CW’s The Flash: Zoom-The Big Reveal
The Villainous Zoom Stands Revealed… So who is he?
By Daniel Schwartz
Contributing Guest Reporter
(Victor Valley)- After Tuesday’s marine-centered episode of The Flash, fans were treated to an amazing final scene in which Zoom was finally unmasked to a shocked and stunned fandom. Warning: SPOILERS BELOW!
Shortly after Barry was able to defeat King Shark and get him back into ARGUS custody, the episode ended with Zoom delivering Jay Garrick’s body (killing the “Jay is just a speed mirage” theory) to his lair to the horror of the (still) unnamed masked man. Zoom then removed his mask to reveal……..Jay Garrick?!!
How can this be you ask? How can revealing the identity of the season’s big bad leave more questions than answers? Producers have confirmed that he is Hunter Zolomon, but they did not say which one. Here are a few theories to keep you guessing during the month-long Flash hiatus.
Zoom is Earth 1 Hunter Zoloman
While Jay was on Earth 1, he spent some time looking for his Arrowverse doppelganger. His searching revealed a man named Hunter Zoloman (he was adopted on Earth 1, which is why he had a different name).
Zoloman could have been trying to keep tabs on Jay on Earth 1 without trying to look conspicuous. Using his speed to skip between realities, Zoom would keep up his secret identity on Earth 1 while continuing to terrorize the citizens of Earth 2.
“Jay Garrick” Was Really Edward Clariss aka. The Rival
In the comics, Jay Garrick’s Reverse Flash is known as The Rival. Like the Earth 1 Reverse Flash, he wears a costume similar to The (Earth 2) Flash, except the lighting on the suit is going the wrong way. Looking at his costume, it would also appear that the lightning bolt is upside down, just like the Rival’s.
This supervillain uses a drug called Velocity 9 to give himself temporary super speed on the pages of DC Comics. Sound familiar? During his time on Earth 1, Jay worked with Caitlin Snow to develop the speed drug that allowed him to appear as The Flash for short periods of time. Could Edward have been acting as Jay in order to get the assistance he needed to perfect Velocity 9? Was he working with Zoom, or did he have his own selfish motives?
The Man in the Mask Is the Real Jay Garrick
The man in the mask may be the key to Zoom’s true identity and motives. If Rival is posing as the Earth 2 Flash on Earth 1, it is a strong possibility that the real Jay Garrick was under lock and key in Zoom’s lair. Putting him in a cell similar to Barry’s would make sense in order to keep the Earth 2 Flash from escaping.
When he was locked up with Barry and Jessie, he spelled out the word “Jay” to them. While Barry thought that he was asking about Jay, he could have been signaling that he was actually Jay. This would explain his looking upset when Barry began telling him about Jay being on Earth 1. If the real Garrick is locked up in Zoom’s lair, he may still have his speed and still be able to help Barry take Zoom down. If Teddy Sears is also the man in the mask, he could be the face of the first and second big reveal of the season.
Zoom is Earth 3 Hunter Zolomon
Who said that there are only 2 Earths? The events of the first season finale opened 52 separate portals to Earth 2. It is hard to believe that only one parallel Earth in the vast multiverse was affected. Just because he did not use the same means Barry used to travel through realities, it does not mean that he cannot be from a yet-to-be-seen Earth 3 (or 4, 5, 6…).
Zoom being from yet another Earth would explain why there would be multiple versions of Teddy Sears running (pun intended) around. If the Earth 1 version is an unpowered guy who sits at the park, and the Earth 2 version was really the man posing as Jay, Zoom could be Hunter from one of several further universes that have yet to be explored. This is a great theory because if there are more universes out there to be explored, Killer Frost, Reverb, and Firestorm/Deathstorm could still exist on alternate Earths.
The Man the Mask is Earth 2 Eobard Thawne
If Zoom is collecting speedsters in order to steal their abilities, who better to start with than the man from the future who created The Flash? Because Earth 2 has many alternate doppelgangers, Eobard may actually be a heroic Flash from the future. Having gone to the past to take on Zoom, he could have been captured and held until his powers could be drained into the demonic speedster.
The Man in the Mask is Earth 1 Eddie Thawne
When Eddie killed himself in the season finale, it was a shocking and tragic moment that illustrated how heroic and selfless the character was.
While the STAR Labs team was fleeing the growing black hole, Eddie’s body wass clearly seen being pulled into it (in a similar fashion that Jay was pulled in). Perhaps Eddie’s body landed on Earth 2 where he was brought back to life through medicine or through Zoom’s powers. What purpose he would serve is still a mystery, but having the once-dead ancestor of the Reverse Flash alive on Earth 2 would definitely be a mind-blowing reveal for Flash fans everywhere.
We have 4 weeks to wait until we can get some answers from Greg Berlanti and friends. Until then, we are left to wonder which Zolomon Zoom is, who is wearing the mask, and how many paychecks Teddy Sears is collecting for all of his characters.