The description makes it quite clear that The Flash will take liberties with Cicada’s backstory from the comics, although we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that the tragedy that tore his family apart was actually due to Cicada’s own action.
In response to the tragedy, Cicada’s mission is to “exterminate the epidemic” of metahumans, even if he has to do it one at a time.
He doesn’t sound especially sane; if he has powers, could he be considered a meta as well?
Todd Helbing’s comments to TVLine support the description of Cicada released in the summer, in which he was described as a “grizzled, blue-collar everyman whose family has been torn apart by metahumans.”