"I don't want violence. I simply wish to save the world."

—Ramsey Rosso^[src]

Dr. Ramsey Rosso, self-nicknamed Bloodwork,^[1] is the son of the late Rachel Rosso and a former friend of Caitlin Snow. His plans to create a cure for HLH using dark matter as a binding agent led to him becoming a meta-human. Despite his research and the best efforts of himself and S.T.A.R. Labs, he was unable to find a permanent medical solution to his condition, though he eventually came to the conclusion that he could live forever so long as he strikes fear into others and feeds on their adrenaline-infused blood, leading him to completely abandon his humanity in favor of self-preservation.

In the new universe, Ramsey was detained by A.R.G.U.S. and had unknown plans; he stated that he is in for the "long game". At some point in 2022, Girder, Weather Witch, Psycho Pirate and N. Emerson escaped their cells at A.R.G.U.S. causing Cisco, Kamilla and Tinya Wazzo to take action. While they were busy attending to the escaped prisoners, Magog appeared and freed Ramsey from his cell, taking him to 2049 to wreak havoc as part of the former's plan to start a crisis. For reasons unknown, Ramsey was not returned to his cell, despite Magog's plan failing. Ramsey’s whereabouts are currently unknown but it is confirmed that he is not yet done with his mission to “save” humanity.

Shortly thereafter, Ramsey began his revenge plan, crashing Barry's birthday party, turning his friends into zombies, and manipulating his brother-in-law Wally West to take over the multiverse, but Ramsey was confronted by Barry, Oliver Queen and John Diggle, who helped save Wally while they faced Bloodwork. Before fulfilling his plan, Ramsey was stripped of his powers by the Spectre, while also being cured of his HLH, but ended up being imprisoned for life due to his crimes.

Quick Answers

What led to Dr. Ramsey Rosso becoming a meta-human?

Dr. Ramsey Rosso, in a desperate bid for a cure, declined the solution provided by Barry. He opted to saturate his cells with dark matter, thereby becoming the metahuman known as Bloodwork. Utilizing his newfound abilities, he assaulted others, spreading his infected blood and causing fatalities. His metamorphosis also granted him mind manipulation skills and the power to induce hallucinations.

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What was Ramsey Rosso's relationship with Caitlin Snow?

Dr. Ramsey Rosso's relationship with Caitlin Snow was multifaceted. His mother, Dr. Rachel Rosso, was a friend of Caitlin. Ramsey interacted with Caitlin's other persona, Frost, during a crime investigation involving dark matter. Frost initially showed distrust towards Ramsey and threatened him, but was dissuaded by Barry Allen.

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What is the HLH disease that Dr. Rosso was trying to cure?

HLH is a disease that Dr. Rosso, also known as Bloodwork, was trying to cure. This disease also took his mother's life. In his quest for a cure, Dr. Rosso used dark matter as a binding agent, which led to his transformation into the meta-human, Bloodwork.

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Was Dr. Ramsey able to find a permanent solution to his condition?

Despite his efforts, Dr. Ramsey Rosso, also known as Doctor Ramsey, did not find a permanent cure for his condition. He found an alternative method to extend his life by inducing fear in others and feeding on their adrenaline-rich blood, thus renouncing his humanity. In the new multiverse, he was detained by A.R.G.U.S. with undisclosed plans, indicating he was playing the 'long game'.

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Biography

Original multiverse

Early life

When Ramsey was seven, 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 over the course of months. However, instead of fighting the 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.^[2]

Fighting death

"I will never accept death. Not like you did."

—Ramsey Rosso to his late mother's medical award plaque.^[src]

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 Caitlin 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.^[2]

Dealing with Mitch Romero

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 $5000, 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.^[3] 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 S.T.A.R. 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 sneaked into S.T.A.R. Labs, who attacked Ramsey shortly afterward. 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.

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 hypothesizing that this was the permanent cure he was looking for. He then proceeded to absorb the blood before concluding that he needed more.^[4]

Life eternal

"The entire world will embrace Bloodwork!"

