The Flash (2014) – Chad Rook as Mark Mardon |
Check out the greatest villains of the Flash TV series! The new Arrow spin-off The Flash starts today and with it a new shared television universe.
Here’s the official description:
THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE IS BORN — Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) was just 11 years old when his mother was killed in a bizarre and terrifying incident and his father (John Wesley Shipp) was falsely convicted of the murder. With his life changed forever by the tragedy, Barry was taken in and raised by Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), the father of Barry’s best friend, Iris (Candice Patton). Now, Barry has become a brilliant, driven and endearingly geeky CSI investigator, whose determination to uncover the truth about his mother’s strange death leads him to follow up on every unexplained urban legend and scientific advancement that comes along. Barry’s latest obsession is a cutting edge particle accelerator, created by visionary physicist Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) and his S.T.A.R. Labs team members, Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes), who claim that this invention will bring about unimaginable advancements in power and medicine. However, something goes horribly wrong during the public unveiling, and when the devastating explosion causes a freak storm, many lives are lost and Barry is struck by lightning. After nine months in a coma, Barry awakens to find his life has changed once again – the accident has given him the power of super speed. Thrilled with his new powers, Barry learns how to control them with the help of Dr. Wells and his team. However, keeping his secret from his best friend Iris (Candice Patton) is proving to be harder than he thought, especially when Joe’s new partner, Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), catches her eye. When another meta-human attacks the city, it’s time to put Barry’s new powers, and himself, to the test. David Nutter directed the episode with story by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kresiberg and Geoff Johns and teleplay by Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns (100).
The show is supposed to be a lighter series than Arrow and will feature many villains from the DC comics.
So, which villains can we expect to see this season?
Update: The list keeps growing, so we’ve moved from 10 to 12…and now 13…now 15 (thanks ComicFan!)
- Girder
- Professor Zoom (Reverse Flash)
- Captain Cold
- Captain Boomerang
- Heat Wave
- Killer Frost
- Weather Wizard
- Multiplex
- The Mist
- Doctor Light
- Pied Piper
- Gorilla Grodd
- Plastique
- Peek-A-Boo
- Rainbow Raider
- The Trickster
::: SPOILER WARNING ::
1. Greg Finley as Tony Woodward (Girder)
The Flash (2014) – Greg Finley as Tony Woodward |
Woodward is a super-villain who first appeared in Flash: Iron Heights (2001) and has a body composed of living iron and superhuman strength. Finley will appear in the sixth episode “The Flash Is Born” as a victim of a S.T.A.R. Labs explosion who can “transform his skin into living metal.” His character is also described as “the bully who used to torment [Barry] as a child.” His super-strong skin will make him a powerful opponent of Flash. Plus, he’s got those metal “super-wedgies.”
2. Tom Cavanagh as Eobard Thawne (Professor Zoom)
The Flash (2014) – Tom Cavanagh as Eobard Thawne |
The villain known as Professor Zoom (or “Reverse-Flash”) first showed up in the comic The Flash #139 (1963) as a villain who was living in the 25th century and became obsessed with the Flash to the point of replicating his powers. He goes back in time to become Flash’s greatest nemesis. In the show Eddie Thawne “is a recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, whose past is a mystery and who harbors a dark secret.” While the comic character is named Eobard Thawne, it’s possible Thawne is either a distant relative of Eobard or Eobard went back in time and then changed his name. Since he has the same powers as Barry he’ll be a powerful villain. Having Zoom start out as a co-worker and friend will make his turn to villainy even more powerful.
Update: After watching the pilot I realized this is completely wrong and, in fact, Harrison Wells is most likely to play Reverse-Flash. This would have an even bigger impact since Wells is like a surrogate father for him.
Update 2: It was confirmed in the episode “The Man in the Yellow Suit” that
Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash. Tom Cavanagh also confirmed it
telling Comic Book Resources,
“The way I always approached Harrison Wells was not from the Harrison
Wells character, but rather the reason to be here for me was the
Reverse Flash … And there are little things in my performance, that if
people were ever to rewind all of it … there are moments when, as
Harrison Wells, he completely unveils himself.” In fact, Harrison
Well’s name is a giveaway, since it’s a combination of two famous time
travel writers. Harry Harrison wrote The Technicolor Time Machine and H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine.
3. Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart (Captain Cold)
The Flash (2014) – Wentworth Miller as Leonard Snart |
Leonard “Len” Snart first appeared in the comic Showcase #8 (1957) using a gun that can create extreme cold. He went onto form the supervillain team known as “The Rogues.” Snart’s first appearance on the show is in the untitled fourth episode airing October 28th. “We’ll be seeing his origin and the origin of the Rogues,” said executive producer Greg Berlanti. His entry in the show will usher in the super-villain group that will be Flash’s main opponents.
