The Flash has one of the craziest Rogue’s galleries in the entire history of comic books. Captain Cold, Heatwave, The Top, Mirror Master and King Shark are just the tip of the iceberg. As each subsequent episode of each subsequent season has shown us, the life of The Flash never stops being crazy. Throughout the four seasons of The CW’s The Flash, villains have come and gone. Some were memorable. Some were extremely forgettable. The Flash has done a more or less commendable job with its villain roster. While fans may not love its dreadful Villain of the Day approach to storytelling, they sure love the evil meta-humans of the Arrowverse. And why shouldn’t they? They are pretty awesome in the first place.
Now there is one more reason to fall in love with The Flash’s Rogue’s gallery. The Trickster is returning back to the Arrowverse in the next episode of The Flash Season 4.
The Trickster’s real name is Axel Walker. Walker is a legendary prankster with a weird and sometimes deadly sense of humor. In the comic books, The Trickster has had several iterations. Most of them were not that noticeable like Walker was. His tricks and pranks have been more than enough to stop the Flash in his tracks more often than you would believe. He once almost killed the Scarlet Speedster with nothing but a gallon of water and a dozen eggs. Such is his proficiency with laying improvised booby traps with daily household materials that even Barry Allen thinks twice before trading blows with his head on.
The Trickster was already popular as a fan favorite villain in the Flash comic books. Then his popularity skyrocketed when Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker of Star Wars fame) portrayed him in the Arrowverse show. Now the trailer shows he will be doing it again.
The upcoming episode will be marked by two things – the development of Ralph Dibny as the superhero Elongated Man and the reappearance of Axel Walker aka the Trickster. The show will see Ralph finally accepting the fact that even he could be destined to do greater things. While he encounters that revelation, the Trickster will be at large in Central City.
Axel Walker is not the original Trickster. His father, Jesse James, is the Original prankster extraordinaire of both the DC Comics and the Arrowverse. It was Jesse James that Hamill portrayed in the Show. While he may be a no-show, Axel Walker is to continue the trend of terrorizing Central City residents with his whacky machinations. Vibe and Killer Frost will not be able to handle it on their own. With Barry in prison, all eyes will be on Plastic Man aka Ralph Dibny to assume the leadership role.
https://youtu.be/_vZfp6XL4H8
The Preview launched by The CW shows Trickster back at it again. Bombs and booby traps lay waste to Central City. Vibe is taken hostage by the Trickster himself. It is time for Ralph to step up and change the outcome of Trickster’s crazy games. But he is unsure if he is ready. He looks to Barry for advice and the latter is heard saying to Ralph –
“Rise Up. Rise above that Fear.”
Up until now, Ralph Dibny has been mostly a comic relief to the show. But a few deleted scenes and the ones that aired show that he has grown from being a pompous asshole into someone who actually cares about the people he wants to protect.
Ralph dissuaded Joe from planting the evidence on The Thinker’s wife and use unfair means to incriminate her. He used his own personal experience to let the viewers know that he truly regrets his actions. And who could forget that beautiful scene where Ralph tries to explain to Barry that why he is so scared of being the hero in Episode 6 of The Flash.
The second half of The Flash is packed with all sorts of twists and turns. Apart from the return of Captain Cold and the secret behind the Mystery Girl at Barry and Iris’ wedding being finally revealed in the forthcoming episodes, Vibe, Killer Frost, and Elongated Man will have their hands full. Barry is in prison. It is up to the support team of Team Flash to get the job done. Will they succeed? Will the Trickster trick them yet again? We will soon find out when the Next Episode of The Flash airs on January 23 with ‘The Elongated Man Rises.’
Don’t Miss: 10 Insane Easter Eggs Everyone Missed In DC Movies
