Classic Flash Villain Gets A Cronenberg Twist With New Family Lore

Published Nov 13, 2026, 4:15 PM EST An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com. Jeff Lemire and Haining's Absolute Flash has certainly been a journey in DC's massive Absolute Universe lineup thanks to numerous fascinating tweaks to classic comics lore. Focusing on Wally West and his journey to free his father from the Still Point, the story has incorporated iconic villains from his rogues' gallery as surprisingly cooperative antiheroes or outright allies. One particular classic enemy, Gorilla Grodd, is presented in this case as simply Grodd, has been an indispensable ally to Wally so far, as a frankly adorable genetically-enhanced monkey companion. But the death of his father has clearly lingered, and is resurfacing in the latest issue. Shown in preview glimpses for Absolute Flash #21, Grodd had previously spotted signs of an escaped specimen from Ray Palmer's "ongoing experiments" he never intended Wally, Linda, or Grodd to see. Now that specimen appears to be calling out to Grodd in a distorted voice, by name, the writhing mass of living tissue guiding him out of Wally's infirmary room with a singular, sad eye. The final page in the preview certainly evokes a David Cronenberg body horror style, with Grodd appearing to be under some sort of psychic influence as he stares the subatomic space creature down. Absolute Flash Revisits Grodd's Worst Trauma With Returning Body Horror Villain As if Absolute Firestorm's body horror elements weren't enough, Absolute Flash #21's glimpses of Grodd as he went from calling to his father before seeing him shot dead by Trickster, to speaking with the creature as it reveals itself to be M'nagalah. Given the 52-year-old Swamp Thing villain's particular abilities of telepathy, matter absorption, and even mentally subjugating others, this eldritch alien creature is already dangerous enough before apparently revealing specific abilities to probe, or at least evoke, specific memories. While Lemire's Absolute Flash certainly has a track record of subverting expectations with its villains, don't be too trusting of Absolute M'nagalah just yet. He's calling to Grodd who is still clearly in a delicate emotional state, unable to move past the death of his father just yet. Until proven otherwise, this could easily be how Grodd is corrupted in the Absolute Universe, especially when encountering a character who's carried the moniker "The Cancer God" before. M'nagalah Is The Most Dangerous Returning Villain Yet For Absolute Flash Previously an adversary to Swamp Thing, the Challengers of the Unknown, and Ryan Choi as the Atom, M'nagalah is less a conventional villain and more a cosmic nightmare creature. Able to absorb entire beings or infect them to bring them under his control, this creature is commonly described as ancient, even immortal, with a suite of dangerous abilities for which Wally, and indeed the crew on Ray Palmer's Atom, are not ready. Absolute Flash has hardly put Wally against a pack of pushovers, though. Particular terrors so far have really pushed the cosmic and body horror elements impressively far, from the foreseen Black Flash calamity, to Hunter Zolomon's particular check against Wally's powers, to Eobard Thawne's terrifying new form. Others, like Abra Kadabra, have presented a psychological torment element to bring him to his knees, but the prospect of a creature able to break his mind, absorb his body, and withstanding the ravages of time and the dangers of subatomic space in the Microverse, feel truly daunting. As Absolute Flash piles on ghoulish threats, this marks his first noteworthy encounter an an eldritch horror he and Grodd will never forget. Created By Gardner Fox, Harry Lampert, Carmine Infantino First Appearance Flash Comics Alias Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen, Avery Ho Alliance Justice Society of America, Justice League, Teen Titans Race Human Franchise D.C.