Top 10 Villains We Want to See on The Flash

Jonah Puskar ’20 / Emertainment Monthly Assistant Comic Books Editor

Season three of The Flash is fast approaching (pun intended) and you can’t highlight a great hero like him without having some fierce villains. Flash has an extensive gallery of villains to choose from, with popular and lesser-known ones used in seasons one and two, and producers already revealing the return of others as well as the appearances of new faces like Mirror Master, Magenta, The Top, Savitar, and Dr. Alchemy among others. But The Flash is notorious for a plethora of baddies showing up all throughout the season, so the season will need more. Here is a list of ten villains that the show’s writers would benefit from using.

10. Folded Man

Folded Man, despite his lack of recognition, is a force for Flash to trifle with. Pre- New 52, Folded Man was Edwin Gauss, a genius who built a suit that allows him to travel to the second and fourth dimensions, making it so his body can fold and travel between dimensions and pop back up anywhere. In The New 52 another Folded Man, Xolani, appeared. This version was was a slave to diamond miners in the southern Africa in the 1800s. He was struck by lightning and imbued with the Speed Force, later joining Zoom to go to the present day to defeat Flash, thinking the latter was the true villain. While it may be easier for writers to use Gauss’ version, Folded Man is a far too powerful of a villain to keep away from The Flash forever.

9. Blacksmith

A strong female character, something The Flash is good for working with, Blacksmith may also be a good darker villain for the typically lighthearted show to deal with. Blacksmith is reminiscent of many of Arrow’s bad guys in the sense of gang activity and shady criminal dealings, with Blacksmith being head of secret criminal group The Network in Central City, operating the black market there. This would be a much more serious foe for Flash to deal with, as she has a large organization to back as well as her metal manipulation powers that allow her to combine metal to her own flesh. She is a force to be reckoned with, on a small and large scale for Barry to deal with.

8. Prank

While not a comic book character, Prank is a fascinating villain none the less. Appearing in the original 1990 The Flash television series, Prank was the Harley to the Trickster’s Joker. We’ve already been introduced to both James Jesse’s Trickster, as well as Axel Walker’s, so Prank is the final piece of the puzzle. With Jesse having revealed himself to Walker as his father in season one, and an in-universe history of Jesse’s criminal run as Trickster before the appearance of Flash, having Prank as his assistant in that time and possibly being Walker’s mother would create an even more complex and enriching history for all the characters involved.

7. Shade

Though traditionally associated with Starman in the Golden and Silver Ages and seen more as an antihero in the recent history of DC, Shade was once a thief who often clashed with Flash. Shade would provide a worthy adversary for Barry, with Shade able to manipulate shadows with his cane. The special effects for a fight between our hero and Shade would be extraordinary to watch, with Barry’s lightning clashing with the moving darkness around him. It would also allow for the casting of a new, suave actor to portray this character, who we could hopefully see transition into the charming antihero and mentor readers of recent books have gotten to know.

6. Cobalt Blue

Now this is a villain that may have to be tweaked a bit. The character, Malcolm Thawne, was the twin brother of Barry, but the doctor lied to Nora Allen, telling her her other child was stillborn and giving the baby to the Thawne family, whose baby the doctor accidentally let die in childbirth. This baddie would create an odd dynamic for Barry, who to this point has lost both his mother and father, the only biological family he had. Although the Thawne’s part may need to be changed to account for the show’s Eddie and Eobard Thawne, the concept of Barry having a nefarious twin brother out there who envies his Speed Force powers and uses their power technique taught by their adopted con artist family is just soap opera-esque enough to fit in with the typical drama of The Flash.

5. Rag Doll

A villain of many different heroes, Rag Doll traces his earliest crimes to the Golden Age of comics when he faced off against Jay Garrick’s Flash. Though the thought of a hyper-flexible contortionist/hypnotist doesn’t sound exciting for Barry to face, Rag Doll would make a good beginner bad guy for Cisco, our one and only Vibe. With a super absorbent body, Rag Doll would be a good menace for Cisco to try to take down with his new vibrational powers that he is still learning to use. Not only would fans get to see a classic villain in action, but they’d get to see Cisco become more of the hero we knew he can be.

4. Cicada

Another possible link to the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion, the character Cicada gained his powers of life-force absorption from a strike of lightning during his would-be suicide attempt after having murdered his wife. Able to extend his life by taking others’, Cicada saw him and Flash as equals due to the cause of their powers. Flash was forced to deal with Cicada and his cult, which would play out interestingly on screen. Many of the villains on The Flash gained their powers from the accelerator, and pointing towards that to explain Cicada’s powers in the show wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. In the books, Cicada also worked with Magenta, a villain who was just cast for this upcoming season. Cicadas may only come out every few years, but The Flash may see this villain appearing very soon.

3. Mister Element

Now this one might seem like a bit of a conundrum. Dr. Alchemy is already confirmed as a main villain for season three, and these two characters are one and the same, with chemist Albert Desmond first appearing as the criminal Mr. Element before becoming Dr. Alchemy due to his incarceration, thanks to Flash and his discovery of the Philosopher’s Stone there. It would be interesting to see Desmond’s stint as Mr. Element first and his evolution to Dr. Alchemy, explaining his greater distaste for Flash. Showing Mr. Element and his time in prison, plotting against Flash, would create more drama for this upcoming season.

2. Abra Kadabra

This is truly a character Flash fans have been asking for. One of the few Rogues of Legends of Tomorrow, Kadabra would be a welcome addition to any viewer of The Flash who is also a loyal fan of the source material.

1. Black Flash

While not technically a villain per se, you know that when Black Flash shows up, tragedy is sure to follow. Black Flash, the personification of Death for speedsters like Flash, has appeared multiple times throughout recent comics, with Barry even briefly taking over the role for a time. Many fans speculated that *spoilers* when Zoom was dragged into the Speed Force by Time Wraiths (which also looked strikingly like Black Flash), he became the new Black Flash. And when set photos of season three were released online, many people speculated the speedster, who we now know is Savitar, was Black Flash. With all the death occurring in Barry’s life, and new speedsters popping up, it is more than likely we’ll see Black Flash on The Flash soon.