Entertainment

'The Flash' Is Putting A New Spin On top

by Hannah Shapiro

The Flash never fails to deliver when it comes to villains. It has a comic book world full of evil characters to choose from and the freedom to interpret those characters as it sees fit, resulting in some great antagonists. This season, the audience has already been introduced to the mysterious Doctor Alchemy, but he isn't the only baddie Barry will have to face. The Oct. 25 episode, "The New Rogues," brings DC Comics villain "Top" to The Flash, but with a specific change. In the comics, Top is a man named Roscoe Dillon who becomes obsessed with spinning tops that give him powers and effect his brain. But as E! reported, on The Flash, Top will be Rosalind "Rosa" Dillon, a badass female villain played by Ashley Rickards.

The preview for "The New Rogues," which you can watch below, focuses mostly on Top's TV partner, Mirror Master. He is another comic book villain being adapted for The Flash and as you might expect, his abilities focus on mirrors. He can travel through mirrors and trap people in them. The series is using the Sam Scudder version of Mirror Master and though he's intimidating, Team Flash shouldn't forget about the other villain in the room.

What's scarier than a bad guy threatening to hurt the characters' we love so much? A pair of villains who are in love and ready to create some chaos. Besides adding the romance element, gender-swapping Top just adds to The Flash's great track record of showing that both men and women can have formidable powers. The series has adapted male comic characters as women before, and clearly is continuing that season, adding to its already long list of complex, powerful women.

So what powers does Top possess, exactly? The comic version of Top is able to spin at different speeds, which can both defect bullets and increases his intelligence. The spinning also gives Top mental powers that he can use to trick people. It's likely that at least some of these abilities will translate onto The Flash, especially since the comics' Top also works with Mirror Master — however, it's worth nothing that this Top eventually works with the Flash to help stop Mirror Master.

As for how the duo fits into The Flash, the episode title gives a pretty big clue. The Rogues are a criminal association led by Captain Cold who team up against the Flash, and since the CW version of Captain Cold have a sort of truce, the "new" rogues could literally be replacing him. Or, Captain Cold could be switching sides again. No matter where this plot goes or what exactly is adapted from DC Comics, The Flash is sure to make Top an exciting villain.

Images: Katie Yu/CW (3)