In the past few years, The Flash has played host to some memorable big bads. To be honest, I won’t soon forget how we pondered the true identities of the Reverse-Flash, Zoom and Savitar back in the day, not to mention which villain resonated with us most. In case you’re wondering, Zoom was my personal favorite, but that’s a discussion best saved for another time.
Still, despite all that awesomeness, it was hard to overlook how the notion of the evil speedster confounding the STAR Labs team became overused, which is why the Thinker came as a breath of fresh air in season 4. And though we still don’t know whom to expect this fall, rumors circulating have pointed toward Cicada.
But if it’s someone else, one thing’s for certain: they won’t be a speedster. Here’s what executive producer Todd Helbing had to say to TV Guide in this year’s Comic-Con Special:
“There was going to be a part [in season 4] where we teed up [the next villain] and anybody who knew the comics would get it. I will say, it’s not another speedster.”
It’s also worth mentioning that the announcement will likely arrive this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, so we won’t be left scratching our heads for much longer. But if indeed it ends up being Cicada, I wouldn’t say that’s someone any comic book reader would recognize. To be frank, he’s kind of obscure.
While this is all well and good, I do hope that Godspeed is introduced at some point before the series reaches its end. He may be yet another evil speedster, sure, but never has a Flash villain had such a perfect name – and the guy is fast enough to be in two different places at once. Think of the possibilities.
The Flash returns for its fifth season on Tuesday, October 9 on The CW.