In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths, CW shows like The Flash are relying too heavily on reinventing old Arrowverse villains instead of focusing on brand new ones. The five-part crossover event was a big deal for the Arrowverse, as it put all the Arrowverse shows — which now includes Black Lightning — on one Earth. Unfortunately, post-Crisis, these shows are too-often bringing back familiar faces instead of introducing new ones.
One benefit that all the Arrowverse shows received from Crisis on Infinite Earths was what it meant for the status quo. Characters were brought back to life, and other major changes were made, such as Lex Luthor’s new position at the DEO in Supergirl. Essentially, Crisis has allowed the Arrowverse to revise or reinvent certain elements of its shows. For example, Gorilla City is now part of Earth-Prime, which will make it easier for Team Flash to interact with Gorilla Grodd. Some shows, like Legends of Tomorrow, aren’t taking full advantage of Crisis on Infinite Earths, but others, like The Flash, are taking this opportunity to create new versions of DC Comics villains that the show has already used.
The Flash season 6 has aired three post-Crisis episodes, and so far hasn’t used a single, original super-powered villain. The midseason premiere introduced Black Hole assassin Kimiyo Hoshi as the new Doctor Light. Earth-2’s Linda Park used the same codename in season 2. The Flash is also in the process of debuting a gender-swapped Mirror Master, as indicating by the introduction of Eva McCulloch in Tuesday’s episode, “A Girl Named Sue.”
The midseason premiere revealed that many of Flash’s villains have new sets of powers, which will make dealing with them more difficult as they adjust to their opponents’ new abilities. This Crisis change opens the door for The Flash to bring back familiar foes from past seasons and make beating them more challenging for Team Flash. Other than these, Barry and his allies have been busying with unchanged versions of existing villains like Amunet Black, Goldface, and Ultraviolet. Next week, Barry will encounter Gorilla Grodd and battle Solovar again. The Flash season 6 set photos have suggested that two more villains will guest star on The Flash later on this season.
One of the points of the Crisis on Infinite Earths comics was to bring in new heroes and villains, so it’s important for the TV version of Crisis to have a similar impact. Having brand new characters on the show would help reflect the status quo change made to the Arrowverse by the Crisis. After all, it’s hard to feel like the world is any different than it was before if Barry only fights old villains and new versions of existing threats from The Flash.
More: What Flash’s New Mirror World Means For Arrowverse’s Future
