The Flash Season 3 Review: 7 Ups And 5 Downs From 'Flashpoint'

8. The Rival Is A Badass

The Flash Flashpoint
The CW

Much like Kid Flash, The Rival was introduced near-enough as soon as Flashpoint began. And like Kid Flash, what a welcome addition he proved to be!

Not only was this villainous a speedster a welcome addition to the show, though. He was also a thoroughly nasty bastard of the highest order. His mission was simple: he just wanted to be the fastest man alive. To do that, his plan was to kill anyone who threatens to challenge him for this moniker.

What was great about The Rival was how he took such pleasure in going about his task. Whether it was talking smack to either Kid Flash or The Flash, cockily revealing his real identity, pulling out impressive powers, or going as far as to actually seize the moment to several injure Wally, Edward Clariss was a total badass.

With the main elements of the Flashpoint timeline having now been reset by the time this episode came to a close, it looked as if The Rival was sadly a one-and-done villain. Luckily, the final seconds of the season premiere suggests that we may not have seen the last of this rogue…

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.