The Flash Season 6 premiere introduced its new villain Bloodwork, and it was chilling. Played by Sendhil Ramamurthy (New Amsterdam, Heroes), Bloodwork is definitely not at full power yet, but he’s already proven himself to be a scary adversary. Much like Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen, Bloodwork is facing grief and death and the season premiere, titled “Into the Void,” made quick work of laying the foundation for his character.
Who Is Bloodwork's Alter Ego?
“Into the Void” introduced audiences to Ramsey Rosso, a doctor whose mother died from HLH cancer. His introduction was actually clever, because we got to know the man behind the villain (at least for a short while) before he took up the official mantle of Bloodwork.
Ramsey was identified as a doctor first and foremost, and one who’s angry about his mother’s death, just not in the way we expect. He’s mad because she didn’t fight against her impending death, and he considers her a quitter. Unsatisfied with the way she died, Ramsey is fighting to save his own life and the lives of millions with his HLH cure.
How Does Ramsey Rosso Turn Into Bloodwork?
After paying someone to acquire dark matter for him, since he couldn't find it anywhere else, Ramsey infused it into his own cure and tested it on himself. You see, Ramsey was revealed to also be a carrier of HLH cancer cells, and he wanted to save himself from the possibility of dying like his mother did.
But, of course, when has the use of dark matter ever worked out for anyone on The Flash? Ramsey wasn’t going to be the exception and, after injecting himself with the dark matter-infused serum, he immediately developed deadly powers. Fans will have to wait and see what those powers will be, though, and how close this adaptation gets to the comic book source material.
How Does Bloodwork Connect To Team Flash?
The Flash writers found a solid way to introduce Bloodwork. Rather than separating him from Team Flash's characters and waiting to reveal his true identity, Ramsey Rosso’s identity and motivations are clear from the get-go. He’s introduced as Caitlin’s friend from medical school, and she reconnected with him following his mother’s death.
Caitlin was under the impression that Ramsey was a lonely guy dealing with grief. However, he’s quick to cut to a different chase. Long story short, he knew Caitlin was working for S.T.A.R. Labs, and he wanted access to their dark matter. If that’s not enough, Ramsey and Barry are both set on preventing death in some form, so there’s a common theme that connects them, even if they’re both dealing with it in different ways.
What Are Bloodwork's Plans And Motives?
On the surface, Bloodwork’s motives don’t sound too bad. His mother had HLH cancer, and he’s also a carrier of the cells, so he wanted to find a way to reverse the damage. Naturally, his plan was to cure people of cancer even if using dark matter on human test subjects proved dangerous. Still, Bloodwork’s plans to cure cancer were more of a selfish endeavor.
Although his full abilities haven’t been revealed on The Flash just yet, Bloodwork’s powers in the comics include the capacity to change and create blood, essentially making him immortal. Now that he’s become a metahuman, he might want to cure Central City’s Citizens of all their ailments. Either way, he spells trouble for Team Flash.
The Flash Season 6 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. Check out our complete list of premiere dates and times for all the Arrow-verse shows and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more coverage of all things DCTV.
