25 Villains We Want to See on Arrow, The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow - Comic Book Movies and Superhero Movie News

What villains should appear on Arrow, The Flash, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow?

It seems like just yesterday that Oliver Queen was duking it out with Ra’s al Ghul and Barry Allen was doing his best to fight the Reverse Flash, but now the new seasons of both Arrow and The Flash are set to begin in just a few short weeks. Damien Darhk is set to terrorize Oliver Queen, Zoom will be going after The Flash, and Vandal Savage is taking on the assembled “legends,” but we want to know who the one and done adversaries will be.

Arrow and The Flash are peppered with villains-of-the-week and by the end of this television season, there will be nearly 60 hours of new episodes between these three shows, so they’re going to need bad guys. Though we know who a few of them are, we’ve got some suggestions for other villains we’d like to see show up in all three shows and how they can fit into the larger plans for the thematic arcs of the shows. Check them out in the gallery and sound off with your comments below!

“The Flash” Season Two premieres on The CW Tuesday, October 6, with “Arrow” set to follow on Wednesday, October 7. “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” will debut as a mid-season premiere next year.

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25 villains Arrow-Flash-LOT

ARROW - Onomatopeia

The trouble with adapting Green Arrow to a long-form series on television is that the bench for his own villains isn't all that deep. In the three seasons of “Arrow,” we've already seen almost every major villain that is quintessentially one of Green Arrow's, which is why it makes sense for Onomatopeia to appear.

Onomatopeia is a killer in the DCU that gets his name because he imitates the sounds around him, from dripping blood to his own gun shots. It's a story telling motif that works completely on the pages of a comic book, but how can it work on screen without sounding like Michael Winslow? If the team behind Arrow can find a way to seamlessly incorporate the boxing glove arrow into the show, I think they can make this crazy guy work.
ARROW - Magpie

Named for the thieving bird, Magpie is traditionally a Batman villain whose proclivity for stealing shiny objects makes her an easy enough villain to adapt to television. When she's not stealing priceless gems, the character worked at a Gotham City museum so that she could be surrounded by her obsession at all times. She is perhaps most well known for her hairstyle, which is unique to say the least.
ARROW - Catman

What makes Catman so interesting, beyond his dedication to wildlife conservation, is that he started out as a supervillain but transitioned into an anti-hero-rival to Batman. The character is a superb athlete and combatant and one of the best hunter/trackers in the DCU with a keen sense of smell. Oliver Queen has had rivals in both Deathstroke and Ra's al Ghul, but to position him against a character that's both his equal and not an outright villain is the kind of complexity that could liven up “Arrow.” Plus the inclusion of Catman means that maybe a Secret Six episode of Arrow could happen.
ARROW - Calendar Man

One of the best things that came out of last year's Arrow and The Flash line-up was the crossover episode, which The CW is already committed to continuing with the 8th episodes of both shows for as long as they both continue to air. Now imagine that Arrow had another recurring thing every year that tied into the time of its airing. Enter Calendar man, real name Julian Gregory Day (get it?), a criminal who only commits crimes on specific holidays or themed around times of the year. Picture a Halloween episode featuring the character one year, followed by a Christmas episode the next, and a Valentine's one the year after.
ARROW - Gentleman Ghost

The fourth season of Arrow is set to introduce the idea of Magic into the realm of the CW's DCU, and since we already know that Sara Lance will be getting resurrected courtesy of the Lazarus Pit, why not ghosts? Different versions of the character vary, but the Gentleman Ghost has been a highfalutin thief in DC comics for decades, taking on the likes of Hawkman, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Batman, The Flash, and others. Originally the character was, as the name implies, a ghost, with more recent versions being just a man that manipulates the world around him to give him a ghostly appearance. Arrow could play with both of this, leaving viewers with an X-Files like closer where they aren't sure which is true.
ARROW - Deacon Blackfire

The leader of the titular cult from Batman: The Cult, which partially inspired The Dark Knight Rises, Deacon Blackfire is a manipulative old coot that makes an army out of the homeless and disenfranchies in Gotham and takes over the city. Star City has already been held hostage a few times in Arrow, so the story might have to be slightly altered for an adaptation to television. Unlike other villains, it's not Blackfire's physical presence that would make him an equal match for Oliver, but how they're a broken mirror of each other in how they assemble and treat followers.
ARROW - Cheshire

