Hunter Zolomon (died May 23, 2017[1]) was a meta-human speedster from Earth-2. Years after witnessing his father murder his mother when he was a child, Hunter became a serial killer. Following S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator explosion, Hunter was affected during electroshock therapy by the dark matter emitted, giving him superhuman speed and various other abilities derived from it. Following this, he escaped and began acting as the supervillain known as Zoom, stylized as the Speed Demon. Later, using Velocity serums, Hunter managed to artificially increase his speed to the point where he could break the dimensional barrier. Having gotten tired of being the villain, Hunter decided to become the "hero" as Jay Garrick/the Flash, stylized as the Crimson Comet, borrowing the name from the speedster he found on another Earth and kept as prisoner. He created the charade in order to instill false hope-hope that would be ripped away.
Discovering the existence of Barry Allen/The Flash on Earth-1, Hunter traveled to the other Earth and acted as a friend and mentor, apparently training to fight Zoom, but actually planning to increase Barry's speed to eventually take it for himself. During that time, he and Caitlin Snow formed a romantic relationship. Hunter eventually killed a time remnant of himself to give Barry a reason to avenge his time remnant and increase speed even further, only for his true identity to be discovered by Team Flash soon after. Shortly after, intending to break Barry emotionally, he murders Henry Allen, thus being indirectly responsible for Barry's timeline changes. After losing a race to Barry and attempting to destroy the multiverse, Time Wraiths appeared and imprisoned Hunter in the Speed Force, while reducing him to a decayed spectre-like form known as the Black Flash, similar to that of Time Wraiths.
He returned a short time later as a mindless being bound to the Speed Force's will for all eternity, while hunting down a time remnant of Eobard Thawne who existed as a paradox. After the Legion of Doom assembled the Spear of Destiny and changed reality, Zolomon was held captive by Eobard. After the timeline was restored, Zolomon chased down a future version of Eobard who had traveled to 1916 to ensure the Legends wouldn't stop him from altering reality with the Spear of Destiny, and killed Eobard as well as erasing all of Eobard's time remnants. He was later sent after Savitar and tried to kill the time remnant, only to be frozen and shattered by Killer Frost.
Years later, Zolomon, Godspeed, the Reverse-Flash, and Savitar were plucked from their timelines by Eddie Thawne to kill the Flash. Using the Negative Speed Force, Zoom fought against Mark Blaine and Khione who were able to defeat him before Zolomon was returned to his proper place in the timeline when Eddie absorbed his power.
Hunter Zolomon, recognized as the third Reverse-Flash and Zoom in the Flash comics, is the nemesis of Wally West, the third Flash. His primary power is time manipulation, enabling him to alter time around him and appear faster. He once stole the identity of speedster Jay Garrick and has led a meta-human group while secretly being part of Team Flash.
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What is the backstory of Zoom, the meta-human speedster from Earth-2?
Hunter Zolomon, known as Zoom, is a malevolent speedster from Earth-2. He launched an assault on Earth-1's Central City with the intention of stealing the Flash's speed. He deployed various meta-humans to eliminate the Flash, but all were unsuccessful. Obsessed with being the sole speedster in the multiverse, Zoom was ultimately defeated by Barry Allen, Earth-1's Flash.
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How did Hunter Zolomon become Zoom?
Hunter Zolomon, originally a serial killer on Earth-2, gained Speed Force connection following a particle accelerator explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. He transformed into the speed demon known as Zoom, misusing the Speed Force for personal gain and causing timeline chaos. He further impersonated Jay Garrick, a speedster from Earth-3, creating a facade of heroism.
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What is the relationship between Jay Garrick and Zoom?
Hunter Zolomon, known as Zoom, impersonated Jay Garrick, causing mistrust due to past experiences with Eobard Thawne. The true Jay Garrick was Zolomon's prisoner. As Zoom, Zolomon aimed to be the sole speedster in the multiverse, sending Earth-2 meta-humans to kill Barry. Despite initial doubts, the team accepted Zolomon when he aided in defeating Sand Demon, and he became Barry's mentor.
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How did Hunter Zolomon die in the Flash comics?
In the Flash comics, Hunter Zolomon, known as Zoom, transforms into the Black Flash, an undead Speed Force enforcer. This change occurs after a dark matter surge during an electroshock therapy session in a mental asylum, granting him super speed. His final task is to pull Savitar into the Speed Force prison.
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Biography
Original multiverse
Early life
Hunter watches his father brutally gun down his mother in coldblood.
Hunter Zolomon was born to James Zolomon and Ashley Zolomon in Central City. At some point, he apparently visited the city of Atlantis and admired it as a place one wouldn't ever want to leave.[2] One night, at the young and vulnerable age of 11 years old, Hunter came downstairs to find his father abusing his mother, demanding respect following service in the War of the Americas. Noticing Hunter, Ashley pleaded for him to run but James took him in front of Ashley, giving the silver helmet to Hunter and is forced to suffer the trauma of watching his father gun down his mother in cold blood. Shortly after, James was sent to prison, causing Hunter to be placed at an orphanage as none of his relatives wanted to take him in. This horrifyingly traumatic and unspeakably heinous act of family cruelty shattered the boy’s psyche and turning him into a mentally unstable and violent person.[3] The loneliness and solitude he endured after being orphaned adds further insult to injury and causes him feel very lonely and develops abandonment issues.[4]
Serial murders and obtaining super speed
Hunter's last public photo as a serial killer.
Hunter developed a bloodlust, having been triggered by witnessing Ashley's murder, and was a serial killer whose crime spree drew significant media attention due to serial killers being anomalies. When he was finally arrested, Hunter was convicted on 23 counts of murder and sent to the Saint Perez Mental Asylum for the Criminally Insane and given daily electroshock therapy to "cure his urges". Hunter would frequently lash out whenever his doctors attempted this, repeatedly screaming "I'm not a monster!". Harry Wells's particle accelerator exploded underground waves of dark matter were sent through the city when Hunter was affected during electroshock therapy, giving him the power of super speed. Still plagued by an incurable bloodlust, he decided to use his powers to terrorize Central City. He soon created a suit designed to suit the needs of a speedster and a mask that resembled the same one he was forced to wear during electroshock therapy.[3][4]
Hunter obtaining super speed.
As one of his first acts of violence, he lured 15 members of the Central City Police Department into a trap to demonstrate his power and how he couldn't be stopped. Hunter viciously murdered all except one officer so that the survivor could live and tell the tale. After that officer relayed the story, he returned to the man's home that night to be killed as well. The story given by the last surviving officer resulted in Hunter gaining the moniker “Zoom”.[5] To maintain control over Central City, Zoom sought out almost every meta-human in Central City and forced to serve him, and killed the ones who refused to keep the criminal gangs in line.[6]
Zolomon's creation of the Velocity serums resulted in a deadly illness.
Dissatisfied with the speed he already had but too impatient/emotionally damaged to increase it naturally, Hunter developed the original Velocity serums to drastically increase his speedster abilities and got fast enough to travel throughout the multiverse and began moving around other Earths, but the realization that he wasn’t the only speedster caused Hunter to develop a pathological obsession with being the only speedster in existence. Hunter also discovered the Velocity drug had turned his lightning blue, but also had deadly side-effects which afflicted him with an illness that was killing him.[3]
Hunter captured and impersonated The Flash of Earth-3.
Desperate to save himself, Hunter set out to find a cure regardless of how many people had to die. Hunter quickly devised the method of stealing another speedster’s powers to flush the Velocity drug out of his system, thereby healing his damaged cells. His first action involving this method was to create time remnants of himself yet this action caused him to be tracked by the Time Wraiths, monstrous beings devoted to punishing speedsters for power misusage. At some point, Hunter traveled to another universe and encountered Jay Garrick. He captured Jay, but wasn't able to siphon Jay's Speed Force connection so he imprisoned Jay as a trophy instead, forcing Jay to wear a mask that prevented speed usage and talking.[7]
Hunter fighting crime as the Flash.
While he gradually got tired of only being the villain, Hunter was inspired to present himself in a more heroic light under the identity of "Jay Garrick" and imitated his prisoner’s personality and suit as "The Flash" be public to inspire trust as a façade that was merely a twisted ruse to inspire false hope within the people of Central City that Zoom could rip away from the people. As both Zoom and the Flash, Hunter protected Central City from numerous metahuman criminals which also were his own enforcers who were never aware as nobody realized his deception.[3] He also had a statue built in his honor for his service as the Flash. Zoom forbade his enforcers to fatally harm speedsters, a rule which resulted in death if violated.[6] His stolen identity could also be where Hunter presumably displayed his scientific altitude with a significant solo operation specializing in chemistry and physics and began working on a way to purify heavy water without residual radiation.[8] At some point, Laurel Lance/Black Siren earned enough respect from Hunter that he was willing to converse while unmasked, making Laurel aware of his identity as Zoom and deception as the Flash.[9]
The Flash publicly chastising Harry.
Hunter eventually learned that Harry was responsible for the existence of all meta-humans and began plotting to use the scientist to develop a cure by kidnapping Jesse Wells to enforce cooperation. To turn public opinion against Harry and misdirect from any future actions as Zoom, the Flash arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs when Harry presented several new gadgets designed to detect meta-humans. The Flash directly accused Harry of being behind meta-humans in front of the public by revealing the first metahuman was seen 11 hours after the particle accelerator's activation. However, Harry claimed not to know of the Flash's accusations, and the Flash was seemingly disgusted with Harry not taking responsibility for these mistakes, begging to make things right and "help stop Zoom". However, Harry coldly told him everyone in Central City would be safe if he would stop Zoom to which The Flash sped off in seeming disgust.[2] The next day, Zoom attacked Central City College to kidnap and imprison Jesse in his lair alongside his identity theft victim. Moments after the kidnapping occurred, the Flash quickly returned to cover up for his "absence". As intended, Harry was determined to stop Zoom and rescue Jesse, even working with the Flash despite dislike towards him which allowed the Flash to keep tabs. As Zoom, Hunter intentionally didn’t approach Harry with his proposition for some time to increase Harry’s desperation to save Jesse by any means necessary, thereby making Harry easier to manipulate.[10]
The Flash's "final encounter" with Zoom.
