The Flash

The fastest man alive.

RELEASED 7 Oct 2014128h 15m · 184 episodes★ 7.7 TMDB

After being struck by lightning, CSI investigator Barry Allen awakens from a nine-month coma to discover he has been granted the gift of super speed. Teaming up with S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry takes on the persona of The Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, to protect his city.

Why it matters in DC

Barry Allen and S.T.A.R. Labs give the Arrowverse a hero whose powers open up a different scale of adventure from Oliver Queen's. The investigative and scientific team around him makes becoming the Flash an ongoing collaborative story rather than a solitary origin.

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1 title to watch before The Flash — 119h 10m in total.

ArrowRecommended119h 10m★ 6.8

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How this title is selected

Story prerequisites are curated. Likely prerequisites are inferred from sequel numbering or explicit synopsis references. Recommendations are earlier stories in the same continuity; background picks are separate adaptations. Series lists cover whole shows, not an episode-by-episode watch order.

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Where it fits in the DC universe

The Flash is title 2 of 7 in our Arrowverse viewing sequence. The Flash develops Barry Allen's Arrowverse story alongside Arrow and the other connected shows. Follow seasons and crossover episodes with their broadcast context when moving between series. This Barry is separate from the DCEU film's Flash, even though both adaptations explore alternate timelines and changes to family history.

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