SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers for "The Flash" are littered throughout this article, so if you're not up to speed, you may want to come back later.
The first season of "The Flash" contained more than one mind-bending twist. After revealing Harrison Wells as the Reverse-Flash, the CW series went even further, showing how a time-displaced Eobard Thawne had killed and replaced Wells. Regardless of Wells' true identity, one fact remained: Barry Allen's mentor turned out to be his greatest enemy and nothing would be the same.
Fans worried whether season two could live up to the non-stop action of the first, but with the debut of Jay Garrick and the multiverse in the second season premiere, the show was already at full speed. With the introduction of DC Comics' Golden Age Flash came the debut of someone potentially worse than Reverse-Flash: Zoom. Dressed in an all-black version of Barry's Flash suit, face completely obscured and speed powers greater than Jay's, Zoom has made it his mission to kill The Flash of every world.
Who is Zoom? A History of "The Flash's" New Major Villain
Zoom's identity may be unknown, but that doesn't mean viewers may not have already met the person under the mask. Below you'll find a list of suspects, usual and unusual, laid out with odds on who it could be. Rather than list every character who's ever appeared in a "Flash" comic, we're sticking to the characters already established on the CW series or versions of those we've come to know -- which means you won't see the likes of Hunter Zolomon, Black Flash or Wally West here. Check out the odds, place your bets and let us know who you think Zoom really is.
SUSPECT: Henry Allen (Earth-2)
Odds: 1/4
On Earth-1, Henry Allen was convicted of killing his wife -- a crime he didn't commit. Since the multiverse was discovered, we have yet to meet Henry Allen's Earth-2 counterpart and for all we know his alternate earth self could actually be a murderer. Maybe this version of Henry killed his wife, and maybe the particle accelerator explosion turned him into a metahuman with the power to break out of prison and seek revenge.
SUSPECT: Harrison Wells (Earth-2)
Odds: 1/3
Making Harrison Wells, or a version of him, the big bad of another season might seem a bit obvious to most -- because it is. On both worlds, Harrison Wells is a brilliant scientist who founded S.T.A.R. Labs, exploded a particle accelerator and happens to be very interested in the Central Citiy citizens who gained superpowers as a result. And ever since Earth-2 Harrison Wells has shown up, he's been, in Cisco's words, "a dick." Plus, he and Jay Garrick butt heads and Jay's great, so Harrison must be evil.
One big hint that adds weight to this theory is that, in the second episode of Season Two, "Flash of Two Worlds," Zoom tried to kill Jay Garrick by vibrating his hand through Jay's chest. The wormhole then opened up between Earth-1 and 2, and Jay survived by being sucked into it. This death by hand-phasing is the same method Wells used to kill Cisco in the first season -- before Barry went back in time and inadvertently saved him. Another bit of evidence of Wells' diabolical plans is in the last episode, "The Darkness and the Light," when we saw him spying on Barry outside CC Jitters coffee house. What's Wells up to? Could be that in every dimension, no matter the circumstances, Harrison Wells and Barry Allen are rivals. It's also possible that, in Earth-2, Harrison Wells never became the Reverse-Flash, but instead Zoom. (Mike Pallotta)
SUSPECT: Barry Allen (Earth-2)
Odds: 2/1
Let's talk about Barry Allen. So far as we're aware, everyone -- Harrison Wells, Linda Park, etc -- has an Earth-2 doppelganger. At this point, we've only encountered a handful of them, which means really any of the doppelgangers we haven't seen are candidates for Zoom's identity -- including our very own Mr. Allen. While Earth-1's Barry Allen has a heart of gold, that doesn't necessarily mean Earth-2's version will, as things appear to be very different there. For instance, his mother's death put him on a very narrow path in Earth-1; if that didn't happen on Earth-2, it's entirely possible he developed in a much less heroic way, leading up to his eventual transformation into Zoom.
SUSPECT: Eobard Thawne (Earth-2)
Odds: 5/1
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Eobard Thawne -- Eddie's descendant from Earth-1 -- attempted to make Barry's life miserable before, so there are decent odds Earth-2's version of the character would do the same. After all, Thawne is not only a fellow speedster but Barry's nemesis from the comics. The show hasn't been shy about using doppelgangers of existing characters, so it's reasonable to consider Earth-2 Eobard Thawne as a candidate. Further, "Professor Zoom" is one of Thawne's aliases from the comics; thus, Zoom is also a version of Reverse-Flash. What's more, the comic version of Zoom has made a habit of attacking all other speedsters, including Wally West, who is on his way to the show. Zoom may want revenge on Barry for enabling his existence to be erased in Earth-1. There's only one small hiccup: both the comics and show's Zooms are irrevocably tied to Barry; without him, they wouldn't be able to tap the Speed Force. However, it's possible Earth-2 Thawne may not realize that just yet. (Meagan Damore)
SUSPECT: Eddie Thawne (Earth-2)
Odds: 10/1
In the first season, the Reverse-Flash was speeding around Central City, causing trouble and vibrating his identity to remain anonymous. It was spooky and, frankly, a little headache-inducing. All season long, fans speculated who Reverse-Flash could be, many pointing to Detective Eddie Thawne. Mostly because the DC Comics' Reverse-Flash is Eobard Thawne, a scientist from the far future who's come to the present to kill The Flash, who is later revealed as Eddie's descendant on the show. Another reason is that Eddie was presented as a sort of foil to Barry in many ways. As Iris West's fiance and Joe West's partner, Thawne basically had the life Barry wanted.
On Earth-2, this opposite-Barry aspect of Eddie's character could have been intensified, and the particle accelerator explosion may have led to Eddie gaining super-speed. It's also possible Iris died on Earth-2 and Eddie blames Barry, creating a vendetta that would span the multiverse. Whether playing off the speculation from the first season, or changing a hero into a villain from one season to the next, Eddie could very potentially be Zoom. (Mike Pallotta)
SUSPECT: Joe West (Earth-2)
Odds: 100/1
Okay, so this one is a bit of a stretch, but it's not totally outside the realm of possibility. Though Barry is close to his father, Joe is both the man who raised him and someone he trusts implicitly. What could be a worse blow to the heart for Barry than for his father figure to attempt to kill him? If Barry has a difficult time remembering that Earth-2's Harrison Wells didn't kill his mother, seeing Joe's face beneath Zoom's mask may slow him down a bit -- perhaps just enough for Zoom to finish the deed. Something like the death of Iris during a metahuman event could easily have sent Earth-2 Joe over the edge, and -- following the Linda Park event in "The Darkness and the Light" -- it's clear that Earth-1's non-metahumans can be metahumans in Earth-2. Whether or not the odds are good, anyone who hasn't been shown to have an Earth-2 doppelganger is suspect. (Meagan Damore)
"The Flash" airs Tuesdays at 8 P.M. on The CW.
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