This Tuesday's episode of The Flash may be all about Oliver Queen and Barry Allen finally getting some quality time to play catch together, or whatever they do, but there's still the question of the "metahuman of the week." This upcoming episode of The Flash will feature Ray Bivolo as its superpowered offering. Since the particle accelerator exploded, these unidentified gifted people have been cropping up everywhere. According to The CW's episode description, "Bivolo causes people to lose control of their emotions and has been using that skill to rob banks." With double the amount of vigilantes, handlers, and scientists floating around, that's sure to create some tension in the crossover episode. He will, according to the press release, specifically attack Barry and send him into a "rage rampage." Is it bad that I'm kind of looking forward to this? Let out your anger, Barry! Let it go. So, who is Bivolo and what is he all about? It's most likely that he is based on "Roy Bivolo" or "Chroma," a popular DC villain who went up against Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne, not so secretly known as Batman.
His character in the comics is so much more interesting than a run of the mill meta-crook. I hope we get to see the full spectrum of Bivolo's abilities on The Flash, if you know what I mean. But in case there's not enough time with two superheroes to follow around, here's what you should know about Roy Bivolo in the comics.
You'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon!
The comic book character's full name is "Roy G. Bivolo." Hmm, I bet this is going to have something to do with colors. Sure enough, "Chroma" or the "Rainbow Rider" was a painter who was also colorblind. He was met with rejection and turned to crime once he decided that his painting career was never going to work out and resigned. Hopefully The Flash will add some dimensions to this motivation. I'm also thankful for the name change. Has the CW series finally found a name that was too cheesy for even Cisco to come up with?
Go-Go-Gadget Crayola
In the comics, Bivolo uses a prism goggle device that was designed to correct his vision and allow him to see color. His father was an optometrist and developed the device for his son, but never lived to see him use it. Instead, the spectacles shoot out beams of color that can become solid, affect the emotions of people around Roy, allow him to become invisible, and totally blind others. Bivolo also once made a plan to turn Central City into Pleasantville by removing all color.
We'll probably see an adjustment to that in the CW adaptation as well. I'm guessing Ray's powers will come from his eyes rather than the glasses, which will be his metahuman power. However, how much do you wanna bet that Bivolo's optometrist father was a colleague of Doctor Harrison Wells? It'd be a connection that makes sense while adding even more to Wells' mysterious persona. It also appears, based on the Flash episode description, that they'll be focusing more on his emotional powers and less on his color manipulation. The comic book character was also more of an art thief than a bank robber, so we'll have to see how Ray's motives and background differ from Roy's.
Images: Giphy (2)
