WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash Season 8, Episode 1, "Armageddon, Part 1," which aired Tuesday, November 16th on The CW.
"Armageddon" has come to The Flash, as the monstrous Despero finally made his Arrowverse debut in the show's Season 8 premiere. The DC Comics villain arrives in Central City with the intent to kill Barry Allen, but it quickly becomes clear that his intentions may not be as ignoble as they seem. Despero is temporarily defeated after a battle with the Flash and the Atom, but the alien warrior contacts Barry and strikes a deal with him after their fight.
The original version of Despero from the comic book source material is a tyrannical conqueror and frequent foe of the Justice League. He has several superhuman abilities, including the ability to alter his physicality. In addition, Despero also has a wide range of mental powers, which he accesses with his third eye.
In "Armageddon, Part 1," Despero first appears in a scene that is set in the year 2031, observing a destroyed Central City. Vowing to prevent this future from taking place, he travels back in time ten years. In a more human-like form, Despero confronts both the Flash and the Atom, transforming into his more recognizable giant red form.
The heroes take on Despero, with Barry getting brutally tossed around. While he is beating on Barry, Despero telepathically shows him a vision of the future, in which Barry himself will end up bringing about an Armageddon. Before the monster is able to do anything else, the Atom sabotages his teleporting belt, sending Despero to a randomized, unknown location.
In the aftermath of this fight, Cecile admits that she detected that Despero was telling the truth. Team Flash decides that the only way to stop Despero from killing Barry is for him to prove to the alien that he is truly pure of heart. Barry decides to do this by meeting with Despero and taking off his mask, revealing his identity to him. Impressed, Despero gives Barry seven days to prove that he truly is a hero, or else he will return to kill him.
So far, the Arrowverse's version of Despero is pretty accurate to the original comic version. His shape-shifting serves as a nice reference to his comic counterpart's ability to alter his physicality, while his powers mostly remain intact, including his incredibly powerful third eye. With the threat of Despero hanging over the Earth, it seems that Barry's only hope is to recruit a team of other heroes to stop him.
To see the Arrowverse's take on Despero, The Flash Season 8 airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET/PT on The CW.