11 Years Ago Today, the Arrowverse Teased a Character That Wouldn’t Debut for 5 Years (& It Wasn’t Even Worth It)

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The Arrowverse often feels like it’s working with the leftover options. Instead of featuring Batman, the series focuses on Green Arrow, and other lesser-known DC heroes like The Flash and Supergirl are central to the biggest storylines. Despite these limitations, the Arrowverse has been successful, largely thanks to its writers who skillfully develop obscure characters with hidden potential. Sometimes, even characters created for the show become popular enough to appear in the comic books themselves.

It’s always hard to replace familiar characters, but the Arrowverse continues to introduce new ones, often hinting at their future importance – as seen in the third episode of The Flash. However, the show sometimes delays these introductions, allowing other series to get the credit for developing those characters first.

The Flash Teases an Important DC Hero Very Early On

In the beginning of The Flash, Barry Allen wakes up from a coma to a changed world – he now has incredible speed. This newfound power finally offers a clue to the mystery surrounding his mother’s murder. Years ago, a man in a yellow suit killed her, and Barry never understood how he moved so fast. Discovering the truth and the possibility of freeing his wrongly accused father fills Barry with excitement, but he must keep it secret. With dangerous super-powered individuals appearing in the city, Barry becomes the Flash to stop them. What troubles him most, though, is being unable to share this incredible truth with Iris West.

Barry has been in love with Iris for a long time, but when he finally feels ready to tell her, she’s already dating Eddie Thawne. Despite this, Barry and Iris remain friends and spend a lot of time together in the first season – they even go to the movies in Episode 3, “Things You Can’t Outrun.” However, a movie poster advertising a film called “The Rita Farr Story” is more important than their outing. Rita Farr isn’t a character Flash fans would likely recognize, as she’s a key figure in another TV series.

Doom Patrol Does What the Arrowverse Couldn’t With Rita Farr

The first season of The Flash is full of subtle hints that reappear later on, like a future newspaper headline predicting the hero’s disappearance during a “Crisis.” While other clues get expanded upon, the reference to Rita Farr feels incomplete – her only appearance in the Arrowverse is as a face on a poster. It’s unfortunate the franchise hasn’t found a way to develop her story, as she’s a compelling character: an actress transformed by a dangerous gas exposure during filming, granting her the ability to grow to enormous size and leading her to become the superhero Elasti-Woman.

With the Arrowverse losing steam, the Doom Patrol TV show has stepped up, giving Rita a prominent role. Similar to the comics, she joins the team alongside Robotman, Negative Man, Crazy Jane, and the Chief. They embark on unusual adventures that wouldn’t fit within the Arrowverse, but often go unnoticed as they exist on the fringes of the DC TV world. Perhaps if the Arrowverse had included them, Rita and her teammates would have gained more recognition. Now, with James Gunn’s new DC Universe underway, there’s hope that Rita might get another opportunity to shine.

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2025-10-21 19:12