Robbie Amell Joins FLASH Cast
Earlier this week, we posted news that Simon Stagg and Danton Black would be part of The Flash. Now there’s news that Robbie Amell is joining the cast as Ronnie Raymond.
Raymond, a maintenance worker at the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator, is also the fiancee of Dr. Kaitlyn Snow (Danielle Panabaker). In the pilot, Snow mentions that her fiancee was killed in the explosion, but the fact that there’s now an actor playing the part (and he shows up in episode three) seems to indicate that Raymond will be on track to become his alter-ego, Firestorm.
In the comics, the original Firestorm was created when a nuclear explosion fused Raymond and physics professor Dr. Martin Stein into a new being — Firestorm, the Nuclear Man — able to alter the molecular structure of matter and change one thing into another. Raymond is the body of the hero, while Stein becomes trapped inside as a discorporate consciousness.
Created in 1978 by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom, Firestorm has been part of the Justice League (and the animated Super Friends). Several versions of the character have passed the pages of DC Comics over the years. The New 52 version merges Raymond with Jason Rusch, who was the third Firestorm in the comics.
It appears that Raymond will be caught in the same explosion that caused the lightning storm that hits Barry Allen, and it’s the same explosion that will cause Danton Black to become Multiplex (a Firestorm villain from the comics).
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Producer Greg Berlanti said of Amell’s casting: “Geoff Johns, Andrew Kreisberg and myself designed the pilot and series to include Ronnie (aka Firestorm) — and to actually have someone with Robbie’s talent playing the role is beyond exciting. We can’t wait for viewers and fans of the character to check it out.”
Given that Berlanti mentions Firestorm, it’s a safe bet that the CW will soon announce the casting of Stein.
