Jay Garrick is going to be the link that ties Stargirl to the Arrowverse…
Stargirl is about to be tied to the wider Arrowverse as of Episode 9 of its upcoming sophomore season. John Wesley Shipp who is known for playing Henry Allen, the Barry Allen of Earth-90 pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths and veteran speedster, Jay Garrick will be joining the Earth-2 based superhero series.
Yep, we’re going to be getting the Arrowverse Jay Garrick on Stargirl, according to Entertainment Weekly. This news has come as a massive surprise and really out of the blue for fans. As mentioned above, this means that the series may official tie to the overall Arrowverse through this one small connection.
Let’s break down how this may end up working. We’ll also go over what we know. Hang on tight speedster fans because this is going to be fun.
What We Know So Far
Since the news of Shipp’s involvement is only fresh, there’s not a lot we know outside of EW’s article.
From what the article depicts, the appearance of Jay Garrick is seen as a ‘mini-crossover’ since’s the same actor playing the same or a similar version of the character.
We know the Jay Garrick version of the Flash exists on Earth-2 as a banner of him hangs in the JSA headquarters. Also, Pat, Courtney’s stepfather mentions him as being a member of the Justice Society during its Golden Age. Finally, his iconic winged helmet is seen in the opening fight scene in the pilot episode when the golden age of heroes fell to the Injustice Society. It is seen sitting next to Sandman’s corpse for a split second. It is also frozen over, indicating that he was killed or attacked by Icicle.
The EW article mentions indicates that Episode 9 is a flashback episode with no present-day scenes. If this is the case, it be similar to what other Arrowverse shows have done in the past. One example being the episode in Supergirl which focuses on Kara and Alex as teenagers trying to solve the murder of a classmate.
As we mentioned before, Jay will only appear in episode 9 as the season is only 13 episodes.
Could There Be Indications Early On In The Season To Jay’s Appearance?
It’s extremely likely there may be a hint to Jay’s upcoming appearance early on. The way this could work is if the JSA headquarters is seen again. The winged helmet is on display and wasn’t one of the things that was taken by Courtney.
There might even be a mention by Pat of some past event with Garrick. Also, it’s possible that now that Jay has been cast, the poster in the JSA headquarters may now have Shipp’s face rather than a stand in. Same applies to the JSA team photo Dugan has.
It would be really cool if the opening fight scene from the pilot was reshot but told from Jay’s perspective.
Wait… Isn’t Jay Garrick On Earth-Prime Played By John Wesley Ship? – Part One
Yes, Jay Garrick is played on Earth-Prime by John Wesley Shipp on The Flash. Or rather he was. He hasn’t shown up Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths just yet. Eric Wallace who is the showrunner on The Flash has said that he is alive. However, there has been a lot of confusion as to how this would work given he shares a face with Henry Allen, Barry’s father.
It was established on Batwoman that you can’t have two people sharing a face. We know this because a displaced Beth Kane from a destroyed Earth who hadn’t become Alice appeared on Earth-Prime. Kate became forced to choose which version of her sister had to die for the other to exist.
Given that Jay Garrick exists on Earth-Prime presumably at the same time Henry Allen, this causes a massive issue with what Batwoman explored with its Beth debacle.
Pre-Crisis, Jay was actually from Earth-3 and was its Flash before he retired and passed the mantle over to his unnamed lady protégé. Given Eric Wallace’s comment about his existence post-CoIE, it makes it hard to explain. Prior to Crisis, Henry Allen lived well into Barry’s adult years but was in jail after being falsely accused of his wife Nora’s murder.
It is seriously doubtful that there would be an exception made for Jay to exist alongside Henry but the rule can’t apply with Beth and Alice.
Wait… Isn’t Jay Garrick On Earth-Prime Played By John Wesley Ship? – Part Two
While Geoff Johns and the writing team behind Stargirl will come up with a way to explain it (surely), the only way we could explain it ourselves is if Garrick from Earth-2 is the same one who exists on Earth-Prime.
The way this would work is Henry died much earlier than he did Pre-Crisis. We know that JSA Jay Garrick was meant to have died ten years prior to the main events of Stargirl as seen in the pilot episode. It’s possible that he faked his death and escaped before Icicle could finish him off.
It’s possible that Garrick somehow escaped to Earth-Prime and stayed there knowing the ISA couldn’t find him. Whether this will be an explanation that is used is unclear.
When we have more information, we’ll be sure to issue an update.
