Ramsey Rosso, also known as Bloodwork, is a criminal in Central City who has the ability to control blood and transform into a blood monster. As a result, he has become the Flash’s villain. Barry Allen’s fight to protect Central City is about to get a lot bloodier, thanks to the addition of DC villain Bloodwork to The Flash Season 6. Dr. Ramsey Rosso is played by Sendhil Ramamurthy, a former colleague of Caitlin Snow, whose experiments turn him into “the most frightening monster Team Flash has ever encountered,” Bloodwork, on the other hand, who or what is it?
While most of Team Flash’s on-screen adversaries, such as Zoom, Gorilla Grodd, Savitar, and Captain Cold, have been part of the Scarlet Speedster’s comic book rogues gallery for decades, Bloodwork is a newcomer. Ramsey Rosso, played by Joshua Williamson and Neil Googe in The Flash, was born with hemophilia and became a coroner as an adult to experiment with blood samples in the hopes of finding a cure.
Because of his study of bodies, Ramsey was able to make himself invincible and incapable of bleeding. However, Ramsey discovered he had gained the ability to manipulate and coagulate other people’s blood, which had unintended repercussions. Ramsey, who is played by Ramamurthy on The Flash, is a brilliant physician who is the world’s top expert in hematological oncology, rather than a coroner who obtains blood samples from the morgue. However, it appears that he will follow in the footsteps of his comic book counterpart and become Bloodwork. With that said, and without further ado, let us go into the history of BLOODWORK.
BLOODWORK MANIAC ORIGIN
To better understand the character, we will be going through The Flash comics volume 5 issues 29 and 30. In episode 29, Barry realized that his powers were corrupted due to the negative speed force in him and that using them might harm his friends and surroundings. His quick healing has also been compromised and we see him struggle after confronting Shrapnel. It’s not just running fast but a lot of help is provided to him by his speed force. Solving cases is one of them. Without all that support it’s difficult as he barely manages to keep his head straight the next day during his investigation along with Kristen Palmer.
They were investigating the case of missing evidence. The evidence was not bullet shells or any object but only biological samples and after further narrowing it down he realized that these were all blood samples. Barry goes to the record room for clues but only finds all the guards down with blood spewing from their noses and mouth. The story continues to the next issue where his superiors question Barry for entering the records room without permission. Barry’s negative speed force makes him mad, and he leaves after a rough argument.
Meanwhile, the guards from the record room are back in their senses and they reported that all had a feeling of having a heart attack then. Kristen and Barry infer that the amount of stolen blood samples is quite a lot and doesn’t fit in with someone who would try to clear off any record. Next, we see Ramsey Rosso in his lab working on his samples when Flash appears and asks him to put the evidence down and no one gets hurt to which Ramsey smiles and makes Barry suffer from his mind, following which he narrates his story.
Ramsey had a painful childhood as he suffered from hemophilia, a genetic disorder that won’t let his blood clot normally. Due to this a small cut in his body could take away his life and so he wasn’t allowed to play with friends and lived a life in a box like a porcelain doll. He wanted to find a cure for himself which made him an expert in blood. He often experimented on the blood samples from the morgue and stole blood samples of metahumans locked up in Iron Heights.
And it was worth it as now not only could he stop himself from bleeding out but could also control the blood of others with his mind. He can conceal it as well as burn it. And with that said he suffers Barry and confirms that he might as well kill everyone who knew about his plans and actions. But Barry was already suffering from the effects of the negative speed force that acted upon his emotions and we soon see a blast of lighting coming out from him, which destroys the building and throws Ramsey out of it.
Barry thinks to himself that he is no better than Thawne as his powers have been killing people lately and now Ramsey too. However, to his surprise Ramsey is alive and his motives are clear. He considered Flash as a disease in Central City and he is the antidote. He refers to how Flash killed the bikers during his conflict with Shrapnel and while doing so we see Ramsey transforming. His body gets covered in blood and he takes the appearance of a monster which is the look of our villain – “BloodWork”
WHAT MAKES BLOODWORK SO DANGEROUS?
Rosso got the capacity to convert his body into blood-like physiology after experimenting on his blood with other blood kinds. Bloodwork also got the power to regulate blood, congeal blood, and burn other people’s blood. Ramsey claims to be invulnerable since he cannot be cut.
