1) It's lighter tone. I like my superheroes as dark and brooding as much as the next guy (Batman will forever be my favorite superhero), but not every hero can be that way. Barry Allen is optimistic and funny. It helps that his secret identity isn't a billionaire playboy. And despite the introduction of dramatic elements the show has retained a lightheartedness that is refreshing.
2) Jesse L. Martin aka Joe West. The police officer/surrogate father to Barry Allen has been one of the best parts of this show for me. His relationship with Barry is truly touching and brought an emotional depth to the show in the first few episodes that made me want to keep watching (Something Gotham on FOX was unable to do).
3) Putting the Super back into Super Hero. I like Arrow. I loved Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. But the Flash has bucked the trend of ditching super powers and as a result Central City is evidently crawling with so-called meta-humans. We may even see Gorilla Grodd in the future. The main reason I love it? Getting to hear Cisco come up with villain names.
4) The visual effects. Something that stands out about both Arrow and The Flash is that they look fantastic. I'm particularly impressed by the visual effects on The Flash. Example: they managed to make a villain who can make clones of himself look impressive and imposing as opposed to cheesy. Can't wait to see how the aforementioned Grodd will look.
5) The expanding universe. The choice to introduce Flash's origin on Arrow was inspired. It gave the show a running start and helped it avoid stumbling out of the gate as many shows do (looking at you again, Gotham). The recent Arrow/Flash crossover was great. And now there's talk of an Atom spin-off. DC's movie side may be taking it's sweet time to get rolling, but TV-wise it's been awesome, and I hope it continues.
What do think about The Flash? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments!
