A massive Flash family tragedy marks Bart Allen’s appearance in the 150th episode of The Flash.
[CAUTION! This Post Contains Spoilers For The Flash‘s 150th episode]
We’ll be honest here and say we’re out of the loop with The Flash. We’ve missed several episodes leading up to the 150th episode. However, there was no way we would miss watching Bart Allen’s introduction. We’ve watched the end scene from last week, and we’re excited to see how far they push the character. He is one of our favourite characters in Young Justice. It’s even more awesome to have him on the show.
Having Bart play a role in the future of the Flash family was a bold move. This comes as they could’ve used Dawn and Don. On the other hand, though, they did Dawn with the Earth-1 version of Nora before Crisis. Thrawn’s killing of Nora Allen had Barry and Iris decide to name their daughter after her paternal grandmother.
Jumping over to Earth-Prime and Bart will be Nora’s impulsive little brother, who is still new to using his powers. While he has his speedster family to guide him, Jay Garrick plays the most significant role in his path to becoming Impulse.
We learn that the OG Flash served as an uncle to Nora and Bart, as they call him ‘Uncle Jay’. Young Bart is very close to him, so the elder speedster’s death at the hands of Godspeed hits incredibly hard.
Protective Parents
With the Godspeed War continuing to rage upon Nora and Bart’s arrival, Barry and Iris’ parental instincts kick in. After an intense argument with their father, the Allen siblings end up at Joe’s house. It’s here that the audience learns that Bart was forced to watch Jay die at Godspeed’s hand. This makes the fake speedster his version of Thawne.
Nora, forever the protective big sister, tells her little brother that Jay’s death hurt her too, but they can’t tell their parents about what happened.
Barry and Iris discuss what happened in the original Nora’s past and how Godspeed went after and later killed her best friend, Lia. Barry makes the point that perhaps their family’s legacy is suffering. After all, Thawne killed his mother while making his life absolute hell. Then, Godspeed terrorises his children’s lives in two separate timelines where Bart only exists in one and daughter Nora in both.
Family Matters
Upon Nora and Bart’s arrival, they’re introduced to present versions of Cecile, Caitlin, and Chester. Upon seeing Cecile, they race to hug her, screaming in glee, ‘Grandma Cecile, ‘ which makes Cecile melt into a metaphorical puddle of love for her grandchildren. It’s so cute to watch. It made us want to well up.
Also, Nora explains that Chester is the most intelligent person they know in the future and that he has improved her gauntlets. Bart throws in that Chester helps him with his homework a lot. One of the most adorable moments is when Iris walks into the Speed lab with Barry, and Barty screams, “Mom!” before running to hug her with his sister not far behind him.
There are references to Bart and Nora’s relationship with Wally, too, and their use of their grandfather Joe’s house as their safe place is addressed. However, their relationship with Joe and their Aunt Jenna isn’t mentioned, nor is their relationship with Frost, Allegra, and Cisco.
Personality Change
Nora’s personality is different from the original version; she was erased from existence before Crisis. Instead of being Barry and Iris’ impulsive only child, she is now the eldest child who has to keep her teenage younger brother in check. Barry’s now changed future is why Nora is not bitter towards her mother and why Bart now exists.
Also, Nora’s calmness is inherited from Iris, and she’s one of the few people to whom Bart will listen. Meanwhile, her original self’s impulsive streak has been passed on to her brother. She is also not afraid to call Bart out when he’s being a smartass, a trait he inherited from their Uncle Wally.
Bart Thinks He Knows Best
Known for his impulsiveness, Bart is first seen in the episode when he runs through Godspeed, knocking him out. Running through Godspeed annoys Nora to the point she tells him that his actions could’ve killed him. Later, he reveals that Godspeed, his arch-nemesis, is the way Thawne is to Barry. He is confident he is the one who has to stop him despite his parents saying it’s a bad idea.
Bart is seen to have a temper, something he appears to have inherited from his father when he’s highly emotional. Nora refuses to back him up, which leads him to Joe’s house. After discussing with his sister about Jay and how he died, he says their mentor was the one who understood him and saw his impulsiveness as something that could be used for good. He also admits that Jay impacted him the most while their father and uncle taught him well.