The Flash put his invulnerability to the test by mentally projecting lightning from his body, propelling Ramsey several yards out of the building and landing unhurt with a heavy thud on the ground. Bloodwork has the power to create blood as well as structures from it such as tendrils and heart organs that may spread and feed off their surroundings. Mr. Rosso’s blood has the ability to regenerate into veins and arteries that stretch out and uncoil over enormous metropolis areas. The faster and/or farther their reach becomes as his blood pressure rises.
BLOODWORK IN THE FLASH SEASON 6
Ramsey damaged his knee in a bicycle accident when he was seven years old. He was in excruciating agony and wanted to quit, but his mother pushed him to persevere through the discomfort. Months later, this would become a defining episode for Ramsey and his personality. He ultimately followed in his mother’s footsteps and became a doctor, partnering with Caitlin Snow until she left to join S.T.A.R.
Labs on his mother’s advice. Eventually, his mother was diagnosed with HLH cancer, causing Ramsey to witness as his mother’s life dwindled over the period of months. Instead of fighting the disease, Rachel Russo spent her leftover time doing the things she most wanted to accomplish in life. This infuriated her son, who thought Mom was being cowardly by not fighting her sickness.
Rachel eventually died, leaving her son with lingering sentiments about death and lab findings that revealed he had a 99 percent probability of having same cancer his mother had. Ramsey worked tirelessly to find a treatment for himself, conducting innumerable simulations that all yielded the same result: he required dark matter to complete the cure. He invited Caitlin to his mother’s funeral knowing she was still employed at S.T.A.R. Labs, a recognized generator of dark matter. They exchanged pleasantries there, and Ramsey suggested they meet again under the pretext of friendship.
Caitlin ultimately agreed to meet him for coffee at CC Jitters. Ramsey swiftly changed the subject from his mother to his study, informing Caitlin that he required dark matter to complete it. Caitlin objected frequently since it would expose her to unknown hazards, which enraged Ramsey and caused him to leave the coffee shop. Ramsey, now compelled to seek dark matter elsewhere, obtained a dark matter-powered weapon on the illicit market. Ramsey injected himself with the cure after obtaining the necessary dark matter.
It appeared to work at first, but things quickly turned horrible, transforming Ramsey into something else. Ramsey was not totally healed despite injecting himself with the remedy. He went in search of another dark matter weapon, but this time his dealer was Mitch Romero. As Mitch informed him that the price had risen from $500 to $5000, and Ramsey informed him that he didn’t have the money, a fight erupted when Ramsey attempted to steal Mitch’s firearm. Mitch knocked him to the ground, causing Ramsey to use his powers in a time of need, exposing Mitch to an unknown poison that eventually killed him.
Ramsey discretely returned Mitch’s body to his lab, where Mitch revived himself and knocked Ramsey unconscious. The following morning, Ramsey awakened to find Barry Allen and Caitlin questioning him about a dark matter theft conducted by the zombie Mitch. Ramsey lied, telling them Ted Kord had given him dark matter and Mitch had broken in and assaulted him. He then persuades Barry that examining a blood sample recovered at a crime scene may aid their investigation. Barry receives word from Mitch that he has broken into Mercury Labs after some verbal fighting with Caitlin.
When Barry delivers a sample of Mitch’s blood, he realizes that while the dark matter improves Mitch, it also damages good cells. Barry informs Ramsey that Mitch has been dead for more than 24 hours and prepares to depart before Ramsey begs Barry to include him in the inquiry. Barry grudgingly agrees and brings Ramsey to S.T.A.R. Labs to figure out how to defeat Mitch. After bringing him a sample of Mitch’s blood, he determines that while the dark matter improves Mitch, it also damages good cells. Barry informs Ramsey that Mitch has been dead for more than 24 hours and begins to depart before Ramsey begs Barry to include him in the inquiry.
Barry grudgingly agrees and brings Ramsey to S.T.A.R. Labs to devise a method to defeat Mitch. Ramsey describes to Barry that he might use gene-splicing to limit Mitch long enough for apprehension, but that he’ll need more supplies. Barry then exits the area, allowing Ramsey to grab some dark matter. Barry returns, explaining that he knew Ramsey would do something similar to what he was doing. Ramsey retorts angrily that he is dying and that the black matter is the only way to save him, which Barry should understand because he knows what a dead man looks like.
