‘The Flash’ Villain Teases His “Monster” Character: He’s “An Electrical Vampire”

Michael Reventar is ready to unleash what may be The Flash‘s most frightening villain: Blackout. 

The character makes his debut Tuesday when he targets Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh) for the death of his friend (Jacky Lai), whom we meet briefly in the episode and who was killed the same night Barry (Grant Gustin) got his powers. What makes his villain a little different is you get to see him as a happy young man before the accident that gave him his powers.

“You don’t just meet the monster, you meet the man as well,” Reventar tells The Holllywood Reporter.

THR caught up with Reventar to discuss his character’s crazy powers and why he believes the cast and crew of The Flash are among the tightest knit groups on television.

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What was it like for you to step into the world of The Flash?

To play a character that is considered the strongest source of electricity on earth, who is deemed an electrical vampire — he is cursed with the urge to drink. He cannot stop. He has to keep drinking electricity. What’s cool is that’s how he’s introduced. STAR Labs finds out an electrical substation is being drained drastically fast. The Flash shows up, and you see blackout drinking from the station. It’s going to look amazing.

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So you can feel sort of bad for him if he’s cursed in a way.

He’s introduced as this carefree young man who wants to see the particle accelerator. Like any wise young youth, he climes 65 feet up a tower to see that in the rain, and when the accelerator explodes, he ends up being hit by lightning. In that accident, his friend actually passes away. That’s his motivation for him to go and find Dr. Harrison Wells. He’s got a personal vendetta against Wells. He’s trying to enact revenge. He shows up literally a year later.

The villains in this show are key to the episode. What did it feel like knowing you’d define the episode in some ways?

I’ve watched up to this point, and I feel fortunate that for this metahuman, they explore his personal story. They show him before. You don’t just meet the monster, you meet the man as well.

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What is the set of The Flash like compared to other sets you’ve been on?

The dynamic is amazing. I feel they should be arranging set tours to bring in fans by the busload. There is something that is authentic and wonderful when you are around people who are working who treat each other like family. I called Jesse Martin (Joe West) on the weekend. Guess where he was on a Sunday afternoon? He was cooking brunch with the whole cast. It’s a family.   

How will you be watching the episode?

I have some great friends and family that came together, and we are going to have about 400 people in one of the nicest venues in downtown Toronto. It’s a red carpet event with surprises and giveaways. It’s going to be covered with social media. One of the biggest comic book stores is a part of it, and they are bringing die-hard comic book fans to watch it. These are the real fans that are going to be get to be part of this.

Do you think you’ll be back?

This is a testament to the writers. They’ve had this amazing ability to close the chapter on most of the metahumans, but as far as what happens with the story, we’ll see what happens.

The Flash airs at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays on The CW. 

Email: Aaron.Couch@THR.com
Twitter: @AaronCouch