—Ramsey Rosso^[src]

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 why 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 him life eternal. He kills his hostage and escapes through the window, satisfied with his efforts but nowhere near done.^[5]

Some time after strangling Caitlin and leaving his lab, he encountered Ralph Dibny on a rooftop, grabbing him and falling off the building with him. As soon as they fell to the ground, Ramsey continued attacking Ralph, throwing a car at him and firing chunks of black blood at him, most of which the latter was able to dodge, but not for the last few. Ralph managed to gain the upper hand by punching Ramsey and attempted to take him to Iron Heights before Ramsey recovered and absorbed the former's healthy blood cells with his own blood, leaving him on the ground convulsing.

When Barry managed to save Ralph's life by injecting some of his blood into him, a tiny amount of Ramsey's blood had made its way into Barry's body, slowly taking control over him and turning him into a monstrous speedster, who made his way to see Ramsey before bowing to him as his follower, or in Ramsey's words, "Blood Brother".^[1]

Defeat and imprisonment

"For the last time, I am trying to save everyone! Don't you understand? You're not the hero here! I am!"

—Ramsey before turning into his blood monster form to fight Barry^[src]

With Dark Flash now under his control, Ramsey sets out to infect the whole of Central City. He comes under attack from Cisco Ramon, but he uses Dark Flash to stop him. Ramsey tells Cisco that he wants to use the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator to spread his "cure" across Central City. He and his Blood Brothers head to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Ramsey puts a tiny amount of his blood into the accelerator. However, before it can complete its cycle, Allegra Garcia used her powers to destroy Ramsey's blood, causing the wave created by the explosion to curing all of the infected.

"Your cage won't hold me forever. I will get out. And I will resume my noble mission."

—Ramsey after being put in the Mental Augmentation Chamber to inhibit his powers^[src]

The newly-recovered Flash fights Ramsey, who transforms into a huge blood monster.

Flash uses the mental link Ramsey had created between them by infecting Barry to make an image of Ramsey's mother to appear. This distracted Ramsey long enough for the Flash to lock him up in the MAC. He was then transferred to A.R.G.U.S..^[6]

Anti-Monitor Crisis

During the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Ramsey as well as everyone in the multiverse except for the seven Paragons, was killed in an antimatter wave by the Anti-Monitor on December 10, 2019,^[7] only to be restored a month later, after the Paragons and the Spectre created a new universe.^[8]

New multiverse

Just like Grodd, Ramsey's mind hadn't been affected by Crisis.

Frost's visit

In February 2020, Ramsey was visited at A.R.G.U.S. by Frost.^[9]

Eva's plans

"Even in here, fate continues to cast me in the role as savior."

—Ramsey Rosso^[src]

In April 2020, Ramsey was visited by mirror versions of Kamilla Hwang, David Singh, and Iris West-Allen in order to obtain his mutated blood for Eva's plan to escape the Mirrorverse.

Ramsey agreed to let Eva take some of his blood in exchange for his freedom. Mirror Kamilla sacrificed herself to destabilize the MAC long enough for Ramsey to temporarily escape. He attacked Mirror Iris, demanding to know what she really wanted. When Mirror Iris stated that she wished to be "alive", Ramsey gave her some of his blood. He then willingly stepped back inside the MAC, lamenting that he has more than one way to escape, and that he was playing the "long game".

Some of Ramsey's blood was placed on a mirror in Barry and Iris's apartment helping Eva to escape; a small portion remained in a vial.^[10]

Team Flash discovered Ramsey's role in Eva's liberation, but opted not to use any more of his blood towards the liberation of their friends and ally.^[11]

Escape from A.R.G.U.S.

In 2022, Ramsey somehow escaped from his cell at A.R.G.U.S., also helping to free Tony Woodward, N. Emerson, Joslyn Jackam, and the Medusa Mask.^[12] Before long, Ramsey was recruited by Magog, who took him away from A.R.G.U.S. When Officer Thomas gave guard I. Mitchell a rundown of the facility, they discovered that Ramsey was missing and alarms went off.^[13] Ramsey was transported to Keystone City in 2049 by Magog, who left him free to rampage. Ramsey then fought Martian Manhunter.

