The Flash has always been a show to introduce weird and wonderful new villains out of nowhere, and the next one, Psych, has been teased in a series of photos previewing the upcoming episode “Fear Me.”
The title is a reference to the primary ability of Psych, to be played by Ennis Esmer, which sounds like it could be the name of a comics character itself. He possesses uncharted psionic powers which he uses to amplify the fears of everyone in Central City and cause hallucinations bringing them to life, so our merry band of heroes must face what they’re most afraid of if they want to defeat him.
Psych is a recent addition to the list of the Flash’s enemies, as he only debuted in the comics in March 2019. As well as wreaking havoc in this episode, there’s the possibility that his presence could begin this season’s primary arc of dealing with what’s being caused and summoned by that rainbow quartet of lightning bolts seen at the end of “Mother.”
Psych is a conduit for the Sage Force, which superhumanly enhances his mental capabilities in the same way the Speed Force gives Barry his powers. There are a number of other similar cosmic Forces, of which Strength, Still and Forever are the most likely to join Sage in being called into being by the four eldritch electrical blasts. As Sage enhances the mind, so Strength amplifies physical prowess (and may be held by that poorly-rendered CGI ogre powerful enough to destroy dark matter), Forever gives the ability to manipulate time, and Still counteracts motion, rendering Barry’s abilities useless against it.
However Psych is ultimately used, he should prove a challenge, as facing an enemy who doesn’t need directly confrontational abilities to be a threat traditionally goes quite badly for Barry, hopefully indicating that The Flash will continue its post-“Crisis” journey of improving in quality.
