The season finale of The Flash ended on a bad note for a lot of characters — but one fan favorite got a little bit of hope, I think. Cisco Ramon, who has studied metahumans since their inception in S.T.A.R. Labs, learned that he was "affected" by the particle accelerator explosion and is one of them after all. However, do Cisco's powers on The Flash make him Vibe? His current abilities don't exactly match up with his comic book alter ego.
On the show, Cisco is able to retain memories from different parallel universes. Even though Barry Allen changed the course of time and unknowingly prevented his friend and colleague from dying at the literal hand of Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne, Barry Allen still dreamt about it and could access the timeline in his subconscious. This is referred to as being able to see through the dimensional vibrations, which is probably how he'll get his new name. After a season of finding delight in naming others, how much fun is it going to be when Cisco gets to name himself? I absolutely cannot wait.
However, in the comics, Vibe's powers are a little different. He can create vibrations instead of just communing with them, and uses them to injure people. His powers should basically be a lot like Skye's on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Only in one more recent incarnation of Vibe in the comics does Francisco Ramon come close to resembling the powers that the character could potentially hone on The Flash. In that, his powers are extended to being able to sense and travel between dimensions. He is able to stop the Speed Force, and therefore any speedsters. Comic Book Cisco is also a super-powered breakdancer. I'll leave that to your imagination.
Another important question to ask in light of this development on The Flash is, how will this affect Cisco's role on the team? Will he still be a scientist? Will he take a desk job in dimensional research, or take time off to develop and learn more about his abilities? I'm sure Barry would appreciate having a vigilate on his side that he doesn't need to call in from Starling City or wherever Oliver Queen is doing his thing.
Then again, Cisco didn't seem too psyched when Eobard Thawne diagnosed him, which was interesting to me. One of the the things The Flash has done well in terms of storytelling is how they retain a lighthearted tone while taking the implications of superpowers seriously. What reason could Cisco Ramon have for being concerned about his metahuman status? That will be interesting to see in Season 2.
I am not a mechanical engineer, and I certainly don't live in the fictional world of The Flash, so I can't pretend to understand this science. So I'm curious to see how the "interdimensional vibration sight" or whatever that he has now is going to translate to Cisco being able to blast people from his fingertips. Perhaps he'll create a device for himself and become the first character on this show to combine metahuman abilities and wacky gadgets. If anyone is going to do that, it will be Cisco Ramon.
Images: Cate Cameron/The CW; Giphy
