Simpler Simon
Always in Style
I feel safe bringing this up again since Flash has now been firmly "re-established" in the JLU series with lots of appearances, supporting roles, and major spotlights. And as far as I know, we never got a firm answer on why Flash was absent from the first 13 episodes of JLU, save for small cameos in three episodes.
Popular theories included:
a) Michael Rosenbaum was busy with Smallville - I seriously doubt this one. Besides the fact that VA work is very flexible, Rosenbaum has been involved in both shows since they began in the same year, with no conflicts. In fact, he arguably had less to do on JLU, since the rotating cast would mean less appearances. Plus, can you imagine if WB actually openly decided Smallville was more important than JLU, and that Rosenbaum's VA work could wait? There'd be bad blood all over the WB offices.
b)The staff didn't know how to write for Flash, and simply chose not to use him - I always found this very insulting to the creative team, that they would ignore a starring character whose picture appears in the title sequence. Besides, even if the first batch of episodes didn't have any Flash starring roles, there were plenty of supporting roles he could've appeared in (Dark Heart, Kid Stuff, Greatest Story Never Told, a stronger presence in The Return).
So with those 2 out of the way, the only theory left that I can think of is...
c)the Flash EMBARGO. Yeah its kinda gotten old mentioning embargoes, but since Flash is back now, obviously any embargo has been lifted, right? The strongest evidence supporting an embargo is that Smallville used a version of The Flash in season 4, which aired roughly around the same time season 1 of JLU started. Note the purposed Aquaman series affected the character's use on JLU, so it's very possible the live-action shows affect the animated ones. Besides this,
-the creative team acknowledged Flash would be "returning" in Ties That Bind, yet never offered any answers to all the fan speculation. I'm guessing they figured (quite correctly) news of a Flash embargo would cause fans to riot, on top of the Batman embargo already established.
-Flash's absence was explained by a)being too immature to participate in the big league missions and b)being busy in central city. Since JLU refrained from openly dealing w/timeframes (did all the s1 episodes happen in weeks? months?), it's odd a character would note that theyve been away for any extended time - unless it was a throwaway line to curious audiences.
So yeah...Flash embargo? Or more crop circles and the spread of boy bands?
Popular theories included:
a) Michael Rosenbaum was busy with Smallville - I seriously doubt this one. Besides the fact that VA work is very flexible, Rosenbaum has been involved in both shows since they began in the same year, with no conflicts. In fact, he arguably had less to do on JLU, since the rotating cast would mean less appearances. Plus, can you imagine if WB actually openly decided Smallville was more important than JLU, and that Rosenbaum's VA work could wait? There'd be bad blood all over the WB offices.
b)The staff didn't know how to write for Flash, and simply chose not to use him - I always found this very insulting to the creative team, that they would ignore a starring character whose picture appears in the title sequence. Besides, even if the first batch of episodes didn't have any Flash starring roles, there were plenty of supporting roles he could've appeared in (Dark Heart, Kid Stuff, Greatest Story Never Told, a stronger presence in The Return).
So with those 2 out of the way, the only theory left that I can think of is...
c)the Flash EMBARGO. Yeah its kinda gotten old mentioning embargoes, but since Flash is back now, obviously any embargo has been lifted, right? The strongest evidence supporting an embargo is that Smallville used a version of The Flash in season 4, which aired roughly around the same time season 1 of JLU started. Note the purposed Aquaman series affected the character's use on JLU, so it's very possible the live-action shows affect the animated ones. Besides this,
-the creative team acknowledged Flash would be "returning" in Ties That Bind, yet never offered any answers to all the fan speculation. I'm guessing they figured (quite correctly) news of a Flash embargo would cause fans to riot, on top of the Batman embargo already established.
-Flash's absence was explained by a)being too immature to participate in the big league missions and b)being busy in central city. Since JLU refrained from openly dealing w/timeframes (did all the s1 episodes happen in weeks? months?), it's odd a character would note that theyve been away for any extended time - unless it was a throwaway line to curious audiences.
So yeah...Flash embargo? Or more crop circles and the spread of boy bands?