The Flash: All 12 main villains ranked from worst to best

10. Cicada / Cicada II

The Flash was really onto something when it introduced Cicada. A reluctant and murderous metahuman intent on killing all metas regardless of whether they are heroes or villains? That’s an amazing concept. Throw in the motivation that Orlin Dwyer had for doing what he did and the awesome look, and they really should have been onto a winner. But for some reason, it just didn’t work.

The shortcomings of the original Cicada as a villain can mostly be attributed to the excessive episode count. The show waited too long to reveal his identity and motivations, rendering him rather dull and one-dimensional throughout most of the season. And when he did show up, he’d often lose and continuously be allowed to retreat.

The second Cicada fared a little better. Dwyer’s niece Grace, who travelled back in time to complete his mission, was appalled when she learned he had decided to work with Team Flash to save her in the present and responded by killing him. She then became the primary villain for the remainder of the season.

Cicada II was campier and more over-the-top than her uncle but that at least made her more interesting. It also helped that she didn’t stick around too long, so she never suffered the overexposure that he did either.