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Peter Merkel, known as Rag Doll, is a supporting antagonist in Season 5 and a minor antagonist in Season 6 of the 2014-2023 superhero television series The Flash. He is a criminal in Central City with the meta-human ability to contort his body in ways that are nearly impossible for average humans allowing Rag Doll to fit through tight and enclosed spaces.
He was portrayed by Troy James. Whilst wearing his Rag Doll mask he was voiced by Phillip LaMarr, who also portrayed Malefic J'onzz in Supergirl and voiced Vamp in the Metal Gear Solid games, Mad Jack in Samurai Jack, Count Veger in Jak 3, The Beast in inFamous, Baxter Stockman in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012), Goigoi in The Lion Guard, Aquaman in the Injustice games, and Jefferson Davis in F Is For Family.
Peter was a broken man on the inside as much as he was on the outside presumably due to his mother's inattention and detachment from him. He seemed to take sadistic pleasure in causing others to suffer, so that they would know how he felt. He also had a disturbing habit of walking on his hands and feet while bent over backwards, though it's debatable if he simply did this to intimidate his victims or simply because he enjoyed it.
Biography[]
Background[]
Peter Merkel was the son of wealthy socialite Theresa Merkel. He lived a sheltered life though Theresa claimed that Peter took everything that he had for granted. Merkel became estranged from his mother after he was arrested for breaking into her mansion to steal from her.
Two years later, Peter was crushed by debris from The Thinker's Enlightenment satellite, which contained trace amounts of dark matter. He survives and becomes a super-powered criminal known as Rag Doll.
All Doll'd Up[]
Rag Doll began using his unique ability to stretch and contort his body to terrorize the upper class citizens of Central City by taking away their most cherished possessions. He is first seen emerging from a large gift box in the home of a soon to be married couple and steals a priceless necklace that belonged to the man's great grandmother. He then destroys the office building of a successful architect whose life is saved by the Flash as the structure collapses.
Barry runs finger prints that Rag Doll left behind at the first crime scene through the system and learns his true identity. He and Iris later attend a gala hosted by Rag Doll's mother and ask her where her son Peter is which she claims ignorance to. Rag Doll observes the couple from afar and picks them as his next targets. After breaking into Iris and Barry's apartment, Rag Doll renders Barry unconscious and ties him to a chair on top of the building. Iris shows up with Ralph Dibny/Elongated before Rag Doll pushes Barry causing Iris to jump off the roof and save his life. Rag Doll fought Elongated Man who somehow managed to trap the villain inside his body and was placed in a cell at Iron Heights where he met Mark Mardon.
Young Rogues[]
Rag Doll escaped from prison several months later and joined Nora West-Allen's Young Rouges along with Weather Witch and Bug-Eyed Bandit. During the battle between the Rogues and Team Flash at McCulloch Tech Rag Doll was knocked out by Iris and sent back to prison.
Post-Crisis[]
Sometime after the Flash and the rest of Earth's champions defeated the Anti-Monitor, Rag Doll was hired by Joseph Carver to assassinate Barry's surrogate father, Joe West to end his investigation into Black Hole. In an attempt to lure Joe into a trap, Rag Doll abducts Cecile Horton only to be defeated and imprisoned once again by The Flash.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
Rag Doll uses his powers
Meta-human physiology: Peter's body was infused with dark matter after getting struck by fragments from the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite which altered his physiology.
Contortionism: Peter can contort and twist his body in virtually any way he pleases making him appear quite frightening and unsettling. He even managed to squeeze himself into a suitcase, and through the grates of an air vent.
Elasticity: Peter has been shown to stretch his body and fit into small spaces, like pipes while also being able to contort and compact various parts or his entire body into various shapes and sizes.
Superhuman Durability: Peter's malleable physiology grants him superhuman durability, allowing him to survive an explosion powerful enough to cause a tall building to collapse, followed by being buried under the rubble of said building and walking away unscathed. Peter has shown no visible negative reaction to smashing his own hand flat. Also walking backwards and being squished roughly to the size of a remote causes him no discomfort.
Superhuman Reflexes: Peter has demonstrated that he can catch bullets in mid-air and throw them back at the shooter with lethal force.
Abilities[]
Gymnastics: Peter is very nimble, mostly from his contortion abilities, as he had managed to disarm Joe West of his gun with a backflip.
Stealth: Peter was able to sneak up on Barry without him noticing despite the latter being a speedster. He also managed to get the drop on Cisco and Sherlouque while they were in an elevator at S.T.A.R. Labs. His contortionist powers allow him to travel through air vents of a building while avoiding detection.
Hand-to-hand combatant: Peter is proven to have basic combat knowledge as he is able to briefly knock out Iris West-Allen and managed to easily restrain Joe West.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Rag Doll's portrayer, Troy James is a contortionist in real life as well.
Rag Doll is one of numerous metas that have tried to kill Joe West, although unlike the others Rag Doll holds no personal vendetta against him.