4. Nick Tarabay as Digger Harkness (Captain Boomerang)
The Flash (2014) – Nick Tarabay as Digger Harkness |
First appearing in The Flash #117 (1960) Harkness became a master of various boomerangs after he trained in the Outback. He uses many trick boomerangs like bladed, explosive, incendiary, and electrified boomerangs. He’ll first appear in the crossover episode with Arrow called “Flash vs. Arrow” and “The Brave and the Bold.” Executive producer Marc Guggenheim told Collider, “Nick Tarabay plays Boomerang/Digger Harkness, and he’s amazing. And that weapon is a whole new visual language in the show, and a whole new visual language for our stunt guys to work with.”
5. Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory (Heat Wave)
The Flash (2014) – Dominic Purcell as Mick Rory |
Rory’s first appearance was in The Flash #140 (1963) and uses a handgun sized flamethrower and an extensive knowledge of pyrotechnics and combustibles to commit crimes. He’s scheduled to appear in the untitled 10th episode of the show. His fire powers are a perfect compliment to Captain Cold and will be a one-two punch against the Flash.
6. Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow (Killer Frost)
The Flash (2014) – Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow |
Caitlin Snow is a super villain that first appeared in Firestorm #3 (June 1978) and can absorb heat from people and project cold and ice. In the show Arrow she first appeared in the episode “The Man Under the Hood” Snow is a S.T.A.R. Labs employee. She’s described as “a highly intelligent bioengineering expert who lost her fiancé, Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell), during an explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs.” Presumably she’ll change into the cold villain which will give Barry a huge disadvantage since she knows him so well.
7. Chad Rook as Mark Mardon (Weather Wizard)
The Flash (2014) – Chad Rook as Mark Mardon |
Mardon is another classic villain from the comics first appearing in The Flash #110 (1959) with the ability to control weather conditions. Rook will appear in the first episode of The Flash and have a recurring role during the season. Having the Weather Wizard as the first villain really sets the bar high and since he’s a member of the Rogue’s will make him a key villain.
8. Michael Christopher Smith as Danton Black (Multiplex)
The Flash (2014) – Michael Christopher Smith as Danton Black |
Multiplex is Firestorm’s archenemy first appearing in the comic Firestorm #1 (1978) and has the ability to create super-strong duplicates of himself. He got his powers from the same nuclear explosion as Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein that created Firestorm. He’ll guest star in episode “Fastest Man Alive” and is described as a villain “who can make multiples of himself.” Fighting six guys at the same time should be tricky for Flash, but it’ll look great on-screen.
9. Anthony Carrigan as Kyle Nimbus (The Mist)
The Flash (2014) – Anthony Carrigan as Kyle Nimbus |
The villain known as Mist first appeared in Adventure Comics #67 (1941) and has the ability to turn himself into a living mist and can turn intangible. He’ll appear in the episode “Things You Can’t Outrun” and is described as “a dangerous new meta-human with toxic gas powers.” If they change his powers then it’ll be interesting, but I hope they turn him into the guy that Flash can’t punch.
10. Unknown as Arthur Light (Doctor Light)
A master of light manipulation, Doctor Light first appeared in Justice League of America #12 (1962). While it hasn’t been announced that he’ll appear, he was mentioned on Arrow. In the episode “The Man in the Hood” Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon talk about a former employee of S.T.A.R. Labs, named Light that was fired two years before “because he was a psycho”. They use his light device to fight Deathstroke. A major villain and a key Suicide Squad member, he’s almost guaranteed to be on Arrow. Since he’s a frequent villain of The Flash, no doubt he’ll appear in an episode.
11. Andy Mientus as Hartley Rathaway (Pied Piper)
The Flash (2014) – Andy Mientus as Hartley Rathaway |
Another old school villain of the Flash first showed up in The Flash vol. 1 #106 (1959) as a deaf son of rich parents obsessed with sound. He eventually develops a flute that can hypnotize people. According to Entertainment Weekly, on the show he’ll appear as “a bona fide genius who used to work at S.T.A.R. Labs until a falling out with his mentor, Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh). The particle accelerator robbed Hartley of his hearing, but inspired him to create a series of sonic weapons that he uses in an effort to punish Wells by destroying his new protege: The Flash.” Mientus will be in the unnamed 11th and 12th episodes of season one.
12. Simon Burnett as Gorilla Grodd
The creature known as Gorilla Grodd first appeared in The Flash #106 (May 1959) as a regular gorilla that had an alien spacecraft (later explained as a meteorite) crash on him and his buddies in Africa. All of them become super-intelligent and develop “Gorilla City” in the jungle. When he tries to take over the city he gets beat by the Flash. He has psionic abilities that let him control people and read minds and is super-strong to beat. In the pilot, when showing the destruction of the lab, we see a cage busted open and a sign on it that reads “Grodd.” While we know they don’t have the budget to do a CGI Grodd, he’s going to be on the show in some fashion. While at Comic Con Geoff Johns, chief creative officer at DC Comics, said “You will see Grodd. That cage is not a mistake.”
