The Flash - 'The Fury of Firestorm'

Feeling so blue without you...

This week, the search is on for a new co-Firestorm, as Martin Stein's half of the matrix begins to run out of control.

Caitlin finds two people who were exposed to the matrix during the accelerator catastrophe, both of whom have promisingly alliterative names. Henry Hewitt is a high-flying scientist, whole Jefferson Jackson is a high school dropout and mechanic, which for Caitlin is a no-brainer, since she's looking to find someone to fill Ronnie's shoes. Barry is less sold on science is all, and insists they at least contact both candidates. Jackson is not keen, so Hewitt gets a tryout, but the fusion fizzles, leaving him enraged, bitter, and just a bit combustible.

That is not a good smile.

Elsewhere, Joe introduces Iris to her mother, but Iris shoots Francine down. Francine comes back with her trump card: She is dying. And at Mercury Labs, Harrison Wells is seen nicking stuff from their Applied Sciences* division. Joe asks Patty not to mention this to Barry.

When Jackson doesn't jump at the chance to be a superhero, Caitlin bites his head off. With Stein in critical condition, however, she realises that she was in the wrong and apologises, realising that Jackson didn't drop his college offer because he gave up, but because with a busted knee and no football scholarship, he couldn't afford to exploit his academic gifts. Hewitt comes after Jackson and Caitlin, but seeing how desperate Stein's condition is, Jackson relents and they two fuse naturally to become a new Firestorm, who works with Barry to wear down Hewitt. They don't even murder him, instead locking him in the pipeline until he agrees to keep mum. Honestly, he was a bit of a jerk, but this still seems a little harsh.

Stein and Jackson head off to train their combined powers, while Iris once more shoots her mother down. She has confirm Francine's illness, but also learned that has at least a half-brother, and knows that it would kill her father if he has a son he wasn't there for.

Until now!

In a subplot, Barry has been flirting awkwardly with Patty as she asks for his help with a possible 'man shark' case. Joe encourages him to go for it, so he pops over to see her. Sadly, the man shark angle hasn't been coming to anything.

MANSHARK! Hahahaha! Oh, it is glorious.

And then Wells zaps the Manshark with a ray gun and swans off like a magnificent bastard until Barry catches up to him. I seriously suspect that this might actually be Earth-2 Harrison Wells and not Zoom after all.

* Apparently DC corporate speak for 'superweapons for purely peaceful purposes.'