It definitely was meant to set up a story line, on account of the fact that they had several scenes across multiple media meant to introduce it as a hanging plot thread. The most obvious way to tell it wasn't simply establishment was because it was specific, and because the story explicitly had the characters treat is as a question they were driven to explore.
That that specific thing was never mentioned again, and that exploration never happened, shows that that prospective plotline was dropped, presumably because the writers had other plans they wanted to focus on instead. Which, given all the complications during the transition to season 2, isn't surprising.
edited 22nd Jun '18 10:30:04 AM by KnownUnknown
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Raven Wilder
He was introduced as a Villain of the Week in one episode of Arrow, then appeared in an episode of The Flash, but only because they were bringing every metahuman stored in the Pipeline back for that episode, and they killed him off by the end of it. Hardly seems like there were any plans for him.
I think you need to keep in mind that Deathbolt and the "mystery around him was introduced on Arrow, not The Flash. Establishing that Deathbolt wasn't created by the particle accelerator was their way of saying, hey, if we want to have people with superpowers turn up, we don't have to rely on plot devices from our spinoff show.
Basically, I think Deathbolt was meant to be like the Watcher in the Water from The Lord of the Rings: a random threat of unknown, mysterious origins that's not meant to be revisited, just an indicator that there are weird and fantastic things in the story's world that have nothing to do with the main plot.
edited 22nd Jun '18 10:49:11 AM by RavenWilder
"It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool" - Haruhara Haruko
Surrounded by weirdoes
Would have been interesting to see Team Flash going up against a magic user. Sure, Barry used to investigate weird cases, but in the end, they are scientists, so seeing them go up against someone with powers from a source they don't know and not knowing how the hell they are doing that would be fun.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Mistakes Were Made
The first time Barry suspected magic was in play he immediately went to Oliver for help.
‘My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’
Which, to be fair, is smart. "I have no idea what I'm dealing with so I should find someone who does" is much better tactics than superhero shows normally display. But now that they have a bit more of an understanding of magic, it would be fun to see how they deal with that.
Still wish Savitar had actually been a god or a Speed Force demon or something.
I didn't say there were plans for Deathbolt. I wasn't aware you thought this was about the character, specifically, because that's not the conversation I've been having.
The plot thread of there being metas outside Central City wasn't about Deathbolt. The show never used Deathbolt as, say, the Big Bad of an arc where they discover other metas, so there's no reason to assume that all that plot introduction about metas and all the characters questioning what it means, and the plot explicitly treating it as a hanging thread, was about him specifically. He was just the introduction of the idea, as it were, much like how Atom Smasher was the introduction for Earth 2 metas. Or the Rival for Flashpoint metas. Or Kilg%ore for bus metas.
In all cases, these are minor throwaway characters (slightly less in Kilg%ore's case) used to set up mythos and / or a plot thread. The only difference between these is that, though the search for regular non-Central City metas did get a little bit of reference immediately after (like in Vixen), that plot thread was effectively dropped, until now.
edited 22nd Jun '18 12:37:36 PM by KnownUnknown
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Raven Wilder
It didn't get dropped, it just became part of the background fabric of The 'Verse that there's a lot more stuff out there giving people superpowers than just the particle accelerator.
"It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool" - Haruhara Haruko
Faded into the background fabric would generally be what “being dropped” is.
The writers could have followed up on it, but they chose not to because they had other sources of powers they wanted to use instead. Until now, when they chose to bring it back with Caitlin.
edited 22nd Jun '18 6:12:47 PM by KnownUnknown
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Raven Wilder
See, I just don't think they had any sort of plans for how Deathbolt, specifically, got his powers. He was just there to establish the fact that superpowers not related to the particle accelerator (or Mirakuru) could exist. The answer to "How did Deathbolt get his powers?" is "Any number of ways, and since he's dead now, it doesn't really matter."
Heck, just a few episodes after Deathbolt, they already introduced another source of superpowers: while the Reverse Flash may have originally gotten his powers from dark matter, it was established that, since traveling back in time, he'd been using a tachyon device to give himself speed.
edited 22nd Jun '18 8:17:37 PM by RavenWilder
"It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool" - Haruhara Haruko
To go further, we know fairly well that “the search for non Central City meta humans” was at some point intended to be a thing, because it’s referenced as a thing in Vixen (which given timeframes of animated series, was likely written around the same time). When Kari and Team Flash first meet, they are interested in her in particular because they initially think of her an inexplicable non-Particle Accelerator meta and want to find out why. When they discover that the source of her powers is magical and thus a different kind of thing, they dismiss the search, but said search is explicit in why they’re there in the first place.
To note, the Arrowverse has never at any point linked Particle Accelerator metas or any of the sources of powers in Arrow as being linked or the same thing. There’s always explicitly a separate explanation for these things whenever they show up, to distance them from one another.
edited 22nd Jun '18 10:56:57 PM by KnownUnknown
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
new trailer from sdcc
Edited by Deadpoolrocks on Jul 21st 2018 at 7:19:23 AM
Okay. They might have just redeemed themselves with the Flash ring.
Regardless of how this season turns out I can't knock them for that.
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!
Foreign Troper
So it seems like Cicada will be the Season's Big Bad. Can't say I know anything about him.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
He's a cult leader with enhanced longevity who focused on killing people who had been saved by the flash, as well as trying to steal the Flash's power to resurrect his wife, who he killed.
He’s a character born from 90’s and Noughties Darker and Edgier fixation, a serial killer out to murder everyone who the Flash has ever saved, to satisfy some kind of occult devotion to him. He, like, Murmur, has always been in an odd place Flash character wise, being something more suited to Batman or Constantine (he’s also a Yellow Peril archetype, but he doesn’t appear to be Asian here). I’d hoped this show wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole, but if they’re going to use him I at least hope the alter him to be less bloody and grim.
At the very least, this could mean we’re getting Magenta back. For better or for worse, her involvement in the Cicada storyline was a big thing for her.
"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Surrounded by weirdoes
There must be something special about him if they want to make things last more than ten seconds.
Wake me up at your own risk.
I like Magenta and Frankie. and it would be nifty to see some of the people barry's saved before...lets just hope they do better this season than last season at protecting people. I'm gonna be pissed if they pull a " ok we managed to save these four that are being hunted—oh they dead. well. " again.
Got a degree in Emotional trauma via fictional characters aka creative writing. hosting S'mores party in Hell for fellow (evil) writers
Wait, how is Cicada a Yellow Peril character? Isn't he a 120+ years old white guy?
..I'm interested in how a man named Cicada is a Yellow Peril villain myself actually.
I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!
Just off the top of my head and knowing literally nothing about the character except what has been said here, cicadas are most famously from Japan. So I could see a shrill and annoying Asian villain (of the wrong nationality for bonus racism) being named Cicada.
Grant Gustin responds to body shaming comments
Guten Morgen
Do people seriously complain about Gustin being too thin? That's just so ridiculous. And even if it's about a more 'comics accurate' body, the Flash is a runner more than a body builder anyway.
My AO3
This is a title.
Nah, he definitely needs to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. 
Raven Wilder
Maybe they're just fans of the original TV Flash.
◊
My point is, I don't think Deathbolt getting his powers from something other than the particle accelerator was meant to set up a storyline. I think it was just there to establish that there's far more superpowered weirdness in the Arrowverse than just what Star Labs produced, so that following seasons could go ahead and introduce spellcasters, Ancient Egyptian immortals, Nigh-Invulnerable aliens, and all the rest.
"It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool" - Haruhara Haruko