Magog's group of villains would be returned to their original time periods and worlds, though Ramsey was not returned to his cell and thus remained on the loose in 2022.^[14]

Bloodwork Crisis

"My mother was diagnosed with HLH, and I couldn't save her either, Wally. I had to watch her die. And we have that in common. Then you understand what it is that I'm trying to do... That it's about more than just stopping death. It is about ending the suffering that we have both endured, that, together, we can create a Multiverse where no one has to watch their loved ones die... ever again."

—Ramsey to Wally West^[src]

Ramsey likely learned about the new multiverse during his short time with Magog. On Barry's birthday, he infiltrated S.T.A.R. Labs to mess with Barry’s mind once again. By poisoning the champagne, everyone on Team Flash, as well Kristen Kramer, David Singh, and John Diggle became zombified. Only Chester P. Runk, who did not drink, remained unaffected, though Ramsey sent the others after him. In Barry's mind, Ramsey taunted him over his survivor's guilt. When Barry refused to listen to Ramsey again, Ramsey admitted that his true plan was to distract Barry as he took over Wally’s mind. While in Wally's mind, Ramsey learned that he had been traversing the Speed Force. Wally had believed he was looking into alternate timelines, but Ramsey realized that he was actually looking into other worlds of the multiverse. Now with a way to spread his influence across the multiverse, he attempted to convince Wally that he can find another Jesse Quick. As much as he tried, Wally had a difficult time not giving in. Ramsey wanted Wally to join him in creating a multiverse where death is completely eradicated.

Meanwhile, Barry was trapped in his own hell where Ramsey made him the star of his own show and tries manipulating him. Barry resisted, so Ramsey released him to the real world. When Barry tried to get Wally to understand he was being manipulated, Wally instead vibrated his hand through Barry’s chest, killing him. Ramsey used Wally's power to open a portal to the multiverse, through which he sent his blood. However, he was soon confronted by a resurrected Barry and Oliver Queen. Oliver took on Ramsey, but Ramsey sent an infected SWAT team after him. Elsewhere, Barry finally broke through to Wally, freeing him of the infection. When Oliver defeated the SWAT team, Ramsey arrogantly challenged Oliver to fight him directly, but is caught off guard by an attack from Diggle, whom Khione had freed. Ramsey then transformed into his monstrous form, but Wally and Barry were able to contain him, allowing Oliver to send a Spectre-infused arrow through the breach. As a result, the breach closed, and all of Ramsey's cells throughout the multiverse were eradicated, freeing the rest of Team Flash. Ramsey feared for his death, as his blood cells were the only thing keeping his HLH at bay. But Oliver revealed that; as a result; of being the Spectre, he had also cured Ramsey of his disease. Ramsey exclaimed that; he was meant to save the world, but Barry boasted that; he and the other heroes would do that now. Ramsey was then taken to back A.R.G.U.S..^[15]

Personality

"I will never accept death, not like you did."

—Ramsey Rosso to Rachel Rosso^[src]

While seemingly once a noble individual; who had a strong devotion to the protection of life, Ramsey's true nature can be defined by his obsession and fear of death. Watching his mother, Rachel Rosso die; without fighting her cancer caused Ramsey to develop an intense obsession; with defeating death. Rachel'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.^[2]

Ramsey had a strong reverence for science. Upon visiting S.T.A.R Labs, he was filled with awe of the facility and its scientific equipment. He recalled Harrison Wells's decree on the night of the particle accelerator, and remarked their cutting-edge equipment had potential to save many lives. This was contrary to many of his peers in the scientific community, who mostly held a negative opinion of the place due to the particle accelerator incident.

