10 Underrated Flash Villains Who Should Appear In The Upcoming Movie - CBR - Comic Book Resources

The DCEU has had a bit of a resurgence of late with the release of two new films in 2020 and the long-anticipated Snyder Cut of the Justice League. Now, the Fastest Man Alive is set to race onto the big screen as the Flash finally gets his very own live-action movie.

Flash has been around in one form or another since the Golden Age of Comics. But he has also had two TV shows (including his hit series on The CW), as well as appearances in other major pieces of media. Given his major exposure, it can be difficult to imagine which iconic villain the Scarlet Speedster should face in the upcoming film. Interestingly, some of his most underrated villains offer some of the best possibilities.

10 Commander Cold Is A Version Of Captain Cold From The Future Who Polices Temporal Crimes

One way the DCEU could distinguish itself from the MCU is by finding certain things to do better within the bread realm of superhero story tropes. While the MCU has done a time travel story in Avengers: Endgame, DC could come to dominate the media market with superhero time travel stories.

The Flash is the perfect hero for such stories (at least until Booster Gold becomes part of the DCEU) but in addition to him, it seems like Commander Cold would be a great foil. While he has many similarities to the present-day Captain Cold, Commander Cold is a hero from the future who keeps time travelers from violating chronology. However, when he enforces the laws from his own time, he frequently fights Barry in the present, where he and his fellow "Renegades" all have similarities to various members of the Rogues. For Commander Cold to be an effective character, the film would also need to establish the Rogues early on to contrast the two groups.

9 The Turtle's Powers Can Slow Flash To A Complete Stop

The Turtle is an old villain. In his earliest appearances, he fought against the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, who he defeated by using slow, detailed strategic planning.

More recently, Turtle has gained the ability to tap into the Still Force--one of four fundamental forces that permeate the multiverse (and the opposite of the Speed Force). He can literally slow things to a stop with cosmic power. It'll be difficult for Flash to outrun such a foe.

8 Doctor Alchemy Is Able To Alchemically Alter Reality On A Whim

There have been three different villains to use the name Doctor Alchemy over the years. Ultimately, they have the same basic power set in common: the ability to transmute one type of matter into another. He has even demonstrated the ability to make symbols in a person's skin or change the chemicals in a vial across a room.

With the ability to warp the asphalt beneath Flash's feet or turn the blood in his veins to mercury, Doctor Alchemy is a villain not to be underestimated.

7 Shade Is An Immortal With Access To The Sentient Dark Magic Of The Shadowlands

Shade is an immortal being who can create constructs made of shadow. He can access the mystical Shadowlands dimension, unleashing demons made of darkness and conjuring tendrils of dark magic energy. He can also travel through the Shadowlands, a sentient realm that responds to him and others that enter.

Given his neo-Victorian look with a cane, top hat, and long coat, Shade has a distinct appearance that is at once gentlemanly and perfectly in keeping with the bizarre trends of comic fashions. He can be as dark or whimsical as a film might need. Even better, he can switch between these, creating some intense and surprising shifts in the film's emotional tone.

6 Rose & Thorn Are Two Personalities In A Single Body, One Of Whom Has A History Of Violence

There is an unfortunate trope of stories inaccurately portraying a character with disassociative identity disorder (DID, often inaccurately called "multiple personality disorder"). Rose and Thorn are two personalities in the body of a single woman. While Rose is a caring compassionate individual, Thorn is cruel and delights in hurting others.

Portraying Rose and Thorn with sensitivity to their respective disorder offers a chance to rectify previous less-than-respectful depictions of their mental health. It also can show the links between trauma and behavior that have been criminalized and stigmatized, thereby allowing for some high-stakes drama with a lot of narrative potential that does not need to vilify the character, even as it shows how the world would treat her as a villain.

5 Godspeed Is Barry's Friend & Coworker... And A Speedster Who Kills Criminals

While he is a relatively new character, Godspeed has become a major hit with fans. As his name implies, he is a Speedster who can connect directly to the Speed Force.

He is part of the Central City Police and is friends with Barry Allen. Rather than use his powers to help people, he uses them to kill "criminals," ironically unaware that this makes him a criminal too. Honestly, of all the various Speedster villains in DC, Godspeed may be the most compelling. He is not driven by hate or vengeance or ego, but rather by a desire to make the world better. When compounded with his friendship with Barry, he would make for a phenomenal main villain.

4 Bloodwork Is A Corrupt Police Forensics Specialist Who Experimented On His Own Blood

Another fairly recent villain is Bloodwork (AKA Ramsey Russo). Like Godspeed, he's a police officer in Central City where he worked alongside Barry as a forensics specialist. Their shared work gives them a personal connection while also creating an opportunity to explore the timely subject of police corruption and cover-ups.

Rosso has hemophilia and experimented on his own blood, thereby giving himself powers. He can manipulate the blood in his veins to leave his body, surrounding himself in a viscous exterior of plasma and lashing out at others with crimson tendrils. While his hemophilia once put Rosso's life at greater risk, now he's indestructible.

3 Rag Doll Is A Triple-Jointed Masochist Whose Thinking Is Alien To Most People

There are plenty of supervillains who are portrayed as "crazy" without ever being given a specific diagnosis. They are not meant to represent actual mental illness. Rather, they represent a type of thinking so alien and aberrant to most people that "madness" is the closest they can come to describing it.

Rag Doll is such a villain (or rather, Peter Merkel is, as there have been a few people to use the name Rag Doll). This triple-jointed non-binary contortionist is often a charismatic delight to be around. They are a jokester who delights in many aspects of life and demonstrates an upbeat masochism that gives them a unique perspective. However, Rag Doll will sometimes kill someone with brutal ferocity and without warning.

2 The Top Is A Campy Villain With A Silly Gimmick Who Can Add Some Lighthearted Fun

The Top is a ridiculous gimmick of a character, which is exactly what makes him so great. Born to the name Roscoe Dillons, as a child, he was fixated on spinning tops (yes, the children's toy). As an adult, he uses a variety of specialized spinning tops to perform crimes, and he has devised ways to induce vertigo in others while being immune to it himself.

Right now, the DCEU has a reputation for being unnecessarily grimdark. Superheroes can be fun, and a story about the Flash should be fun. While fun can mean dark, it can also have some silliness to it, something a villain like the Top...is on top of.

1 Mirror Master Is One Of Barry's Most Underappreciated & Overpowered Villains

Mirror Master has usually been portrayed in one of two ways: either as an incredibly overpowered villain who is nigh-impossible to stop or as a gimmicky trickster who causes trouble. He is a classic villain, but half of the time he is misused.

Able to access the mirror dimension and travel through any mirror in the world, Mirror Master can move without limits. He can also trap others in the mirror dimension and make copies of himself. Trapping the Fastest Man Alive in the mirror dimension would be a great way to make him go nowhere, ensuring he feels truly helpless.

NEXT: Batman Vs Flash: Who Has The Better Villains?

Next Infinity War: 5 Ways Thanos Was Justified (& 5 Times He Went Too Far)

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About The Author

Theo Kogod (422 Articles Published)

Theo Kogod is a freelance writer. While working as an English teacher in Japan, he helped found the magazine 3 Feet Left as its Resident Writer. Since then, he's written for various online publications, including CBR, Screen Rant, and The Comics Vault. His published fiction includes the prose superhero story "Typical Heroes" released by Diabolical Plots and the sci-fi story "Antediluvian" in the anthology A Flash of Silver-Green. He currently lives in North Carolina with his spouse, two adorable cats, and an ever-growing book-hoard.

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