Warning: spoilers ahead for Episode 18 of The Flash Season 3, "Abra Kadabra."
The second half of The Flash Season 3 has heavily featured Barry and the rest of Team Flash working to find a way to stop Iris' future murder at the hands of Savitar. The episode "Abra Kadabra" brought a villain of the same name to 2017 from the 64th century. When captured by Barry and Co., he revealed that he knows everything there is to know about the Scarlet Speedster and his greatest nemeses. In fact, Abra Kadabra went on to name them: Thawne, Zoom, Savitar, and... Devoe.
Those first three names will be very familiar to any Flash viewers who have stuck around for the past three seasons, but Devoe is a new one. Not even any of Barry's minor villains of the week have been named Devoe, which means that the culprit is almost certainly none other than legendary DC Comics supervillain Clifford Devoe, a.k.a. The Thinker.
The Thinker in DC Comics lore was a lawyer in Keystone City who came to the conclusion that there was more profit to be made in crime than in punishment. He became known for his meticulous mind that would allow him to plan out every possible detail in a given situation and gain the edge on his enemies. He became a nemesis of the first Flash, Jay Garrick, and was a founding member of the first version of the Injustice Society. The Thinker also developed a Thinking Cap, which enabled him to use the powers of telekinesis and mind control to a certain extent.
The crowning act of evil for The Thinker came when he (with the help of a couple other baddies) managed to suspend Keystone City in animation and out of phase with the rest of the world for thirty years, taking the Scarlet Speedster with him. The Thinker is more commonly associated with the Jay Garrick Flash than the Barry Allen Flash, but The Flash has played fast and loose with adapting comic canon in the past. The Thinker really could be a solid villain for the fourth season.
Given that showrunner Andrew Kreisberg has already confirmed that the Season 4 supervillain will not be a speedster, The Thinker seems like a logical pick for next season's Flash big bad. He would certainly take us in a brand new direction, and his abilities would force Barry to get truly creative after spending three years battling speedsters. Personally, I'm more than ready for a brand of evil that has nothing to do with superspeed after three years of speedster supervillains. If The Thinker is the way that The Flash mixes things up next season, I'm on board.
All of this said, there is the chance that "Abra Kadabra" simply name-dropped Devoe because he'll be a minor villain who will pop up for a single episode later this season. Considering the fact that Abra Kadabra listed Devoe in a lineup including Reverse Flash, Zoom, and Savitar, however, I'm guessing that The Flash has big plans for The Thinker in Season 4. New episodes of The Flash air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule for a look at all your other viewing options.