A short time after Ramsey developing his powers and learned how it could extend his life, potentially grant him eternal life, he quickly went down a sinister path, despite Ramsey having a copy of the Hippocratic Oath hung up in his lab, he is; proven to have no value to the quote "I will do no harm to others" and proceeded to break the oath. Having seen a victim of his powers produce a healing substance from the fear-induced adrenaline in their blood, Ramsey became determined to create more no matter the lives it costs.^[4]

Through Ramsey's descent into madness, he has developed both a delusion of grandeur and a messiah complex, for all his remorseless killings of innocents, he ironically views his actions as a salvation for humanity; by reanimating his victims as zombies in a hive-mind of his control, he believes that; this is the way to forever overcome death for all. Ultimately, this has made Ramsey's goal to infect every human on the entire planet and get them to pledge their full loyalty to him.

Ramsey appears to hold life in high regard still, this is; evident; by his horrified reaction; when "Kamilla Hwang" intentionally killed herself to free him from his cell; he found the act of killing one's self to be unthinkable, to Ramsey; choosing to die is an act that makes even him uncomfortable, as such, he seems to justify his killing by both thinking that; these individuals are not intentionally choosing death and that; he is actively choosing to live. Ramsey can view not killing his victims as him purposefully choosing suicide, further establishing his twisted views on life and death ^[10]

Ramsey still possesses some pride and brilliance despite his descent into madness; retaining his respect for science, interrupting the mirror duplicates to inform them that he's well aware of who Eva McCulloch is, being a fellow scientist. His brilliant mind also came through, being aware that despite being freed from his cell, he would never escape A.R.G.U.S.. Instead, he chose to sit and wait for another opportunity, which revealed itself when Magog came to recruit him.

Ironically, Ramsey's claim that; the Speed Force was using Barry, manipulating him, as Barry said himself would later be; proven correct. Other forces were born alongside the Speed Force's rebirth and it attempted ultimately failed to manipulate Barry; into killing the new Force avatars, justifying it's actions as self-defense and cleaning up Barry's mess.

Ramsey also has a great sense of humor where he joked about not being invited to Barry's birthday party and also joked about not finding his invitation in his mail, he also displayed great humor in pretending to be a director for the Flash tv show in a hallucination that; he created for Barry while taunting Barry about grief, he also was seen to be manipulative; when he told Wally West about unlocking his true "potential" in; which he turned Wally; into one of his blood brothers. His arrogance also lead him to him being cured and defeated yet also made him lament about trying to save the world and how he can't do it; without his powers.

At the bottom of it all, while Ramsey has done some truly horrific things; since becoming Bloodwork, he is not necessarily an evil individual. All he wanted was to defeat death and save lives; but he had a very twisted way of doing it.

These negative traits of Ramsey's, are what led to his deserved/justified incarceration.

