Let’s Talk About Zoom’s Identity on ‘The Flash’
Obviously, spoilers for “King Shark” from The Flash are discussed below.
In an unexpected move, the CW’s wildly great The Flash unveiled the identity of Zoom in “King Shark,” just a week after the game-changing “Escape from Earth-2.” As many fans predicted, Zoom is Jay Garrick — or some form of him. But as Entertainment Weekly confirms in an interview with executive producer Andrew Kreisberg, Zoom is actually Hunter Zolomon, the Earth-1 doppelgänger of Jay Garrick. Is this the right move for The Flash?
As much as I hated the Hunter Zolomon theory — honestly, yeah. It was absolutely brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN-Ru9d4vxQ
I admit, I’m kind of furious The Flash, which I strongly believe is one of the best shows across all of TV and we should be so lucky to witness, went with one of the popular theories that I flat out wrote off. I thought there’d be no way the writers would let Hunter Zolomon, an unassuming man whose only relation to the characters is that he is Garrick’s Earth-1 version, be Zoom. And yet, they made him Zoom.
Yes, I do know Hunter Zolomon is one of the Reverse-Flashes in the comics, so he would obviously be Zoom. But The Flash and any TV or movie adaptation aren’t beholden to comic book mythology on a leash. The unassuming method in which Zolomon was introduced was very unconventional, and to make him the season’s major villain would have been a huge misstep if The Flash writers weren’t careful. (Thankfully, they were.)
“Zoom … is Hunter Zolomon, a.k.a Jay Garrick,” Kreisberg told EW. The logistics of how that guy sitting in the bench in that one episode earlier this season is actually the evil Zoom, who’s stalked Barry and S.T.A.R. Labs all season long, will continue to befuddle until the show gives us answers in due time. “How all of that plays out and what’s actually happening, we’ll leave for after the break,” Kreisberg said, presumably laughing while stroking a cat because everyone in this show is CRUEL and EVIL.
But while I’m kicking myself for missing the mark, I thought I would hate The Flash for choosing what I thought would be the worst option. But now that I’m thinking about it, it’s damn ingenious. Yeah, why not let the unassuming guy in the park be the ultimate, strongest villain on The Flash? If Zolomon “bumped” into Caitlyn or Cisco or anybody and had him speak even one line of dialogue, all bets would have been off that he’s Zoom. Nothing would be worth speculating or engaging. The The Flash subreddit wouldn’t have been so #lit with theories, speculation, or just plain fun and instead everyone would hate each other like they do on the Arrow subreddit.
I applaud The Flash for creating a worthy mystery whose answer only brings up more, exciting questions. Who is the man in the iron mask? (My answer, probably the real Jay Garrick.) How did Zoom/Hunter hide his Speed Force? (My answer, the Velocity-9 masked his speed to resemble Flash’s — it’d be hard if you’re a speedster and you’re burning blue lightning and not yellow.) Whose body was the one Zoom/Hunter Zolomon killed? (My answer… I have none. I can’t think of anything.)
I’m impressed that The Flash took one of the worst theories I ever saw, went with it, and still managed to convince me it’s great storytelling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. And I’ve definitely never seen anything quite like The Flash.
