Clay Is A New 'Flash' Villain Without Any Powers

While it may seem like the only kind of villainy that Central City deals with is the superpowered kind, that isn't true. Barry Allen is going to learn that even petty criminals can be a threat in the Feb. 3 episode of The Flash, "Crazy for You." Fans will be introduced to Clay Parker, played by The Vampire Diaries alum Micah Parker. Clay isn't a metahuman like a lot of bad guys Barry Allen goes up against, but he does have one in his corner, as revealed by what The CW told comicbook.com about the character.

"Clay Parker, an inmate at Iron Heights Prison, is currently locked up for stealing money and working with a big-time crime lord in Central City. When Clay’s girlfriend breaks him out of prison, Clay exploits her feelings for him and convinces her to utilize her meta-human powers for one last heist before they leave the city for good."

His girlfriend is actually known to comic fans as Peek-a-Boo, a somewhat reluctant criminal with altruistic motives who was created by The Flash executive producer Geoff Johns as an adversary for the third Flash in DC Comics, Wally West. We'll know her as Shawna Baez on the show and it seems like her backstory of having an ailing father may be jettisoned to focus on the relationship she has with Clay, which does not seem healthy. I guess even superpowers don't help in the dating game. But don't go looking for details about Clay Parker in the comics. Surprisingly, he's one of the few characters to appear on the show that isn't actually from The Flash comics.

There's no indication that we'll be seeing much of Clay beyond his appearance in the Feb. 3 episode. But actor Parker seems pretty hyped at being involved with The Flash.

Hopefully, we'll see Clay's girlfriend, Shawna, and her teleportation abilities explored in more episodes even if he ends up heading back to prison where he should be. Either way, it's great that The Flash is delving deep into comic lore while also creating characters of its own to flesh out Barry Allen's rogue gallery. After all, not every villain he'll encounter will be the kind he can outrun.

Images: Katie Yu/The CW (2)