On Tuesday's episode of The Flash, Broadway favorite and former Smash actor Andrew Mientus brings iconic nemesis Pied Piper to life.
But Mientus' version of the character (whose day name is Hartley Rathaway) isnt' quite the same one that fans of the series got to know in the pages of the comic books.
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Gone are the Pied Piper's flamboyant clothes, his mind-warping flute skills and most of his cartoonish-qualities.
"We wanted to do something a little more grounded," executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said. "And we were all fans of Andy's from his work on Broadway and when he came in, we said he was like evil Harry Potter."
The Pied Piper's skills are anything but magical, though; they're all technology-based, much like Flash fave Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller).
And like in their battle with Cold, Barry (Grant Gustin) and company will find Hartley to be a worthy foe.
"We wanted [the gang] to go up against somebody who was brilliant and a genius and somebody they really had to outwit, which was different because a lot of times it was Barry having to outrun or outspend the villain," Kreisberg said.
Particularly, Dr. Wells (Tom Cavanagh), whose shady ways will be a point of interest for at least one character in the new episode, will play a key part in the story and fight against Hartley. The result is a "chess match" between Wells and the Pied Piper, Kreisberg says, "with Barry as the Pawn."
Watch a clip from the episode, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, below: