'The Flash' Cheat Sheet: Teddy Sears Explains Everything You Need to Know About Jay Garrick & the DC Multivers

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The CW

Let's be honest -- being a fan of The Flash is wildly thrilling, but it can be a bit confusing if you're not armed with the entire DC Comics canon.

And while tonight's episode, "Flash of Two Worlds," is one of the best hours of the series, (Seriously, it's SO good!) it could be a little overwhelming if you don't know the comic book basics.

To help give you the best viewing experience possible, we called up The Flash's newcomer, Teddy Sears -- aka Jay Garrick -- to give you a DC Comics cheat sheet that's jam-packed with everything you need to know before tuning in.

So without further ado -- take it away, Teddy!


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Who is Jay Garrick? "So, The Flash started as a comic book in 1940 with Jay Garrick playing The Flash," Sears answered. "Jay Garrick was a scientist who -- after the results of an accident, to put it mildly -- found himself with the ability to run at almost the speed of light. So he found himself with super speed after this accident." Hmm… sounds familiar, eh, Flash fans?

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So How Did Barry Allen Become The Flash? "In the '50s, The Flash comic was resuscitated and modernized," Sears said. "The wonderful people at D.C. Comics gave The Flash a different identity and they basically just rebooted the whole thing. The Flash was no longer Jay Garrick, he was Barry Allen, who was younger. Barry Allen also has the same abilities as Jay Garrick, and he does nothing but good things in the aid of fighting bad guys, and helping the lives of ordinary citizens."


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If Jay Garrick and Barry Allen Are The Flash, How Can They Both Exist? "The Flash that we know on the TV series exists in Earth-One, which is, in other words, our Earth -- the Earth that we live in," Sears expertly explained. "In 1961, in order to satisfy the fans of The Flash who liked the original Flash, Jay Garrick, they created what's known as the multiverse. This consists of multiple Earths, which is how Jay Garrick could join Barry Allen."

How Many Earths Are in the DC Multiverse? "So not only is there an Earth-Two, but there are 52 Earths in total, which allows for greater possibilities in time-travel, and the presence of any number of various bad guys," he said. "It's all very fun. The writers can literally pull from 52 different Earths for material, so it's really cool and very confusing."


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What Kind of DC Easter Eggs Can We Expect? "What's really cool is episode two [is inspired by] The Flash [#123] comic book from 1961 that finds Jay Garrick and Barry Allen together for the first time," Sears said. "There's a very famous comic book cover called "Flash of Two Worlds" and we have faithfully recreated that moment. It's on all the posters, it's when both Flashes are called for by Patty Spivot and are running towards her on opposite sides of a big brick pillar."

Tune into The Flash tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW and then check back to ETonline after the episode for even more superhero scoop!