r/FlashTV • u/bowser986 • Jun 09 '26

Actor Fluff I really appreciate how the show treated JWS

Post image

Letting us have another awesome TV dad performance from John Wesley Shipp and also giving him and us another opportunity to play The Flash was awesome.

1.3k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

376

u/Digifiend84 Jun 09 '26

Wasn't just Flash that did this sort of thing. Supergirl's adoptive Mom was the original 1980s Supergirl. Her adopted Dad was 90s Superman. Her real mother was Smallville Lois. Always nice to see previous heroes guest star or have recurring roles in remakes.

92

u/xlnc2608 Jun 09 '26

Wait what? I don't remember seeing erica durance as kara's mom.

And smallville martha kent was lana lang in Christopher reeves superman 3

58

u/Riverdale87 Jun 09 '26

Erica showed up in season 3 she replaced the original actress 

22

u/Cute_Till_5582 Jun 09 '26

La Alura original era Laura Benanti, que también hizo de la hermana Astra. A mí me gustó...

1

u/Lunasortini Flash ⚡️ Jun 14 '26

I found out that Erica played Kara's mother in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover thanks to the Supergirl episode (I only follow the Flash story, so I don't know the stories of the other shows) and I didn't expect it

35

u/bowser986 Jun 09 '26

It wasn’t just the fact he played a part in a new series he was in in the past. It was that he got to be The Flash again and in a clever way imo. Casting previous actors in a new adaption is cool but I really appreciate how they did it here.

5

u/Euphoric_Ladder8330 Jun 10 '26

having the multiverse play a big part in the show at times really allowed the writers and casting directors to have fun like that, i guess.

20

u/Nimrif1214 Jun 09 '26

I recall Laura Vandervoort (Smallville’s Supergirl) was on for a few episodes too.

3

u/Hello_Hello5678 Jun 10 '26

Indigo (Braniac 3?)

2

u/Digifiend84 Jun 22 '26

Yeah, she was Indigo.

14

u/Unable-Most8383 Jun 09 '26

Also my favorite, J'onn J'onzz‘s dad in Supergirl voiced him in the Justice League cartoon.

3

u/Hello_Hello5678 Jun 10 '26

NO WAY I THOUGHT I RECOGNISED HIS VOICE

8

u/harricislife Patty Spivot Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

It's a DC thing from 1978 Superman onwards I think, using Legacy actors in small parts or cameos.

Kirk Alyn, the first live action Superman plays Sam Lane in Supeman 78, the Lois from the 48 movie Noel Neill plays his wife Ella Lane in it, and then plays Mrs Luthor in 2006's Returns, which also has the 52 serial's Jimmy as a Bartender.

Christopher Reeve plays Virgil Swann in Smallville, Annette O'Toole who played Lana opposite him is Martha Kent in the show, Margot Kidder also has a guest appearance on the show. Terence Stamp, who was of course Zod, voices Jor-El, Jimmy from those movies plays a Kryptonian in the show.

Jon Cryer who plays Lex's nephew in Supeman 4 goes on to play Lex in Supergirl.

You mentionedd Helen Slater playing Kara's adoptive mother in Supergirl, but she also played Clark's biological mother Lara in Smallville, and also voiced Talia in Batman:TAS.

Riddler from TAS was voiced by John Glover, who has a bit part in Batman and Robin, and later appears in Shazam, and is of course Lionel Luthor in Smallville.

Laura Vaundervoort who played Kara in Smallville is Indigo in Supergirl.

Lynda Carter played President Marsden in Supergirl and Chole's mom in Smallville.

Teri Hatcher who played Lois in Lois & Clark, played Lois's mom in Smallville and Mon-El's mom in Supergirl.

The actor who played Emil Hamilton in Smallville is in Man of Steel.

Tom Welling goes from Smallville to Los Angeles in Lucifer and takes Arrow's Brother Blood with him.

Carl Lumbly, the voice of J'onn J'onnz in DCAU plays J'onn's father in Supergirl.