Hunter’s plans took an unexpected turn on May 19, 2015 when the Singularity opened above Central City and Hunter saw The Flash running within and eventually closing it, but the singularity had the side-effect of opening 52 dimensional breaches between Earth-2 and Earth-1. Additionally, Hunter's helmet was pulled into the singularity during the chaos and he believed it lost to him. Seeing his chance to succeed where he failed with his identity theft victim, Hunter travelled to an alternate universe to find this speedster to cure himself.[7]
Infiltrating Earth-1
A part of Team Flash
Zoom speaking to Atom-Smasher.
Hunter would spend the next six months searching on Earth-1, leaving his enforcers to continue his reign of terror in his absence. Hunter would periodically send time remnants to Earth-2 as Zoom to maintain appearances and ensure nobody realized his absence, and ensuring neither of his hostages escaped or learned anything compromising to his operation. But he never returned to operating as the Flash, leaving the citizens of Earth-2 to believe his heroic persona had died. After six months piecing together clues, Hunter eventually learned his target's identity Barry Allen and other details. Barry's pure Speed Force energy held the answer to curing himself which Hunter plotted to steal. To expedite Barry's accumulation of the Speed Force, Zoom began sending meta-human villains from Earth-2 to Earth-1 to fight the Flash, ensuring co-operation by refusing to bring his subordinates back to Earth-2 until succeeding in killing the Flash, though in reality he had no intention of allowing his nemesis to die except by his hand. The first meta-human was Al Rothstein/Atom-Smasher who Zoom dragged to Earth-1 via one of the 52 breaches across Central City on Earth-1, and promised safe passage home in exchange for killing the Flash.[11] Hunter also learned of Team Flash's then-current team members Dr. Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West, Iris West, and Dr. Martin Stein.[8] As Hunter watched the Flash being honored at the "Flash Day" festival, he witnessed Atom-Smasher attack the Flash. Following Atom-Smasher's defeat, Hunter arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs, bypassed the place's newly installed security, introduced himself, and claimed that Earth-1 was in danger.[11]
Hunter introduced himself under his stolen identity and explained to the skeptical team that the singularity had, in fact, opened a portal to Earth-2 through which other meta-humans had traveled, and that he was the Flash of Earth-2. Hunter also told of his "enemy" Zoom and the circumstances of his arrival, but Barry skeptically asked Hunter to be tested to see if he really was a speedster which Hunter accepted. Around the same time, a time remnant as Zoom brought Eddie Slick/Sand Demon over from Earth-2 to Earth-1 with the same offer he made Atom-Smasher, to kill the Flash in order to return home which Sand Demon agreed. Hunter explained his story of being a scientist to Caitlin while being tested, but Barry was still skeptical and had Hunter put in the pipeline prison. Hunter agreed to this, but tried to convince Barry that Zoom had already sent Atom-Smasher so he would send others. Hunter also subjected himself to a full body scan upon Caitlin's request, and was tested on the treadmill. But once Sand Demon attacked Barry, Hunter offered his help to the team. Barry declined, believing the team didn't need his help, and Hunter was locked back up in the pipeline.
After Sand Demon abducted Patty Spivot, Barry was finally forced to listen to Hunter and release him, and he told Sand Demon's methods of attack of causing a diversion then attacking while the target is distracted. Hunter also believed Barry could defeat Sand Demon by harnessing the lightning that radiated from within while running, and hurling the lightning at Sand Demon to turn into glass. Hunter begun teaching Barry. However, Barry had no luck in hitting the target after an hour and believed it couldn't be done, though Hunter insisted that it could. Hunter was of how Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash posed as Barry's idol and taught how to get faster and stronger. Hunter expressed his sympathies and insisted he wasn't like Thawne, but was secretly fascinated by the similarities between their backgrounds. Cisco and Professor Stein informed Hunter and Barry of Sand Demon's location and Barry suggested using Hunter as a distraction since Sand Demon was unaware of his lack of speed. Hunter was asked if he had his suit and he confirmed, but was missing his helmet which Barry confirmed was the same one that came through the portal six months before. Hunter is finally believed, so he and Barry suited up and headed to Sand Demon's location.
The Flash of Earth-1 sped the Flash of Earth-2 into the greenhouse where Sand Demon was surprised to see the Flash of Earth-2 alive and engaged him, despite lacking his speed, and the Flash of Earth-2 distracted Sand Demon in order for the Flash of Earth-1 to rescue Patty. Sand Demon started choking the Flash of Earth-2, while the Flash of Earth-1 used super speed to generate the lightning from within to hurl the lightning to turn Sand Demon into glass and kill as recently taught. Both versions of the Flash came to Patty's aid. Hunter was tended to by Caitlin and confessed to missing his speed. Barry thanked Hunter for his help and apologized for the lack of trust. Hunter equally commended Barry for the efforts in taking down Sand Demon, but worried that Zoom would not be so easily defeated as he claimed to have spent two years searching for Zoom, with no success and explained that his hate for Barry comes from his obsession with wanting to be the only speedster in the multiverse. Professor Stein was able to confirm the location of the largest breach from the singularity beneath S.T.A.R. Labs, but Stein collapsed and Hunter tended to Stein.[8]
After admitting Stein to the hospital, Hunter studied the breach in S.T.A.R. Labs, but was unable to successfully pass anything into it as anything that touched it bounced back off instead, even Barry at high speed wasn't able to breach the portal. As he continued his work, Hunter confided in Caitlin his worry of what he'd do once he returned home without his speed, admitting to having enjoyed the rush of speed, but Caitlin insisted that Hunter's scientific expertise were just as important as his speed. Later after finally fixing the portal's alignment, Hunter decided it was time to head home to learn what Zoom was plotting and how he stole his speed, but Caitlin insisted Hunter could look for Zoom on Earth-1, and Barry further noted he could help with more speed tips. After consideration, Hunter agreed to stay until Zoom was defeated.[12] After Slick's demise, Zoom sent in King Shark from Earth-2 to kill the Flash.[13]
Zoom next sent Dr. Light to go after the Flash. Hunter was informed of Harry at S.T.A.R. Labs and Hunter arrived in time to hear a plan to capture Dr. Light and to use to lure Zoom to Earth-1. Hunter immediately scolded Harry for this plan. Harry was surprised to see Hunter alive, mockingly accused him of hiding from Zoom. Hunter told the circumstances of his arrival yet Harry wasn't entirely convinced, causing the two to argue. Barry eventually intervened, stating they needed to focus on catching Dr. Light in order for Harry's plan to work. After the Flash was blinded by Dr. Light's powers and Harry scolded the Flash for trying to talk rather than fight, Hunter defended the action and the Flash elaborated that Dr. Light is Linda Park's doppelgänger. The Flash tried to leave to warn Linda out of concern about Dr. Light, but repeatedly walked right into walls as Hunter told the Flash to stay put until the speedster's sight returned and he and Caitlin left to warn Linda.
Hunter and Caitlin nearly sharing a kiss.
Hunter and Caitlin staked out in a van and discussed his "history" with Zoom where he claimed that Zoom scared him, "admitting" to not facing Zoom sometimes when he should have. Despite Caitlin insisting he and Harry should talk, Hunter claimed Harry couldn't be trusted as Harry happily profited from meta-human activities, but knew something had changed. As Hunter and Caitlin continued to talk, the two almost shared a kiss before Dr. Light wrecked the van the two were in, knocking Hunter and Caitlin out. Hunter regained consciousness and arrived too late to save Linda's boss, but the very sight of Hunter made Dr. Light too scared to murder Linda and fled.
Hunter punching Harry.
As Caitlin tended to him, Hunter apologized to Barry for underestimating Dr. Light to which Harry only further scolded Hunter, claiming that his doubt puts Barry at doubt and that Barry is ready to face Zoom and furthermore claimed Hunter didn't hunt Zoom and was the one to be hunted instead. Hunter "admitted" to being terrified of Zoom yet stood his ground that Barry facing Zoom now would only result in death. Hunter was called a coward by Harry, and the two got into a heated fight which was only broken up by Barry. Hunter was present when Harry announced a plan to find Dr. Light was to give Dr. Light's helmet to Cisco, revealing Cisco was secretly a meta-human. After some effort, Cisco's powers of astral projection finds Dr. Light at the train station. At the station, the Flash asked Hunter for advice who was unsure of how to beat Dr. Light until Harry told the Flash how to create speed mirages. The Flash initially was unsuccessful, however, Hunter insisted Barry could do it by stating Barry was a better speedster and hero than he ever was. Hunter's inspiration helped the Flash use speed mirages to beat Dr. Light.
Hunter temporarily leaving Team Flash.
With Dr. Light secured in the pipeline, Barry decided to go through with Harry's plan, however, Hunter protested against and declaring it too dangerous. When Barry declared faith in the team to gain victory, Hunter announced that he wanted no part in that and stated that he didn't want to help Barry meet death. But before leaving, he warned Team Flash that Harry was just as secretive as Thawne. Caitlin begged Hunter not to leave and while genuinely remorseful still proceed and apologized to Caitlin for his decision. However, Hunter's true reason for leaving was to continue warring against his nemesis without using time remnants to maintain appearances thereby risking the Time Wraiths pursuing him.
