Via ComicBook.com, we have confirmation that Liam McIntyre has been cast as Mark Mardon / The Weather Wizard in The CW’s The Flash. This news follows reports of multiple sources seeing McIntyre visiting the set of The Flash yesterday. The character will make his first appearance in the fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the first season.
Liam McIntyre is an Australian actor whose best known role to-date has been the title character in Starz’s Spartacus. McIntyre replaced Andy Whitfield, the original actor who played Spartacus, after Whitfield was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Sadly, Whitfield succumbed to the illness and died. McIntyre’s film credits include The Legend of Hercules (2014) and The Killing Field (2014). His television credits include The Pacific (2010), Neighbours (2010), Rush (2010), Spartacus (2012 – 2013), and Auckland Daze (2014).
Folks might remember that we had another Weather Wizard in the pilot of The Flash. The villain in the premiere episode was Clyde Mardon, Mark Mardon’s brother. Yep, Clyde was the original Weather Wizard, as he died after being shot by Joe West. In the episode, it was revealed that Clyde had a brother, who was also a bank robber, and they were both caught in a plane crash during S.T.A.R. Labs’ particle accelerator accident. Mark’s fate was unknown at the time, but it seems that he’s definitely alive and well, and now looking for revenge for his brother’s death. With similar powers as Clyde, Mark will tear through Central City looking for Joe West.
In the comics, Clyde Mardon is a scientist who dies from a heart attack right after he discovers how to control the weather. After finding Clyde’s body (in Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #2, there’s an implication that Mark killed his own brother), Mark takes Clyde’s notes and creates a wand to manipulate the weather. From there, he becomes a criminal who has frequent run-ins with The Flash (Barry Allen version).
The Flash returns after its mid-season hiatus on The CW on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 8:00PM EST.