About, oh, five years ago, I’d have thought the idea of an intelligent, talking gorilla being a supervillain in any live action film or television production wouldn’t fly. People would laugh and take a pass. Then Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out and executed the concept about as expertly as you could imagine. Rise was such a surprise success it warranted a sequel that proved even more viable with viewers.
And so here we are, with the way paved for DC’s Gorilla Grodd to make his glorious, villainous debut on the series The Flash.
That said, the glimpse of Grodd in action we’ve been given so far–encapsulated in the 30-second teaser above, recapping his assault of sewer workers from the episode “Crazy for You”–was purely a showcase in primal fury. No Darwinian, genocidal monologues expounding on his intellect and superiority yet. And we’re certainly a long, long way off from Grodd inventing insane, murderous technology for the sole purpose of wiping humanity clean off the map. In fact, it’s possible we’ll never quite get to see that level of Grodd’s villainy. Although, again, around the turn of the decade I wouldn’t have thought you’d ever see Grodd make any kind of appearance in any live action DC Universe property, so who knows?
In the meantime, DC has put together a menacing teaser that reminds us–in case anyone needed reminding–that an angry, genius gorilla with a grudge isn’t to be trifled with.
