The Flash is returning for another season on The CW, and while there's much ado about a new speedster on the horizon, the show is once again featuring a big bad of merely average speed. While Chris Klein's Cicada might not be the fastest villain alive, he'll arrive on the scene pretty quick to make his devious presence known to Team Flash. A recent episode synopsis has revealed Klein will make his debut as Cicada in Episode 2 to cross paths with Barry and the rest of the team for their first potential throwdown.
It won't take long for Cicada to reveal and establish himself as a threat to Team Flash, which is a slight change of pace from The Flash's recent seasons. Cicada is wasting no time in crossing paths with his to-be foe, as the episode synopsis for Episode 2, titled "Blocked," reveals that Barry and the rest of Team Flash (plus the newest recruit Nora) will come head-to-head with the villain as they search for a meta.
As Barry (Grant Gustin) helps his daughter, Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy), become a better speedster, he and Team Flash also track down a meta stealing high-tech weapons, only to cross paths with a new foe named Cicada (Chris Klein), who is hunting the very same meta with nefarious intent.
Grant Gustin has already teased a bit of what to expect from The Flash's version of Cicada, who is notably different from the comic adaptation. Gustin explained that Cicada's abilities include being able to dampen the abilities of other metas, which will undoubtedly put Barry and the rest of Team Flash off balance in their first and future encounters with him. We're guessing the villain is going to try and kill that meta that the good guys are hunting, and without his speed, Barry may be forced to try and stop the hulking Cicada in other ways.
The Flash may be hitting on an interesting twist to the "Barry losing his speed" concept this time around. Chris Klein's Cicada being introduced so early in the season could give the show ample opportunities to show Team Flash trying to thwart the villain without the use of super-speed or other meta-powers, which could drastically switch up the dynamic of the series once again. It's obviously not known if Cicada will have all of his powers developed and intact when the season starts, but he'll likely cause some kind of trouble early on, and it'll be cool to see how the non-powered characters fare.
We're guessing Barry will likely develop ways to outwit and out strategize Cicada on the battlefield, although we wouldn't be opposed to him entering a dojo and spending a whole season working on some dope kung-fu moves instead! That probably won't happen, considering the show has to work out Caitlin's loss of Killer Frost and Nora's timeline goof and the new Wells and Ralph's new job and Cecile's new kid, which leaves little time for mega-budget fight-training sequences.
The Flash returns to The CW for Season 5 Tuesday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Many other shows will be premiering on television around that time so be sure to visit and bookmark our fall premiere guide to see what all is on the way.