Barry persuades Ramsey to return the dark matter and aid them in defeating Mitch. Later that night, Ramsey proceeded to examine Mitch’s blood sample, which had been perplexing him. Suddenly, Ramsey heard a commotion and went in search of the cause, where he discovered Mitch had slipped into S.T.A.R. Labs and assaulted Ramsey shortly afterward. Ramsey pleaded with Mitch to stop while being strangled up against a wall, which, much to Ramsey’s surprise, succeeded. Ramsey learned that Mitch was reacting to his voice and visual orders after being dropped to the floor before Barry took Mitch down to the Pipeline and defeated the zombie-like thing. Ramsey departed S.T.A.R.
Labs, taking a sample of Mitch’s blood with him. He saw great healing qualities and hypothesized that this was the long-term treatment he sought. He then continued to consume the blood before deciding that more was required. Ramsey later snuck into a hospital blood bank, grabbing blood and transporting it to his lab. On the edge of failing, he injected his modified blood into conventional blood, hoping to produce the same stuff as Mitch Romero.
He injected himself with the updated form of the cure hours later but fainted in pain shortly after. He learned that his new remedy missed something Mitch Romero possessed before his death. Barry then arrived with a remedy fashioned from Dominator technology leftover from their three-year assault. Ramsey was perplexed by this because he knew Barry was dying and that this cure may help him as well.
Before departing, Barry just replied that Ramsey might also save lives. Ramsey grabbed a Dominator cure sample and infused it into a sample of his cells, only to realize that his body was too damaged for the cure to operate. Mitch was terrified at the moment of his death, hence he was releasing adrenaline into his system before death, he suddenly realized. Ramsey came to the conclusion that his victims must feel dread before he kills them, ignoring the Hippocratic oath that hung over his lab. He enters a hospital and begins murdering both patients and physicians.
Long after he’s begun his murdering rampage, Flash and Killer Frost come to assess the devastation he’s caused. While Killer Frost is fighting his reanimated victims, Flash confronts Ramsey, asking him why he is still alive after being given a cure. Ramsey kidnaps a prisoner and says that the treatment didn’t work, so he decided to utilize real people as incubators for his cure. He claims that he has discovered not just a cure for HLH but also a cure for death itself, giving him endless life.
He murders his victim and flees through the window, pleased with his deeds but far from finished. After killing Caitlin and exiting his lab, he spotted Ralph Dibny on a rooftop, seizing him and plunging down the building with him. Ramsey began to assault Ralph as soon as they dropped to the ground, hurling a vehicle at him and blasting pieces of black blood at him, most of which he was able to avoid, but not the final couple.
Ralph had the upper hand by hitting Ramsey and trying to take him to Iron Heights before Ramsey revived and consumed the former’s healthy blood cells with his own blood, leaving him convulsing on the ground. When Barry saved Ralph’s life by incorporating some of his blood into him, a tiny amount of Ramsey’s blood had extended its reach into Barry’s body, gradually taking control of him and transforming him into a grotesque speedster, who made his way to see Ramsey before kowtowing to him as his follower, or, in Ramsey’s words, “Blood Brother.”
Ramsey, now that he has possession of Dark Flash, sets out to infect the whole city. He is attacked by Cisco Ramon, but he is stopped by Dark Flash. Ramsey informs Cisco that he intends to utilize the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator to disseminate his “cure” throughout Central City. He and his Blood Brothers travel to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Ramsey injects a trace of his blood into the accelerator.
However, before it could finish its cycle, Allegra Garcia used her powers to decimate Ramsey’s blood, causing the explosion’s wave to cure all of the infected. The newly resurrected Flash battles Ramsey, who transforms into a massive blood monster. Flash exploits the mental link Ramsey established between them by infecting Barry to bring up a picture of Ramsey’s mother. This diverted Ramsey’s attention long enough for the Flash to imprison him in the MAC.
He was then assigned to A.R.G.U.S. Ramsey, along with everyone else in the multiverse except the seven Paragons, was murdered by the Anti-Monitor in an antimatter wave on December 10, 2019, only to be revived a month later after the Paragons and the Spectre constructed a new world.