Arrow The Barry Allen/The Flash Thread

[Kevin Smith]

The Flash 1990 series was great. I think a lot of people on here appreciate it

The Flash tv show from the 1990s is one of, if not the best superhero tv show ever made, IMHO.

Also, loved Shirley Walker's work on the soundtracks. This was right around the time she was about to do Batman: The Animated Series. (and the Danny Elfman intro of course...great stuff - also, I miss his Batman theme and Shirley's Batman tracks! Will always be the definitive version to me)

 

[Kevin Smith]

I doubt they could do this suit on a TV budget. Perhaps for a Flash film if it ever happens.

I hate that costume. Seriously, what's with the robotic/Tron look? I will never understand the "need" to "improve" on designs that already work and are great the way they are. The way The Flash suit is designed makes it literally one of the best superhero costumes ever, right there with Spider-Man's. It's perfect and cool enough the way it is. Just put the lightning trim where it belongs and ditch the armor look and the suit may look okay. Also, the ear pieces are way too big and bulky/funny looking. They need to look sleek, sharp, and cool, exactly how Ethan Van Sciver draws them:

Personally, for The Flash suit, I want the red to be crimson and the yellow areas to be gold (well what we interpert to be red & yellow in the old four color books), but "lit up" a la a lightsaber (white on the inside, "color" on the outside) when he is in Speed Mode/running or using his powers.

 

[Human Torch]

All I know is they better keep his ear wings. Captain America can have his painted on,but the Flash HAS to have the 3D version.

 

[The Valeyard]

All I know is they better keep his ear wings. Captain America can have his painted on,but the Flash HAS to have the 3D version.

I'd make them a bit more logical for the movies.


Perhaps they form a visor when they're down, and form the lightning bolt shape when retracted (like Catwoman's visor/ears in TDKR).


I definitely think for the movies, the armor and LED light look is the way to go. Same with the rebooted Green Lantern suit.


Crazy that this was almost his suit in Injustice:

http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx5/char/theflash-injustice-concept-by-justin-murray2.jpg Interesting concept.


Also, I'd replace the yellow on his suit with gold the way Alex Ross does.

 

[Kevin Smith]

All I know is they better keep his ear wings. Captain America can have his painted on,but the Flash HAS to have the 3D version.

This.

I'd make them a bit more logical for the movies.


Perhaps they form a visor when they're down, and form the lightning bolt shape when retracted (like Catwoman's visor/ears in TDKR).


I definitely think for the movies, the armor and LED light look is the way to go. Same with the rebooted Green Lantern suit.

Right, so other than following the current trend, why does armoring the **** out of something make it more "logical" or "realistic"? I really can't wait until the whole robo-armor phase is over. This trend has leaked over to characters who it makes absolutely zero sense for to be in armor, like Superman (New 52 - God, I hate that suit), even Green Lantern....who has a ring that protects him from...everything (GLs should be in a "uniform", NOT armor ...or Venom like "organic" goo (re: GL movie suit))... The Flash does not need armor. He has a protective aura around him from the Speed Force that protects his skin/bones, etc when he uses his powers, part of why he wears skin tight clothing is so the aura covers this easier than if he were wearing super baggy clothes or a bunch of thick bulky crap (like armor). Plus if he needs armor to protect him from bullets then he is not being a good Flash as he should be either A: able to dodge these, B: able to catch them and throw them back (although he doesn't have to throw them back), or C: let them phase through him by vibrating his molecules. There's absolutely no reason for this character to be in armor, you know?

Crazy that this was almost his suit in Injustice:

http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx5/char/theflash-injustice-concept-by-justin-murray2.jpg Interesting concept.

He looks like he's wearing Thor's helmet there. That's bad for Flash. Lol.

Spoiler

Just god-awful and terrible. Lol. I really don't know what they're thinking when they consider some of these.

 

[Ultra Nolanite]

Crazy that this was almost his suit in Injustice:

http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx5/char/theflash-injustice-concept-by-justin-murray2.jpg Interesting concept.

I don't see whats crazy about it, looks like a great injustice to me.

 

[The Valeyard]

Right, so other than following the current trend, why does armoring the **** out of something make it more "logical" or "realistic"? I really can't wait until the whole robo-armor phase is over. This trend has leaked over to characters who it makes absolutely zero sense for to be in armor, like Superman (New 52 - God, I hate that suit), even Green Lantern....who has a ring that protects him from...everything (GLs should be in a "uniform", NOT armor ...or Venom like "organic" goo (re: GL movie suit))... The Flash does not need armor. He has a protective aura around him from the Speed Force that protects his skin/bones, etc when he uses his powers, part of why he wears skin tight clothing is so the aura covers this easier than if he were wearing super baggy clothes or a bunch of thick bulky crap (like armor). Plus if he needs armor to protect him from bullets then he is not being a good Flash as he should be either A: able to dodge these, B: able to catch them and throw them back (although he doesn't have to throw them back), or C: let them phase through him by vibrating his molecules. There's absolutely no reason for this character to be in armor, you know?

My comment on logic had to do with the bolts on the helmet forming a visor (as a logical reason for their inclusion on the design).

As far as the armor, it has more to do with what looks better on screen. It looks badass. Makes the Flash costume look less goofy.

As far as Green Lantern, the CGI suit from the previous film was a complete disaster. Audiences couldn't take it seriously. Black armor with Green LED lights (think Tron) would be a drastically divergent way to go to separate it from the previous film and help audiences take the look of the character more seriously.

I gotta admit Hal's armored suit in Mortal Kombat looked pretty awesome too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6hWx7rN7CI

 

[Kevin Smith]

My comment on logic had to do with the bolts on the helmet forming a visor (as a logical reason for their inclusion on the design).

