- NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Bloodwork from the Arrowverse. The mainstream version can be found here: Bloodwork.
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| “ | I will never accept death, not like you did. | „ |
| ~ Ramsey refusing to accept dying from HLH Cancer, unlike his mother. |
| “ | Well, that means I'm making the greatest sacrifice of all. Don't you see? What I'm becoming, this is the cure. I am the answer, Flash, to the greatest mystery of all. Life eternal. | „ |
| ~ Ramsey accepting his new life as Bloodwork, before killing Doctor Rodrigo. |
| “ | Welcome, my blood brother. I am the world's salvation, come to save it from all that ails it. Soon, the entire world will embrace... Bloodwork. | „ |
| ~ Bloodwork to the infected Barry Allen. |
Dr. Ramsey Rosso, also known as Bloodwork, is the main antagonist of the Blood and Truth arc, and minor antagonist of the Graphic Novel arc of Season 6 of the TV series The Flash.
Initially one of the most brilliant doctors and scientists in Central City, Ramsey became obsessed with curing death after he becomes diagnosed with HLH cancer like his late mother. In his attempt to cure himself with dark matter, Ramsey gained blood-manipulating powers and goes a rampage to infect mankind with his blood, concluding that he is their "savior", putting him at odds with the Flash.
He is portrayed by Sendhil Ramamurthy.
Biography
Early life
As a child, Ramsey Rosso was told that he would always do beautiful things for the world by his mother, Rachel Rosso. When Ramsey was a young child, he hurt his knee in a biking accident. He felt extreme pain and wanted to give up, but his mother encouraged him to never give up despite the pain. Years later, this would become a defining incident with Ramsey and his personality. He eventually followed in his mother's footsteps and became a doctor, working alongside Caitlin Snow until she left to join S.T.A.R. Labs on his mother's recommendation.
Eventually, his mother was diagnosed with HLH cancer forcing Ramsey to watch as his mother's life slowly faded away in months. However, instead of fighting cancer, Rachel Russo instead spent her remaining time doing the things she most wanted to do in life. This particularly angered her son who felt she was being cowardly by not fighting her cancer. Rachel then passed away, leaving her son with lingering feelings regarding death and lab results that showed a 99% chance he would have the same cancer she had.
Finding a Cure
Ramsey relentlessly researched a cure for himself, running countless simulations that all came back with the same result - that he needed dark matter to complete the cure. Knowing that his old friend, Dr. Caitlin Snow, was still employed at S.T.A.R. Labs, a known producer of dark matter, he invited her to his mother's funeral. There, they exchanged pleasantries and Ramsey brought up the idea of meeting again under the guise of friendship.
Caitlin eventually agreed to share coffee with him and they met at CC Jitters. Ramsey quickly moved the conversation about his mother to his research, letting Caitlin know that he needed dark matter to finish it. Caitlin repeatedly objected because it would cause unknown risks, angering Ramsey and causing him to leave the coffee shop. Now being forced to find dark matter elsewhere, Ramsey purchased a dark matter powered weapon off the black market. Taking the dark matter he needed, Ramsey injected himself with the cure. Initially, it seemed to work, but things turned horrifying moments later, mutating Ramsey into something else.
Despite injecting himself with the cure, Ramsey wasn't completely cured. He sought out another dark matter weapon, only this time his dealer was Mitch Romero. Mitch informed him that the price had jumped from $500 to $5,000 when Ramsey informed Mitch that he didn't have the money a fight broke out when Ramsey attempted to take the weapon from Mitch. Mitch knocked him to the ground, leading to Ramsey activating his powers in a moment of distress and exposing Mitch to an unknown substance that ultimately killed him.
Ramsey discreetly took Mitch's body back to his lab, where Mitch resurrected himself and knocked out Ramsey. Ramsey then awoke the next morning to find Barry Allen and Caitlin interrogating him over a dark matter theft that the undead Mitch committed. Ramsey lied, informing them that Ted Kord gave him dark matter and that Mitch broke in and attacked Ramsey. He then manages to convince Barry that he could help their investigation by analyzing a blood sample they found at a crime scene. After some verbal sparring between him and Caitlin, Barry gets a call that Mitch has broken into Mercury Labs.
