Warning: MASSIVE spoilers ahead for The Flash, so read no further if you're not up to date on the latest exploits of Barry Allen and his merry band of Central City heroes!
Iris West's time is running out. Savitar is still on the loose, and it's clear that the futuristic and damaged (inside and out) version of Barry Allen is hellbent on killing her and corrupting the past iteration of himself. The intimidating God of Speed has turned out to be one of Team Flash's best foes during Season 3 of The CW DC series, but now it appears that the upcoming episode of the show will make a significant change to the villain by taking him out of his eye-catching suit. Check out the photo below to see for yourself.
In anticipation of the upcoming episode of The Flash, The CW released several new photos from the episode "Infantino Street" to get fans excited. However, it's that above picture that stands out, and for obvious reasons. We clearly see Savitar/Future Barry in that photo (the brutal scar gives it away), but he's wearing the traditional red, white, and gold Flash costume instead of his characteristic body armor. And he appears to be standing comfortably inside of S.T.A.R. Labs. It's a massive shift for the character in the final stretch of episodes, and it has us genuinely curious as to how this particular visual could occur, where this will take the story.
First and foremost is the obvious explanation: he's merely putting on a temporary show to get inside the heads of Team Flash. This has become fairly standard practice for Flash villains, after all. Season 1's Reverse-Flash spent far more time outside of his suit than inside of it (which gave the always excellent Tom Cavanagh time to shine), and Zoom spent a considerable amount of time with his hood off both before and after the series revealed Earth-2 Hunter Zolomon as the real evil speedster of the season. For future Barry Allen to drop the power-allowing metal for a classic Flash suit falls in line with everything that the series has shown us so far.
Then there's the soap opera explanation: it is all a dream. Barry Allen hasn't found himself in the best mental state for the better part of Season 3, so we cannot rule out Presentl Barry inside a dream sequence where he's transposed with Future Barry. After spending so much time in the Flashpoint universe, undoing the Flashpoint universe, and learning the truth about Savitar's origins, it wouldn't be hard to fault the guy for subconsciously obsessing over what he could potentially become if The Speed God gets his way.
Finally, there's the distinct possibility that Savitar doesn't need his suit anymore. The Flash has thus far revealed that he requires his godlike suit of armor as a limiting force against the energy created by his speed, but he wouldn't need it anymore if Barry and the rest of Team Flash manage to find a way to (at least temporarily) slow him down and level the speed playing field. With Leonard Snart set to return (and forge an uneasy truce with Barry Allen) in the upcoming episode, we would certainly be willing to bet money on a surprise cold gun weakening Savitar in some way -- because of science. Then again, maybe he won't need the suit after figuring out a more natural way to counteract the excess energy.
We're just going to have to wait and see why Savitar made such a drastic wardrobe change when the next episode debuts. The Flash airs every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. As The Scarlet Speedster's solo series begins to wind down, make sure to check out our summer TV premiere schedule and fill out your television viewing schedules accordingly!
