One of my greatest enjoyments in the recent DC Comics reboot has been the Justice League. Even though I’m not entirely sold on the plot, the interaction between the characters has been golden. Naturally, I begin to wonder who would be best to cast if they were to film the series.
Justice League, current incarnation
In my three last posts, I have discussed Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, meaning that the remaining members of the Justice League are Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Cyborg. For that reason, I’d like to turn my attention to a character who’s often overlooked due to the very singular type of power that he has. I’m speaking, of course, about the fastest man alive (let’s not get into the discussion as to whether or not he’s faster than Superman, all right?), I’m talking about none other than The Flash.
Now; while “The Flash” is a name that has been used by several different speedsters in various incarnations of DC Comics universes, The Flash that I am speaking of is the one that appears in the current incarnation – The New 52.
Generally considered to be the first hero of the Silver Age of comic books, Barry Allen’s “The Flash” is one of the main characters of The Justice League and in his own series, where he is beginning to draw even deeper into the Speed Force, enhancing his mental abilities and understanding of the universe, probability and causality. This is a pretty big development for the character, who was originally launched as nothing more than a simple speedster.
So which three actors could I imagine seeing in the role of Barry Allen if there were to be a movie or television series made around the current incarnation of Justice League?
#1. Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber
Best known to many as Apollo on Battlestar Galactica, Jamie Bamber is a talented actor that deserves far more attention than he has been given. I was very much looking forwards to seeing him on 17th Precinct, a series that was canceled to the disappointment of many. Instead, I’ll have to wait for John Doe, a movie that has him cast as the anti-hero, vigilante and accused killer John Doe. In the movie, we’re going to follow him as he dissects and explains his reasoning behind his actions and the events that have now come to divide communities worldwide. Quite a difference from what we usually see Jamie do, in my opinion!
Having been very impressed with him on Battlestar, I’ve been looking forward to seeing what the next big thing for Jamie Bamber would be, and I think putting him into the role of The Flash on an incarnation of Justice League would be a very interesting way to do that.
#2. James Roday
James Roday
James Roday plays the character of Shawn Spencer in Psych, but deserves to get something else to challenge him some time soon, and I think a role as our favorite speedster might just do the trick. While physically unlike Barry Allen, I think he could be made up to look like him well enough to convince the comic book fans. He’s also got a very physical sense of humor in his acting that I think would play well in the overall scheme of things once he’s put together with the rest of the Justice League.
#3. Michael Weatherly
Michael Weatherly
Michael Weatherly is Agent DiNozzo on NCIS, a role I love him in but which I’d like to see him compliment with something else at some point. After all, it’s more or less the only thing he’s done since he was on Dark Angel in 2002. One of the things he does so well in NCIS is to play a more-or-less serious role in a very light-hearted and happy way, a characteristic that I think would be great for Barry Allen.
While he’s not my favorite choice for the character, he’s an actor that I want to see doing something new and challenging for once, and a role as Barry Allen would be amazing.
Addendum: I wasn’t considering this one originally, but I just realized how awesome Neil Patrick Harris would be for The Flash, too. Let’s add him as an honorary #4 on the list.