Returning to his lair on Earth-2, Zoom taunted Jesse of Harry's disappearance, claiming Harry left Jesse behind. Jesse didn't believe him and declared Harry would return and kill him. Zoom simply mocked Jesse's convictions and reminded that the fates of Jesse and Harry were still undecided before speeding off. To misdirect Cisco due to having the same dimensional awareness powers as Reverb, Zoom later returned to his lair and claimed to have "learned" Harry went to Earth-2 and interrogated Jesse to find out why, but Jesse insisted of not knowing. Zoom commended Jesse's loyalty before torturing.[2]
Team Flash later proceeded with the plan to lure Zoom into a trap by having Linda (posing as Dr. Light) throw the Flash's emblem through the breach as proof. Zoom, having already known of this plan, didn't fall for the deception and instead choose to bide his time. Zoom wasn't falling for the deception to which Team Flash abandoned the plan. But once Team Flash's guards were down, Zoom really did come through to Earth-1 right in front of Linda who was terrified as he simply stared at Linda before he took Linda to S.T.A.R. Labs' roof, where he was confronted by the Flash.
Zoom fighting The Flash of Earth-1.
Sadistically mocking the Flash's failed attempt to deceive him, Zoom dropped Linda off the edge of the roof, but the Flash raced to the bottom followed close behind by Zoom and caught Linda with a wind-funnel before turning to face Zoom head-on. The Flash then turned and raced around S.T.A.R. Labs in order to build up for speed-lightning before firing a bolt at Zoom who (to the Flash's horror) jumped into the air, grabbed the lightning bolt in a somersault to which he hurled right back at the Flash with even greater force, scoring a direct hit. Desperate to regain control of the fight, the Flash attempted to outmaneuver Zoom by forcing him into a free fall from a high altitude where Zoom's superior speed was neutralized, but Zoom simply reversed the move and instead landed on top of the Flash after dropping to the ground with him.
Zoom breaking The Flash's back.
Zoom then proceeded to brutally and savagely pulverize the Flash at high speed before finishing with a devastating blow to the Flash's back, dislocating a portion of the spinal-column and temporarily paralyzing his nemesis. As Zoom stood triumphant over the Flash, Harry attempted to shoot Zoom with a dart filled with the speed-dampening serum to which Zoom managed to catch. Zoom told Harry to never forget that he is the fastest man alive and jammed the darts into the Flash's chest. This, combined with the severe trauma and paralysis, caused the Flash to lose consciousness. Zoom then turned his head and said to Harry that he was next before speeding off with the Flash's body.
Zoom holding Barry's throat.
Zoom dragged his nemesis's limp, battered and bleeding body across Central City's newspaper office and police station to showcase his victory and declaring that the days of the Flash protecting Central City were over. He then returned to S.T.A.R. Labs with Barry to confront the team. Derisively mocking Harry for believing Barry stood a chance of defeating him, Zoom stabbed Barry with one of his claws before bidding farewell and taunting that he too wasn't fast enough. Drunk with victory and in the midst of gloating, Zoom was distracted long enough for Cisco to shoot him in the neck with a speed-dampening dart. Bellowing in agony, Zoom temporarily collapsed on the floor before recovering in mere seconds and raced away.[10] Barry's defeat at Zoom's hands caused his nemesis to go into rehab until fully healed. Barry also suffered doubt of being the hero Central City requires after Zoom showed his superiority throughout the city.[14]
Getting close with Caitlin Snow
Hunter after reluctantly saving Harry's life.
After Caitlin and Harry successfully developed Velocity 6 like Hunter once did, Hunter was called to S.T.A.R. Labs and the two explained wishing to test the drug on him, as a subject who had been connected to the Speed Force. Hunter was concerned of intending to use Velocity 6 on Barry would potentially give him the same illness Hunter was now afflicted by, thus ruining his plans. Hunter sternly refused, saying that the Speed Force could not be lab-made and Velocity 6's effects could not be predicted, and warned Caitlin not to let Barry use the serum. After Harry is shot by Patty, Hunter is called by Caitlin and he reluctantly took Velocity 6 to phase through Harry's chest and remove the bullet. Harry thanked Hunter to which Hunter, other than saying he would never take the drug again, retorted that Harry could thank him by keeping Velocity 6 away from Barry.[15]
Zoom making an offer to Harry.
Unbeknownst to Team Flash, Hunter returned as Zoom in December shortly before Christmas, and offered Harry a mysterious deal in exchange for Harry's assistance, to which Harry did not respond. Zoom sadistically pursued Harry throughout S.T.A.R. Labs' facility for amusement before cornering and disarming Harry. Holding Harry by the throat, Zoom's only words were "Merry Christmas" before racing away. Hunter and Caitlin then worked on a way to close the other 51 breaches outside of S.T.A.R. Labs' breach, therefore limiting the number of meta-humans Zoom could bring through. As they talked, Hunter and Caitlin playfully flirted with each other. Hunter sarcastically asking what Christmas of Earth-1 was with Caitlin giving a very awkward and broad explanation only for Hunter to admit there was Christmas on Earth-2.
Hunter and Caitlin spending Christmas together.
When Captain Cold, Weather Wizard and the Trickster escaped prison, Hunter helped Caitlin develop another version of Cisco's undeveloped Wizard's Wand (which was built in an alternate timeline that was erased and thus never existed). When the Trickster made a citywide broadcast to challenge the Flash, Hunter noticed a reflection in the Trickster's eye, and noted it was a stuffed children's toy and narrowed down that the Trickster was in an abandoned toy factory. Shortly thereafter, Zoom confronted Harry for a second time to demand an answer, but Harry begged for more time which Zoom reluctantly granted and returned to Earth-2. During Barry's second attempt to get the Trickster and Weather Wizard, Hunter helped Harry and Cisco remove all the bombs hidden within children's presents across the city, using one of the breaches which pulled all in. Hunter later attended Joe and Iris's Christmas party with everyone else at the West house where he and Caitlin kissed under mistletoe.
Zoom bringing Jesse to extort Harry.
In the wake of the Flash's victory over Weather Wizard and the Trickster, Zoom met with Harry. When Harry demanded to see Jesse alive and well before anything else, Zoom consented and brought Jesse over, allowing Harry to see and talk briefly before super speeding Jesse away again. Zoom's master plan to fatten up his nemesis's natural Speed Force connection so that Zoom could take was figured by Harry. Zoom confirmed it and asked for Harry's answer. Harry reluctantly agreed to help Zoom steal Barry's speed in exchange for Jesse.[16]
Hunter and Caitlin drink together.
Hunter was present when Cisco briefed the team on Russell Glosson who gets dubbed the Turtle. Hunter was intrigued by the possibility of using the Turtle's powers to slow down Zoom. When the Flash failed in preventing the Turtle's initial theft, Hunter seemed lost in thought. When asked by Caitlin, he answered he was thinking on how hard it was to assist to these things without remembering how he could no longer help others. Caitlin told him they could devise some way to get his speed back, but he said that when he arrived on Earth-1. The first thing he tried was exactly that, and whatever tests Caitlin had in mind, he had already done. When the team figured out that the Turtle's next target would be an event that night at the museum, Hunter and Caitlin went but the Turtle was able to foil the Flash yet again.
Hunter admitting to dying to Caitlin.
After the team reconvened at S.T.A.R. Labs, Hunter asked if he could speak to Caitlin for a second, and shared some champagne (as he hadn't had Caitlin's at the event). After the Flash managed to defeat and lock up the Turtle in the pipeline, Caitlin reached Hunter and informed him of knowing - Caitlin had collected his DNA from the champagne and had realized he was sick with a terminal illness. Caitlin asked Hunter how he could let everyone get close as he knew that soon he would die, and he answered that he didn't expect to fall in love. Caitlin asked him to find a cure then, but Hunter said that the only way for him to live was to regain his speed and for that they would need to defeat Zoom. Caitlin then said that the two should get started.[5]
Hunter and Team Flash discover Glosson's dead body.
The next day, Hunter and Caitlin both found that Glosson was dead in the cell. Hunter was suspicious about Harry since Glosson had died the same night of being brought in. Harry asked why kill Glosson's potential to stop Zoom, and Hunter retorted he could never figure out Harry's motives. Barry stopped the two's argument, although to Caitlin, Hunter commented that every time he thought Harry was on their side, something happened to make him doubt that. Hunter listened to the recounting of Caitlin's father's fight against a terminal sickness to explain this obsession with helping him. Hunter claimed there was an explanation and they agreed to meet at Hofherr Park.
The next day, Hunter told Caitlin he supposedly had the same thought in curing himself. However, he couldn't as he pointed out his doppelgänger who he claimed was orphaned and was adopted by explaining why the two don't have the same names. When Caitlin asked why his doppelgänger couldn't help out, Hunter said that his DNA had been mutated as a speedster, and that the final conclusion was that the only thing that could reverse his sickness was defeating Zoom and having his speed restored.[17] In reality, Hunter showed his Earth-1 doppelgänger to Caitlin to stop any efforts to save him and potentially expositing his identity.[3]
After Harry managed to siphon off roughly 2% of the Flash's overall speed supply which was stored in a S.T.A.R. Labs injection gun, Zoom met secretly with Harry who handed over the stolen energy, which Zoom then injected into himself. Harry attempted to swindle Zoom by demanding Jesse's return before giving Zoom the rest of his nemesis's speed, but Zoom was not fooled as he rammed a claw into Harry's shoulder and reiterated that Harry wouldn't get Jesse back until Harry had stolen and delivered the rest of his nemesis's speed to him, threatening to torture Jesse to the brink of death every day that passed instead of killing. Leaving Harry on the ground, Zoom raced away and returned to Earth-2.[18]
Crisis of two Earths
The Flash fighting Geomancer.
After Zoom's unwilling service by Harry was exposed, the Flash successfully closed 51 of the breaches, leaving only the active breach in S.T.A.R. Labs. Unable to stop Barry and Cisco deciding to travel to Earth-2 with Harry to rescue Jesse without compromising his plans, Hunter helped the trio travel to Earth-2 though the power surge temporality disrupted the machine forcing the team to fix it.
