Geekscape Recaps: ‘The Flash’ – Legends of Today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Ra7QrdsGA

This week, fans of DCTV are in for a treat. Tonight, we got the first part of said treat in part one of a crossover event between The Flash and Arrow, and I must say, it was pretty awesome. Now that I’m thinking about it, we saw just about every major character this episode, except for Zoom. On top of that, part one of an introduction to the Legends of Tomorrow. What a time to be alive.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead! 

This episode opens with a somewhat frightening introduction to Vandal Savage. Aside from being, well, creepy, Savage also shows off his expert skills in using old blades. I’m sure after living for a few thousand years, Savage must know a variety of combat techniques. We were hinted at his combat skills again when Malcolm Merlyn chimed in on what the League knows about Savage’s history with ancient Rome and China. It really says something about Savage’s track record if the League has known about him but has done nothing to stop him or has failed to stop him.

Since Savage is described as “mystic” in this universe, it makes sense that the League is aware of his existence, which also probably makes Damien Darhk aware of Savage’s existence. If Darhk was enough to make Constantine uneasy, I can only imagine what he’d say about Savage. Right now, it almost seems as if Savage is every mystic being’s boogieman.

Most of the episode dealt with Kendra getting her wings. Carter Hall, aka Hawkman, has already gotten his wings at this point and has been presumably tracking down Kendra, like Savage. Hawkman convinces everyone, including Kendra, that the only way she can realize her full potential is to jump off a building. It makes sense, but I wonder how or why Hall thought it’d be a good idea to jump off a building before rediscovering himself.

Savage was able to fight off the Flash and Green Arrow a couple of times, even though the two heroes consider that last fight a draw. It’s obvious now why they need to form a team dedicated to solely taking down Savage. I know we were missing a few key members of the Legends team, but I assume we’ll see at least a couple more next week. To refresh, Captain Cold is still in jail, Firestorm is off training, Sara Lance is having a crisis of faith, and Atom is catching up on the last few months after being not-dead. The team will presumably get together once Rip Hunter arrives, which will hopefully be next week.

Chay-Ara, Hawkman, and the Thanagarian Connection

We finally got our Kendra Saunders-Hawkgirl connection. As it turns out, Kendra is the reincarnation of Chay-Ara. Chay-Ara, like in the comics, lived in ancient Egypt and gained her powers there. In the comics, both Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s reincarnation cycle started when a man by the name of Hath-Set used a particular alien knife made of nth metal to kill them both. The metal contains properties that negate gravity, gives the holder accelerated healing, immunity to harsh weather conditions and temperatures, and acts as a power source.  After the double murder, the metal in the knife, combined with the bond between the two, prompted the reincarnations.

The knife came into being when Carter Hall, then Prince Khufu of ancient Egypt, found a crashed Thanagarian ship with a very hawk-like theme. Both Nabu and Teth Adam were with Khufu when he found it. If those last two names sound familiar to you, they should. Eventually, Nabu becomes the power source of Doctor Fate and Teth Adam becomes the Black Adam. In the crashed ship, they find nth metal and create a few tools from it, including the mace and the deadly knife used in the double murder. Among other things created was the Claw of Horus. Again, sound familiar? The Staff of Horus was used by Savage at the end of this episode. It was said by Hall that if Savage got a hold of the staff, he would be nearly impossible to beat. Using information based off the comics, we can assume nth metal exists in this universe, and Savage is currently using it to his advantage.

This story makes some sense in that Savage is seen using carrying a variety of knives at the start of the episode. It’s possible Savage has taken Hath-Set’s place in killing the two and in an morbid twist, must kill Hawkgirl and Hawkman over and over to gain more power and continue to live.

The Speedforce Formula and Johnny Quick Update

Away from the excitement in Star city, Dr. Snow and Harry were able to work out the kinks to a formula to create a serum designed to give the user a boosted Speedforce. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Harry possibly creating the speedforce formula and becoming Johnny Quick.

It looks like the formula was created, only it was Jay Garrick who took the serum instead of Harry. We do know that the serum worked, otherwise Harry would be dead. However, according to Garrick, the effects wore off. At some point later this season, I think we’ll see Harry take the serum himself out of desperation to take down Zoom. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see Jay Garrick, Wally West, Barry Allen, Johnny and Jesse Quick all fighting Zoom at the same time. One can dream…

One last thing on Doctor Fate…

For those of you who remember some of the easter eggs in the ill-fated Constantine series, you’ll surely remember the appearance of Doctor Fate’s helmet. Since the Constantine and Arrow universes are linked now, we can assume Doctor Fate also exists in this Flash universe too. Take a look at what was planned for the second season of Constantine:

.@Secretoriginz Yes. We had an outstanding story for Fate helmet. Would have been Ep 18. But without back 9 order it had to be pushed.

— Daniel Cerone (@DanielVCerone) January 25, 2015

Inb4 Black Adam and Doctor Fate next year.