Okay folks, if you aren’t excited at the prospect of THIS episode, I don’t know what else to say….okay, I have a LOT more to say, after the jump. The Flash of Earth-2 finally takes the spotlight after his brief appearance in the season premiere, and it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship…after a few bumps along the way, that is.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
The main villain for Season Two of the Flash TV show is Zoom … but who is Zoom, and how does he differ from the Reverse Flash?
As with Reverse Flash, they appear to be taking inspiration from a couple of sources in the comics, though Zoom’s true identity on the show is being kept mysterious for now. I’m including a few other villainous speedsters whose stories or designs may be relevant.
This 25th-century criminal reverse-engineered Barry Allen’s powers from one of his costumes, beginning a centuries-spanning rivalry as the two speedsters traveled through time to battle each other over and over. Thawne developed an unhealthy oobsession with taking over Barry’s life, particularly with his wife Iris.
Thawne eventually killed Iris, and years later tried to kill Barry’s new bride Fiona — but Barry killed him while protecting her. This led to a lengthly trial for the Flash, which ended just before Barry’s death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The Blackest Night crisis brought Thawne back from the dead, and he proceeded to start running back in time to mess with Barry’s life earlier and earlier, culminating in Barry’s mother and framing his father for the murder. [Full bio]
A cold war test pilot whose plane was hit by lightning. On gaining super-speed, he became obsessed with the speed force, learning more than anyone else about its secrets. A battle knocked him forward in time several decades, during which his followers became a powerful cult.
Savitar’s greatest desire was to become one with the speed force, and to do it he meant to block — or eliminate — all other speedsters. It took a full coalition led by Wally West and featuring every other speedster hero active at the time to take him down. [Full bio]
Update: As Lee H. points out in the comments, it looks like the show has drawn visual inspiration from the personification of Death as it comes for speedsters. The Black Flash is a force of nature, pursuing speedsters whose time has come and ushering them across the threshold to death.
It was later shown in Flash: Rebirth that an actual person could become the Black Flash, more like the New Gods’ concept of the Black Racer: An ordinary person takes on the role, whether they like it or not, and they have a job to do. This happened to Barry Allen briefly in Flash: Rebirth, and in an interesting bit of timing is happening again in Darkseid War right now. [Full bio]
A criminal profiler with the Keystone City police who became friends with Wally West during his time as the Flash. An attack by Grodd left him unable to walk, and he tried desperately to convince his friend to travel back into the past and fix his mistakes. When Wally refused, Zolomon tried to activate the cosmic treadmill himself.
The accident gave him time-based powers that simulate super-speed. He became obsessed with making the Flash a “better” hero…by making him experience more personal tragedy, so that he would be more willing to risk altering reality for others. [Full bio]
The younger brother of Iris West, a juvenile delinquent who got out of jail around the time a disaster hit Central City and linked him to the speed force. He gained the ability to travel back in time for short hops, and went around killing others who had gained the same connection in order to use that power to go even further back in time — to kill his own abusive father.
Two decades from now, an older and angrier Barry Allen would discover that the speed force had been damaged by the Reverse Flash’s time travelling, and he started heading backward in time to seal the breach when it was still small enough to repair. On the way he killed a few villains and stopped a few disasters, until he came face to face with his past self.
Note the dark blue costume with glowing trim…
We don’t know his background yet, but we do know he really hates Barry Allen, and he’s traveled throughout history collecting people who have gained various powers from the speed force and convinced them that the Flash is a monster disguised as a hero, someone who needs to be stopped.
There you have it! Zoom, Professor Zoom, and the Reverse-Flashes, plus two speedsters who (judging by previews) may have inspired the TV show’s take.
You can read about some of the Flashes’ other opposite numbers in our Guide to Rogues and Reverse Flashes.
(Incidentally: In the process of re-reading the New 52 stories, I was reminded how much I love Francis Manapul’s and Brian Buccellato’s art and layouts.)
