Arrowverse's The Flash is great at adapting the DC franchise's antagonists to the small screen, but some bad guys are more successful than others.
The Arrowverse's The Flash has been largely successful in adapting a range of well-known comic book villains from the source material. While the Scarlet Speedster certainly has a wide range of rogues, not all of them are quite as impressive as others. What's more, some of their presentations can turn out a little lame on screen.
Perhaps it's because of their visual design, or maybe it's based on how much of a threat they pose, but some of the Flash's foes are much cooler than others. Regardless of how they are portrayed though, each villain requires the Flash to bring out a different set of skills, with the audience getting a glimpse of an alternative side to Barry Allen. Needless to say, each character plays their part well.
Tom Felton has taken on some iconic characters in the past, but his appearance as Doctor Alchemy on The Flash certainly took many by surprise. While Felton was perfect in the role, there wasn't really much going for Alchemy here.
Initially seen as the main antagonist, it turns out Alchemy was just a pawn for the big bad of season 3, Savitar. While the split-personality that Felton's Julian Albert went through was entertaining, the villainous Doctor Alchemy really didn't pose much of a threat and was rapidly forgotten about. Even the costume went from creepy to cheesy pretty quickly.
The Trickster is one of the most iconic villains from the show, but that doesn't exactly make him cool. In fact, the whole point of this creep is that he's pretty lame and cheesy in all the best ways. The original Trickster can be found in the '90s Flash TV show played by Mark Hamill.
The actor returned to portray both the Earth-1 version of the character and then the alternate Earth-2 iteration. Hamill's Trickster would also have a son who would eventually team up with Prank, another blast from the past. His costumes are garish and his plans ridiculous, yet he is a lot of fun to watch.
Godspeed is a real threat in the comics and although his sleek white-and-gold suit looks absolutely excellent on the small screen, there's a lack of execution so far when it's come to adapting the character. There have been a number of imposters throughout the show.
Although there is the looming threat of a new Godspeed (played by B.D. Wong) who may prove to be a much more significant foe, for now, the Godspeeds put to screen are mere shells of what they could have been — weaker and far less menacing than anything on the page.
The Thinker is quite the physical threat even if he does look quite strange in his hovering chair. His main power is to be able to plan everything to the letter and outthink Barry Allen and the team. It's not exactly a cool and cinematic ability.
It makes for some intriguing conflicts and there's a certain creepy aesthetic to the Professor that's quite appealing for the show, but ultimately there are much cooler villains that the Flash has faced who have been an equal or even greater threat to the Scarlet Speedster.
Savitar helped to create one of the most fascinating twists of the show with the reveal that a dark version of Barry Allen was actually behind the metallic suit. However, the God of Speed was nothing like the character of the comics and indeed split fans' opinions in half.
The armor he wore was equal parts over-the-top and cool-looking. It's therefore difficult to rank the character as Speedster fatigue was setting in at this point for viewers, who needed a different type of big bad for the Flash to face. But Savitar definitely brought an intensity that few others had.
Caitlin Snow has been on quite the journey, through ups and lows as she's struggled with her alter-ego Killer Frost. There's something about the transformative nature of her powers that actually makes her quite cool; it's incredible to watch talented actor Danielle Panabaker go through that personality transition.
Visually, the character is very striking and her updated costume is pretty badass. In terms of her powers, she's a lot different to many of the other villains the Flash has had to face and she's perhaps even cooler once she's on S.T.A.R. Labs' side.
While Captain Cold might exhibit similar powers to Killer Frost, he has demonstrated both as a member of the Legends and foe to the Flash that he is able to quite literally keep his cool in any situation — and that makes him pretty awesome.
Fearless in the face of danger, smooth, charming, and always ahead of the game, Captain Cold is a natural-born leader. In many ways it's a shame he wasn't given the opportunity to be a main villain for the Crimson Comet; indeed only Cold could have pulled off that coat aesthetic.
Hunter Zolomon, or Zoom, came at a time when it was still pretty cool to have another Speedster as the antagonist of the show. The suit alone was extremely sinister and very threatening.
The cool black look aside, the voice and the mystery identity of the man behind the mask only added to the mystique of the character. Being unable to see any of the actor's skin made the character seem more like a creature than a human. It upped the awesome levels even more when Zoom eventually became the Grim Reaper-esque Black Flash.
Gorilla Grodd is one of the most significant villains to have ever been featured in the Arrowverse. One of the most famous comic book animals of all time, there's nothing sweet about this mind-controlling gorilla. Indeed, Grodd has even become a king in The Flash.
Audiences have been taken on a journey with Grodd from his origins to the establishment of Gorilla City. He is now a significant threat to most heroes in this shared DC Universe and quite frankly the King Kong-like beast is one of the coolest foes Flash has ever faced.
As if there was really another option for the coolest villain. The Reverse-Flash was the star of the first season of the show and continued to be a menacing presence throughout multiple series, including Legends Of Tomorrow.
He's been laughed at and he's been feared, but from the performances of the multiple actors that have portrayed him, the tricks up his sleeves, the costume design, and, of course, that initial Harrison Wells twist, Thawne will always stand out amongst the rest of the rogues.