After Barry brings him a sample of Mitch's blood, he discovers that while the dark matter enhances Mitch it also destroys the healthy cells. Barry informs Ramsey that Mitch has been dead for over 24 hours and starts to leave before Ramsey pleads with Barry to take him with on the investigation. Barry reluctantly does and brings Ramsey to Star Labs to develop a way to beat Mitch.
Ramsey explains to Barry that he could use gene-splicing to weaken Mitch long enough for an arrest, but informs Barry that he'll need more supplies. Barry then leaves the room, allowing Ramsey to steal some dark matter. Barry comes back, revealing that he suspected Ramsey would try something like what he was doing. Ramsey angrily retorts that he's dying and that the dark matter is the only way to cure him, something Barry should understand as he knows the look of a dead man. Barry manages to convince Ramsey to give back the dark matter and help them defeat Mitch.
Later that night, Ramsey continued to study Mitch's blood sample that was mystifying him. Suddenly Ramsey heard a noise and went looking for the source, discovering that Mitch had snuck into Star Labs, who attacked Ramsey shortly after. While being strangled up against a wall Ramsey pleaded with Mitch to stop which, much to Ramsey's shock, worked. After being lowered to the floor Ramsey discovered that Mitch was responding to his voice and visual commands before Barry rushed Mitch down to the Pipeline and defeat the zombie-like creature.
Becoming Bloodwork
The ordeal over, Ramsey left S.T.A.R. Labs and took a sample of Mitch's blood with him. He observed immense healing properties and hypothesize that this was the permanent cure he was looking for. He then proceeded to absorb the blood before concluding that he needed more.
Sometime afterward Ramsey broke into a blood bank at a hospital, stealing the blood and taking it to his lab. There, on the verge of collapsing, he injected his mutated blood into the regular blood in the hopes that it would create the same substance from Mitch Romero. Hours later, he injected himself with the new version of the cure but collapsed in pain shortly after injecting it. He discovered that his new cure lacked something that Mitch Romero had before death.
Barry then dropped by with a cure made from Dominator technology leftover from their invasion three years prior. This left Ramsey stumped as he knew Barry himself was dying and that this cure could work for him too. Barry just responded that Ramsey could save lives as well before leaving. Ramsey took a sample of the Dominator cure and injected it into a sample of his cells, dismayed to discover that his body was too far gone for the cure to work. Suddenly he made a realization, Mitch was afraid at the time of his death and thus was releasing adrenaline into his system before death. Ramsey concluded that his victims need to feel fear before he kills them, disregarding the Hippocratic oath that hung above his lab. He arrives at a hospital and starts killing patients and doctors alike.
Long into his killing spree, Flash and Killer Frost arrive to see the damage he's done. While Killer Frost fights his reanimated victims Flash confronts Ramsey, asking him shy since he was handed a cure. Ramsey takes a hostage and explains that the cure didn't work, so he decided to use living people as incubators for his cure. He explains that he hasn't just found the cure for HLH but for death itself, making his life eternal. He kills his hostage and escapes through the window, satisfied with his efforts but nowhere near done.
Evolving Powers
TBA
Infecting the Entire World
TBA
Personality
Ramsey can be defined by his obsession and fear of death. Watching his mother die without fighting her cancer caused Ramsey to develop an intense obsession with defeating death. And his mother's acceptance of death caused him to label her a coward, for not taking a chance to fight and survive. Ultimately it was a fear of death that pushed Ramsey to extremes in developing a cure for cancer then testing it on himself, despite advice being given to him about its possible adverse effects. His new obsession strained his friendship with Caitlin Snow.
A short time later, Ramsey began to go down a much darker path. Having seen a victim of his powers produce a much healthier blood substance, Ramsey is determined to get more no matter the lives it costs. Despite having a copy of the Hippocratic Oath hung up in his lab, he showed no value to the quote 'I will DO NO HARM to others.' and proceeded to break the oath. He found out that through killing humans with adrenaline-infused blood, he can achieve eternal life no matter how many humans it takes for him to kill, which drove him all the madder.
Victims
- Mitch Romero
- Gat (Indirectly caused)
- Rodrigo
- Unnamed Central City General patients
- Numerous unnamed people
Trivia
- Actor Sendhil Ramamurthy also portrayed a doctor/scientist on NBC's Heroes, Dr. Mohinder Suresh. His Heroes character also gained powers through injection. Although, in Heroes, his injection was missing one ingredient. In The Flash, while he had had all of the ingredients, it didn't work.
