Although The Flash has been a DC Comics mainstay for decades, the character’s profile has increased in recent years thanks to being the star of his own CW TV series, as well as Ezra Miller playing Barry Allen in the DC Extended Universe. We’ve waited a long time for The Flash to lead his own movie, and assuming there aren’t any more delays, we’ll finally be treated to Miller’s Flash finally taking center stage in 2022.
When one thinks superheroes with iconic rogues galleries, Batman and Spider-Man are usually at the top of the list, and for good reason. That said, The Flash has also assembled quite the collection of opponents over the years, but who among them is worthy of clashing with the Scarlet Speedster on the big screen? As I see it, the following seven baddies are the top contenders.
Professor Zoom
Hailing from the 25th century, Eobard Thawne admired The Flash as an historical figure, to the point that he wanted to be just like him. Thawne eventually figured out a way to obtain super speed and traveled back in time to meet his idol, but upon learning he was destined to become Flash’s greatest enemy, Thawne snapped and embraced becoming a villain. Thus Professor Zoom, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash, was born, and he’s become even more important to the Flash mythos ever since it was added to the lore that he killed Barry Allen’s mother, Nora, when Barry was a child, and framed his father, Henry Allen for the crime. With this status quo having already been set up in Justice League, it would be easy enough for The Flash to pit Ezra Miller’s Barry against Thawne, finally bringing him face-to-face with the man who tore his family apart.
Captain Cold
Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold, might not be as powerful as Professor Zoom, but he nonetheless has cemented himself as one of The Flash’s most dangerous adversaries. A career criminal, Snart knew that he had to up his game once Flash hit the scene. Learning about a cyclotron capable of interfering with Flash’s speed, Snart designed a weapon capable of controlling this power, and the result was his trademark cold gun. Whether he’s causing trouble on his own or as the leader of The Rogues, Captain Cold has given Flash a run for his money (pun slightly intended) on numerous occasions. It should also be noted that unlike a lot of villains, Cold lives by a personal moral code, and is more concerned with the score than eliminating Flash, so that could be a cool dynamic to explore in the movie.
Gorilla Grodd
Deep within Africa in the DC universe, there’s a hidden city populated by super intelligent gorillas, aptly called Gorilla City. Its greatest criminal is Grodd, who uses his telekinetic and telepathic abilities to try to conquer the world. The Flash may be fast, but there have been many times when Grodd’s psionic powers have stopped the Fastest Man Alive dead in his tracks. Even worse, Grodd often enjoys mind control his victims, so with The Flash under his control, he can force him to wreak havoc at super speed. Considering how well Grodd has been realized on The Flash TV series, the prospect of seeing a Grodd made with a blockbuster budget sounds incredibly enticing.
Mirror Master
Mirror Master is his name, and reflections are the game. Sam Scudder was the first man to hold that supervillain moniker, and during the period where he was dead, Evan McCulloch carried the mantle. Both of these men use special mirror technology to produce crazy illusions and hypnotic effects during their crimes, and said technology also allows them to travel through different dimensions. Getting to see these crazy mirror realities in The Flash would be another way to make this movie even more of a visual treat. As for which Mirror Master to use, while Scudder designed the original technology in the comics, McCulloch is arguably the more dangerous of the two, having been a contract killer. So it’s dealer’s choice, really.
Weather Wizard
Even superheroes can have a tough time against the forces of nature, but what happens when there’s a villain capable of manipulating such forces? Well, in The Flash’s case, he gets one of his formidable opponents: The Weather Wizard. Mark Mardon discovered that his brother Clyde has discovered a way to control the weather before dying, and using these notes, Mark fashioned a high-tech wand capable of doing things like producing blizzards, conjuring lightning, generating winds, etc. Considering that Grant Gustin’s Barry tangled with Weather Wizard (albeit Clyde rather than Mark, who would debut later) in the first episode of The Flash TV series, it might be fun to also have Ezra Miller’s Barry face off against this baddie for his first solo adventure.
Abra Kadabra
Living in the 64th century, a time when technology has advanced so much that it looks like magic to present-day eyes, the villain known as Abra Kadabra traveled back to our era with some of this tech in hand to gain fame by making himself look like a legitimate magician. When that plan failed, he turned to crime, and while there was a period when Abra Kadabra was able to wield actual magic, usually he relies on this futuristic tech to antagonize the Scarlet Speedster. If The Flash movie wants to incorporate time travel right off the bat (and if the plan is still to adapt Flashpoint, then it definitely will), but isn’t willing to use Professor Zoom, Abra Kadabra would be a worthy runner-up.
Doctor Alchemy
The original Doctor Alchemy, Albert Desmond, kicked off his criminal career as Mister Element, in which he relied on a variety of elemental weapons. He later upped his game when he obtained the Philosopher’s Stone, which is capable of transmuting elements, and rebranded himself as Doctor Alchemy. Albert also suffers from dissociative personality disorder, and his good personality resurfaced for a time to retire from crime, his darker self, the one that pushed him to become a villain in the first place, eventually resurfaced to continue his reign of terror. Assuming he was wielding the Philosopher’s Stone, using Doctor Alchemy would be a good way to highlight legitimate magic in The Flash.
Of course, these are just some of the many villains The Flash movie has to choose from, so let us know who you’d like to see Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen battle on the silver screen in the poll and comments below. The Flash races into theaters on June 3, 2022, and look through our DC movies guide to learn what else the DC Comics corner of the superhero movie genre has on the way.
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