After the meta human Geomancer began attacking the city, Hunter listened to Joe and Caitlin believe it's time for him to take Velocity 6 again. Hunter, fearing the drug for what it's done to him, initially refuses. But after telling Caitlin about Zoom not really taking his speed and rather the drug being the culprit, he's encouraged by Caitlin's loving support and together they formulated Velocity 7, which restored Hunter's speed temporarily. The Flash then confronted Geomancer and initially gained the upper hand until his speed disappeared in the middle of the fight, leaving the Flash at Geomancer's mercy until Joe shot at Geomancer who was injured and forced to flee. While Caitlin tends to his wounds, the two discuss Velocity 7's short-lived success and plan to work immediately on Velocity 8.
Zoom was later contacted by Reverb and informed of Barry's presence on Earth-2. Hunter then secretly created a time remnant who he convinced to be killed as part of his plan to push his nemesis to get faster, realizing that he couldn't maintain his identities on two Earths at the same time anymore. This time remnant was sent to Earth-2 while Hunter remained on Earth-1 to assist Caitlin.[3][19] On Earth-2, Zoom set up an ambush by using Killer Frost, Deathstorm and Reverb as an enticement/bait for his nemesis. When he finally arrived to enact the ambush, Zoom was enraged to find Reverb and Deathstorm pummeling the Flash repeatedly against his direct orders that any speedster found were not to be harmed. Zoom brutally murdered both Deathstorm and Reverb as punishment, but spared Killer Frost's life because Killer Frost in fact had obeyed his commands. Zoom then scooped up his nemesis's unconscious body, raced back to his lair and sealed in a glass prison nearby Jesse. When Barry finally regained consciousness, Zoom returned to his lair just as Barry promised Jesse that the former would get the latter out. However, Zoom sadistically reminded Barry not to make promises Barry couldn't keep.[6]
The Flash saving people from Geomancer.
On Earth-1, Hunter later learned that Velocity 7 caused more cellular degeneration, though Hunter told Caitlin he had faith the next batch won't do harm and Caitlin eventually developed Velocity 9. Hunter was later asked by Iris for an article on the Flash. Hunter was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed. When Geomancer caused tremors and collapsed a hospital, Hunter took Velocity 9. The Flash rescued the people at the hospital. When he returned, The Flash sloppily returned to S.T.A.R. Labs to see Caitlin while Iris told him of having everything needed for an article. Hunter then took a "nap" to recover. In reality, he returned to Earth-2 and switched places with his time remnant who returned to Earth-1 to maintain appearances. Zoom returned to his lair and discovered the man in the iron mask attempting to inform Barry and Jesse of his deception and angrily demanded to stop making contact. Zoom then phased through Barry's cell and beat his nemesis down, presumably in rage for worsening his condition with the Velocity serum before leaving.
Zoom confronting Team Flash.
Hunter's time remnant returned to Earth-1 after Geomancer attacked S.T.A.R. Labs and learned from Caitlin that Velocity 9 was actually improving his cells albeit temporarily, though Caitlin believed the serum could be used as the basis for a permanent cure. Hunter was speechless at Caitlin's achievement and Caitlin simply kissed him though the two were interrupted by the Speed Cannon's malfunction, potentially leaving Barry, Cisco and Harry trapped on Earth-2. But Hunter, working with Joe, stabilized the Speed Cannon restoring the breach. Zoom arrived on Earth-2 when Harry, Cisco, Killer Frost, Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen rescued his nemesis and Jesse, but not the man in the iron mask. Zoom thanked Killer Frost for leading everyone to him then went to kill Jesse, but Killer Frost took revenge on him for Deathstorm's demise which only briefly subdued him.
Hunter killing his time remnant.
Zoom made it to S.T.A.R. Labs before Barry could bring Harry over. Zoom was temporarily stunned by Harry, but Zoom made it through the breach while Hunter closed the breach on Earth-1. Hunter intentionally placed himself in front of the breach before it closed for good to which Zoom reached through and killed his time remnant as the breach completely closed, dragging both versions of Hunter through back to Earth-2.[19] Zoom arrived back to Earth-2 and dumped his time remnant's corpse to the ground and unmasked himself, claiming the situation to be a complication while horrifying the man in the iron mask.[20] Now being closed off from Earth-1, Zoom imprisoned Killer Frost rather than kill due to looking exactly like Caitlin who Hunter had genuinely fallen in love with during his masquerade on Earth-1.[21]
Team Flash would mourn his "death" until Cisco started vibing Zoom every time being near his helmet. Cisco later vibed the helmet once again to which Cisco realized, to everyone's horror, that Zoom and the so-called Flash of Earth-2 were the same person.[22] Determined to make Zoom pay for his deception, Barry began to discover new ways to get faster to defeat the evil speedster while Cisco continued to receive "day-mares" of Zoom while near his helmet.[23] For six weeks, Zolomon waited for Cisco to open a breach.
One day, Zolomon felt a breach being opened and raced to where this was occurring then watched as a breach was being opened, but was disappointed when Vibe abruptly stopped. Vibe later opened a breach once again and Zoom made his way over. Zoom told the Flash of making a mistake and the two speedsters raced over to S.T.A.R. Labs. Zoom then noted that the Flash had gotten much faster, which would give him more speed to steal. The Flash and Zoom quickly fought, but Zoom hesitated as the Flash set up cutouts of his father's doppelgänger and mother's doppelgänger. Briefly distracted, Zoom is shot by the Flash with the B.O.O.T. Subdued and unmasked, Zolomon asked how Barry knew of his past. Barry then told him he made a mistake by revealing to Caitlin who his doppelgänger was. When he asked how Barry knew he was Zoom, Barry revealed now being aware that a speedster's lightning will turn blue due to the Velocity serums. Zolomon noted Barry was clever to use his family against him and that family was a weakness. Zolomon then told Barry that he couldn't lock the darkness up before breaking out and speeding off.
Zolomon absorbing Barry's speed.
Following Barry's move, Zoom kidnapped Wally West to his lair on Earth-2. When Zoom was then contacted, Vibe said his nemesis's speed would be exchanged for Wally. Zoom made his way back to Earth-1 with Wally. After he passed Wally over, Zolomon had Harry make preparations to transfer Barry's speed to him, upon which Harry promised to knock his smug face off one day. Zolomon then explained that his time remnant was killed rather than a speed mirage, explaining that he realized he needed to be on both Earth-1 and Earth-2 once his nemesis closed all the breaches. Zolomon also told the group that he grew tired of playing the villain after a while and later enjoyed pretending to be a hero so he could rip hope away from everyone, though Hunter was called a monster by Caitlin which were Ashley's very words to James. Once Barry's speed was absorbed via the treadmill, Zolomon injected the vial with Barry's speed and cured himself. Zolomon victoriously then thanked Barry as he held his nemesis against a wall, ready to give death in return. But just as Hunter was about to deal the killing blow, Caitlin told Zolomon if there was a piece of humanity left in him he wouldn't kill Barry if he really loved Caitlin. Zolomon then dropped Barry before kidnapping Caitlin.[3]
A few moments later, Zoom returned to S.T.A.R Labs to find a version of Barry time-traveled from 2018 and a female speedster. Barry reminded him that he already got what he came for, but Zolomon asked for the female's identity. Suddenly realizing that the female was another speedster, Zolomon saw this as an opportunity to take the female's speed as well. Zoom chased after as the two speedsters tried to run into a portal to go to another time. Zoom entered the portal after the two and continued to pursue, only for a Time Wraith to grab him first instead of Barry and the other speedster. It is unknown what happened to Zoom after this, although it can be inferred that the Time Wraith returned him to his proper place in time and erased his memories to ensure the continuity of the timeline.[24]
Zoom later returned to Earth-2. Zoom had taken Caitlin back to his mountain-top lair and tried to sway Caitlin into siding with him to no avail. Undaunted, Zolomon allowed Caitlin to roam freely in the lair, knowing that Caitlin couldn't escape while he attended to other business. When he finally returned, Zoom found Caitlin under attack from Killer Frost after being tricked into breaking Killer Frost out. Wasting no time, Zoom ran through Caitlin by using his speed to be temporarily intangible, grabbed the icicle fired at Caitlin out of the air to ruthlessly stab Killer Frost in the stomach with, killing his former enforcer while sadistically remarking not needing anymore. Turning to Caitlin, he warned he would kill the man in the iron mask if Caitlin tried to escape again. Zolomon subsequently chained Caitlin to a bed and tried again to reason with, but Caitlin would not listen and only pleading with him to be returned to Earth-1. Zolomon then explained to Caitlin that he used to measure his success by how many people he killed, but would begin to measure his success by how many Earths he conquered instead. Preparing to invade Earth-1, Zolomon sadistically laughed and took his horrified captive to Earth-1, fulfilling Caitlin's wish albeit in a very twisted manner.[21]
Invasion of Earth-1
Zoom arriving at CCPD.
Arriving back on Earth-1, Zoom went to the CCPD, mocking Joe by greeting as an "old friend" and declaring Central City now under his control. When the cops were about to retaliate, Zoom reminded the cops that guns were useless against him. Caitlin managed to convince Zoom not to kill the cops and he agreed, warning the cops would all meet an end of anything was to be tried. Afterwards, he chained Caitlin to a desk within the police department. When Caitlin questioned if his plan was to kill everyone, Zolomon said not everyone as he wants to spare Caitlin due to his love for Caitlin. When asked why he needs Caitlin, Zolomon gets a flashback of Ashley's death and everything that followed and states he needs Caitlin because he doesn't want to be alone ever again.
