force and there were many universities devoted to its study. One of these scientists, Gorflack, built a Speed Force cannon to defend his planet from a force of alien invaders. Instead of performing its intended purpose, it brought Jay Garrick, the first Flash, to Savoth. After Garrick helped drive away the invaders, Gorflack gave him a lightning-shaped piece of solidified Speed Force which he and his successors could use to transport to Savoth.

LINDA PARK

This is the first time we’ve seen Linda his year…and a lot of fans are wondering just what her appearance might mean.

It’s unlikely they’ll explore the Linda/Barry dynamic again, since there’s Patty Spivot in the picture this year, but the fact that Linda is around excites fans of the post-Crisis Flash, Wally West, who is expected to appear this season (and, oh yeah, who married Linda in the comics).

SCANNERS

More than one fan noted that using sonics to explode a head like that felt a little reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s Scanners.

DANVILLE

The meat packing plant here bears the name of a familiar locale from the DC Universe: Danville, Ohio, home to Lisa Jennings.

It seems pretty unlikely we’ll get to see her, especially with a Supergirl show on the air that she could theoretically head to, but if you want, you can think of it as a very, very subtle connection between the shows’ universes.

BIG BELLY BURGER

Again, the Big Belly Burger isn’t a new thing to the world of Arrow and The Flash — it’s used a lot — but I think it’s the first time we’ve seen it on The Flash this year.

Also, I just love Big Belly Burger.

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR

The particle accelerator exploded on Earth-2, too.

That’s interesting…and makes us wonder about the motivations of Harrison Wells on that Earth. Why is he considered the savior of Central City there, rather than a pariah, as he was after the particle accelerator exploded on our world?

It’s certainly implied that, as here, the particle accelerator is what gave people powers…or at least what gave Jay powers.

SUICIDE SQUAD

Those bombs seem kind of familiar.

It’s hard not to acknowledge the fact that in a world where the Suicide Squad exists, Lewis Snart used bombs planted in somebody’s neck to blackmail a supervillain into working for him.

Wonder where he got the idea?

KAHNDAQ

The home of Black Adam and one of the most dangerous locales on DC’s Earth as a result, Kahndaq gets a name-drop in this week’s episode.

Again, it isn’t the first time; the case Barry references is something we got a glimpse of last year (and that’s where the image above came from)…but it’s the first time in a while it’s been mentioned.

We also know that there is a version of Black Adam in the Arrowverse, from the Arrow Season 2.5 comics…!

DIAMONDS

After the Kahndaq Diamond Exchange, we get a diamond heist here, too. 

At one point in his adventures in the comics, Captain Cold went to jail after attempting a diamond heist, after which he actually served a sentence and was released legitimately rather than escaping — a rarity in superhero comics.

GOLDEN GLIDER

The motorcycle Lisa Snart makes her “escape” on at the end of the episode is certainly at least a little reminiscent of her supervillain name — which also gets dropped in that same scene.

Given her family’s fondness for puns and wordplay, that’s obviously not a coincidence.

EXCELSIOR

Martin Stein, excited about the success of the Speed Force Cannon, says “Excelsior!”

I think he’s in the wrong universe for that, isn’t he?

DEATHSTORM

At the end of The Flash, we got a quick look at actor Victor Garber, enveloped in a blue flame.

Tonight on The Flash, we saw him having some trouble that seemed likely related to the loss of his partner Ronnie Raymond and the “death” of Firestorm.

There was some blue flame which, considering the prevalence of blue energy in Zoom’s speed force and in the breaches into the multiverse, could be construed as some kind of corrosive energy…

…or it could be something worse.

During 2010’s Blackest Night event, the then-dead Ronnie Raymond came “back to life” as a member of the Black Lantern Corps and waged war on humankind alongside his fellow Black Lanterns.

Interestingly for this conversation, Firestorm’s flames presented themselves as being blue/black as Deathstorm.

Upon encountering the new Firestorm, Jason Rusch, Black Lantern Ronnie attacked his girlfriend. Jason tried to pull Black Lantern Firestorm away from her, only to end up fusing with him. Ronnie, who didn’t have the scientific knowledge required to use Firestorm’s transmutation powers without help, used Jason’s captive mind to turn the Deathstorm form into a deadly, evil version of Firestorm’s worst self.

Later, Deathstorm would separate himself from both Ronnie and Jason and come back as the first Black Lantern to rise on his own, without his former “self.” He would recur as a threat for a long while. He explains later that he’s kind of death personified, filtered through the Firestorm matrix.

In the post-Flashpoint universe, Professor Stein was Deathstorm. Born on Earth-3, he was contracted to battle the Crime Syndicate, a brutal, alternate-Earth version of the Justice League, but instead experimented on himself, transforming himself into the being.

How could they twist the story for the TV show? Could he be haunted by “echoes” of Ronnie Raymond, or could he have been experimenting on himself to try and restore the Firestorm matrix since Ronnie’s disappearance?