The Flash Is Bringing In The Best Member Of The Suicide Squad

A new version of Captain Boomerang, played by Richard Harmon, will appear on the final season of The Flash.

By Matthew Creith | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

As The CW transitions through the acquisition in recent months by Nexstar Media Group, its lineup of shows has dwindled down to Riverdale and the few remaining long-running series that belong to the Arrowverse. One of those series, The Flash, was renewed for a ninth and final season at the network, bringing to a close many familiar characters that The CW’s audiences have grown attached to over the years since the show debuted in 2014. But with this final season approaching, it appears that the supervillain Captain Boomerang, made popular in Suicide Squad, will be featured on The Flash.

According to a report by Deadline, actor Richard Harmon will portray Owen Mercer, also known as Captain Boomerang, on the upcoming ninth season of The CW’s The Flash. Billed as a recurring role for Harmon, the actor takes the place of Australian performer Jai Courtney in the part, as Courtney embodied the character David Ayer’s Suicide Squad and James Gunn’s 2021 reboot of the film, The Suicide Squad. Harmon, by contrast, is a Canadian actor best known for work in the long-running series The 100 as well as stints on The Killing and the Syfy series Van Helsing.

For purposes within the DC Extended Universe and the Arrowverse, Captain Boomerang is a fan favorite supervillain who, in The Flash, is taken out of the penitentiary known as Iron Heights and poses a threat to the fictional metropolis of Central City. The same character was recently portrayed by actor Lebanese-American actor Nick E. Tarabay who played an alternate version named Digger Harkness in The CW series Arrow opposite series star Stephen Amell. In that show’s fifth season, Tarabay’s Captain Boomerang was only featured in three episodes and shortly thereafter killed off.

Nick Tarabay as Captain Boomerang on Arrow

The Flash has been a ratings hit for The CW since its inception as a spin-off of the once popular series Arrow. Grant Gustin plays Barry Allen, aka The Flash, alongside series regulars Danielle Panabaker, Danielle Nicolet, Jesse L. Martin of Law & Order fame, Kayla Compton, and Brandon McKnight. The show is completely separate from the DC Extended Universe films that feature Barry Allen played by controversial actor Ezra Miller, including the upcoming movie of the same name that is set to be released in theaters in June 2023, although many elements from the series may be featured in the film as both are based on the DC comics.

As The CW was preparing to be acquired by Nexstar Media Group, it made the decision to cancel many of its hit shows to look more attractive to a prospective buyer. Series like Charmed, In the Dark, Roswell, New Mexico, Batwoman, 4400, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow did not survive, but Riverdale and The Flash ended up getting renewed for one more final season each. With Richard Harmon coming aboard to play a popular villain like Captain Boomerang opposite Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen, it appears that The Flash may end up going out with a well-tuned subplot and high stakes storylines to conclude the series after more than 170 episodes to date.