Two other comic characters had their future’s teased during the finale, though in very different ways. Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), known as Vibe in the comics, has had hints of his more recent New 52 powers already, by being able to remember events from an alternate timeline. Eobard Thawne touched on this and even mentioned how Cisco in fact must have been changed the same day as Barry.
Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) had her future teased quite differently, as one of Barry’s future visions when traveling to the past had her in a costume with her ice powers, which is her as the typically villainous Killer Frost. She hasn’t shown any signs of her powers yet, so we’ll see how those are tackled, but I still think they will keep her good even with ice powers. Maybe they could have an episode where her new powers make her go mad, but Caitlin is too good of a character to just have go evil out of the blue. These shows are definitely taking the source material and making changes and that is one I personally hope to see altered after making the character so endearing.
There’s not too much to speculate about Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), as I’m sure he will remain just about the best character on the show. He is the father figure to Barry and their scenes together take this show to an entirely different level. The raw emotions in scenes with those two are off the charts and I can definitely see those two having many heart to hearts about all of the events that Barry will endure in the upcoming season. All I know is that they better not ever kill him off, as that is way too cliched and those moments are something this show needs.
Iris West (Candice Patton) is likely going to be pulled closer to Barry than ever after the events of the finale. Her fiance is now dead and she is destined to be with Barry. Grief over Eddie’s dead is expected to start the season and I think they could build from that to make her an integral part of the story moving forward, especially with her being in on Barry’s secret now. If they went with a story to start the season where Barry disappears after saving Central City, we could see her having to overcome the grief of losing both Eddie and Barry at the same time, both people she truly loved.
With the main cast losing Eddie, we are bound to get some additions for the second season. Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) is confirmed to return in some capacity, so I would love to see him announced as a series regular than just an occasional guest star. With him and Caitlin now married, it would make sense and be a reason why he is missing from Legends of Tomorrow, which is set to star his other Firestorm half Martin Stein (Victor Garber).
A new character that is almost certain to appear is that of Wally West. In the comics, Wally is the nephew of Iris West, but that would be quite impossible in this show with Iris having no siblings, outside of the adopted Barry. They could easily change that to have Wally be her cousin, especially with Iris being very young on this series. I would think they’d probably go for someone in their late teens or early 20s to fill the role, similar to that of Colton Haynes as the sidekick Arsenal on Arrow the last few seasons. This would also fit with the fact that the 20-something Linda Park that Barry dated in the first season becomes Wally’s eventual wife. There was talk that perhaps the “Jay Jackson” role from the Legends of Tomorrow spinoff could be him, but I would think they would keep Wally as a part of The Flash for now.
We could see Jay Garrick as mentioned before, but I think he would more than likely just be a guest spot for an episode or two. If they really want to bring the time travel element in again, they could have Bart Allen, aka Impulse, show up from the future and have a storyline revolving around that. Impulse was a great addition to Young Justice and easily could be here as well.
Check out Page 4 for speculation on who the major villains will be next season
