This past weekend at DC FanDome, we got our first look at Grant Gustin’s new costume for The Flash Season 8, with his Barry Allen now rocking the DC Comics superhero’s classic gold boots. Several days later, The CW has dropped the first trailer for the upcoming season of The Flash, and it’s all about the “Armageddon” crossover event kicking things off. A new threat has surfaced that will require Barry and the rest of Team Flash to team back up with some familiar faces, including Brandon Routh’s Ray Palmer/The Atom.
As previously revealed, “Armageddon” will make up the first five episodes of The Flash Season 8, with Despero, played by Ray Donovan’s Tony Curran, arriving to wreak havoc on Earth. With just seven days to stop whatever Despero specifically has planned, Team Flash will need to turn to allies from across Arrowverse time and space to stop the alien antagonist. In Brandon Routh’s case, this marks his return as Ray Palmer since departing Legends of Tomorrow in Season 5, as well as his first time popping up on The Flash in a non-multi-show crossover capacity since Season 1, shortly after he’d debuted as The Atom on Arrow. Props to Ray for recognizing Barry’s been working out, and I also dig the Superman-style shirt rip he quickly does, harkening back to his time as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns and briefly during “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Other Arrowverse allies seen lending a helping hand this trailer for The Flash Season 8 include Cress Williams’ Jefferson Williams/Black Lightning, Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder/Batwoman, Kat McNamara’s Mia Queen, Osric Chau’s Ryan Choi, and Chyler Leigh’s Alex Danvers/Sentinel has also been confirmed to appear in “Armageddon.” In Jefferson and Mia’s case, this will be their first time appearing since Black Lighting and Arrow respectively ended, while Ryan Choi hasn’t been seen since “Crisis on Infinite Earths” concluded. In Ryan Wilder’s case, this will be her first time taking part in any kind of Arrowverse crossover, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of dynamic she has with Flash compared to her predecessor Kate Kane.
This trailer doesn’t shed that much extra light on what’s in store for “Armageddon,” although whatever Despero has planned evidently involves triggering almost 100 earthquakes, making “Earth-shattering” a fitting description for this crossover event. It’s also worth mentioning that Despero won’t be the only baddies surfacing throughout the first five episodes of The Flash, with Neal McDonough and Tom Cavanagh reprising Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash, respectively. We even see Cavanagh as the end of the trailer, although it’s unclear if this scene is set in the present day or back when he was living everyday life as Harrison Wells. Who knows, maybe Cavanagh is actually playing the original Harrison Wells in that scene, who was resurrected early in The Flash Season 7.
The full “Armageddon” picture will start coming together when The Flash Season 8 premieres Tuesday, November 16 on The CW. In the meantime, scan through our 2021 fall TV premiere schedule to learn when your other favorite shows are airing.
