Like Arrow, The Flash season 6 is going to be hard to predict. The season 5 finale left a lot of doors open for possible storylines and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” isn’t going to build up itself. There’s a ton of avenues this show could go down. Here are just a few that I believe could happen:
1) Nora West-Allen Returns… Kind of
Jessica Parker Kennedy has played Nora West-Allen since the “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover during The Flash season 4. She became a member of the main cast in season 5 and, based on how much screentime she received compared to Barry Allen, was essentially the main character of the season. Nora was wiped from existence in the season 5 finale after a change in the timeline, courtesy of the Reverse-Flash. While it was a shocking twist that served as another heartbreaking layer in the on-going Flash/Reverse-Flash storyline, it is strange to see the series kill Nora off after giving the character so much screentime. Again, she was pretty much the main character of the season alongside Barry.
If you remember in the show’s 100th episode, Nora West-Allen and her father traveled back to various points in the series to find a way to stop Cicada. This eventually brought our heroes to the events of The Flash season 1, where they reluctantly team-up with Eobard Thawne AKA the Reverse-Flash. Tom Cavanagh plays Eobard as this egotistical figure, acting like an entitled parent of sorts towards Barry. He then turns to Nora and confused her for someone named “Dawn”.
For those who don’t know, Dawn Allen is Barry Allen’s daughter in the comics. She’s apart of the Tornado Twins, a duo that… well, it’s not important to explain all this right now. Here’s the gist.
Timelines are crazy. The Flash dabbles around in time-travel a lot (probably too much, if we are being honest with one another). Maybe this change of events still leads to a version of Nora West-Allen being born but this time around, she is named Dawn and has a twin brother named Don too.
2) Red Death is Your Main Big Bad for The Flash Season 6
Red Death was namedropped in The Flash season 5 as someone who terrorized Central City in the future. While it could just be another easter egg for comic fans, there’s a chance it could be something more. This series has teased some of its villains ahead of time, such as Grodd and The Thinker. So, there’s a possibility we could see this Batman/Flash hybrid make his first live-action appearance in season 6.
For those of you don’t know who this character is, here’s a brief recap. There is this Dark Nights Metal comic series that takes a look at more sinister versions of Batman. One of these iterations was Red Death. In an alternate Earth, Batman has lost many allies over the years. Barry Allen refuses to go back in time and reverse these events. So, driven to the brink of sanity, Batman knocks Barry out (using various weapons such as Captain Cold’s gun and Weather Wizard’s wand). He then straps him to the hood of a decked out Batmobile that was modified with the Cosmic Treadmill and heads into the Speedforce. This fuses them together, much like how Stein and Ronnie/Jax were fused as Firestorm. This now completely insane Dark Knight has the abilities of The Flash and yeah, that’s essentially Red Death’s origin in a nutshell.
Okay, there would have to be some major changes to this. We’ll probably never see Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse and that wouldn’t make any sense for a Red Death storyline in season 6. Swapping out Bruce Wayne for Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen, however, would be an excellent move. It would also fall in line with previous statements from new showrunner Eric Wallace, where he said that the second main villain in The Flash season 6 could be the “most personal” antagonist Team Flash has faced since Eobard Thawne.
If Oliver Queen does indeed die at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, it would be the perfect way to introduce Red Death. For Barry to lose yet another mentor and close friend only to see an alternate Earth’s Oliver Queen come in as this brutal vigilante hellbent on his own form of justice would harken back to the early days of the Arrowverse and could act as an epilogue of sorts to Crisis. It could also be the arc Barry Allen needs to get back on track as a compelling character.
3) Godspeed Has an Increased Role in The Flash Season 6
When Godspeed was first introduced in 2016, I instantly thought about how the CW series could adapt this character to TV. Like Zoom, Godspeed had the look and an aura around him to make him feel unique compared to other Flash rogues. In season 5, I got my wish and we finally saw Godspeed in live-action form.
It was alright.
