The Flash: Are Caitlin Snow And Cisco Ramon Ever Going To Get Super Powers?

It’s with some sadness that I have to report that we have another month to wait for new episodes of The Flash. I’m already getting impatient after the excellent midseason finale, and January 20 is still a long way off.

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On the bright side, it gives us plenty of time to ponder questions about characters other than Barry Allen, and I’ve been thinking a lot about Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. Barry’s buddies at S.T.A.R. Labs have turned into a vital part of the show, not only outfitting and watching over him when he’s in action as the Flash, but also offering useful life advice. At least Caitlin does, while Cisco provides some needed comic relief and names all of the Rogues.

Even without my growing celebrity crush on Danielle Panabaker, who plays Caitlin, I find them both to be enjoyable characters. But DC Comics fans know that both of them are super-powered characters in print, with Caitlin the villain known as Killer Frost and Cisco the hero and Justice League member called Vibe. So it’s fair to ask, are they ever going to be revealed as metahumans on TV?

I hope not, and here’s why:

• It would be inconsistent with the way others were affected by the particle accelerator incident

As we know from various episodes of The Flash, the (possibly intentional) explosion of the particle accelerator had wide-ranging effects that rippled across Central City. People all over the place were turned into metahumans, including Ronnie Raymond, who was at ground zero for the blast. Both Caitlin and Cisco were at S.T.A.R. Labs when the accident happened, but Raymond’s actions were supposed to channel the blast away from everyone else in the building, and so far, that’s appeared to be the case.

On top of that, everyone we’ve seen who was turned into a metahuman was transformed instantly, and with the possible exception of Barry himself, was touching or surrounded by something that reacted to the accelerator energy (Girder was in a vat of metal, Blackout was climbing on an electrical tower, etc.). We’ve already been shown flashbacks to that night and there were no signs of anything like that going on with the science twins.

Is it possible there are things about the accelerator we still don’t know that could be revealed over time? Sure, especially since Harrison Wells is a man of many secrets. But having Caitlin and Cisco suddenly start manifesting powers months down the road without a darn good explanation would be pretty tough to swallow — as would both of them getting powered up in separate, non-accelerator-related coincidences.

• Not everyone on the show needs to be a metahuman

I already know what you’re going to say. Even if we get Killer Frost and Vibe, there are still plenty of normal people in the regular cast: Wells, Joe and Iris West and Eddie Thawne, for starters.

But let’s take a look at that group. The Wests are almost certainly safe, but Wells and Thawne are the two leading candidates to be unmasked as Reverse-Flash. Some fans even think they could both end up in the yellow suit, with Thawne as the classic Reverse-Flash and Wells turning into a play on the Hunter Zolomon version of Zoom. Even if the Doctor isn’t destined to be Flash’s arch enemy, he’s still a mysterious time traveler of some sort.

Barry needs some regular folks in his life other than the ones at home. Caitlin and Cisco work great just the way they are, as key supporting players similar to the way Felicity Smoak and John Diggle have Oliver Queen’s back on Arrow. It’s cool that they are named for comic book characters with powers, but in this case, I’d like them even more if the showrunners exercised some restraint and kept them just like they are now.

Bonus thought: I guess it’s possible that Caitlin and Cisco already have their ice and vibration powers and are both keeping them secrets for their own reasons. Nah, surely not. Right?

Next: Relive the Flash midseason finale with our recap and review