As part of his plan for invasion, Zoom brought Rupture over to Earth-1, as he managed to convince Rupture that Vibe had killed Reverb. Zoom later met up with Rupture to see if Cisco was killed. Rupture failed and would still want to get justice, but Zoom said to wait for now as he needed Rupture to set an example and ordered Rupture to go to CC Jitters and kill the police. After he left, Zolomon sensed Caitlin's disapproval with his plan and Caitlin then asked if he wore the mask to scare people. This prompted another flashback of his rehabilitation back on Earth-2 and his desperation to convince his doctors that he wasn't a monster. However, it appears he moved past that as he coldly reminded Caitlin in his demonic voice that Caitlin said he was "nothing but a monster" before speeding off. Unknown to Zolomon, Caitlin managed to get a phone and warn Team Flash of what was to come at CC Jitters which resulted in the group setting up trap by using holograms to distract then depower Rupture with the Boot. The victory was short lived as Zolomon saw the news report of Rupture's failure and quickly deduced that Caitlin had betrayed him by revealing his plan. Caitlin reminded him that he didn't keep his promise of sparing lives to which Zoom declared darkly that they were even then and sped off to CC Jitters.
Zoom at Jitters.
Once arriving there, Zoom demonstrated his immense speed by snapping the neck of the camera man and every cop in the vicinity in mere seconds, only sparing Joe and Captain David Singh due to his affection for Caitlin. When Barry came in as he throttled Singh for going against the agreement of not trying anything against him, Zoom was told that he proved enough by Barry. Zoom wasn't done, however. After tossing Singh aside, Zoom fatally stabbed Rupture with his claws and declared Rupture just as worthless as Reverb. Taking a camera, he told everyone watching that there was no hero, just a hologram and that nothing can save anyone now from him taking over the city. Having made his point, he sped off. When Harry tries to recreate Thawne's particle accelerator explosion to restore Barry's connection to the Speed Force, Zolomon watched a bolt of lightning strike S.T.A.R. Labs and grew angry at the possibility his nemesis's abilities would return. He quickly ran off to try to stop this, but arrived to see Barry apparently dead. Zoom mocked Team Flash for seemingly killing his nemesis. Satisfied, Zoom sped off.[4]
While Team Flash was busy with bringing Barry out of the Speed Force and was ultimately successful, Zoom gathered an army of meta-humans from Earth-2 on Earth-1. Tired with Caitlin's anger at him, Zolomon had given Caitlin a choice: stay with him and be safe, or go back to Team Flash, only to be treated with the same "mercy" as the other members should the group meet Zoom again. After delivering his ultimatum, he left Caitlin alone in a room. Zoom delivered a speech before his meta-human "brothers and sisters", urging the group to take Earth-1 from normal humans.[25] Once the city was in the "Metapocalypse", Zoom left a sign for the Flash to find on the CCPD's building of a lightning bolt insignia. After Barry's arrival, Zolomon taunted Barry's naiveté when it came to protecting people; he was exhausted impersonating Jay and insisted that the two speedsters were really the same person, noting their similar dark backgrounds due to the deaths of Nora Allen and Ashley. Barry angrily disagreed with Zolomon's comparison, but Mercury Labs' building started collapsing across the street due to Black Siren. Barry went to save all the people (including Dr. Tina McGee) in the building which proved Zolomon's point. Zolomon was later visited by Black Siren. Zolomon urged Black Siren to knock down more buildings in order to distract Team Flash. After Team Flash turned on a Pulse weapon, Zoom, along with all his minions, felt its harmful effects. However, Zoom quickly makes a portal in order to escape to Earth-2.
Shortly after, Zoom returned to Earth-1 and crashed the West house where he kidnapped Henry Allen, prompting Barry to pursue him across Central City before he took Henry to Barry's childhood home. Zolomon claimed it was "poetic" to have Henry killed in the same place the Reverse-Flash killed Nora, taunting the situation as his nemesis repeatedly begged for Zolomon to let Henry go. Insisting that Henry's death would push Barry to be just like him, Zolomon phased through Henry's chest which stopped Henry's heart and killed Henry as Barry watched on in devastation.[9] Zolomon gleefully cheered on as Barry viciously attacked in a fit of rage and grief, daring Barry to kill him and sadistically encouraging his nemesis to embrace the rage just as he does as Zoom.
The two speedsters then engaged in a high-speed chase-fight throughout Central City, during which Zoom took a quick detour to surreptitiously create another time remnant which continued the chase while the real Zoom disappeared. The violent chase finally culminated in the Flash bringing down his time remnant in an alley-way, before ruthlessly attacking and pinning him before preparing to finish him off. Zolomon once more dared to give into rage and commit murder by constantly baiting the Flash, but the Flash could not do so. Out of nowhere, the real Zoom killed his time remnant in front of his nemesis. Informing the Flash of being able to create a time remnant albeit provided that of possessing the willpower to kill the other self, Zolomon declared that the Flash was "almost ready" before swatting aside and racing away as the Flash tearfully watched on.
Race for the multiverse
Zolomon later ran to Barry to entice to chase after him. Once Barry caught up to him, Zolomon challenged Barry to a do-or-die final race between the two speedsters to ostensibly establish who truly was the fastest man alive. In reality, Zolomon intended to siphon his and his nemesis's speed in order to power Mercury Labs' Magnetar, a device capable of destroying all other universes in the multiverse while leaving Earth-1 as the last one standing. Unbeknownst to Zoom, Team Flash refused to allow Barry to race as Barry wasn't in the right mindset due to Henry's death and locked Barry in the pipeline and attempting to trap Zoom instead.
As he worked on the Magnetar, Zolomon was approached by Caitlin who falsely insisted to see reason and loved him once more before apologizing for the earlier words and actions towards him. Zolomon seemed momentarily touched, but then declared that it was far too late for Caitlin to return to him before attempting to kill Caitlin as well yet his former love interest disappeared to his shock when he delivered the killing blow, revealing a hologram as the real Caitlin was safe with Team Flash. Joe subsequently attempted to take Zolomon down as he fell for the trap, but Zolomon took the advantage and captured Joe before returning to Earth-2.
Zolomon subsequently imprisoned Joe in his lair. Zolomon gets bitterly asked by Joe about his abuse of the Velocity serums before revealing the man in the iron mask's identity. Zolomon explained he was easily able to capture and imprison Jay, but wasn't able to steal Jay's speed. Zolomon instead kept Jay not only as a trophy, but also to assume Jay's identity to give false hope to both Earth-2 and Earth-1 which amused Zolomon and annoyed Jay. Zolomon taunted Joe over his own plan to imprison Barry after their race, just as he did with Jay. Shortly afterwards, Barry contacted Zolomon through Vibe's powers, agreeing to the race albeit only on the condition that Zolomon released Joe to which he agreed.
Zoom and The Flash preparing to race.
Zoom returned to Earth-1 with Joe and waited beside the Magnetar as Barry and Team Flash met him there. As Barry revealed that the group figured out his true endgame, Zolomon simply confirmed it and laid out his one condition: if Barry backed out for any reason during the race, Zolomon would kill Joe and Team Flash. Barry accepted and shortly afterward began the race with Zoom, with the two speedsters speeding around the Magnetar. In the midst of the race, however, Zoom failed to notice in his arrogance that the Flash traveling mere moments through time and created a time remnant. Barry's time remnant continued the race while the Flash's prime self jumped off the Magnetar and freed Joe. Eventually noticing his nemesis's tactic, Zoom furiously leaped off the Magnetar and tackled the Flash before boasting that the Flash would be unable to stop the Magnetar regardless as it was too late. However, Zoom then watched as his nemesis's time remnant began to create a phase of his own to counteract the Magnetar, killing Barry's time remnant in the process while destroying the device and ruining Zoom's plan. As he yelled in fury, Zoom attempted to attack the Flash's prime self yet the Flash quickly gained the upper hand, viciously beating the demonic speedster and throwing him to the ground before shattering his mask.
Zolomon transformed into Black Flash.
As he lay bleeding on the ground, Zolomon derisively declared that his nemesis, as a hero, would not kill him as having had already tried to do so once but failed. The Flash coldly stated not having to as a pair of Time Wraiths emerge from the Speed Force. Badly beaten and weakened from the race, Zolomon could only scream in terror as the Time Wraiths surrounded him and began forcibly transforming him into a zombie-like being, changing the lightning bolt emblem of his costume red as well as it's outline and the earpieces, turning the emblem circle white and turning his speed lightning red. The Time Wraiths then reopened their portal and dragged his decaying form into the Speed Force.[7]
Black Flash
The Speed Force's enforcer
Hunter's ultimate fate upon being dragged by the Time Wraiths back into the Speed Force is unknown but whatever punishment he endured caused him to lose his remaining sanity, and decayed his body to an undead state similar to that of the Time Wraiths. Condemned to serve the Speed Force's will for all time, he was transformed into a savage, monstrous speedster known as the "Black Flash" driven by a lust to kill and operating on a newfound ability to sense the Speed Force's use by other speedsters. He finally emerged from the Speed Force as a monstrous speedster-hunter set on bringing down any speedster in the multiverse who dared to mess with time, a far more potent weapon than any Time Wraith and living nightmare for speedsters.
Hunting Reverse-Flash
The Black Flash was deployed the Speed Force to hunt down the Reverse-Flash's time remnant, a paradoxical threat due to Eddie Thawne's sacrifice and the Flashpoint timeline. Eobard was beset and immediately outmatched by the demonic speedster who proceeded to track and pursue relentlessly across time. However, Eobard was able to build an alarm to go off whenever the Black Flash was near, allowing Eobard to barely stay ahead of the creature yet restricting Eobard from remaining at one place for long.[26]
The Black Flash eventually sensed Eobard's presence in 1927, but Eobard fled before he could find anyone.[27][28] Undeterred, the Black Flash later tracked Eobard, Damien Darhk and Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer to a bank in Zurich in January 2025. The Black Flash blindly charged in and searched the entire bank, but could not lock onto Eobard since his target was repressing speed usage and was thus invisible to the Black Flash, although it could still sense his target was still in the bank. As he began to close in on Eobard's location, Malcolm and Damien distracted the Black Flash with arrows and swords as Eobard speed-punched him into a bank safe, which Malcolm sealed shut. The Black Flash wouldn't remain imprisoned for long, so Eobard and the others fled.[26]
Black Flash imprisoned by Eobard.
