Let’s take a look back at the main villains in The CW’s The Flash, and see how the villains compare to each other.
Every superhero needs some good adversaries, and in The Flash, Barry Allen has faced his fair share. Several fearsome opponents have been unleashed upon the Flash over the course of the show’s eight seasons. However, some of them have proven to be more interesting than others. Let’s take a look at every main villains from the CW series thus far and evaluate them according to their efficacy, threat level, and general memorability.
7. Cicada Wanted To Kill All Metahumans
Cicada may have begun out Season 5 as an interesting enemy. But with each appearance, he got less so. Chris Klein’s over-the-top portrays made him feel far less threatening than the series was trying to make him out to be. And also, Cicada was usurped as the main threat by both his own niece and Eobard Thawne at the end of the season. However, cicada’s potential was severely impeded by these limitations, which were compounded by a confusing time-travel situation involving his niece and his dagger, which put him at the bottom of our list.
6. Savitar Was A Corrupted Version Of The Flash
Savitar has begun his life as a time remnant created by Barry Allen to defeat Zoom. But he was horribly scarred while doing so. After developing a god complex and renaming himself Savitar, the remnant turned on Team Flash and was trapped in the Speed Force, driving him further into insanity. Then he manages to escape with the aid of Dr.Alchemy and was the main villain in Season 3 of The Flash planning to break his younger self by killing Iris.
While Savitar is certainly a visually memorable foe, his characterization ultimately proves to be fairly weak. At least, his reasons for becoming evil aren’t addressed properly. When he’s intended to be dark and tortured, his disposition comes across as a little infantile. Even though Savitar does manage to succeed in killing off Wells. He failed to kill Iris and is subjected to an underwhelming death himself shortly afterward.
5. Godspeed Sent Clones To Menace Central City
Godspeed is a bit of an oddity among the Flash’s main enemies in that he appeared in previous seasons before making his full appearance in Season 7. Various clones of the white-clad speedster periodically appear in Central City throughout Seasons 5 and 6, before the guy himself comes in the final episodes of Season 7. Godspeed proves to be one of the Flash’s most powerful enemies ever after absorbing the power of his clones, forcing Barry to team up with his archenemy, the Reverse-Flash, to take him down once and for all.
4. The Thinker Siphoned Power From Other Metahumans
Clifford DeVoe, the series’ first non-speedster main enemy. He was the main enemy in Season 4 of The Flash. DeVoe (who calls himself the Thinker) wants to reduce the intellect of everyone else on the planet. Then he can rule the world as its teacher. The villain siphons the powers of 12 different metahumans in order to carry out his mission. But finally, he is defeated because Team Flash, as well as his own wife, Marlize, are against him.
The Thinker is a far more cerebral threat than the other villains the Flash has faced, though this aspect is diminished as he absorbs the powers of the other metahumans, transforming himself into a one-man army. Throughout the second half of Season 4, DeVoe’s extremely high power level lets him blast through almost everything Team Flash throws at him, making him a less interesting character. Despite this, the conflict between him and his wife Marlize is compelling. And also Neil Sandilands who played the role imbues the character with a detached, delightfully scary energy.
3. Mirror Monarch Manipulated Iris Into Aiding Her Plans
Iris finds herself she is stuck in a parallel world known as the Mirrorverse in Season 6, where she meets a lady named Eva McCulloch. While Eva appears to be a kind face looking for a way out of the Mirrorverse at first, it soon becomes evident that she wants to replace everyone on Earth with mirror clones so that she can rule as the Mirror Monarch. Fortunately, Iris succeeds in persuading Eva to see the wrong of her ways, motivating her to destroy her replicas and return to the Mirrorverse.
Eva’s ultimate goal is to make the world a better place. Despite her vengeful personality and vast talents, she is essentially a good lady who went crazy after suffering a destiny worse than death at the hands of her own husband. During their time stuck in the Mirrorverse, Eva develops a true affection for Iris, and while she uses their relationship to escape, she also allows Iris to talk her out of her plan to conquer the world.
2. Zoom Nearly Managed To Destroy The Multiverse
Hunter Zolomon, a serial killer, sets out to take over the multiverse after being granted super-speed by the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator on Earth-2. In order to fool Barry Allen and his team into a false feeling of security, he crosses across to Earth-1 and causes havoc in Central City while imitating the heroic Jay Garrick. At the end of Season 2, Zoom reveals his real nature by murdering Barry’s father and challenging the Flash to a race that would determine the fate of the multiverse.
Zoom is played by Teddy Sears, who excellently brings to life the character’s fake heroic persona while never losing sight of his actual, twisted personality. In the episode “Enter Zoom,” the dark speedster is one of the few enemies to completely and fully defeat the Flash in a fight, brutalizing Barry and dragging his defeated body all over the city. Zoom will always be remembered for the feeling of absolute horror he provided to The Flash, even if his finale became a little unclear in the season’s final episodes.
1. Reverse-Flash Is The Flash’s Archenemy
Whatever happens, Eobard Thawne will remain the Flash’s most personal villain. He’s been threatening Barry Allen and his friends since the beginning. And also, he has cheated death on several instances to ensure that his enemies would never be at rest. While the Reverse-Flash has met paths with various Arrowverse characters, his ultimate ambition is to prove that he is faster than the Flash, whom he previously respected before going insane. Thawne has gone to great lengths to make Barry Allen’s life as difficult as possible, from murdering Nora Allen to working with Earth-X’s New Reichsmen to inventing his own Reverse-Flashpoint.