Though the name might make you think of Alice in Wonderland, Cheshire is actually a skilled combatant and acrobat with extensive knowledge of poisons. In the comics, the character has ties to a number of those that have already appeared on Arrow, including Deathstroke, Black Canary, and even Roy Harper, who was her nemesis for some time. With Thea Queen taking on the Speedy role for season four, it's only fair to give her her own arch enemy (beyond her father) and Cheshire is a good start.
ARROW - Lady Shiva

Cheshire is often described as the second-most deadly woman in the DCU, with the first being Lady Shiva. Deathstroke has his trademark sword, Oliver Queen has his bow and arrow, well Lady Shiva's token killing weapons are her hands. A notorious assassin, the character has gone on to become an anti-hero as well, joining up with the Birds of Prey and working hand-in-hand with Black Canary on more than one instance. With Nyssa al Ghul still around, it could become a point of contention who the most skilled female assassin in the Arrow-verse happens to be.
ARROW - Felix Faust

If Arrow is delving into magic in its fourth season, lets go hog wild like The Flash and bring in one of the most powerful sorcerers in the DCU, Felix Faust. Faust has been around for thousands of years, and has used all that time to become proficient in magic. It's his inability to fight hand to hand and reliance on magic that would make him a unique villain for Oliver Queen, plus his nearly addiction-like dependence on magic allows for many avenues of exploration.
ARROW - Etrigan

A demon bound to form of man,
We propose none other than Etrigan.
Forced to speak in cursed rhymes,
He's walked the Earth since ancient times.
Attached to a fool named Jason Blood,
He also has a familiar bud.
John Constantine that old bloke
Will appear on Arrow, but still won't smoke.
With Magic being season four's plan,
Release the demon, Etrigan!
THE FLASH - Mirror Master

Nearly all of the “Rogues” have appeared on The Flash already, but there is one glaring absence, Mirror Master! As his name implies, the character has control over mirrors, with the ability to travel through or trap other people inside of them. Like The Trickster in season one, he's also a legacy character with four different villains wearing the mantle. Series executive producer Andrew Kreisberg has previously that Mirror Master could appear in season two, so there's hope.
THE FLASH - Gas Gang

Though originally enemies of the Metal Men, the Gas Gang are five robots each themed after a different gas element and with different abilities. It's the exact sort of comic book wackiness that was embraced by the first season of “The Flash,” and with Firestorm a recurring character it would make for a good team-up episode.
THE FLASH - Ragdoll

Originally a villain for the Golden-Age Flash, who will appear in season two of the series, Rag Doll was a criminal mastermind “gifted” with “triple jointedness,” making him a very limber contortionist. The character started in humble beginnings, sticking to robbery mostly, but was later re-imagined with a darker streak of murder and torture. Rag Doll's son Peter Merkel, Jr would later carry the same name, and same abilities, though he would take on the role of a playful anti-hero.
THE FLASH - The Shade

With the ability to control, manipulate, and travel through shadows via his cane, Shade is a notable villain because he was created in the 1940s and has fought both the Jay Garrick and Barry Allen versions of The Flash. The character's abilities would offer some unique visual effects opportunities for the series as well as a villain for both Flashes to go up against.
THE FLASH - Turtle

One of the best things about the first season of The Flash was how it embraced the comic book basis and wasn't embarrassed to go wacky. Let's hope that in season two they can go full on wacky with Turtle Man, whose “ability” is slow, careful, deliberate planning, and sometimes he even beats The Flash. Another version of the character was actually capable of draining speed from those around him, which could prove problematic for Barry in the series.
THE FLASH - Doctor Sivana

Though he's one of the prime antagonists for Shazam (so he's probably off the table), this evil genius would be a good antagonist for Barry in the new season. If you've read the “Shazam” issue of Grant Morrison's Multiversity, you'll know that how he can fit into The Flash is fairly simple. With the concept of The Multiverse being introduced, an evil genius who bounces around searching for the alternate reality versions of himself to conquer the entire multiverse is a pretty great plan.
THE FLASH - Psycho Pirate

