The Flash: 10 Unpopular Opinions About The Villains, According To Reddit - Screen Rant

Every hero needs a proper villain and The Flash never shied away from introducing new antagonists who made the heroes' lives more difficult. Each season has its own major villain and some of them, most notably the Reverse-Flash, occasionally come back.

Despite their overall popularity and excellent acting performances, not all fans were happy with what the show did with its villains. They took their comments to Reddit and were quick to point when they felt that any villain wasn't as good (or as bad) as others believed or when the creators did something with the character that didn't make sense.

10 Reverse-Flash Isn't Interesting

Many main villains have appeared on The Flash but the Reverse-Flash continues to be one of the most prominent and popular ones. Not everyone is so thrilled with him, though. hybbprqag thinks that: "The Reverse-Flash isn't that interesting a villain. Honestly, I just find it boring when the villain has the same power set as the hero. Reverse Flash was interesting in his Harrison Wells mode, but once he went into speedster mode I lost interest."

It's true that Barry and Eobard Thawne have the same set of powers which takes away some of the tension of what the Reverse-Flash can do. When he was still masking as Harrison Wells, there was an element of mystery about him and the fans could wonder what he could and would do. That went away once the show had Thawne don his suit and show off his powers.

9 Savitar & The Thinker Are Better Than Zoom And The Reverse-Flash

The general consensus is that Zoom and the Reverse-Flash are not only powerful speedsters, but also the best villains on the show. ZeladoraDoAbismo disagrees, though, and stated that they "like Savitar and Devoe better than Reverse-Flash and Zoom."

One advantage Savitar and Devoe have against their opponents is that they were different from them. Savitar was still a speedster but one responsible for killing Iris, and he, therefore, presented a real threat to the heroes. And the Thinker used his intelligence, not his physical strength, to make Barry's life more difficult, which made it all the more difficult for the team Flash to deal with him.

8 Reverse-Flash Doesn't Appear Too Often

Reverse-Flash is one of the most prominent villains on the show and while most fans liked him, some pointed out he's overused. However, exxcaliburrr disagrees as they pointed out: "From the start, we hardly ever saw him as Reverse-Flash. In my opinion, we have hardly seen enough of flash vs reverse flash. For his arch-nemesis and main villain of the Flash, I hardly think he's been overused!"

exxcaliburr may very well have a point since Eobard Thawne rarely ever wears his true face on the show. When he does appear, it's usually under the guise of Harrison Wells. That was also the face he wore when he tricked Barry's daughter Nora into working alongside him. Funnily enough, the real Eobard Thawne played a much more prominent role in the second season of Legends of Tomorrow than on The Flash where he appeared for the first time.

7 The Jay Reveal Worked

Jay Garrick originally posed as a good guy. He then turned out to be the villainous speedster Hunter Zolomon aka Zoom. Some fans were disappointed by this turn of events but Icepickthegod thinks that "zoom revealed as "Jay" didn't kill his character for me, it probably made him an even better villain to me."

Under his guise, Jay came across as a kind but ultimately somewhat unexciting character. However, when he revealed his true nature, he became all the more dangerous and fascinating. It also gave an interesting spin to his romance with Caitlin since Zoom continued to care about her even after the reveal. No one could blame Caitlin for breaking it off between them, though, especially once he kidnapped her.

6 Captain Cold Isn't So Great

Even though Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold didn't stick around for long, he quickly became one of the most popular villains - largely due to his personality as well as the actor's performance. davey_mann nevertheless believes that "Captain Cold is overrated." and they weren't so charmed by him.

In the end, maybe it was a good move to let Captain Cold leave and join the Legends. It allowed him to grow as a character and by the time he sacrificed his life to save his team in the first season's finale, he was an entirely different person. However, many people missed the easy camaraderie and the verbal battles between Snart and Barry Allen. Where fan fiction is concerned, Captain Cold and the Flash are one of the most popular could-have-been couples the fans like to ship.