ZOOM is back…and creating all sorts of havoc in the lives of the Allens. Yes, I mean plural…but the connection between Zoom and you-know-who isn’t clear quite yet (or if you don’t-know-who, check after the jump). What we DO know is that Barry (and others) are making some very tough moral choices, and each one of those choices appears to be setting the stage for significant repercussions. With that in mind, let’s get to the review, shall we?
SOME SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP!
Round Two (the round of 32) is on at SUPER VILLAIN MARCH MADNESS, and you’ll find Gorilla Grodd vs. Professor Zoom and Vandal Savage vs. Circe…along with a host of other DC and Marvel baddies! There are less than 24 hours left to vote, so be sure to have your voice heard! Here’s a link to the match-ups, which end at 10 PM Eastern Time USA on Monday, March 23rd:
CLICK HERE for Round 2A of Super Villain March Madness!
Over at TMStash.com, you’ll find a LOT of Flash Rogues and other bad guys in Super Villain March Madness! Today’s match-ups include Zoom, Grodd, Vandal Savage and more! To vote, just CLICK HERE to follow the link to the post with all EIGHT matches today! The voting for this group ends at 10 PM Eastern Time on March 18th, so be sure to make your voice heard!
Today’s guest post is by liquidcross of The Indigo Tribe.
Professor Zoom tormented Barry Allen constantly, but when he took things a bit too far, the Flash snapped his neck. Many years later, Barry’s successor Wally West had faced his share of speedster villains, but he never really had a Reverse Flash of his own.
During Geoff Johns’ stellar run on Flash, along comes FBI profiler Hunter Zolomon. After being severely injured by Gorilla Grodd, he decides to use the cosmic treadmill (conveniently located in the nearby Flash Museum) to go back in time and fix things. Naturally, it doesn’t quite work, and the resulting damage not only drives Zolomon over the edge, but turns him into Zoom, a new Reverse Flash. He thinks Wally doesn’t take his role as the Flash seriously enough due to not having faced any personal tragedy, so Zoom decides to mold him into a better hero…through a series of villainous acts, of course. These stories were expertly crafted, delivering all the twists and turns that really kept the readers on their toes. From Zoom accidentally killing Wally and Linda’s unborn children, to revisiting that incident to not only fix what happened but ending up in a time loop, the saga of Zolomon was a thrilling one to read.
After those first big appearances, though, Zoom faded into the background. He showed up in a few crossovers and such, but he never regained a primary antagonist role. During Final Crisis, Inertia stole his powers, calling himself “Kid Zoom.” Zolomon was once again a disabled powerless human, and left to rot in a prison cell. He soon had company, though: the original Reverse Flash, Eobard Thawne. While that could’ve led to some great stories, Zolomon was never seen again, and the events of Flashpoint seemed to have erased both Zooms from existence.
Zoom was a fascinating character, and his time in the limelight was far too short. Aside from his unique powers and history with Wally, he always thought he was doing the right thing; and at one point, he came around and realized how badly he was screwing up. You actually felt bad for the guy, and that’s rare with supervillains.
What I really liked about Zoom is that even though he was a Reverse Flash, he was not a speedster. He moved through time, and that caused all manner of problems for the Flash. It doesn’t matter how fast you’re running; if a guy is instantaneously jumping to a future point in time, he’s going to beat you there. Wally had to rely on his wits much more than his speed to defeat Zoom in most cases, which made for some excellent storytelling.
More importantly, Zoom may have been a new Reverse Flash…but he didn’t supplant the old one. His beef was with a completely different Flash, and as I said before, his powers were vastly different. In this, he’s a more interesting successor to the role, rather than a generic replacement.
Zoom’s shelving and eventual erasure was a complete waste. Now that I think of it, he should’ve been the real threat behind Flashpoint; he’s already got time travel powers, and the whole thrust of his plan could’ve been to destroy Barry to force Wally to once again become a better hero by surpassing his predecessor. Zoom manipulating Thawne would’ve been icing on the cake.
A new Reverse Flash is on the horizon, but it’s going to be a new character. I doubt we’ll ever see Zolomon again, and that’s a damned shame.
Liquidcross writes about Green Lantern and related comics at The Indigo Tribe.