Though all of his crimes are based around different emotions, prime real estate for television drama, there is not much that is notable about Psycho Pirate, except one thing: he is knowledgeable of and can see the multiverse. In fact, Psycho Pirate played a large role in the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, which drove him insane. The character managed to pull forgotten/dead characters back into the prime reality, but as a result erased himself in the process. That's some story telling voodoo we want on TV.
THE FLASH - The Rival

We've already seen Barry take on his own nemesis in the Reverse Flash, but Earth-2's version of The Flash, Jay Garrick, has his own enemy of this nature. Called The Rival, Jay's enemy is actually a professor at the university that Jay attends, Dr. Edward Clariss. Clariss created a formula that would allow him to replicate The Flash's powers, though it only lasted a brief time. The character would later distribute his formula to others, allowing a number of other people to have The Flash's powers for a short time.
THE FLASH - Johnny Quick

With the Multiverse being at the core of The Flash now, and trips to Earth-2 clearly on the horizon, let's look to the other Earths, notably, Earth-3. Earth-3 is a lot like the prime Earth in the multiverse, except everyone's alignment is the opposite, so the Justice League are all bad guys known as the Crime Syndicate, and of course they have their own speedster in Johnny Quick. Maybe it's too much to hope for this in season two, but fingers crossed for season three.
THE FLASH - Killer Frost

This one is a gimme, because we've already seen Killer Frost very briefly in the series. The ice powered and evil alter ego of Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost has gone up against the likes of Batman, Green Arrow, and The Flash in the source material. A number of different women have carried the mantle of Killer Frost as well, meaning that perhaps someone else on the series could become the villain instead of Caitlin, or maybe Earth-2 Caitlin will become the villain.
LEGENDS - The Spider

We don't know much about what will take place in DC's Legends of Tomorrow. The heroes have all been announced, the villain has been cast, but what the actual plot or feel of the series will be like remains in the air. That being said, who knows if tonally any of these villains will make sense in the series, but we can still dream.

Originally a character from “Quality Comics,” The Spider was purchased by DC (along with the likes of Plastic Man, Blackhawk, Manhunter, and others) and the character was folded into the primary continuity. The difference, however, was that The Spider was changed from a pulp hero to a villain masquerading as a hero to elminate the competition, sort of a reverse Green Hornet. The character later had a son who took on the name for the purpose of revenge, which could be a good angle given the immortal big bad Vandal Savage. This version of the character has also previously been a villain of Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
LEGENDS - Shadow-Thief

Another villain of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Shadow-Thief is capable of transitioning his body into the 2d shadow realm. He obtained this power after gaining access to device from another dimension. The character is also capable of drawing strength from all of the shadows that surround him. The character is a legacy villain in more ways than one as three different villains have taken on his name, but he's also fought different incarnations of both Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
LEGENDS - The Flying Dutchman

Arrow is dealing with magic, The Flash is dealing with the multiverse, and Legends of Tomorrow is focusing on time travel (to an extent at least). There's one character that could tie them all together but also give Legends its own distinction, The Flying Dutchman. Real name Rikkard Rynders, the Dutchman was an anti-authoritative professor who experimented with psychedelics in order to break the walls of the fourth dimension. As you can imagine, the experiment went south and Rynders' consciousness was thrust in the timestream, making appearances throughout time as an apparition. In his brief appearance in comics, he sought the help of Martin Stein, who we know will appear in Legends of Tomorrow.
LEGENDS - Hath-Set

Hawkman and Hawkgirl are reincarnated beings, forced to live as new heroes in worlds every generation, but they're not alone. The pair are joined by the villain Hath-Set, whose killing of the characters in their first form bonded them all together and forces all three of them to reincarnate throughout history. Hath-set has inhabited many different types of villains, all of whom are descended from him originally.
LEGENDS - Scandal Savage

It would be easy to ignore the sole heir of Vandal Savage in a series that only has a few episodes to establish the character and then defeat him, but if there's anyone out there as willing to take down Vandal as anyone else it's his daughter Scandal. Being her father's daughter, Scandal has enhanced abilities and isn't all that easy to deal damage to. A capable fighter, the character employs a pair of wrist-mounted "Lamentation Blades” in combat for easy slicing and dicing.