John Wesley Shipp Is Back As Flash — But Not That One
In 1990 it was rare for a superhero to get his own live-action series, especially in prime time. The task was even harder if your name wasn’t as well-known as “Superman” or “Batman.” But somehow The Flash pulled it off and speeded onto CBS’s lineup. The show didn’t last long, but it gave superhero media one important, world-changing thing: it cast Mark Hamill as the Joker-like supervillain Trickster, an act that included the first public performance of his Joker voice. It inspired the producers of B:TAS to hire Mark officially as Joker, and the rest is history.
Hamill certainly got a lot of work out of The Flash. The actual Flash less so. John Wesley Shipp hasn’t gotten to do much in Hollywood since….until recently, when Greg Berlanti’s DC Universe started paying him some love. Shipp has not only gotten to reprise his old role on The Flash but he appeared in the Crisis super-crossover from 2019, and now he’s going to show up again — this time on Stargirl.
We haven’t heard much about the second season of this show — in fact, this is the first casting news we’ve received so far for Stargirl — but just like his Crisis appearance, Shipp will appear as Jay Garrick, the original Golden Age Flash from the comics. And yes, he’ll be wearing his doofy winged helmet. You might be wondering how there can be a Flash before Barry Allen….well, let’s remember that Stargirl takes place in a different universe from the “main” one that the Superman, Batwoman, Regular Flash, etc…shows inhabit.
Shipp’s career outside of tights has mostly been in soap operas. He’s appeared on One Life to Live, Dawson’s Creek, All My Children, and the MTV version of Teen Wolf. Stargirl Season 2 is expected to appear later in 2021 on The CW.