Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched the Season 5 premiere of The Flash.
Nora West-Allen shouldn't be living and breathing in 2018, and she shouldn't be befriending her speedy father and the rest of Team Flash. But the Allen lineage is not known for its brilliant impulsive thinking, so here we are. Thankfully, Jessica Parker Kennedy's time-traveling speedster injected a charming sense of fun into the Season 5 premiere, and she dropped a ton of future references in the process.
Let's take a look at each of the big and interesting reveals made during "Nora." But instead of trying to avoid hearing them like Barry did, we're embracing them and wondering if each new detail could actually affect the show.
The Flash Museum
Nora revealed that she never really knew Barry growing up -- more on that later -- and that she learned almost everything about him from the Flash Museum that exists in her future. A museum that has followed and detailed the exploits of not only Barry Allen, but also the now-leaving Wally West (and perhaps others). Nora namedrops "Mr. Myles" as being the curator, which is probably a reference to Dexter Myles, the current owner of the Central City Museum. Or perhaps it's his son.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: Probably not directly, unless Barry takes a trip to the future to visit it for some reason. Otherwise, it'll probably just come up through Nora's conversations.
Lightning Lad's Bolt
Just as Nora and Iris are about to get into their awkward conversation at CC Jitters, the former notices the Flash's symbol in her latte froth. She smiles and remarks that Barry's lightning bolt is so much cooler than that of Lightning Lad. As comic fans are aware, Lightning Lad is one of a few aliases used by speedster Garth Ranzz, a founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th/31st centuries.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: It isn't likely, but Supergirl currently boasts that Earth's Legion member Brainiac 5 as a regular character, and also introduced Saturn Girl. So it's possible the Legion could come into play more in the current seasons.
Some Batman Beyond Slang
As Nora and Iris are having coffee, Nora makes use of the slang word "Shway," which Iris pretends to be familiar with. (She even brings it back at the end of the episode, because that's what snazzy moms do.) The Flash creative team pulled this reference from another future-leaning DC project, the animated series Batman Beyond. In the Kids WB series, the word "shway" meant "cool" and it became popularized in pop culture. Or, at least as popularized as a slang word from an animated '90s show can get.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: I can't see that happening, but it would be pretty shway if it did.
King Shark Vs. Gorilla Grodd
Two of the biggest and most freakily dangerous meta-creatures, King Shark and Grodd, will bring the fight to each other at some point in Central City's future. This CGI spectacle was hinted at previously by showrunner Todd Helbing, and fans immediately got interested. Of course, this verbal reference could mean that it won't actually be seen in the show, which would be the most un-shway thing ever.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: It most certainly could, if the fight does indeed become a point of focus. And it should absolutely do that, because we want to see a shark and a gorilla fight, dammit.
Barry Never Returns To Earth-1
Easily the most impactful reveal, Nora shows Barry a newspaper headline from the future revealing he is still missing 25 years after the initial "Crisis" event referred to in the 2024 newspaper headline. It's something many fans guessed would be the reason for Nora's trip back through time, but it's still an emotionally poignant motivation. It's also very obvious from Nora's behavior around Iris that their lives together after Barry's disappearance were not the most fulfilling, which is more depressing than it should be.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: It already does, really. Since the beginning of this show, Barry has been trying to avoid his predestined fate, and now he discovered that his future is even worse than he thought. It's the whole reason he decided to keep Nora around in the present, which will presumably complicate things further.
Barry Fights Mob Rule
The sequence in which Team Flash tried to thwart a plane crash was one of the biggest head-scratchers of the episode. (Would all the passengers and luggage have also phased through that building?) In any case, Nora explained that Barry phased an entire plane through a building during a future fight with Mob Rule. It would be wild to see that comic group on the show, since it's made up of a bunch of duplicates of Barry's friend Manuel Lago that were all grown from limbs severed by the criminal group Basilisk. All due to a CIA experiment, naturally.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: Mob Rule probably won't make a big play within the TV show's narrative, but it will be good for Barry to know how to phase giant vehicles.
The Atom Created Barry's New Suit
Another wow moment during the Season 5 premiere came when Barry was in need of a new suit, and Nora just happened to have one. Only it wasn't on a clothes hanger or anything, but inside a magic ring. Surprisingly, Cisco had nothing to do with creating this new super-costume, and Nora reveals that it was designed by Ryan Choi. Created by Gail Simone and Grant Morrison, Ryan is the third major comic character to take on the Atom mantle, following Ray Palmer, and was a member of the Titans.
Could This Have A Major Impact On The Story?: Probably not on The Flash, but the introduction of Ryan Choi to the Arrow-verse might have some ramifications on Legends of Tomorrow, where Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer probably isn't looking for a replacement just yet.
Which of these reveals was the most fun to you guys? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for more Flash madness every Tuesday night on The CW at 8:00 p.m. ET. (Next week will bring us more from Chris Klein's Cicada, too.) While waiting to hear more from Nora, head to our fall TV premiere schedule to learn all the other shows hitting primetime soon.
