Back in The CW's pilot for The Flash, after the particle accelerator explosion partially destroyed S.T.A.R. Labs and infested Central City with a legion of metahumans, we caught a quick glimpse of a cage, the door torn off its hinges, with a name plaque that read Grodd. At first, it looked like nothing but a tease. The Flash was only just getting started, after all, and had barely found its footing. In fact, with sister series Arrow going into its third season at the time, and Barry Allen only just stepping over the starting line, there wasn't much room for the more outlandish aspects of the comic books both shows hailed from. Yet.

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Fast forward a few years and now, the world of the Flash and Arrow television shows -- aka the Arrowverse -- is bigger than ever, with a quantity of shows that has doubled with Supergirl and DC's Legends of Tomorrow and a real who's who line-up of superheroes that could rival any comic book on the stands. With Legends now entering its third season, the show's producers have revealed that Gorilla Grodd will appear as a villain in the time-traveling ensemble team-up show, an announcement that was met with approval and cheers from the audience who first heard it at Comic-Con International. This just goes to illustrate how important the character is to the Arrowverse and its fans, and how much popularity he has gained since his first appearance.

RELATED: Legends of Tomorrow: Gorilla Grodd Will Appear in Season 3

Back in the early days of The Flash, we didn't know how far the series would dig into the comic book mythology, how far it would go to incorporate speedster characters and colorful Flash villains. Back then, the hero's dark red suit didn't even have its iconic lightning emblem, and Weather Wizard didn't have a wand. It was a simpler time, filled with questions, hopes and Easter eggs, like the Grodd tease. Every Flash comic book reader got excited when they saw this name appear on a cage, but then reality and practicality quickly kicked in, forcing us to question how a gigantic gorilla could be brought to life on a television budget. Some theorized a puppet costume, others hoped for the technology from the recent Planet of the Apes film series, yet both possibilities were preposterous to consider. Most people just assumed that this was nothing more than a nod to fans, something that could never be realistically be followed-up on.

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All of that changed by the time The Flash came back from its first winter break. It was in the end-credits stinger of its 12th episode, “Crazy For You.” In that scene, we saw two maintenance workers in the sewers who discovered etchings in the stone that read "Grodd." And if that weren't enough, the men then found themselves at the mercy of a hulking beast hunting from the shadows in a scene that would have felt at home in Jurassic Park. This was our first sign that the powers that be, those in charge of the Arrowverse, would not back down from a mere tease, nor would they back down from such a daunting and furry challenge.

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How The Flash's Grodd Became GRODD

Then came three words. Three words that told us the show really wouldn't back down from a super-smart telepathic gorilla. Three words that perfectly described all you needed to know about the character: “Not God... Grodd.” The superior creature, an animal better, stronger and more fit to rule than man.

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At first, Grodd was used as a tool by Eobard Thawne – aka the Reverse-Flash – to keep the Barry Allen and his friends busy. We finally saw Grodd and the Flash battle it out down in the sewers, a fight that still left us asking how a visual effects team could make a gorilla look this good on television. Speedster and monster unleashed, fists flying and teeth bared. It was a fight we had always wanted to see in live-action, ever since Grodd's first ever appearance in comics in 1959. But this Grodd wasn't a product of the simpler, goofier Silver Age of comics. He was brutal and menacing, and he posed a very real threat to the Flash. His monstrous roar echoed out in our living rooms and reminded us what a spectacular villain this Flash foe always the potential to be.

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About The Flash's Gorilla City

Sadly, budget limits will always prevent Grodd from being a mainstay on any of the Arrowverse shows. But that hasn't stopped him from appearing once again in the second season of The Flash in the episode "Gorilla Warfare," an episode that saw Grodd transported to Earth-2, where he found his way to the much lauded and highly-anticipated Gorilla City, a place well-known to comic book fans. Left with such a strong tease, we would have to wait for the middle of the third season to see Grodd return.

But what a return it was. This time, Grodd was given the starring role of his very own two-parter story as he, now self-proclaimed king of Gorilla City, proceeded to bring his entire gorilla army to lay siege on Central City. Ambitious as the story was, the budget couldn't do the full assault justice. But that didn't matter, because the two episodes managed to cement Grodd as one of the best villains the Arrowverse has to offer. Not only because he is a strong opponent, but because he is sympathetic, with a cause and a goal that are easy to understand and relate to. He is not a mustache-twirling villain who revels in his plans. Grodd is a force of nature in man's world, a supervillain who was created by humans who wants to be free from their shackles.

Just like the fans, the Arrowverse producers know the reach Grodd has, and the value he brings to the universe. He is a totem of the classic age of comics given new life and meaning thanks to the world of television. It's no wonder we see a little more of him with every new season. Like quite a few characters before him -- Damien Darhk, Malcolm Merlyn, Black Flash, Captain Cold and Heatwave -- he was always too big for just one show. With Legends of Tomorrow, and the series' boundless approach to storytelling, we don't yet know how, where or when Grodd will show up, but we are confident that it will be glorious, and fitting of the simian god. Er... Grodd.