As far as the armor, it has more to do with what looks better on screen. It looks badass. Makes the Flash costume look less goofy.

The DCU Online video was cool, but that wasn't Flash's default uniform, he was wearing that for some specific reason in the footage. And I disagree, I think the armor makes him look clunky and...not like Flash. The armor to me looks goofy. The Flash is supposed to look sleek and cool. With that tank on, he does not.

As far as Green Lantern, the CGI suit from the previous film was a complete disaster. Audiences couldn't take it seriously. Black armor with Green LED lights (think Tron) would be a drastically divergent way to go to separate it from the previous film and help audiences take the look of the character more seriously.

I gotta admit Hal's armored suit in Mortal Kombat looked pretty awesome too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6hWx7rN7CI

NO ARMOR. Go a different route for the suit, I do admit the GL movie suit was also atrocious (although I think myself and many other would have been more willing to forgive it had the movie been good, the crappy suit was not why the movie failed, it was merely icing for the cake), but I at least give them props for not going the typical black armor crap route. The Mortal Kombat suit looks much less like armor than that DCU Online Flash suit does, in fact, it barely looks like armor at all but instead looks more like the suit itself is divided up. Looks more like padding than anything else.

 

[Kevin Smith]

What's so wrong with this?

 

[ArcherFan]

I don't think the Flash costume looks goofy, really. I think what needs to be considered more is the texture. How's it going to move, how's it going to feel, how's it going to draw the eye? Shiny and sleek/quasi metallic, simply cloth, the shimmery effect of spandex, something more modern?

That's what I liked about the costumes in Spiderman/Amazing (and yes, opinions on these vary - this is mine) - the costumes seemed to flow. They didn't look bulky, and the textures seemed to draw the eye along the movement of the actor.

Once that's nailed, I mean you can say it's armored or not - that's aesthetics and story, all allowed within the suspension of disbelief.

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing several iterations of the costume. Maybe something like Jay's to start with - a shirt and jeans, thrown together in an instant. Then something like Barry's classic costume, or one with Wally's alterations.

I can give or take the wingtips on the boots, but the more I think about it - the more I agree:

They have to be on the cowl. :P

 

[The Valeyard]

Because translated directly to live action, it would look like this..

Looks fine in the comics, but I think most of the DC costumes need drastic reinvention for a live action medium.

 

[ArcherFan]

What's so wrong with this?

Nothing wrong with the classics!

By-the-by, I read your pitch for the Flash costume, and it's a fairly solid series of ideas.

 

[ArcherFan]

Because translated directly to live action, it would look like this..

Looks fine in the comics, but I think most of the DC costumes need drastic reinvention for a live action medium.

See my post about textures. I remember when the first Spider-Man movie came out, people wondered if they were going to get the old Nick Hammond costume again. Instead, they used something other than cloth/spandex, and you got a costume that paid great homage to the classic suit.

I think they can do something like that, here, too.

 

[Sawyer]

Because translated directly to live action, it would look like this..

Looks fine in the comics, but I think most of the DC costumes need drastic reinvention for a live action medium.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Yeah that's pretty foolish. That material looks like ****. It'd look good with a Spider-Man/ Amazing Spider-Man/MOS suit material

 

[The Valeyard]

Even with adding the textures, the basic design is pretty goofy.

 

[DrRocket]

What im more worried about is how they will depict his flash speed, they have already said they will not use the blur effect and it will be something new, here's hoping they go faora style.

 

[roach]

Because translated directly to live action, it would look like this..

Looks fine in the comics, but I think most of the DC costumes need drastic reinvention for a live action medium.

yes because professional hollywood costumers would just stick him in spandex

It's why we got this for Superman

and this for spider-man

 

[The Valeyard]

My response was because the poster wondered why the spandex design from the comics couldn't be translated to live action exactly the way it is.


That being said... regarding the Flash TV series, the CW has had some pretty laughable superhero costumes before:

Flash will be a tough one to do on a CW budget.

 

[Sawyer]

Those were also costumes done 9-10 years into that show's run. The budgets were probably down to next to nothing.

A pilot, though? Nah.

 

[Rorschach2012]

Even with adding the textures, the basic design is pretty goofy.

 

[DrRocket]

Would you guys be cool if his design was like the one kid flash had in young justice?

 

[Lantern Venom]

Because translated directly to live action, it would look like this..

Looks fine in the comics, but I think most of the DC costumes need drastic reinvention for a live action medium.

You have a point to a degree. I don't think any designer is going to go that cheap of a route, but I also remember reading an interview with John Wesley Shipp where he said his costume was a dilemma. The original Flash series employed a lot of dark/gloomy sets because, if I remember Shipp's quote, "the red looked a lot better at night".

yes because professional hollywood costumers would just stick him in spandex

It's why we got this for Superman

and this for spider-man

Yikes, pencil neck Superman and is that a painted Spidey costume?!

My response was because the poster wondered why the spandex design from the comics couldn't be translated to live action exactly the way it is.


That being said... regarding the Flash TV series, the CW has had some pretty laughable superhero costumes before:

.

Dr. Fate looked OK, but Stargirl looked like she walked right out of the 70s. The horror.

 

[Nathan]

I'm obviously not a fan of Smallville's Flash, but I have to say I wouldn't mind if they'd incorporate some of their design choices into the new Flash suit.

Like making the Torso a lighter red, and adding some piping on the sides and shoulders, to break the colors up a bit.

 

[king666]

It's all about using the right texture/fabric for the costume.

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