Powers and abilities

Former powers

• Meta-human physiology: After injecting himself with the untested HLH cure infused with dark matter, this supercharged Ramsey's blood cells, allowing him to access his new-found powers.^[2] But after the Spectre cleansed the entire multiverse of his infectious blood, it resulted in Ramsey losing all of his powers once-and-for all.^[15]
  • Haemokinesis: Ramsey possessed the power to control and manipulate blood. Through this power, Ramsey could also absorb the blood of others to heal or empower himself. At the height of his power, Ramsey transcended into something beyond human making him even more powerful. Because his blood-bending powers give him variant abilities of strength, mind control and others, Ramsey is one of the most dangerous meta-humans to ever walk the earth. According to Jay Garrick, he's considered a league level five villain. During the time between when Ramsey escaped A.R.G.U.S and when he returned to have a rematch with Team Flash, his powers had grown even stronger along with his control over them. This allowed Ramsey to fend off J’onn J’onzz during their fight in 2049. Now, Ramsey’s powers no longer become weaker if he does not remain active. Ramsey ascended further in threat value once he put his plan to infect the Multiverse in motion, which weakened the nigh-omnipotent Spectre, forcing Oliver Queen to temporarily return in human form to take him down. Overall, prior to his final defeat and being cured, Ramsey is possibly the most powerful opponent Barry has faced, and at least on par with Hunter Zolomon on being a multiversal threat, if not greater.
    • Blood constructs: Ramsey was able to rearrange his blood cells and transform them into different objects. He has thus far been shown to transform them into elongated tendrils that can penetrate human skin, which he used to take blood from others and as a means of transportation. In his transformed state, Ramsey also displayed the ability to morph his hand into a blade that can cleanly cut a car in half.^[6]
    • Blood generation: Ramsey could also fire off small pieces of blood as projectiles to incapacitate targets. When Wally West opened a breach to the multiverse, Ramsey projected a gigantic stream of blood from his hand into the portal.
    • Eye transformation: Ramsey can use his powers to turn his eyes pitch black identical to that of a demon.
    • Power augmentation: By absorbing the black blood that he fills his victims/zombies with, he was able to temporarily heal himself of his HLH, as well as increase his own power and his blood mass; allowing him to make larger blood constructs in his blood form. It also showed in his physical appearance, as his veins became noticeably darker as a result of the dark matter-infused blood. Ramsey can also enhance the powers of beings he infects as shown by how when Kid-Flash was under his control, he was able to keep up with Barry despite Barry’s powers growing exponentially since the last time the two saw each other.
    • Reanimation: When Ramsey used his abilities to take blood from others, he was able to leave a trace amount of his own dark matter-infused blood in their system, which would replicate itself and replace the blood of the victims, reviving them as a violent and lumbering "zombie" that followed Ramsey's desire for dark matter, with him having full control. Shortly after he learned that he could turn people into zombies, he found out that he could also command and control the zombies, however, a zombie that is left without dark matter being injected into them or without Ramsey nearby will melt into a pool of black blood. Although as time went on and Ramsey started to gain better control over his powers, the zombies didn’t melt when Ramsey wasn’t nearby.^[4][5]

"That is one ugly son of a bitch."

