10 Ways The CW Completely Changed The Flash | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

CW's The Flash series is entering its seventh season now, with Team Flash facing off against the Mirror Monarch and Abra Kadabra this season. Despite running seven years now, the show still feels like it has more left in the tank, and they've come a long way since the beginning.

In fact, at this stage in the game, The Flash is actually the longest-running product of CW's "Arrowverse," a shared universe of television series that began with 2012's Arrow series. Much of this is down to the show's cast--The Flash features some of the best performances and most likable characters in all of the CW, despite the characters not necessarily being true to the comics themselves.

10 This Version Of The Flash Gained His Powers At A Much Younger Age

When Barry Allen becomes The Flash in the comics, it’s when he’s an older, more developed scientist. He’s spent years as a CSI and is a respected member of the Central City Police Department; he’s just much slower than people want him to be. However, in the show they actually make a point of saying he’s facing all of these threats much sooner than he was meant to, and that he was actually meant to gain his powers a decade later in his life, where he would’ve been in his mid-30’s.

9 He's Far From The Expert On The Speed Force In This Timeline

The Flash Barry Allen Goes Into the Speed Force

One thing that should be gotten across in every episode of The Flash is that Barry is not the expert. These days he knows more about the Speed Force than ever, but when the series starts he’s not exactly the person to go to.

More often than not, he has to take advice from the science team in the background to get the job done. This is actually a massive change from the comics, where Barry Allen was constantly helping Wally West to learn the ropes, coming up with the genius term “Flash Fact,” where he explained how their speed allowed them to do incredible things.

8 Barry Allen Was Much Closer To Eobard Thawne In This Timeline

Eobard Thawne is a character that plagues Barry in the comics almost constantly. He starts out idolizing Flash, but when he learns that he’s destined to become the Reverse-Flash, it drives him mad. Their relationship is antagonistic from then on. The CW version shows a Thawne who’s infiltrated Barry’s life as Harrison Wells, creating a close relationship with Barry and even helping him learn how to use his powers.

7 After Losing Both Of His Parents, Barry Allen Was Adopted By Iris' Father

An aspect of the show that gave many viewers pause is that after Barry’s mom was killed by the Reverse-Flash, he was taken in by Iris West’s father, Joe West. The two had known one another all their lives and essentially grew up as “siblings,” which made them eventually falling in love and getting married just a bit sketchy. Of course, in the comics, Iris and Barry never even met until Barry came to Central City as a member of their police department.

6 Rather Than Savitar's Original Origin, A Speed Clone Of Barry's Becomes Savitar

The actual Savitar is meant to be a separate character—named after the Hindu god of motion, Savitar is someone who has mastered the Speed Force on the level of Barry and Wally. He’s so powerful that he can bestow people with the power of speed briefly and take it away when he desires. Unfortunately, season three doesn’t run with that concept. Instead, they decide to make Savitar’s identity turn out to be a speed clone of Barry Allen who was created to defeat Savitar, which makes one wonder where the original version of Savitar came from in the first place.

5 Unlike The Comics, The Barry Allen Of Earth-1 Didn't Die In The Crisis On Infinite Earths

A bit of comics trivia that’s been well-known for years is that Barry Allen dies in the Crisis. It’s one of DC Comics’ most iconic panels, and it makes Barry into a hero forever who passes the role on to Wally West. But of course, a television series could never work that way, and despite doing their own version of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry isn’t the one who sacrifices his life. Instead, it’s a Barry from another universe—played by John Wesley Shipp—who gives up his life to give the heroes a chance at saving everything.

4 This Version Of The Flash Runs A Team-Based Out Of STAR Labs

STAR Labs is a concept that was invented in Superman, where it was meant to be a scientific laboratory that was unattached to the government or any corporation. The company goes back and forth between being benevolent and villainous but has rarely had any connection to the Flash. The CW version is significantly different, with STAR Labs being based out of Central City.

3 Barry Allen Got His Powers From The Particle Accelerator In This Timeline

The Flash -- particle accelerator explosion

Barry is meant to have gained his powers from a mixture of chemicals in his crime lab and being hit by lightning while he was covered in them. Of course, the CW show didn’t think this was sufficient, and instead made massive changes to Barry’s origin.

He was still hit by lightning while working with chemicals, but it also happened at the same time as STAR Labs’ particle accelerator experiment. The implication was that superpowers literally didn’t exist before the particle accelerator made them possible.

2 He's Not Quite The Fastest Man Alive In This Universe

Every episode of The Flash begins with Barry explaining how he’s the Fastest Man Alive. And in the comics, this is pretty accurate—the only person who can compete with him is Wally West, and that’s after years of training and being the sole Flash. But the series is significantly different, and the first three years of Flash featured Barry being embarrassed by someone who had much greater control over the Speed Force and could run faster than he could. There's always some speed-based villain who can match up or surpass the guy who's supposed to be the greatest.

1 Barry Allen Doesn't Make His Own Costume, & Cisco Makes It Instead

Somehow all the superheroes are always great at making costumes, even though people who cosplay would unquestionably have a much different stance on things. Of course, Barry was responsible for creating his own costume originally. The television series is a bit different, with Cisco designing the suit mostly to protect Barry from the incredible friction of running so fast. Of course, Flash's costumes are constantly changing and varying from season to season as to whether he looks good or not.

NEXT: Batman Vs Flash: Who Has The Better Villains?