Afterwards, the Black Flash continued his hunt for the Reverse-Flash. After Eobard escaped the brig of the Waverider and was about to go search for the Spear of Destiny's fourth piece, Ray Palmer showed up and was able to distract Eobard long enough for the Black Flash to get close enough for Eobard's watch to detect him. Having no time to look for the fragment, Eobard fled before the Black Flash showed up.[29] When a syndicate of supervillains across time were able to acquire the Spear of Destiny to rewrite reality itself and changed their destinies, Eobard's paradoxical status was likely attempted to be reversed yet this proved futile as the Black Flash continued to exist in the syndicate's altered reality, but now imprisoned in a hidden cell located in S.T.A.R. Labs' cortex. The Black Flash tried relentlessly to break out, but Eobard would be sure that he would eventually give up altogether.[30]
The Black Flash was eventually released from his captivity when Sara Lance used the Spear of Destiny to neutralize its own powers, causing the syndicate's alternate reality to be erased from existence, whereupon the Black Flash travelled to Eobard's location in 1916. Eobard, blinded by arrogance, had abandoned the early-warning system in the alternate reality and therefore did not realize the Black Flash was close until it was too late. Looking on in horror as the black-clad spectral speedster appeared on the horizon, the Reverse-Flash attempted to flee but the Black Flash caught up in a split second, seized Eobard by the throat, and viciously phased his hand through Eobard's chest, obliterating his target's heart and erasing the Reverse-Flash's various time remnants from existence. Stopping briefly before Sara, the Black Flash roared in Sara's face before racing away, having fulfilled the Speed Force's will.[31]
Returning to the Speed Force
Black Flash confronting The Flash.
Eventually, the Black Flash was recalled back to the Speed Force when Barry endeavoured to save Wally. The Speed Force unleashed the Black Flash, much to the Flash's horror. The demonic speedster viciously battled the Flash who attempted to escape. The Black Flash grabbed and hurled the Flash back, pinning the Flash to the ground. The Speed Force told the Flash of what to do to save Wally and gave a final ultimatum while the Black Flash began draining Barry's life-force. Understanding, the Flash severed the tether to the real world and slammed it onto the Black Flash's chest, banishing him temporarily in a blast of white light.[32]
The Black Flash was later sent by the Speed Force after Savitar in 2017. Determined to stop Savitar from splicing through time and avoiding this erasure from the timeline, the Black Flash quickly went to erase the rogue time remnant from existence. However, Savitar knew about the Black Flash and brought Killer Frost to help stop the undead speedster. The Black Flash burst out of the Speed Force's ortal and evaded several attacks from Killer Frost before speeding towards Savitar, only for Killer Frost to hit him with another cold blast which freezes and shattered the monstrous speedster.[1]
New multiverse
Wrath of Zoom
After the multiverse's destruction and recreation due to the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Hunter Zolomon's history was rewritten where he was apparently from Earth-Prime instead. Hunter and others were allegedly given superhuman abilities during the Singularity in 2015. He then began operating as Zoom and gathered an army of meta-humans, terrorizing Central City as an enemy of The Flash and instigating the Metapocalypse.[33] At some point, he either created or obtained the Velocity serum and his attacks resulted in the murders of multiple police officers and Henry.[34] He would ultimately lose to The Flash with the Time Wraiths "sicced" to capture him.[35]
Plucked from the timeline
Hunter with Reverse-Flash, Godspeed and Savitar in the Negative Speed Force
Hunter was taken from the moment where he was captured by the Time Wraiths and restored in the Negative Speed Force. He then encounters August Heart/Godspeed to which the two speedsters argue about who was superior and who brought the two together which could be the possible future seen by the Negative Still Force.[36] Hunter would then be mocked by the Reverse-Flash before Savitar's arrival. The four speedsters were then met with Cobalt Blue offering the chance to defeat the Flash and gain more speed in the process to which the four all agreed as a group.
Zoom attacks Khione and Chillblaine.
Now charged with the Negative Speed Force, Zoom and the other evil speedsters led by Cobalt Blue faced Team Flash and told the group to surrender. After being refused, each member divided as the battle began. Zoom being followed by Khione and Chillblaine to which Hunter was led to a tunnel where the CCPD had a blockade for the path. Zoom then ran in the tunnel and threw lightning at the two heroes, with Khione catching it before throwing it right back at Zoom, knocking him out. Zoom's body then disappeared as Cobalt Blue absorbed his speed, thus he returned to his place in history where he was captured by the Time Wraiths and transformed into the Black Flash.[35]
Legacy
Original multiverse
Zoom would be remembered greatly by those he had the most impact on. Zoom's murder of Henry resulted in Barry's creation of the Flashpoint timeline to not live with the pain of losing both Nora and Henry, but tried to return the timeline to how it was which caused major timeline changes.[7][37][38][39] Barry drew inspirations from past mentors (including Hunter) to train Wally.[40] Harry would learn from battling Zoom of having a willingness to kill, talking Barry out of killing Grodd by drawing inspiration from mistakes involving Zoom.[41] Barry was determined to get ahead of Clifford DeVoe due to having always been behind Zoom, the Reverse-Flash and Savitar.[42][43] Caitlin occasionally acknowledged Hunter while in therapy with Sharon Finkel.[44] Caitlin would still occasionally remember the relationship with Hunter,[45] and blamed herself after getting manipulated by Thomas Snow's alter ego Icicle similar to Zoom and the Reverse-Flash.[46] Laurel remembered Hunter as a father figure in comparison to Adrian Chase/Prometheus and Ricardo Diaz/Dragon.[47] However, Laurel quickly realized that Hunter was actually capable of loving someone albeit in a very twisted and deranged manner whereas Diaz's inner hatred was far worse.[48][49]
Zoom was also remembered by The Flash's other nemeses. Zoom and the Reverse-Flash were mentioned in comparison to Savitar,[50][51] and the Thinker,[43][52] which was exemplified by Abra Kadabra.[53]
CC Jitters sold a coffee named after Zoom that Tracy Brand would get whenever stressed.[54]
Zoom's actions also indirectly affected two generations of Cicada, a serial killer who went after meta-humans, since his rampage on Earth-1 resulted in the loss of the fiancé of Vanessa Ambres during the Metapocalypse which made Vanessa believe that all meta-humans are evil which was integrated into Cicada's present day version and future equivalent.[55]
In a possible future that Nora West-Allen hails from, Zoom's suit and speed-dampening mask were displayed within the Hall of Villains in the Flash Museum sometime before 2032 along with other memorabilia from past villains that Team Flash had fought and defeated.[56] Nora had studied all of the Flash's past battles.[57] Additionally, Zoom's and the Red Death's victim count were inferior compared to Cicada's bigger number of victims.[58] In 2049, Zoom's Velocity usage inspired Godspeed to recreate the Velocity serum.[59]
Zoom failed to destroy the Multiverse (or the visions of Earth-2's destruction)[9][60] while the Anti-Monitor succeeded by using an antimatter cannon to destroy the multiverse and most life (except the Paragons who were brought to the Vanishing Point), ironically fulfilling Zoom's desire albeit also including Earth-1.[61]
It was presumed Hunter was once an innocent, carefree child before witnessing James Zolomon murdering Ashley Zolomon and subsequently growing up alone in darkness. As a result, Hunter became unstable, unhinged, twisted, demented and mentally ill, eventually finding an outlet for his homicidal urges by becoming a serial killer, killing with no real motive outside of sadism, according to the newspaper documenting his arrest. However, it does appear that Hunter at some point had some normal relationships with other individuals, as he offhandedly mentions having had friends before his arrest.
Hunter finding happiness in his romance with Caitlin, something he couldn't expect at all.
As Jay, Hunter presents himself as a courageous and selfless man, a person who always wants to do good and would have sacrificed his own life so that another could have lived similar to Barry Allen. Hunter was an efficient teacher as he was able to teach Barry in just a few hours to hurl lightning bolts from the body to defeat Eddie Slick. He has a strong dislike for Harry Wells, viewing Harry as a shady man who keeps too many secrets, and who focuses on creating and selling meta-human technology rather than owning up to the particle accelerator explosion, however, he still proved willing to go at lengths to save Harry's life. Harry accused Hunter to be a coward and claimed the so-called Flash did not fight Zoom at all, but would rather run from Zoom, that he was the one being hunted by him. Hunter did admit that Zoom scared him and he did not confront him as often as he could.
Ultimately, this shows how Hunter was a master manipulator and actor as his actions was but a charade to give people hope, all so he can take that hope away from afterwards.
Hunter as the evil speedster Zoom of Earth-2.
"You remind me of the guy that brought me here... to this Earth. He... he had so much hate inside of him. Took control over him."
As Zoom, the individual he truly was, Hunter was obsessed with speed to the point of being unstable. As noted by Harry Wells, he's set a mission of eradicating anything else with super speed, enthralling or intimidating meta-humans. Hunter instills tremendous terror as Zoom in everyone he encounters, such as both versions of Linda Park and Al Rothstein. He was utterly ruthless, having little to no regard for human life, murdering anyone, such as the police officer he spared after murdering the CCPD, and Reverb for disobeying his rules. He even went so far as to kill Dante Ramon for getting captured despite obeying his orders. He was also willing to do anything to achieve his goals, as he killed many people to find a cure and his own time remnant agreed to die to ensure their goals when plans to close the breach between Earth-2 and Earth-1 were to happen.