He wasn’t terrible. His costume looked spectacular and I liked the idea of bringing Velocity-9 back into play. BD Wong was excellent as the voice of Godspeed too. But, he was sort of easily dispatched by a rookie Nora with an assist from Eobard Thawne. He didn’t come off as a menacing threat but instead, a temporary stopgap in Nora’s origin story. However, this character can be so much more than a minor antagonist who shows up once or twice a year to lose to The Flash. He doesn’t need to be a big bad or anything, I’m just saying it would be nice for him to be a more notable figure in the season.
Here’s the logic on this one. They went through a lot of trouble crafting Godspeed’s suit and introducing him in Nora’s origin episode. It wasn’t for a one-off appearance in season 5 and another one-off appearance in season 6.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe I need to get a life. Who knows? Hopefully, Godspeed makes his mark in The Flash season 6.
4) Barry’s Season 6 Suit Will Bring Back the Chinstrap
Barry Allen’s season 5 suit had a few redeeming qualities about it.
The change from the overdone leathery material to a more spandex type of costume is fine and it is probably a lot more comfortable when shooting scenes for 12-18 hours a day. That emblem still looks awesome and going for a more comics-accurate look is a nice sentiment as well. Despite all of that, Barry’s current suit just isn’t working.
This suit hasn’t been a fan-favorite. To many (including myself), the lack of a chinstrap is slightly off-putting, the suit is way too bright, and it looks like Grant Gustin is wearing a bicycle helmet out there. Honestly, it reminded me of the ridiculous costume Barry was wearing in the pilot.
Fans want a change. There’s no way the crew on the show and those at the CW haven’t heard about these vocal criticisms. And it looks like that have. Here’s what Grant Gustin said at SDCC regarding how Barry’s next suit will match up with the comics (Via Cinemablend):
“What we did last year I thought was awesome. We had some struggles with the cowl because it was our first time trying to do this type of suit. We built off of what we did last year. For the first time since we started the show we actually re-did the cowl entirely. So, it’s definitely the closest it’s ever been to looking like the suit from the comics. It’s pretty dang cool, man.”
Even if it’s small as adding back the chinstrap, The Flash season 6 suit would be a welcomed upgrade to many fans out there.
5) Barry Allen Dies in “Crisis on Infinite Earths”
Although Arrow is set to be the precursor to “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, it was The Flash that started this crossover in its pilot. Who can forget the mindblowing twist at the end of the first episode where Harrison Wells goes into a futuristic room, gets up from his wheelchair, and pulls up a newspaper from 2024 titled “The Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis”.
Granted, this was most likely just a clever easter egg to help drive the first season’s plot forward. It ended up being one of the most theorized aspects of the season. Fans wanted to know why Barry vanished and if the CW was willing to move forward on a possible Arrow/The Flash crossover surrounding Crisis on Infinite Earths.
In the comics, Barry Allen dies in the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. This opens the door up for Wally West to take the mantle. I think something like that could happen in CW’s Crisis, albeit for a much shorter amount of time.
First off, CW is not getting rid of The Flash anytime soon. This is their best-rated show and has been one of the most viewed superhero shows on Netflix since it went on the streaming platform. Also, there’s no way Grant Gustin leaves this show for good. Now, if The Flash had built up Nora West-Allen, Wally West, or even Jesse Quick enough to eventually take over, this could be another story. But, all of these heroes are either dead or unavailable to return for long-stretches of time.
It’s a 5-part crossover though. One that most definitely wants you to be visibly distraught at the notion of waiting another day to find out what’s next. I could easily see Barry vanish in the Crisis earlier than expected and eventually return in the end to help stop the Anti-Monitor. This keeps your main character around long-term and provides a sweet callback to your source material. It’s an easy two birds, one stone situation.
And that concludes this list of 5 fan theories that could happen in The Flash season 6. Season 5 had a lot of potential behind it but, ultimately, it ended up being an average year. Season 5 was bogged down due to a lack of eventful twists and a lackluster big bad. If even half of the stuff on this list happens, The Flash season 6 is looking to be a fantastic year for the CW’s flagship superhero show.
What theory do you hope to see come true in The Flash season 6? Do you want to see Barry get a new suit? Are you hoping to see more out of Godspeed, or even an introduction to Red Death? Let us know in the comments below!
