The Flash: Armageddon Trailer Released

The CW has released the first trailer for The Flash‘s eighth season — and in particular, for its first arc. Standing in for the usual Arrowverse crossover, that arc is titled “Armageddon,” and features heroes and villains from throughout space and time, including cast members from Arrow, Black Lightning, and Supergirl. The story pits Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), Mia Queen (Katherine McNamara), Black Lightning (Cress Williams), Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), Ryan Choi (Osric Chau), and Batwoman (Javicia Leslie) against Despero (Tony Curran), an alien conqueror who seems to have singled out The Flash personally, and who has plans that will undoubtedly not be great for our heroes, or Earth more broadly.

Played by Tony Curran (Doctor Who‘s Vincent Van Gogh), Despero is described as “a powerful and intelligent alien possessing incredible powers.” After leaving his home world of Kalanor, he traveled to Earth “on a deadly mission, one whose outcome will decide the fate of humankind and put him on a collision course with Team Flash.”  

You can check the trailer out below.

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In DC’s comics, Despero rules the planet Kalanor, and first appeared as a Justice League villain pursuing some refugees from that world on Earth. He is super-strong and has powerful psychic powers. Over the years, Despero has become more and more powerful, and has served as a member of the Injustice League, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, and the Time Stealers. That last one might be significant to “Armageddon,” since it appears time-travel will play a role, with the inclusion of Mia Queen, whose age in 2021 would be about 3 years old.

There’s another small twist in the ad, presumably tied to the recent revelation that Rick Cosnett would return as Eddie Thawne, and that there would be flashbacks involved: Tom Cavanagh shows up in the teaser, seemingly as Harrison Wells. It’s likely this is either a flashback or a time-displaced Flash seeing his mentor-turned-tormentor speak before the revelation that Wells was in fact Eobard Thawne, a time-traveling supervillain from the future obsessed with The Flash.

A visit to The Flash season one could also make some sense because the trailer begins with the idea that Barry is about to do “something impossible.” The idea of The Flash doing the impossible was a prevalent theme in that first season.

You can check out the official synopsis for “Armageddon,” a five-part story on The Flash which launches on November 16, below.

A powerful alien threat arrives on Earth under mysterious circumstances and Barry (Grant Gustin), Iris (Candice Patton) and the rest of Team Flash are pushed to their limits in a desperate battle to save the world. But with time running out, and the fate of humanity at stake, Flash and his companions will also need to enlist the help of some old friends if the forces of good are to prevail.