Hunter had been shown to be very egotistical, as after his victory against Barry where he proceeded to parade Barry's body throughout Central City, which he displayed to the media like a hunting trophy, proclaiming himself to be "the fastest man alive". He then hauled Barry's unconscious body to the CCPD, gloating to the assembled officers, relishing in their helplessness as he caught dozens of bullets with his speed. Finally, he carried Barry's body back to S.T.A.R. Labs, showcasing him to Team Flash and also mocking Harry for believing that Barry was going to defeat him. After kidnapping Wally West in exchange for Barry's speed and letting go, he was smug and confident, even after Harry threatened him he showed no concern or worry for his safety, instead he just smirked at Harry smugly. His arrogance and smugness has proven to be his one point of vulnerability when, in, the midst of gloating about his victory to Team Flash, he let his guard down long enough that he was shot by a speed-dampening dart by Cisco Ramon.
Hunter was also horribly sadistic, enjoying the fear and terror in his helpless prey with obvious and somewhat animalistic satisfaction. His sense of humor is extremely vile. Hunter was also a classic sociopath, as he displayed little to no remorse or regret in his use of other people, meta-humans or otherwise, treating them as disposable pawns to further his goals. He casually references the amount of people he's killed to Caitlin Snow.
Some question if he was still human, and Harry says he might be. This was indeed proven true when he attempted to kill Barry, but spares Barry for the plea of Caitlin, proving Hunter was capable of love. After abducting Caitlin, he was somewhat trusting of Caitlin, letting roam around his lair in his absence. He was also expressed a desire for the two to live together, much to Caitlin's chagrin. Hunter's shown to be protective of Caitlin, brutally murdering Killer Frost for trying to kill Caitlin. However, he warned Caitlin not to try freeing Jay Garrick or he'd kill his prisoner. While he was angered that Caitlin managed to send a message to Team Flash about his ambush and kill at CC Jitters, he did not harm Caitlin and instead went to kill the CCPD himself. However, Hunter showed to be impatient in his relationship with Caitlin, genuinely refusing to understand why wouldn't Caitlin love him anymore after he was revealed as Zoom. Tired of arguing with Caitlin, Hunter gives an ultimatum; stay with him and be protected, or go back to Team Flash, only to be treated with no mercy should they ever meet again. But when Caitlin ultimately chose Team Flash over him, Hunter's good side was completely erased.
Hunter can't hide his smug attitude.
He appeared to suffer from some degree of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as witnessed when Barry used cardboard cutouts of his parents, which triggered invasive memories of his childhood trauma. These invasive memories are characteristic of someone suffering from PTSD. He constantly had flashes to his traumatic experiences, either his father killing his mother, the orphanage he was placed in, or his shock therapy treatments, having lost time and reality of the present, leaving him off guard. Caitlin unknowingly caused him to experience these flashes more frequently, as Caitlin's words would constantly remind him of these events. During this time, Hunter tends to be more wild, impulsive, and far less tactical than he usually was, and acts in a deranged manner more akin to that of a feral animal. Hunter had demonstrated that he was perfectly willing to kill his time remnants in order to fulfill his goals.
Hunter's sociopathic mind proved to be so severe that he would do the most insane and drastic measures to prove a point. One example was his laboring under the idea that he and Barry's similar backgrounds and histories make the two, more or less, the same person. Hunter believed that Barry was not completely consumed by the darkness like Hunter was, and Hunter was determined to prove that the two are essentially the same being in their essence. He attempts to do this by forcing Barry to confront his inner darkness on multiple occasions, one of the most notable being the battle against Black Siren, the mirror image of Laurel Lance was one of Hunter's more poetic and disturbing ways of bringing Barry closer to the madness and darkness that had all but consuming. When this failed to work, Hunter then forced Barry to watch as he killed Henry Allen in the same room in which Eobard Thawne had murdered Nora Allen 16 years prior. This also displayed Hunter's taste for dark humor and irony when sadistically pushing his enemies over the edge, psychologically speaking. This was Hunter's final point to prove to Barry, and based on Barry's rage, grief, and desire to kill him for Henry's death equaling that of Barry's previous desire to kill Eobard, it appeared that he succeeded when Barry could go through with it, but was left for the Time Wraiths instead, thus underestimating Barry's heroic nature. Hunter's psychological problems do not in any way exceed his intelligence, able to quickly familiarize and experiment with the complex speed force, design costumes to withstand the physical conditions speedsters must endure, and manipulate Barry constantly to his own ends.
Despite originally being classified as a psychopath, Hunter had moments where he fit more the description of a sociopath. This was based on his ability to form emotional attachments to those around him, perverse and twisted though they may be. It wasn't until Caitlin completely rejected him for the monster that he was that he gave up on any remaining attachments to others, thus embracing the true nature of a sociopath hellbent on committing omnicide by destroying the original multiverse. Overall, Hunter is a sociopath, he is not a psychopath because he has shown the ability to feel love and compassion, however, like most sociopaths, the ability for him to feel love and compassion is very limited. Before his father killed his mother, he was a caring and normal child, proving he was not a true psychopath.
Hunter as Black Flash.
"I thought it was a Time Wraith, the monsters that hunt speedsters who mess with time. But, whatever is hunting me is far worse than a Time Wraith."
As Black Flash, Hunter lost what remained of his sanity, reduced to a feral being incapable of speech, described by Eobard as something far worse than the Time Wraiths. He was now reduced to mindlessly hunting rogue speedsters like Eobard, able to locate the targets solely through sensing the recent use of Speed Force, and seemingly blind without it.[26] Though extremely aggressive, his transformation into Black Flash also stripped Hunter of his antisocial tendencies, losing all interest in those that he isn't sent to hunt, making him ultimately harmless to all but those that become his targets.
"Eddie Thawne. You're Team Flash's old cop friend right? Well that-that's real good. 'Cause I'm great at killing cops."
After being recreated in the new multiverse, Hunter retained the smugness, the ego, and the obsession with speed his old Earth-2 counterpart had. However, his Earth-Prime version appeared to be more psychotic and theatrical than the original Zoom who fit more on the definition of sociopath. In particular, he had great enjoyment in killing the CCPD. Something he had expressed more than once and stopped to take his mask off to revel in during his final battle with Team Flash. This, along with his newfound increased cockiness, led to his quick demise.
Powers and abilities
Powers
"When I got struck by the dark matter and electricity, I became Zoom—the fastest man alive. Wasn't long before I had this Earth on its knees, but it wasn't enough, I wanted more! I wanted to be faster so I created a speed drug. It made me faster than I ever thought possible, fast enough to break the dimensional barrier, fast enough to run to other universes—other Earths."
Speed Force connection/Meta-human physiology: After being affected by the particle accelerator, while receiving electroshock treatment, Hunter gained a connection to the Speed Force; a mysterious energy field. His DNA was altered and cells supercharge with enormous amounts of electricity, augmenting his physiology to superhuman condition. After his transformation by the Time Wraiths, Hunter's powers became greater than ever before, as Eobard is extremely afraid of him and believed not even the combined might of the Legion of Doom could stop him, which is later proven true. They only managed to slow him down.
Bodily vibration: Hunter had the ability to vibrate his cells on command for various effects. He can vibrate his entire body to mask his form from others from clearly perceiving it and distort his vocal cords to disguise his voice. Vibrating also allowed him to generate the force of a buzz-saw, allowing him to use the force to break objects.
Intangibility: Hunter could move and vibrate any part of his body so fast that he could effortlessly change his frequency and phase himself through people or objects. This allowed him to cause people to drop dead when he phased his arm through them, however, he could also harmlessly pass through people, as he did with Caitlin. He was also capable of effortlessly vibrating through carbine, which Barry had tremendous difficulty doing at first.
Death inducement: After becoming an enforcer of the Speed Force, Hunter can kill any speedster he touches by phasing his hand into their chests, which notably caused Eobard Thawne to return to being erased from existence and obliterated him and caused the past selves he brought with him to fade from existence.
Decay inducement: After his transformation by the Time Wraiths, Hunter gained their ability to cause cellular decay and drain people of life through physical contact. He tried to cause Flash to decay into a corpse, but this was stopped before the process was complete or even permanent.
Electrokinesis: Originally, like Barry, Hunter could emitted yellow electricity from his body. After usage of the Velocity drug made his body now produce sapphire blue lightning, a sign of his extreme over-usage of it. Even while only slightly accessing his powers, Zoom would produce a powerful aura of blue lightning from his body that always emanated off of him, whether he was moving at super speed or not. He could also manipulate electricity by touching it, as when Barry tried hurling lightning at Hunter, he managed to grab and hold the lightning as if it were a tangible object and hurl it back at him. He is also able to perform this same feat with his own electricity as he taught Barry how to do so. When he grabbed Harrison and stabbed him with his claws, he was able to transfer electricity into him, causing him extreme pain. Upon his transformation by the Time Wraiths, Hunter now generates red lightning.
Energy absorption: Zoom is capable of absorbing Speed Force energy that he injects himself with, for more power.
Enhanced mental process: Zoom's speed also extends to his mental capacities, allowing him to take in information and process it at much faster rates than a normal human. This ability allows Hunter to see the world as if it is in slow motion, which, combined with his physical speed, lets him perform thoughts and actions long before a normal human around him could even perceive them.
Superhuman perception: The Speed Force also enhances Hunter's senses and mental capacities, allowing him to easily keep up with and perceive the movements of other speedsters while they are at super speed themselves even when he himself is not.
Presumably due to his greatly enhanced connection to the Speed Force, Hunter showed the ability to effortlessly exert great strength and force even without utilizing his speed, enough to lift fully grown humans over his head with only one arm, without any strain or effort. He was also able to easily break Barry's spine with one strike. Combined with his efficient fighting skills, Hunter was able to deal severe bodily harm with only a few blows. His strength carried over to his transformation by the Time Wraith's, allowing him to face the strongest of speedsters in battle, allowing him to eventually overpower and almost effortlessly pin down Barry Allen and force Eobard Thawne to flee on sight.