—Spartan, upon seeing Bloodwork

• Transformation: After feeding on enough blood, Ramsey transformed into a monstrous, gigantic, blood behemoth. When Ramsey returned, he was able to change back into his monstrous form without having to consume blood first. In his transformed state, Ramsey’s abilities grow even stronger and he becomes virtually unstoppable.
  • Blood form: Post-Crisis, Ramsey demonstrates the ability to transform into a blood-like state, before he solidifies into his usual human form. Ramsey does so when crashed Barry's birthday party when he enters S.T.A.R labs.
  • Superhuman strength: Ramsey was shown to have a remarkable amount of strength, as he demonstrated the ability to break open a lock with his bare hand when stealing blood from a hospital.^[5] He also single-handedly lifted Caitlin Snow off her feet while strangling her. When he attacked Elongated Man, he threw a car at him. His strength increases even further when he is in his transformed form, where he was able to knock The Flash several feet away.^[6]
  • Nigh-invulnerability: When fighting Elongated Man, Ramsey fell off a building, landed on a car, and was able to get up without too much difficulty. In his transformed form, Ramsey was even more durable, able to shrug off punches from The Flash. It took a fully powered punch to knock him over, to which he was able to get back up quite easily without injury. He was also able to get blasted by a powerful rocket launcher fired at him by John Diggle in his human form, and was merely knocked down.
  • Immunity: As stated by himself and the Speed Force, Ramsey’s powers grant him protection against powerful substances such as Antimatter (which can kill almost anything in the multiverse except for the Anti-Monitor). However he was killed in Crisis due to an Antimatter wave. This is likely due to the fact that Ramsey’s powers have gotten weaker due to being imprisoned, and his powers weren’t able to protect him from the wave. He is also immune to power dampening technology such as handcuffs and prison cells.
  • Accelerated healing factor: When Ramsey obtained his powers, he realized that by absorbing blood of others, he got cured of his HLH, which was the prime motivation to absorb more. He has a rapid healing factor, as he was able to recover from the shots that Cisco gave him with the photon gun, and recover from a potent and full of energy blow thrown by The Flash.
  • Infection: Ramsey was able to create another mind of himself through infecting others with his own blood without having to absorb their healthy cells, changing their personalities and turning them into monsters that pledged their full loyalty to Ramsey himself; as shown when Barry became fully infected through his eyes and teeth being filled with black blood, his lightning turning black, and his being forced to follow Ramsey's commands.
    • Power bestowal: When Ramsey infected someone with his blood, they gained several powers such as superhuman strength, long black finger nails, and the ability to absorb dark matter. In Barry's case, he also gained a mental connection, allowing Barry to make Ramsey see a hallucination of his mother.
    • Power borrowing: When Ramsey infected another meta-human, he temporarily gained access to that their powers, such as Barry and Wally’s speedster powers and Allegra’s electromagnetic powers.
    • Mind manipulation: Ramsey's blood had the ability to infect human brains and project hallucinations to its victims, as shown when Barry was hallucinating. This ability also allowed Ramsey to perceive his victims thoughts.^[1] This is how he knew that Barry Allen is the Flash, about Barry's past, and his prophesied death in Crisis.
    • Hive mind: All of Ramsey’s blood brothers are a mere extension of himself. This allows Ramsey to feel what they feel and also know what they are thinking.
    • Remote possession: After putting Barry under his control as Dark Flash, Ramsey was able to speak to Iris and the rest of Team Flash through Barry. He could also do the same with his other blood brothers and see everything they saw. This allows Ramsey to keep his enemies from getting the jump on him.
    • Retrocognition: Ramsey retains his memories from before Crisis.
    • Precognition (possibly): Ramsey’s powers may give him the ability to see into the future. This is evidenced by how Ramsey knew that he would eventually be freed by Magog, and was willing to remain in A.R.G.U.S. until his arrival. He may have also been able to sense the future arrival of Mirror Singh, Kamilla and Iris to A.R.G.U.S to retrieve his help.
    • Cosmic awareness: Ramsey was able to show Wally the new multiverse in order to trick him into joining him.
• Immortality: Ramsey’s sentient blood gave him the potential to live forever. However after losing the link to his Blood Brothers, he was no longer able to drain their lifeforce to heal his HLH, leaving him dying until he was cured of both his cancer and powers and rendering mortal again.

Abilities

"He's one of the most brilliant doctors on the planet."

—Barry Allen^[src]

• Genius-level intellect: Ramsey was an exceptionally intelligent individual; possessing a doctorate.^[2]
  • Master Scientist/Medic: An accomplished biologist with intricate knowledge of the human anatomy and physiology, with Barry even calling him among the most brilliant doctors on the planet, Ramsey was capable of experimenting on himself in order to find a cure for his HLH cancer and coming into the conclusion that he needed dark matter to complete the cure. He was able to successfully analyze Mitch Romero's blood to discover the effects of dark matter on his body and with the supplies of dark matter, he was able to use gene-splicing to help Team Flash defeat him. He was smart enough to know that putting his blood into the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator would cause it to aerosolize. This would have allowed him to spread his infection instantly to everyone in Central City and at a much faster rate than having to use his Blood Brothers.
  • Expert of deception/Manipulator: Ramsey was a very good actor; he was able to act like a civilized doctor when around others without them suspecting anything.
• Expert hand-to-hand combatant: With gaining his powers Ramsey has become a capable fighter. He was able to fend off the Flash and Elongated Man, and defeat Mirror Iris (which is something the Flash couldn’t do). When Ramsey returned in 2023, his powers had grown so strong, that he confidently challenged the masterful fighter Oliver Queen without any fear of him; feeling he could easily defeat him despite Oliver’s incredible combat prowess.