Update: In episode 14 “Fallout”, Gorilla Grodd makes his first official appearance after brief hints. He’s CGI too, which is surprising. Grodd is voiced by Simon Burnett, who’s mainly done stunt work for shows like Arrow and movies like X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
13. Kelly Frye as Bette Sans Souci (Plastique)
The Flash (2014) – Kelly Frye as Bette Sans Souci |
Souci first appeared in Fury of Firestorm #7 (1982) and can project explosive force from her body. A former Canadian terrorist she tried to blow herself up with explosives to force the government to allow the separation of Quebec from Canada. Later, thanks to genetic-engineering, she got the ability to blow things up. While she started out as a villain, she becomes a hero. On the show she first appears in the fifth episode titled “Plastique” and is described by TV Line as “a fetching young redhead who was a bomb specialist with the Army before she was injured by an IED in Iraq. Since being exposed to the Central City explosion, she can turn any object into a bomb with just a touch of her hand.” She’s also described as a “comrade for The Flash” and a future member of his team.
14. Britne Oldford as Lashawn Baez (Peek-A-Boo)
The Flash (2014) – Britne Oldford as Lashawn Baez |
Baez is a supervillain first appearing in Flash
#180 (2002) that has the ability to teleport short distances away and
leaving an uncontrollable explosion behind. In the episode “Crazy for
You” Britne Oldford is described as “Shawna” a “meta-human with
teleportation powers, who just busted her boyfriend Clay (Micah Parker)
out of Iron Heights.”
15. Paul Anthony as Roy G. Bivolo (Rainbow Raider)
The Flash (2014) – Paul Anthony as Roy G. Bivolo |
First appearing in The Flash
#286 (1980) Bivalo is a color-blind, failed artist who wore a special
pair of goggles that allowed him to project solid beams of
rainbow-colored light. He used these for attack and to ride on. He also
had the ability to use light to induce emotions like blue to make them
sad. In the Flash cross-over episode “Flash vs. Arrow” and is described
as a man causing “people to lose control of their emotions and has been
using that skill to rob banks.”
16. Mark Hamill and Devon Graye as The Trickster
The Trickster first appeared in Flash #113 (1960) as James Jesse. He created a set of flying shoes to keep himself from falling in his family’s circus act. Realizing his inventive genius, he created an assortment of deadly gags to stay one step ahead of the Flash. He was a member of Captain Cold’s Rogues until he joined the FBI. Later, another villain named Axel Walker took up the name of The Trickster using the same techniques. In an upcoming episode of The Flash he’ll be played by Mark Hamill, as James Jesse, and Devon Graye as Axel Walker. Hamill’s Trcickaster is described as an “anarchist terrorist con man serving a life sentence in Iron Heights” and Walker is described as “a copycat killer who goes by the name ‘The Trickster’”
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Are you looking forward to The Flash? Which villain are you looking forward to seeing? Is there one you’d like to see?
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="34217 ">19 Comments
Nice selection. Some old time villains.
This is what I love so much about this series already. At this point Flash is basically the perfect TV superhero property, and his villains prove that in spades.
Your update on Professor Zoom. I don't think soo. Wells, I remember this guy in a wheelchair. He was obsessed of making Wally West (the second Flash) a better hero. Could Wells be the same man, and traveled back in time to make the first Flash a better hero. And maybe mentor Wally West for a longer period. Or in an another way change history.
In the end of the second episode, we see Wells is obsessed with keeping Barry safe from future events.
I concur, I just don't see him being Zoom.
Like to see Mirror Master and The Top. I'm sure if the show's on long enough, we'll see them.
Oh yeah David. The special effects of Mirror Master would rock. They’re members of the Rogue’s so they’re bound to come in there. How would you do Top? Would you make it literal?
I was thinking Harrison might be Vandal Savage. I would like also like to see the Trickster and Mirror Master.
Hunter Zoloman was the 3rd Reverse Flash and his origins had him confined to a wheelchair (after an attack by Grodd) and someone who tried to help the Flash. There are a lot of similarities between Wells and Zolomon and with his knowledge of the future, confirmation that he is a preexisting character, and the confirmation Zoom will be in the show it's not a hard link to make. I still hope Eddie will be the 2nd Reverse Flash, but I think Wells would make a good Zoom.
Great point Peter! There are many fan theories out there.
It would be nice if they stop killing the villains off.
Agreed Shawn
Why list the actors as well as the villains!!! way to ruin a show!…. only wanted to know a villains name…..
Sorry Ruster! I tried to put a spoiler warning in there.
Reverse Flash will be Eddy, Iris's Boyfriend.
I think Dr. Light is a GREEN LANTERN villain. Also, it's been confirmed that PEEK-A-BOO will be putting in an appearance (pun intended).
That's racist!
I would like to see abra kadabra mirror master and shade
Dude ur stupid watch episode 15 and 14 they put what you wrote to shame
Hey Michael. If you’re talking about Reverse Flash I updated the post to reflect the fact that Eddie isn’t “The Man in the Yellow Suit.” Is there something else I might have missed?