Entertainment
'The Flash's Mason Bridge May Have Comic Book Ties
There's a cool new character coming to The Flash on Jan. 27 — and no, I'm not talking about the villain Pied Piper, though he looks pretty rad too. I'm talking about Mason Bridge, played by soap opera vet Roger Howarth. Who is Mason Bridge to The Flash ? For now, he looks like just a supporting character, but don't let that fool you. I predict that the show has big things in store for him. According to Deadline, Mason will be a reporter at Central City Picture News, where he'll work alongside Iris. He's also going to be doing some serious digging into Harrison Wells, which is the last thing Barry wants right now.
If you're a fan of the Flash comics, then the name Mason Bridge should be setting off some alarm bells in your head right now, though you may not know exactly why. In fact, there is no character with that name in the show's source material. However, as ScreenRant pointed out, there is a character named Mason Troll bridge who pops up in the Wally West version of The Flash (over the course of the hero's 75-year history, he's gone through a few identity shifts). So, could Mason Bridge and Mason Trollbridge be the same character? Here's the trailer for Mason's first episode, "The Sound and the Fury."
It seems impossible that the Mason from the comic and the Mason from the show aren't related in some way (unless The Flash's writers are just trolling us. Get it? Sorry, I'm fully aware of how awful that pun was). Let's see how similar the two characters really are.
Ally Or Enemy?
It looks like Mason Bridge is going to make some trouble for Barry when he starts looking into his mentor, Wells, and the rest of S.T.A.R. labs. The fact that he'll encourage Iris to continue investigating the "streak" is another reason why he and Barry may come to a head. Mason Trollbridge, on the other hand, was a great friend to the Flash, even saving his life in one issue when Wally briefly lost his powers. The two were also roommates for a time, which is pretty adorable.
Does He Have Powers?
On this, it seems like both Masons are in agreement. Though Trollbridge (inspired by another DC Comics hero, the Clipper) tried to become a crime fighter as well, he had no special abilities — which is probably why his career was so short-lived. Likewise, Mason Bridge has no powers that we know of, for now. The fact that the reporter is investigating a possible caped crusader would suggest that he himself is not a "metahuman."
So Are These Masons The Same?
We'll have to wait and see how The Flash develops Mason Bridge over the rest of the season. For now, it looks like the writers have given fans of the comics an Easter egg, but nothing more. However, if Mason starts hankering for a rubber suit or replies to Barry's Craigslist ad for a new roommate, we'll know for sure the characters are related.