Former weaknesses

• Insatiable hunger: Despite Ramsey managing to cure his HLH, the effects were only temporary. As a result, Ramsey needed to feed on dark matter infused blood. In order to keep himself alive, he needed to feed off of human beings with adrenaline-infused blood. Therefore; he had to put his victims in a state of great fear before he absorbed their blood, killing them in the process.^[5] Following Crisis, he no longer appeared to have this issue, as he was more focused on spreading his blood to others to grant them immortality - a multiverse without death.
• Mental instability: Ramsey's obsession with defeating his impending death defiled his humanity. He eventually came to only care about surviving and nothing else. The more individuals he killed, the more unstable he became. However, his desperation caused by HLH was the primary factor, and now that he's cured, his mental stability may improve, or he may become depressed due to the loss of his powers.
  • Savior complex: Ramsey's desperation in curing his HLH, as well as the dark matter affecting his mind and his powers allowing him to "end death", lead him to believe he was meant to save everyone. After finding out Oliver de-powered and cured him, Ramsey was saddened that he could no longer be a "savior".
• Constant movement: In order for Ramsey to keep as much blood pumping around his body as possible, he needed to be constantly moving. The less he moved and the calmer he was, the weaker he became.
• Photon Gun: Cisco theorized that his gun could cure Ramsey or kill him and while he used it on him it showed that it could temporarily weaken him and stopped him from using his powers, though it didn't work on Ramsey nearly as well as Cisco had hoped.^[6]
• Mental link to Blood Brothers: Just as Ramsey was able to affect Barry's thinking using a mental link, after being infected by him, Barry was able to do the same to Ramsey. He used an image of Ramsey's mother to distract him long enough so he could lock Ramsey in the MAC; the only thing Team Flash was certain would be able to contain him.^[6]
• Electromagnetic waves: EM waves were crucial in severing Bloodwork's link to both Barry and the other zombies. That weakened him a bit.^[6]
• UV rays: When Ramsey put his blood in the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator to create an explosion that would turn all of Central City into Blood Brothers, Allegra Garcia releasing her UV rays into the accelerator caused the particle accelerator's explosion to release a wave that cured all the Blood Brothers Ramsey had already infected.^[6]
• Cannot use simulated fear blood: Ramsey needs to feed on genuine adrenaline-fueled blood caused by fear. Just injected adrenaline in blood won't work.
• Antimatter: While Ramsey is a powerful meta-human and his powers have been stated to protect him from antimatter, if his abilities are at a weak enough state they cannot safeguard him from it. This led to his death in Crisis, as there was no oxygen to breathe after the Earth was destroyed.
• Spectre energy: Since the Spectres' energy is god-like, this type of energy is a form of weakness that strips Ramsey of his powers and cured his incurable deadly disease HLH in which he became a normal human being very similarly prior of being infected and diagnosed with HLH.

Appearances

The Flash

Comics

EARTH-PRIME

• "Training Day" (mentioned)
• "Savior Complex"
• "Phantom Punch" (mentioned)

The Chronicles of Cisco

• File_0002  (mentioned)
• File_0003 "Barry Allen's Greatest Hits" (mentioned)

