The Flash will return to the airwaves for its fifth season in a couple of months, and the new episodes will see Barry change up his suit yet again. The Scarlet Speedster is staying scarlet, but there are some significant changes to his new friction-proof suit. Cisco has clearly been busy coming up with something fresh for his pal, and we can only imagine at this point what special features might be included. Check out the first look at how Barry will be speeding around Central City in Season 5!
At first glance, the image of the new Flash suit (shared by Flash star Grant Gustin on Instagram) may not actually seem all that different from past suits on The Flash. It's still red, it still has the lightning bolt on the chest, it still has the lightning bolts over the ears on the cowl. Upon closer inspection, you may notice a big change in that cowl. The top half of the cowl looks the same as ever, but the bottom half seems to show that Barry doesn't have his neck, cheekbones, or chin covered. Did something happen that Barry feels comfortable showing more skin, or is this just an example of Cisco getting creative with the design?
The reduction on the cowl isn't the only big change. If you take a look back at Barry's suit for Season 4, you'll notice that there was a lot more gold to go with the red. The seams in his Season 4 suit were gold, and there was a gold lightning bolt stripe on each arm. There's still gold on his belt, his chest insignia, and his boots, but that's about it south of the cowl.
Speaking of his boots, there's a relatively minor change on those as well. On the Season 4 suit, the arrows on his boots had the point facing down toward his toes. The Season 5 suit has the arrow facing upward. Is there a special meaning to this change, like a tribute to the recently-outed Green Arrow in Star City? Probably not. Nevertheless, it's a difference.
Grant Gustin released the image of The Flash's new outfit shortly after a different image leaked. A bunch of people posted some comments mocking both the suit and how Grant Gustin fit into it, and Gustin shared his furious reaction online. The "First OFFICIAL look" caption on his Instagram post seems more than a little directed at the people who went nuts in a negative way over the leaked photo. Interestingly, this official look at the new suit reveals that Barry's new duds will appear more like his outfit from the 2024 newspaper photo that revealed The Flash vanished in a yet-to-be-determined crisis:
While we still don't know exactly the reasoning behind the alterations to Barry's suit, it's possible that they have everything to do with the arrival of Barry's daughter from the future. In the Season 5 trailer, we learn that Nora brought some future technology with her on her journey to the past, including the iconic Flash ring that comic fans know well. The Flash ring contains the Flash suit, allowing Barry to take it with him wherever he goes rather than race back to STAR Labs whenever he's called upon for some heroics.
The Flash returns for Season 5 on Tuesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET as the only one of the four Arrow-verse shows remaining in the same time slot. If all goes well in the big three-show crossover in December, the Arrow-verse may grow from four shows to five with a hero straight out of Gotham in the lead. If you're not up on the new characters coming to the Arrow-verse, swing by our breakdown on who will be on the scene in the 2018-2019 season. For some non-superhero viewing options, check out our fall TV premiere guide.