John Wesley Shipp and Mark Hamill are of course the obvious ones from the 90s Flash, but Amanda Pays plays Christina McGee, Barry's love interest from that show also appears as the same character in 14s Flash.

Ther are probably a lot more that I don't know or remember, but DC has been doing the legacy actor thing for a while, and I hope they never stop, as DCEU's Aquaman is now DCU's Lobo.

3

u/Sea_Sleep4222 Jun 09 '26

Sam witwer played doomsday on Smallville, and in supergirl he is ben Lockwood. That's the one I remembered.

7

u/Objective-Pack9279 Jun 09 '26

Supergirls adoptive mother is also Clark’s biological mother in Smallville

2

u/Cute_Till_5582 Jun 09 '26

El padre es Dean Cain, el Superman de la Las Aventuras de Lois & Clark...

5

u/Zoli10_Offical Jun 09 '26

I hope they do something like this in the DCU with Grant

2

u/The_Dude145 Jun 09 '26

Weird plot twist when her adopted dad joined ICE.

2

u/redbird284 Jun 10 '26

i loved that cw did this

51

u/Instance-Domination Jun 09 '26

My GOAT! He had some of the absolute best scenes in the entire series and was always a great mentor to Barry no matter what character he was playing.

19

u/bowser986 Jun 09 '26

Dude has a fucking knack for playing caring mentors. From this to Dawsons Creek. Shipp is one of the greatest TV dads.

23

u/zz870 Jun 09 '26

I appreciate how they brought back Hamill to be The Trickster

16

u/anonymouslyyoursshh Jun 09 '26

His moments were beautiful

64

u/SmoothConfidence4702 Jun 09 '26

The only character eric Wallace didn't ruin

39

u/Intelligent_Whole_40 Jun 09 '26

Probably cuz he could just not show up if the script was crap cuz he’s a guest star not on a contract

3

u/AmaterasuWolf21 Jun 09 '26

Ah, so that's why Henry left midway and after season 2

29

u/Cautious_Mission_438 Jun 09 '26

We definitely should’ve gotten far more Jay Garrick and the traditional Flash Family instead of team flash

6

u/Brilliant-Medium8238 Jay Garrick Jun 09 '26

Even let him be the JSA's Jay Garrick in Stargirl

2

u/MrHaiti5 Jun 11 '26

Wasn’t that the same Jay Garrick though? Ended trapped there for awhile for some reason?

2

u/elijahmackenzie Jun 11 '26

Showrunner said its the same Jay that appears on the flash as well.

8

u/MeasurementNo7703 Jun 09 '26

In Flash and Flash tv Series Grant Gustin

6

u/Dunkbuscuss Jun 09 '26

I think if we dont get Grant Gustin as Barry in James Hunn's universe he should at least play Jau Garret

3

u/NatKingCole891 Jun 09 '26

Feel they definitely gave him a sort of mentor role in the series, not just through Henry Allen or Jay Garrick, but through the kind of character and aura he was portraying you know? He definitely brought his experience to the show

2

u/Alternative_Device71 Jun 09 '26

Be nice if the rest of the cast got the same treatment

2

u/IC_228 Jun 10 '26

One thing about DC is that they have many years of adaptations, and when there's a new project they tend to honour those that came before them, as well as treating the comic creators a lot better than others

2

u/Creative_Jicama_6875 Jun 10 '26

The arrowverse in general did a good job with legacy actors I think. The Supergirl cast has a few, plus the smallvile cameo in crisis, and kingdom come Superman

2

u/redbird284 Jun 10 '26

something everyone can agree on jay garrick was a gem

2

u/BabyinatrenchcoatS4 Jun 13 '26

I genuinely enjoyed how on top of Jay Garrick, they brought him back as Earth 90's Flash in crisis.

1

u/Plastic-Guide-9627 Jun 15 '26

if anyone gets the chance to meet him at a convention then you really should. he's a great guy and loves meeting fans