Trivia

• Ramsey inadvertently sparked the beginning of the Anti-Monitor Crisis.
  • His Blood Brothers attacked Harrison Nash Wells and were defeated by Allegra Garcia's power; which Nash misattributed to "the Monitor" being benevolent and opened the Nexus, and giving Anti-Monitor; from the Netherverse, a path into the positive matter multiverse.
  • Ramsey also technically started a second Crisis in 2023, by trying to infect the new multiverse with his blood, and was the main antagonist of the new Crisis; with him becoming so dangerous at that point, that it forced the Spectre to return to Earth (Earth-Prime) in order to defeat him.
• Ramsey was the:
  • Second main antagonist in The Flash to not die during his defeat, the first being Hunter Zolomon.
  • Fourth main antagonist to not receive his powers from a version of the particle accelerator, after Eobard Thawne, Orlin Dwyer, and Grace Gibbons.
  • First main antagonist to not have been created or influenced by the actions of Eobard Thawne and to not have surfaced due to the actions of the previous season's antagonist.
  • Fourth main antagonist who is not a speedster.
    • However, he was able to access Barry and Wally's speed and use it himself while they were under his infection.
  • The first non-speedster antagonist to appear in another season after his first defeat.
    • Ramsey is the fourth main antagonist that appeared in another season after his defeat. Eobard appeared in every season after his defeat in Season 1, Hunter Zolomon appeared once in Season 5 and Savitar appeared once as a hallucination in Season 7.
  • The final antagonist taken down by Team Arrow before their second and final disbandment.
  • Third main antagonist who predicted a future season's antagonist.
    • Ramsey comments that the Speed Force doesn't feel pain, nor does it know what it's like to have a family. Ironically, the God Complex graphic novel addressed this, as the Speed Force died painfully due to Crisis and experienced having a family with the creation of the new Forces.
    • Ramsey also mentioned that he knew or aware of Eva McCulloch due to the fact that they're both scientists. They're both the main antagonists of the pre-crisis and post-crisis arcs of Season 6 respectively.
• His mutated form was similar to the monstrous form of Rudy Jones/Parasite.
• His story paralleled Barry's struggle surrounding the Crisis.
  • Both had lost their mothers, respectively Rachel Rosso and Nora Allen.
  • Both had shortened lifespans, though while Barry accepted his destiny, Ramsey hoped to prevent his impending death.
  • While learning of his impending death propelled Barry to save as many people as possible, Ramsey's inability to find a cure lead him to give up his Hippocratic Oath, instead saving his own life before the lives of others.
  • Ironically, both men attempted to save each others' lives. Barry attempts to save Ramsey with the universal cure Nash Wells guided him to, although it was ineffective as Ramsey's HLH had progressed too far. In return, Ramsey offers to save Barry from an antimatter or Speed Force death in Crisis via his lifeblood, but he had an ulterior motive.
• Given Ramsey’s obsession to defeat death and obtain immortality, it is possible Ramsey has Thanatophobia, which is the fear of dying.
• He is similar to Freddy Krueger as both need fear to stay alive both would hunt down people scaring them first and once they had enough fear they would kill them to increase their own powers. Freddy would absorb their souls while Ramsey would absorb the blood of his victims after infecting them to increase his own life.
• Ramsey’s powers are unique among Meta-humans, as his are able to protect him from antimatter which can kill everyone and everything else.
• As Ramsey was at the peak of his power taking over Central City, his blood may have been able to protect the city's citizens from the antimatter wave in Crisis. Though due to the lack of oxygen after the destruction of the Earth (Earth-1), and multiverse merging technicalities, it's likely his attempt at being a "savior" would've failed.

Behind the scenes

• In the DC Comics, Bloodwork was an enemy of the Flash who had the power to control blood. He debuted in The Flash #29 (October, 2017).
• Sendhil Ramamurthy also portrayed a doctor/scientist on NBC's Heroes, Dr. Mohinder Suresh. His Heroes character also gained powers through injection that was missing an ingredient at first.
• The Speed Force stated Ramsey's power could protect him from antimatter. Even if this remained true after his capture, Ramsey would have died from a lack of oxygen due to the destruction of Earth-1.
• Ramsey served as the main antagonist of the "Blood and Truth" arc of Season 6 of The Flash.
  • Ramsey is the first "big bad" in The Flash to start out good and descend into villainy over the course of his arc, rather than having already been a villain prior to the start of the story.
• He is the last Earth-1 Big Bad to name himself, before the Crisis rebooted it into Earth-Prime.
  • Zoom, Savitar and Cicada were the other Big Bads to not be named by Cisco.
• Like Cicada, he was one of the villains whose name Abra Kadabra did not say when he mentioned the names of the Big Bads Barry fought or would fight.
  • This is due to the fact that the issue that Bloodwork's debut didn't come out until later.
  • This is also the fact that the future where Abra Kadabra hails from has possibly changed due to Nora West-Allen time-traveling.
• He is the second major villain to reappear on Earth-Prime after Eobard Thawne.

References