Huge DC Hint Means Arrowverse Can Eventually Complete The Flash Family
A line in The Flash season 8, episode 15, named “Into the Speed Force”, sets up the completion of the Arrowverse’s Flash Family. A reference to an invisible character named “Max” lays the groundwork for the beginning of a new Arrowverse character. The Flash’s Max is widely inferred to be Max Mercury from DC Comics.
While in the Still Force where the past, current, and the future all exist jointly, Barry caught glimpses of several crucial people in his inner circle. He mentioned several names, such as Cisco, Jesse, Wally, and Harry. What he saw accounted for more than just lost loved ones and former allies. Since Barry’s list of known acquaintances doesn’t encompass Max, it appears that this was a tease of a character who will become a part of his life either in the next few episodes or in The Flash season 9. How he’ll join the Arrowverse hasn’t been explained but the context of the reference implies he’ll be illustrated as a friend.
Introducing Max Mercury at some point in The Flash’s future can be what allows the Arrowverse to finally finalize its version of the Flash Family. After the Golden Age hero was revived in new comics and brought into the Flash’s corner of DC Comics, he was utilized as a mentor figure, which establishes a blueprint for his Arrowverse counterpart. If that happens, he can join Barry’s close-knit family in a capacity that’s not unlike the role John Wesley Shipp’s Jay Garrick currently holds. And with Max on the show, The Arrowverse could very well have the final partner of its interpretation of the Flash Family from the comic books.
The Flash Family is something that the Arrowverse has been slowly creating from the beginning. Throughout several seasons, the show has inaugurated various speedster heroes and integrated them into Barry’s inner circle. By season 5, it already had Jay Garrick, XS, Jesse Quick, and Wally West. It further expanded the Flash mythos with the introduction of Jordan Fisher’s Bart Allen aka Impulse, who is also the fourth manifestation of the Flash in DC Comics. Of course, it doesn’t have every DC speedster, as it’s still missing characters like Johnny Quick. However, it has nearly every superhero relevant to the Flash’s story. One it doesn’t have, however, is Max Mercury, who was an important ally to the Bart Allen and Wally West editions of the Flash.
With The Flash approaching its ninth (and potentially final) season, it seems like Max’s Arrowverse arrival will be faultlessly timed. Considering how far along Barry’s superhero journey is, it makes sense that the show has reached a point where the Flash Family is almost complete. For the series, Max joining Team Flash as a mentor (or as an additional speedster hero) can be the icing on the cake.