John Wesley Shipp, who famously played The Flash in the eponymous 1990s series, has celebrated the show's 30th anniversary on Twitter. Although the Flash has gone through many iterations in various shows, both animated and live-action, the speedster has remained one of DC's most popular superheroes.
While The CW's The Flash has risen to fame as a key part of the Arrowverse within the past few years, the show was actually preceded by the 1990s The Flash series, which starred Shipp. More specifically, The CW's The Flash has attempted to pay homage to the '90s show whenever possible, even casting Shipp as Henry Allen and Jay Garrick. As a result, while The CW's The Flash has certainly come a long way from its 1990s counterpart, it seems the series has never forgotten where it comes from.
John Wesley Shipp recently posted a heartwarming tweet where he celebrated the 30th year anniversary of the 1990s The Flash show. He includes an image of a program advertisement for The Flash, which has a headline that reads, "Tuesday Nights Just Got Tougher." In addition, the program features Shipp's Flash in the trademark red costume decorated with a lightning bolt insignia on the chest. You can catch Shipp's tribute to the '90s The Flash series below:
In his tweet, Shipp highlights that being cast in The Flash "impacted [his] trajectory" more than he could have ever expected. Shipp then follows this thought throughout the rest of the thread, where he says that being on The Flash, for one, helped him meet and connect with people that he wouldn't have had the chance to know otherwise. Finally, Shipp closes out the tweet with a touching thank you, saying that he's incredibly grateful that "the journey continues," even to this day. It's an extremely sweet message from the man who paved the way for Grant Gustin's Flash, whom fans know and love today; without Shipp's role and his contribution towards bringing the speedster to life, it's unclear if The CW's The Flash would be as popular as it is now.
Although Shipp's The Flash ended nearly 30 years ago, his portrayal of the speedster has remained a touchstone for all future Flashes to come. From welcoming Ezra Miller into the DCEU to guest-starring on The CW's The Flash, Shipp continues to play a central part in any modern-day content about Flash. It's evident that Shipp will remain as a cultural icon and something of a legend within the world of The Flash.
Source: John Wesley Shipp/Twitter