UPDATE: A FULL TRAILER for The Flash is now online - WATCH IT Above, followed by an official synopsis, below. 

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Synopsis

Barry Allen was just 11 years old when his mother was killed in a bizarre and terrifying incident and his father was falsely convicted of the murder.  With his life changed forever by the tragedy, Barry was taken in and raised by Detective Joe West, the father of Barry’s best friend, Iris.  Now, Barry has become a brilliant, driven and endearingly geeky CSI investigator, whose determination to uncover the truth about his mother’s strange death leads him to follow up on every unexplained urban legend and scientific advancement that comes along.

Barry’s latest obsession is a cutting edge particle accelerator, created by visionary physicist Harrison Wells and his S.T.A.R. Labs team, who claim that this invention will bring about unimaginable advancements in power and medicine.  However, something goes horribly wrong during the public unveiling, and when the devastating explosion causes a freak storm, many lives are lost and Barry is struck by lightning.  After nine months in a coma, Barry awakens to find his life has changed once again – the accident has given him the power of super speed, granting him the ability to move through Central City like an unseen guardian angel.

Though initially excited by his newfound powers, Barry is shocked to discover he is not the only “meta-human” who was created in the wake of the accelerator explosion – and not everyone is using their new powers for good.  In the months since the accident, the city has seen a sharp increase in missing people, unexplained deaths and other strange phenomena.  Barry now has a renewed purpose – using his gift of speed to protect the innocent, while never giving up on his quest to solve his mother’s murder and clear his father’s name.  For now, only a few close friends and associates know that Barry is literally the fastest man alive, but it won’t be long before the world learns what Barry Allen has become…The Flash.

As Arrow - the hit TV show based on the DC superhero Green Arrow - wrapped up its season 2 tonight on The CW, fans of the comic book adaptation were treated to a teaser trailer of its upcoming spinoff, The Flash, starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen, The Fasted Man Alive. Check it out above.

The teaser features Stephen Amell as The Arrow testing the aforementioned Fastest Living Man's newfound super-speed powers. Can The Flash outrun one of The Arrow's arrows? Apparently, yes, with relative ease.

The trailer doesn't appear to be footage from the TV show itself; rather, it seems more like the sort of promo that's just intended to give viewers an idea of what the show will be/look like and how The Flash will actually appear in action.

Flash TV Show Teaser Trailer

Visually, he looks pretty fantastic. He's the right amount of blur and lightning streaks - very reminiscent of the comic books - with some occasional slowdown for the viewers' benefit. Some people have  bemoaned the almost thunder-esque sound effect that accompanies the pitter-patter of his feet, but I wouldn't necessarily expect to hear that in the TV series proper.

UPDATE: Here's the original Arrow-themed teaser trailer for The Flash:

Speaking of bemoaning, while many fans have appreciated the look of The Flash's costume - dark red though it is - others have pointed out that leather might not behoove a man running faster than the speed of sound (you know, what with all the chafing).

While there's probably some truth to that, the aesthetic of the costume is great nonetheless. This may be the most high quality-looking superhero costume to hit live action television. Not that that's a difficult bar to surpass - Arrow's wearing some grungy leather and a hood, Smallville's Superman didn't dress the part until the final episode (and even then, only kind of), and Deathlok looked almost Power Rangers-esque.

Flash Costume Grant Gustin Trailer

In fact, the only other costume that comes even close to matching it is the one from the original Flash series in 1990, and it had some problems of its own.

As for the tone of the teaser, it's one of the most promising aspects about the show. Though Arrow bounces between fun and gritty - with great success - there's often a sense of melancholy about the proceedings. This Flash teaser, on the other hand, looks lighthearted, colorful, joyful, and just plain fun, which is exactly what you should expect from an adaptation of Flash.

Of course, that doesn't mean the show won't be serious or raise the stakes from time to time. We already (basically) know that the series will revolve, to some degree, around Barry's mother's murder and the mystery "blur" that killed her.

Flash in Batman vs Superman movie?

The only question remaining now (for my money, anyway) is: Will The Flash grow stronger and faster as the show goes on, or is this the speed we can expect to see from the guy?

This was always one of the issues with the Justice League cartoons. In big fight scenes, The Flash could never go too fast because then the audience wouldn't be able to see him, which sort of turned him into a funnier, slightly faster Superman without super strength, flight, hearing, x-ray vision, or ice breath.

What say you, Screen Ranters? Do you like the look of The Flash and his powers? Did the teaser trailer impress you? Drop us a line in the comments.

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The Flash airs Fall 2014 on The CW.

Follow me on Twitter @benandrewmoore.