The Flash Villains Ranked

 

The Flash Villains Ranked

A couple days back the seventh season of The Flash aired, so today I’m going to be continuing my Flash content with a ranking of the 9 main villains on The Flash. Let’s get started!

NOTE: This post will contain SPOILERS for the entire show. So PLEASE be careful of what you read, I don’t want anything to be ruined for you. 

9. Orlin Dwyer and Grace Gibbons/Cicada (Season 5): Season 5 of the show is my least favorite season on the show, and the my least favorite villain on the show is the main villain of season 5, Cicada. I think the idea of Cicada is quite good, the idea of a big bad on the show being a meta-human serial killer is quite interesting, and could have been really cool. But noticed that I said COULD HAVE BEEN, but the execution on Cicada was pretty underwhelming. They stretched his plotline out way too long, where I don't think Cicada is a strong enough villain to be a big bad. I think he could have worked better with a 3-5 episode story arc. I do think the female Cicada in the final third of the season was a better version of the character, but not by much in my mind. They got Chris Kline from the American Pie movies to be Orlin and that’s weird casting, he just doesn’t give off this menacing vibe that Cicada should. So easily I think that Cicada is a waste of a villain that could have been really cool. He could have been one of the great villains on the show, but he’s not so he’s easily the weakest of the main villains. 

8. Nora Allen/The Speed Force (Season 7): I just don’t think this was a good idea for a big bad, The Speed Force turning evil is a lot more interesting on paper then in execution. One thing that did help this villain out was her story was contained, meaning this story was told across like 7-9 episodes and I think that was a good length for this storyline, it didn’t feel too short or too long. But I think there is one big issue with this villain, and one medium size issue. Big issue is the writing, in general I didn’t like the writing for this season. Now I like the idea of when Barry got his speed back and made all of this happen, but they started saying that Barry and Iris are like different parents, and I didn’t like that. So that was the big issue with this villain. Second thing is I don’t think that Michelle Harrison gives off a villainous vibe. She’s great as Barry’s mother and she can play dramatic moments very well. But I just never bought her as this villain with a big plan to destroy Central City. So in general, one that I think the villain was built on a faulty idea, so she’s fine. Not good, not bad just there. 

7. Eva McCullouch/Mirror Monarch (Season 6 and 7): Speaking of villains that are just kind of there for me...Eva McCullouch is the best example of this. The character doesn’t make any big mistakes, but the positives about her aren’t particularly high either. She’s a fine villain, that has some things I enjoy. First up, I thought her usage in the first few episodes of her being introduced were very good. I liked her relationship with Iris and some of the twists and turns worked for me. But once she became an all villain with a big master plan to destroy Central City, I don’t think the character worked as well. Similar to The Speed Force, the actress here didn’t leave much of an impact on me. She didn’t do anything particularly wrong but also didn’t do anything to make her a fan favorite or a top tier villain on the show. And this was a storyline that I think was stretched a bit too long. It started in episode 10 of season 6 and ended in episode 3 of season 7. I think this storyline could have been trimmed up a good bit. But in general, I don’t have any big positives or negatives about her character. 

6. Clifford DeVoe/The Thinker (Season 4): If Mirror Monarch is a villain that I don’t have any big positives or negatives about, The Thinker is the complete opposite. I have some of the biggest positives and negatives about the character, and the gap between the two is pretty big. Right off the bat, I like that he’s something different. After three seasons in a row where the main villain is a speedster, he was a nice breath of fresh air. I thought that when The Thinker was played by Neil Sandilands he was great, and he’s a great actor and did such a great job playing this character. And his rivalry with Barry in the season really worked for me. But once episode 9 happened, and the body swapping started, that character went from great to good. If they did it once, that’s fine but they did like 4 or 5 times and it got boring after a while. And the other actors didn’t do nearly as good of a job as Neil did. And I thought the character's best look was when he was in the trench coat, but when he was in the chair with that helmet it looked a bit too odd to me. So easily this is the most polarizing one for me. 

