The Flash season 8 hit the ground running story-wise, but here’s why the season 8 premiere of the Arrowverse series also looks better than it did in past seasons. Unlike previous years, The Flash began season 8 with part one of a five-part special event that features fellow superheroes like Black Lightning and Batwoman. The Armageddon event is the first of its kind in the Arrowverse, and the first crossover-like story since Crisis on Infinite Earths in 2019. What’s changed to make the series’ aesthetic and special effects pop?

The Arrowverse is no stranger to crossovers. Even when the undertaking is smaller in scale when compared with Crisis on Infinite Earths, the superheroes interacting with other characters in the shared universe is always a treat for fans. When it comes to The Flash’s Armageddon, which sees the alien villain Despero appear in the present to stop Barry Allen from bringing an end to the world in the future, the special effects and CGI look crisp, clear, and generally fantastic. The Flash’s season 8 premiere looked better than most seasons because it likely has a bigger budget in place for Armageddon than for its season 7 premiere (which was filmed mostly inside due to the ongoing pandemic) and others before it.

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Prior to Armageddon, it could be The CW used most of its budget on the big crossovers, including Crisis on Infinite Earths and Elseworlds. Considering that the Arrowverse doesn’t have a major crossover this year beyond the characters guest starring on The Flash, it’s possible the money that would have been used to boost Armageddon instead. In the past, crossovers have been the biggest promotional event for The CW. The Flash’s Armageddon event got some promo ahead of the season 8 premiere, but the marketing for it wasn’t as noticeable as it was for Crisis on Infinite Earths, which encompassed five Arrowverse shows and officially brought Black Lightning, Smallville, and Lucifer into the DCTV multiverse. It’s possible that the money used for marketing was also funneled into making Armageddon look as good as it could be.

The Flash and Jack from Royal Flush Gang

Without a bigger budget, it’s likely fans would not have witnessed The Flash’s leveled-up powers, which included vibrating fast enough to split himself in two and employing his speed-thinking to take out the Royal Flush gang in an instant. The Flash season 8 premiere also saw the characters out and about — in Jitters, walking around the Central City tech convention, etc. — instead of being stuck at S.T.A.R. Labs. Iris West-Allen also has a new home for Central City Citizen Media, which means the Arrowverse series had enough money to use on special effects and build a new set for the intrepid reporter.

The elevated visuals and effects promises a great start to The Flash season 8, and that will lend itself to the high-profile guest stars; the effects have already boosted The Atom’s powers, which are something Legends of Tomorrow put on the back-burner for a while (likely due to budget, interestingly enough). All told, The Flash’s presumably higher budget for Armageddon will hopefully make the showdown between the Scarlet Speedster and Despero all the better.

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