With season 1 of The Flash going strong - including a series premiere that was the most-watched CW episode ever - all eyes are currently on the critically-acclaimed Arrow spinoff. And that's not likely to change any time soon, considering a big crossover between the two shows is fast approaching (read the synopsis here).

Speaking of Arrow and Flash crossing over, the world of those two shows is about to blend some more thanks to an upcoming appearance by an Arrow villain on the new series.

Courtesy of The CW, you can now get your first look at Robert Knepper as Tockman a.k.a. The Clock King in his appearance on The Flash.

Check out the images below:

Robert Knepper as the Clock King on Flash

Captain and Iris West Held Hostage on The Flash

Captain and Iris West in The Flash

Clock King Captain and Iris West on The Flash

Grant Gustin on The Flash

Robert Knepper Takes Hostages as Clock King on The Flash

The Clock King Takes Hostages in The Flash

The Clock King first appeared on episode 14 of Arrow season 2. He was a former employee of Kord Industries (as in Ted Kord of Blue Beetle fame) and a nearly psychopathic bank robber whose reason for stealing money was to help treat his sister, who had cystic fibrosis. Arrow and company defeated him at the end of the episode and, as the images above indicate, he was taken to prison, where he was apparently given really cool glasses.

While DC continues operating on a polar opposite business model from that of Marvel that creates a fractured “multiverse” (where none of the company’s small-screen properties are connected to anything else), it’s nice to see The CW committing to the idea of a shared universe among its two superhero dramas. As more and more Arrow characters, like Felicity, begin popping up on Flash, it will only be a matter of time before some Flash stars begin appearing on Arrow (which happened a little bit during the series’ second season). And of course it will all eventually lead to the massive crossover next month.

So far, these crossover elements of Arrow/The Flash have worked out well for both shows. Barry Allen's appearance on Arrow season 2 really opened up the universe in terms of story possibilities; it also added a new sense of fun and whimsy. Likewise, Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak's appearance on The Flash have been brief but entertaining.

But can we expect to see these crossover elements in perpetuity? Is there a point at which there's too much crossing over and not enough focus on establishing these shows as their own entities? What say you, Screen Rant readers?

The Flash airs Tuesdays @8pm on The CW.

Source: The CW