The Flash: Three Burning Questions From The Midseason Finale

• What’s the deal with Firestorm?

Here’s where my “burning questions” turn into a bad pun, and for that, I apologize. Thought vaporized during the particle accelerator accident, Ronnie Raymond is very much alive, as Caitlin and Cisco discovered last night. Then everyone got to see him when he showed up to drive off Reverse-Flash before taking off again.

That’s meant literally, as he flew away, something we’ve yet to see in the shared universe that includes The Flash and Arrow. To me, flight is a game-changer as a power, something that should give even people who can run at speeds faster than the speed of sound some pause. Establishing Firestorm as a flier opens up that can of worms to future characters as well.

Yet Firestorm is still mostly a mystery at this point. We can assume that with Victor Garber joining the cast as Dr. Martin Stein, the TV Firestorm could be a composite being like his classic comic book origin. That would explain why he looks like Ronnie but claims not to be, if he’s having trouble sorting out the voice inside his head.

Another thing fans are dying to know is whether this Firestorm is all about flames, in which case he’d be like a DC version of the Human Torch, or whether he’ll eventually manifest the comic book character’s ability to manipulate inorganic matter as well. As powerful as this makes him, I’d actually like to see it on TV, simply because it would let the writers get more creative and fit in well with the science-minded bent of this particular show.

Dr. Wells promised he’d help bring Ronnie home, so the second half of the season should give us some answers about the Nuclear Man.

Next: Five villains we DON'T need to see on The Flash