In 2016, we will be seeing Batman and Superman battle and team-up for the first time in live-action. It will serve to set up the eventual introduction of the Justice League. This week, CW is beginning their own journey towards bringing an incarnation of the Justice League to life in this week’s episode “Flash vs. Arrow.”

This is the episode that many have been eagerly awaiting since Barry Allen first appeared on Arrow last season. The Flash and Arrow combine forces to fight crime in Central City, before heading to Starling City in a two-episode event. In “Flash vs Arrow,” a meta-human who has the ability to manipulate emotions, is robbing banks and causing mayhem. The Flash confronts him, but is affected by his powers which send him on a path of rage towards all those who are close to him.

Oliver Queen, Felicity, and Diggle, make a trip to Central City in efforts to track down a killer who utilizes rare boomerangs from a previous Arrow episode. It honestly is odd to see these characters in the bright world of The Flash, particularly Queen, who thrives in the darkness both literally and in his demeanor. The world of the Flash is lively and colorful, that is why they introduced Felicity earlier in the season. She is probably the one character who can fit into both show’s tones. With that being said, the writers are clearly having fun with the interactions between the various characters that audiences have become familiar with. Little moments add to the fun, like seeing Diggle’s jaw drop when first witnessing the Flash run or having Queen give big brother advice about love to Allen, adds to the layers of enjoyment. While Arrow doesn’t quite fit into the landscape of The Flash, he’s the quintessential straight-man whose humorless demeanor really brings to light a lot of the fun absurdities of the show, that viewer’s casually accept.

The villain of the episode, Roy Bivolo aka Chroma, was used solely to bring out the dark side of Barry and it worked on a few different levels. Seeing Barry lose control gave the show its first genuine moments of terror. He was a menace to Eddie Thawne, a prick to his dad, and excellent fighting competition for the Arrow. Bivolo’s effect on the episode was meant to be felt, not shown. Again, this is a creative reworking of the procedural element of the show, that can bring it down at times. In fact, once the two heroes battled it out between each other, they take down the villain off-camera. Because it isn’t even a challenge. It was smart writing, but honestly slightly anti-climatic. Surely we will be seeing them tactically fight together on the Arrow episode. That is part of Arrow’s function on The Flash’s show. To be a mentor, outside of Harrison Wells, that can push Allen to exceed his known limits and to become a more efficient crimefighter.

This episode seemed to force the Flash, Iris, and Thawne, love triangle to the forefront. It should have been nauseating (which it can be at times), however they used the tension to create a new adversary for Barry…Eddie. The seeds were planted for Eddie to have legitimate reasons to despise The Flash. Eddie is jealous because he gets most of his girlfriend’s attention and that was before Allen snatched him out of a moving car, due to being under the influence of Bivolo. There have been multiple theories about the identity of the Reverse Flash, this is the first legitimate red herring since the introduction of characters like Harrison Wells.

The episode may not have been technically groundbreaking and it probably wasn’t even the best of the season. However, it does signal that we are in a new age of superheroic television. This is likely the first of a series of team-ups and we know that the villains on the show will be doing the same. It didn’t have the epic scope that you may be hoping for, but it does have a sense of fun. This first episode was simply getting everyone’s feet wet. It’s hard to imagine that they won’t have another similar episode towards the end of the season. It will be fun to look back at this point, as the beginning of a new era of DC Comics on television.

So what did you think of the team-up?  Let us know on the comment boards and make sure to share our stories on Reddit, , and !