5 Savitar Was A Good Villain

Savitar got a lot of hate from the fans, especially once it was revealed who was hiding behind the mask. BionicSuperhero nevertheless believes that "Savitar was a really good villain."

One thing that's speaking positively for Savitar was the mystery surrounding him that had the audience hooked in. At first, it wasn't clear who Savitar was and why he was so hellbent on destroying Barry's life. Once this mystery was revealed, the audience then continued to wonder how would the team save Iris from her seemingly unavoidable death. As a result, the tension continued to run high thanks to Savitar's action.

4 Killer Frost Is A Mess

Another villain that most fans love but some found unpleasant is Killer Frost. NathanNjose noted that "Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost is a complete mess of a character."

One thing the show could possibly fix is to give Killer Frost better storylines. In many of the later episodes, it looked like Killer Frost had very little to do. And, for example, the relationship between her and Caitlin went on for far too long before it got solved. Other character arcs, on the other hand, mostly got glazed over (such as the storyline with her father, or her relationship with Ralph). Overall, Killer Frost might have fared better with more detailed writing.

3 Grodd Rules

Gorilla Grodd is the one villain that's impossible to overlook whenever he appears on the show. It doesn't happen too often, though, despite the fact that, as johnbusinessman noted, "Grodd is better than any of the big bads."

Whether or not Grodd is indeed better than the likes of Reverse-Flash or Zoom, that's debatable. What remains clear is that Grodd has a rich history in the comics, one the show didn't always utilize to its fullest. As a result, further stories with Grodd could very well appear should the creators be inclined to include them.

2 The Thinker & Marlize Were Good Villains

The Flash Season 4 Therefore I Am Clifford Marlize Devoe

Another less popular villain duo is Clifford DeVoe and his wife Marlize who were the major villains in the fourth season of the show. In comparison to the Reverse-Flash, for example, Thinker was never as beloved by the fans. However, Etansteg thinks that: "The Devoes were good villains, I don’t mind the body-swapping much."

As said above, the Thinker at least managed to bring something new to the show. Barry and his friends are intelligent, but even despite that, they struggled with overthinking the Thinker, defeating him in his own game. It didn't help them that DeVoe staged his own death and jumped into a different body instead. This storytelling trope didn't appear on The Flash that often so when it came in this case, it was refreshing to a certain degree.

1 Reverse-Flash Shouldn't Have Come Back

Tom Cavanagh portrayed a large number of characters on the show, by far the most of all of the actors. hart37 nevertheless pointed out that it made no sense for Cavanagh to return as the Reverse-Flash. As they put it: "They shouldn't have brought back Reverse-Flash if Matt Letscher wasn't available to play him. I love season 1 Reverse Flash and Tom is outstanding but from a story standpoint it makes no sense for Eobard to still be wearing Wells' face after Barry meets the "real" him."

There was definitely no logical reason why the Reverse-Flash should have kept Harrison Wells' face after he had revealed who he really was. The show mostly went around it and the characters were too busy dealing with the villain to consider it. However, for some of the viewers, it draws the attention away from the storyline as hart37 proves. Maybe it would have worked to introduce a new villain but considering Eobard Thawne's popularity, it comes as no surprise that the show's creators decided to bring him back.

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Kath Leroy (518 Articles Published)

Kath Leroy is a writer at Screen Rant. She also publishes in a number of Czech magazines. She works as an actress and appeared in feature films, short films, as well as TV series. Kath has loved movies, TV, and literature ever since she was a child and her father first played Star Trek for her. Since she has a background in writing genre fiction and screenplays, Kath enjoys fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero films and shows above all - however, she likes to watch films of all genres. Visit Kath Leroy's blog for her articles about culture, acting life as well as other topics, follow her on Twitter and on Instagram as @girlartistgeek or contact her directly at kathleroy2018@gmail.com