The Flash bows next week, and it bows with a full complement of heroes and villains. But not all of them will appear with superpowers right away; sure, you’ll see Captain Cold and Heat Wave going to town right away, but there are tons of intriguing hints hidden among the IMDB cast credits. So, we tease out a few of those hidden gags by cast member, which may be spoilery if you’re not familiar with the comics.
Cisco Ramon
Played By: Carlos Valdes
AKA: Vibe
Notable Because…: This may be a hangover from when DC tried to make Vibe a thing in the recent past, but his being a notable cast member means he makes the list. One, being able to fire vibratory energy out of your hands are just going to give us endless, endless jokes. Two, The Flash’s powers often rely on vibration, so Vibe can either help him with that… or kick the Flash’s ass.
Eddie Thawne
Played By: Rick Cosnett
AKA: Reverse-Flash
Notable Because…: First of all, Reverse-Flash wants to make heroes “better,” usually by killing everyone they love. He has the power to control time, so that allows him to hop back and forth along the timeline and mess with people. Including, it seems, young Barry Allen, who witnesses a yellow blur murder his mother in the pilot. This time travel ability is interesting for other reasons as well, but you’ll have to watch the pilot to find out why.
Oh, did we mention that on this show, he’s part of the Central City Police Department? We’re sure that will end well.
Caitlin Snow
Played By: Danielle Panabaker, who everyone keeps mistaking for Elizabeth Henstridge.
AKA: Killer Frost
Notable Because…: First of all, she starts off the series on the side of the good guys. But that’s not going to last, as in current DC continuity, Killer Frost is a woman who has to absorb the heat of living things to survive, the result of a tragic accident at… STAR Labs! But she’s not usually an enemy of the Flash, she usually goes up against Firestorm. Speaking of which!
Ronnie Raymond
Played By: Robbie Amell. Yes, the guy from the Tomorrow People, and Stephen Amell’s cousin.
AKA: Firestorm
Notable Because…: Firestorm, better known as the Nuclear Man, can fire bolts of energy, rearrange matter, and generally mess with atomic stuff. In this show, Ronnie is a janitor, and in the comics, Firestorm is formed by fusing together Ronnie and another person, usually nuclear physicist Martin Stein. So, that’s… attention getting.
Danton Black
Played By: Michael Smith
AKA: Multiplex
Notable Because…: He’s Martin Stein’s assistant. He also gets turned into scrub Mulitplex, who can create multiple copies of himself yet turns to crime instead of, you know, just getting a dozen jobs. Be more creative, Danton!
Simon Stagg
Played By: William Sadler
Notable Because…: By himself, Stagg’s not notable; he’s another DC industrialist character who’s kind of sketchy. But he IS interesting not least because he’s more or less directly responsible for the origin of another DC superhero, Metamorpho.
Basil Nurblin
Played By: Robert Mann
AKA: Colonel Computron
Notable Because…: It shows how deep they’re digging into the comics. Colonel Computron is literally a background villain. Arrow is notable for reinventing scrubs like this, and it’s kind of exciting they’re going that far back. Expect more of these; the show’s got a full season to air, after all.