5. Barry Allen/Savitar (Season 3): I’ve never understood some of the hate that the Savitar character got. I do think that it hurt the character that he was the third speedster big bad in a row. And I think the reveal that Savitar is some future version of Barry was revealed too late into the season. The reveal happened in episode 20, and it needed to happen in episodes 13-16. And some of the logic with how Savitar comes into fruition doesn’t make sense, but that’s true with the entire season. Besides those three things, I like this character. He poses a great threat towards Team Flash, and you feel his presence and the danger vibe that he brings. I think Grant Gustin is great as Savitar, some of the acting by Grant in the final 3 episodes are great. And I think he looks cool, a big metal suit is pretty basic but it worked for me. So yah, I enjoy this character and like a number of things about him as a character. Sure he does have some issues, but they don’t bother me as much as they do with other people. 

4. Ramsey Russo/Bloodwork (Season 6): A great villain in the first half of season 6, and this is a villain with a number of really good things about him. First up, I think the actor here does a great job. He can play the kind friend character to both Barry and Caitlin, but as his storyline went along he became more and more evil. So you got to see the dark side of the character, and the actor was equally just as great. I also like the idea of the villain, a respected scientist that experiments on himself and through the process turns him into a monster. It’s similar to a number of Spider-Man villains and The Hulk, but I think that’s an interesting way to introduce a villain. And he’s something different, he’s not a speedster he’s something widely different from anything that has been on the show. Now I do have one issue with the character which is, I wish we got more of him. I thought he was great as the scientist that went down a dark path but in episodes 7 and 8 was he when we got to see him as the fully formed villain, and I wish we got more of that. It was really in those two episodes, but besides that this is a great character. 

3. August Heart/Godspeed (Season 7): I was kind of nervous going into season 7, because this season was only going to give Godspeed 4 episodes as a big bad. So I was worried that maybe it was going to feel rushed and didn’t explain things enough. I was totally wrong, they used him greatly in the final 4 episodes of season 7. I like how he was used, in episode 15 it’s just Godspeed’s army attacking Central City. But as the episodes go along, we get to see the real Godspeed in action. And I found episode 18, the season finale, to be the peak of Godspeed. Where he was used the best, and just a great threatening villain. He posed an urgent threat towards Team Flash, maybe the best threat since Zoom in season 2. August’s final battle with Barry in the season finale is great, and I like how Reverse-Flash comes back and gets in on the action and helps Barry defeat Godspeed. And I like how they make long sticks made of lightning, and the way they fight is like lightsabers, something that I didn’t know that I wanted. But a great way to have a final fight between Barry and Godspeed. Put all of it together, and you get a great villain on the show. One that was threatening, menacing, and involved in some great action scenes. 

2. Hunter Zolomon/Zoom (Season 2): This is just a classic Flash villain, he’s a beloved villain that I can totally see why he’s beloved. If somebody was to tell me “Zoom was their favorite villain” on the show, I would totally understand. He’s awesome and works for me on many many levels. First up, he’s easily the scariest of the Flash villains; his voice, costume, and presence makes you feel this big and scary threat that he poses towards Team Flash. And that’s honestly the best thing about him, this intimidating presence that he brings to every scene that he is in. I think it’s ok that they went with a speedster villain for the second season, because it was early enough in the show that they could get away with it. And they found a new angle that Zoom poses a threat, and they don’t copy what they did with Reverse-Flash in season 1. And the twist that Jay Garrick (or who they thought was Jay Garrick) turned out to be Zoom was a nice twist, that certainly shocked me when it first happened. 

1. Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash (Season 1): Honestly, this might be my favorite villain of the Arrowverse, it’s either this guy or Deathstroke from Arrow Season 2, both are great and different. But honestly...I don’t really have any issues with this character. He’s that good, and everything about him is the best and makes for the best villain on the show. I love his story and origin story, and how he’s from the future trying to kill Barry Allen in the present...or I guess for him it’s the past. And I like how he started off as Harrison Wells, the mentor and father figure towards Team Flash, but people start putting the pieces together and realize he’s not all what he says he is. Tom Cavangh is incredible as Thawne, he’s a great actor and I’m so glad that he is Reverse-Flash. And it’s hard to imagine any other actor besides Tom playing Reverse-Flash, he’s that good. So put all of it together you get a pretty incredible villain on the show and in the Arrowverse. So easily without question, I think that Eobard Thawne aka Harrison Wells aka Reverse-Flash is the best villain on The Flash. 

There you have it, my ranking of the 9 villains on The Flash. How would you rank The Flash villains? Also, I’ve already done like 4 other Flash rankings so you can go check those out. Thanks for reading!