Flashpoint's Farooq comes to The Flash on November 25
The CW Network has released an official synopsis for 'Power Outage,' an upcoming episode of The [...]
The CW Network has released an official synopsis for "Power Outage," an upcoming episode of The Flash set to air on November 25.
He'll be played by Michael Reventar, pictured below.
Arrow will take that week off, pre-empted by a screening of the John Hughes classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles to celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. This lines up the two DC Comics-based series to cross over in their eighth episodes without further delays, since The Flash did not air a new episode this week to accommodate the U.S. election.
When word of this episode first broke, Farooq was referred to as "Blackout," which was his codename in Flashpoint. There were a few Blackouts in DC history, but we speculated at the time that Farooq was the most likely.
In Flashpoint, Farooq was part of Cyborg's planned team to take down both Emperor Aquaman and Wonder Woman and stop the Amazon and the Atlantean war, which has devastated Europe and cost millions of lives in the Atlantean and Amazon attempts to take over the world.
The DC Wiki notes, "During a meeting with Batman, the Outsider revealed that had been hunting Blackout, because he wanted to use Blackout's electric powers to light India. This hunt resulted in the loss of Blackout's girlfriend and his departure from his school. The Outsider was also recruited into Cyborg's team. Blackout voiced his reluctance working in a team with his worst enemy."
That same site also notes a pre-Crisis group of Batman villains called the Blackout Army, but they were basically just glorified burglars in all-black bodysuits. There was a Teen Titans villain who went by the name Blackout at some point, as well, but there is no entry for that character and s/he made so few appearances it seems unlikely to influence the character's depiction on The Flash.
The character looks pretty white in the image above, but Farooq is a common Arabic given and family name derived from an honorific of Umar, an early Muslim leader. Given that Geoff Johns is of Lebanese descent and got a lot of press out of introducing the Arab-American Green Lantern character Simon Baz, it's not surprising that the eventual casting reflected those sensibilities.
You can check out the official synopsis below.
"Power Outage" — (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (TV-PG, V) (HDTV)
THE FLASH GETS A VISIT FROM DC CHARACTERS FAROOQ AND THE CLOCK KING — The Flash (Barry Allen) goes up against Farooq aka Blackout (guest star Michael Reventar), a metahuman who can harness electricity. During their battle, Farooq zaps The Flash and siphons all his electricity, leaving The Flash without his speed. Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) and Cisco (Carlos Valdes) work to reverse the effects on Barry, but their efforts are disrupted when Farooq comes banging on S.T.A.R. Labs doors in search of Wells, who he blames for his accident. Without Barry's powers to protect them, the group must figure out a way to save themselves from the metahuman. Meanwhile, Tockman (guest star Robert Knepper) manages a coup inside the Central City police department and takes several people hostage, including Joe (Jesse L. Martin) and Iris (Candice Patton). While Iris is sure The Flash will save them, Eddie (Rick Cosnett) has a trick up his sleeve. Larry Shaw directed the episode written by Alison Schapker & Grainne Godfree (#107). Original airdate 11/25/2014.
