The Flash Season 4 Is About ‘The Fastest Man Alive vs. Fastest Mind Alive’

The Flash season 3 ended on the bittersweet note of Team Flash defeating the evil Barry Allen time remnant know as Savitar and saving Iris – at the expense of H.R.’s life and Barry’s freedom, as the latter had to submit himself a prison within The Speed Force, in order to fill the void Savitar left in his wake.

There’s a lot of speculation about what will happen in The Flash season 4, and after San Diego Comic-Con 2017 last weekend, fans finally got a look at the new season, thanks to The Flash season 4 trailer, which you can watch above!

While at SDCC17, Comicbook.com had a chance to sit down with the cast and producers of The Flash, to talk about what season 4 will bring – especially with new villain The Thinker coming on the season. Check out how Flash producer Todd Helbring frames the season 4 storyline, in our video interview:

Brains vs. Brawn

Season 4 will pick up six months after the defeat of Savitar, where Team Flash is trying to fill the void that Barry left behind. While Wally West will be donning the iconic scarlet costume of The Flash, speed won’t be the most effective weapon against the brilliant mind of Clifford DeVoe, aka The Thinker. 

According to producer Todd Helbring (who you can watch in the interview above): 

“We always want to try to top ourselves whenever we can. But you know we’ve had three speedsters in a row, so we wanted to do something a little different, so this year it’s The Thinker, and it’s ‘The Fastest Man Alive versus ‘The Fastest Mind Alive.’” 

If that quote doesn’t make it clear, the proverbial ‘Brains vs. Brawn’ rivalry will be the major thematic arc of The Flash season 4s villain story. 

Who Is The Thinker?

As Comicbook.com’s Russ Burlingame Explains: 

“Created in 1943, The Thinker is one of The Flash’s earliest villains. Originally a foe to Jay Garrick, DeVoe battled three generations of Flashes before his death in The Flash #134 in 1998. After his death, though, his brain patterns were used to create an AI that went on to become an antihero.

The Thinker was a tech-enhanced villain, utilizing a number of high-tech gadgets along with a group of cronies. The most significant of his toys was his “Thinking Cap,” a metal hat that could project mental force. A replica of the Cap was key in bringing his virtual self back from the grave.

Over the years, he eventually joined the Suicide Squad — something we’re of course unlikely to see on TV right away. Both before that — and then again after, when he fell off the “reformed supervillain” wagon and went fully bad again — he was a member of the Injustice Society, often serving alongside The Shade, a character who has been seen on The Flash already.”

More Flash News

• Keiynan Lonsdale On How Kid Flash Will React To Barry’s Return
• Candice Patton Is Hoping For A Wedding In The Flash Season 4
• The Flash’s Grant Gustin Says Speed Force Will Change Barry
• Grant Gustin Says A Goal On The Flash Is To Get To Crisis On Infinite Earths

Based on the characters from DC, THE FLASH is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “Supergirl”), Andrew Kreisberg (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) and Todd Helbing (“Black Sails”).