THE FLASH Pilot Adds Professor Zoom And Killer Frost

This pilot has started to take a menacing turn. Deadline has reported that the upcoming CW Flash pilot has added two new actors to the cast. The Vampire Diaries‘ Rick Cosnett has been cast as Detective Eddie Thawne, and Shark‘s Danielle Panabaker will be playing Caitlin Snow. Thawne is touted as a “recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, whose past is a mystery and who harbors a dark secret,” while Snow will be a bioengineering expert who lost her fiancé in a S.T.A.R. Labs explosion. It hasn’t been confirmed whether they’ll be villains or not, but with names based off bad guys from the comics, I’ll bet they eventually to the dark side. Cosnett and Panabaker are the third and fourth actors to be cast after Grant Gustin and Jesse L. Martin.

For those who aren’t familiar with Flash lore, Eddie Thawne will most likely be the TV version of Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Professor Zoom, a time traveller with speed powers just like Barry. Often considered the Flash’s greatest enemy, Thawne has been most famous in recent years for going back in time and killing Barry’s mother when he was a child. When Barry was introduced in Arrow, he told Felicity about a blur-like tornado force that was at his house the day his mother was killed. If they’re taking their cue from the comics, I suspect “Detective” Thawne will be responsible for that crime, and will be more involved in Barry’s life than Barry could possibly imagine.

As for Snow, her alter-ego in the comics is the New 52’s Killer Frost. Much like the other Killer Frosts in DC Comics history, her primary enemy is Firestorm, the Nuclear Man, who she chases after for his unlimited heat. While Snow in the TV series seems to be a normal woman, it’s possible she’ll eventually get her freezing powers at some point and take on the Flash. Does this also mean Firestorm could appear?

Unlike Arrow, which has barely shown super powers on the show so far, it looks like The Flash will be introducing special abilities with its other characters early. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how they pull that off in a world which so far existed as a “heightened reality” similar to the Nolan Batman films. The question now is who they’ll cast to play Iris West.

SOURCE: Deadline