Eye transformation: Hunter can change the color of his eyes to pure black due to the physical corruption caused by the Velocity serum. This serves as both identity concealment and as a mean of intimidation (in the case of pure black). However, this is not a result of his electrokinesis, unlike fellow speedsters. Following his transformation into the enforcer of the Speed Force, Hunter is still capable of accessing his ability. This ability is seen once more during his fight with Barry Allen, as his eyes were pitched black. He could also fill his eyes with yellow electricity after injecting himself with Velocity 6.
Speed Force awareness: Hunter can sense the Speed Force in another speedster's system to track them down. He displays this ability when he realizes that Barry from 2018 with his speed back was in S.T.A.R. Labs and that Nora West-Allen was a speedster. After becoming an enforcer of the Speed Force, Hunter's ability to sense the Speed Force in another speedster's system to track them down became even more powerful, which is how he is able to locate Eobard Thawne at any place or time.
Superhuman durability: Hunter had the ability to have large amounts of damage inflicted on him, and be hurt at a rate lower than regular humans, sometimes suffering no injuries. During his fight with Barry, he fell to the ground from hundreds of meters in the air with no noticeable injuries and quickly resumed viciously pummeling Barry.
Superhuman speed: Hunter is able to move at unimaginably fast speeds, moving from place to place in moments. Through extreme usage of the Velocity drug, Hunter artificially enhanced his connection to the Speed Force. Initially, Hunter could move at least at Mach 6-8, leaving Barry Allen's initial speed not nearly able to keep up. This is because with each stride of his legs, his feet spend less time on the floor than Barry, thus propelling him even faster. After gaining all of Barry's original Speed Force energy, Hunter became considerably faster than before, being able to snap the necks of nearly every person in Jitters in less than a second, leaving them all collapsing at virtually the same time. However, his inability to let go of his past rendered him unable to naturally increase his speed like Barry Allen, which led to his defeat at the hands of the latter. After taking Barry's speed, he was able to catch up to 2019-Flash, by then considered the fastest speedster ever (although Barry held back due to protecting XS). After his transformation by the Time Wraiths, he has gotten noticeably faster; he was able to keep up with Barry during their fight in the Speed Force; as well as easily catch up with and intercept the Reverse-Flash (who is the only speedster capable of rivaling the Flash’s speed) before he could get away.
Superhuman agility: Hunter was incredibly agile and able to change direction immediately while moving at super speed. This let him make sharp turns at super-speed, without sliding or losing his balance. It also let him leap farther and higher, able to easily perform acrobatic movements in combat, as well as fight confidently while free falling. Even when transformed into a Speed Force specter and removed of his senses, he is able to effortlessly coordinate himself at superhuman speed as if he still possessed sight, allowing him to avoid hitting any obstacles. He could effortless lunge several feet to tackle Barry to the ground to pin him down, even without using his speed.
Hunter's reaction time was also augmented, allowing him to react to far faster than a normal human. He easily saw and countered a bolt of lightning hurled at him by Barry and likewise caught every single bullet launched at him by the entire police force with ease, using only a single hand. When transformed into a Speed Force specter, he demonstrated being able to effortless catch both an arrow shot at him by Malcolm Merlyn and a blade swung at him by Damien Darhk.
Superhuman momentum: Hunter was capable of inflicting massive amounts of physical damage on his opponents by packing speed into his blows. His punches seemed to break the sound barrier. He was able to reduce Barry to a bloody mess in seconds with his deadly strikes, and even break his spine, causing paralysis. Even with Barry's rapid healing, the damage inflicted on him was noticeably prolonged.
Time travel: Hunter can move fast enough to break open holes in the fabric of time and space, allowing him to travel through time, an ability which Hunter abused to get time remnants of himself to assist him in the current timeline.
Time remnant construct: By shifting moments through time, Hunter is able to get time remnants, versions of himself from aborted timelines in the future, to assist him in his schemes.
Interdimensional travel: Hunter was able to travel between Earth-1 and Earth-2 at will. He did so by using the "breaches" between worlds. His speed allowing him to temporarily stabilize the interdimensional "corridors" that linked any one breach on Earth-2 with a corresponding breach on Earth-1, letting him and those he brings along pass through them. After stealing Barry's Speed Force energy, Hunter became powerful enough to create breaches with his own speed. He was able to create a portal out of thin air with a simple punching motion.
Superhuman stamina: Hunter's body could handle the stresses of superhuman racing without noticeable distress, and function much longer than a normal human without getting tired or weak.
Former powers
Accelerated healing factor: While unable to repair the cellular deterioration caused by the Velocity 6, Hunter's powers also afford him heightened healing capacities, allowing him to quickly heal any superficial harm to his being. Despite being shot by Cisco Ramon with a serum to dampen his speed, Hunter almost instantly recovered and ran off before the serum could take full effect, showing no signs of having been slowed down by the serum. Once obtaining Barry's Speed Force, Hunter's full regenerative properties were restored, allowed him to recover from his former cellular damage. However, his transformation into Black Flash displayed that he had lost the ability, as he shatters upon being frozen by Killer Frost rather than start to thaw out after freezing.
Voice changing: When Hunter was Zoom he can change is voice to sound monstrous, similar to speedsters like Eobard Thawne or Edward Clariss. This ability appears to stem from his eye transformation ability. After he became a servant to the Speed Force, Hunter lost what remained of his fractured sanity, reduced to a feral being incapable of intelligibility, only capable of roars and howls.
Negative Speed Force connection: Later he also gained a connection to the Negative Speed Force making him even more powerful. It is presumed that he lost this connection due to being absorbed by Eddie Thawne and being restored to his prior place in the timeline.
Retrocognition: Hunter's Earth-2 memories were restored after he was plucked from the timeline by Cobalt Blue. However, after his defeat by Khione and Chillblaine and being returned to his status as the Black Flash, it is presumed he no longer retains those memories.
Abilities
"Why the charade? Running around dressed like the Flash?" "To give people hope, Detective." "Hope?" "So I could rip it away from them. It's so fun pretending to be a hero."
Intimidation: Due to Hunter's incredible power, savagery, and demonic-like appearance, he commands an extremely terrifying presence, instilling fear into enemies and allies, a common tactic of Hunter's is using the fear he has instilled in others in order to get them to do his bidding as he did with Atom Smasher, Eddie Slick, Dr. Light, and Harrison Wells, his use of psychological fear tactics by destroying symbols of hope and forms of protection in order to crush the spirits of a city's citizens to show that they are not safe from him.[10][4] He is still deeply feared as an enforcer of the Speed Force to speedsters like Eobard Thawne as he terrified him more than a Time Wraith ever did.
Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Complementing his ferocious appearance and personality, Hunter's animalistic yet efficient style uses his tremendous speed and powers. His style is more precise than Barry Allen's originally was yet not quite as tactical as Eobard Thawne's. Instead, Hunter uses powerful punches to accompanied by his glove claws for savage slashing movements, overall causing great blunt-force trauma.[10] In appearance with behavior, Hunter seems to enjoy inflicting as much pain as physically possibly when killing an opponent such a snapping his victim's spines and breaking their necks.[4]
Former abilities
Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: Hunter is an extremely intelligent man and an incredible tactician and leader, as he was able to gather an army of meta-humans to aid in his control over Central City and successfully lead it while also fighting them and himself as the Flash, doing it so perfectly that none of the residents of Earth-2, even his meta-human followers, could deduce the connection between them. Despite his psychopathy, Hunter proved to be a methodical man, as he carefully studied Earth-1 and finding out everything he could before confronting Team Flash, allowing him to convince them his intentions were good.[11] also came up with a plan to make Barry faster by both personally guiding him and also sending villains under his command, doing so without attracting any suspicion from Team Flash and despite Team Flash eventually figuring out his identity and true motives, Hunter was successful in extracting Barry's speed by leveraging Wally's life. He also led his army to attack Earth-1 with great efficiency, overwhelming the efforts of Team Flash to contain them and would have conquered Earth-1 had it not been for Harry developing a sound amplifier capable of incapacitating every meta under his command. As the Black Flash, Hunter is now little more than an animal that the Speed Force sics on Speedsters messing with time.
Master scientist/Engineer: Hunter is an extremely scientifically adept and well-read man, excelling in physics and chemistry and even claiming that he operated solo his personal lab and had found a way to purify heavy water without residual radiation and was a part-time professor.[8] Hunter's knowledge of the science of the Speed Force allowed him to develop the dangerous speed-enhancing Velocity serums and deduce that enough speed would be able to cure him of the drug's side effects of cellular degeneration. Hunter's scientific genius also extended to being proficient in engineering, as he was able to construct prisons capable of holding meta-humans, and devices that dampen their powers.[6] He also modified and weaponized the Magnetar into a gigantic race lap capable of harnessing the energies of speedsters and releasing a powerful pulsar, which powered by the combined energies of him and Barry, would have destroyed every other earth on the multiverse had it not been stopped. However, Hunter's abilities as a scientist were still inferior to the likes of Harry Wells, as he could not find a way to steal the Speed Force from Jay Garrick and needed Harry's help to steal Barry's speed.[7] As the Black Flash, Hunter has lost all his scientific genius as he is reduced to being a mere animal that the Speed Force sics on Speedsters messing with time.
Expert mathematician: Hunter accurately calculated that one lap from him and Barry around the Magnetar would produce one gigawatt of energy, and 500 plus energy was needed to power the Magnetar enough to destroy the multiverse.
Master deceiver/Manipulator: Like most psychopaths, Hunter shows no concern, if not actual awareness, of right and wrong. To which, in showing no guilt, he is an accomplished actor. Hunter's persona as "Jay Garrick" and as "Zoom" were so different from one another that he was able to convince the citizens of Earth-2, his own meta-human followers, and Team Flash that were two different people for two years.[3][7] During Caitlin's physiological exam during which she does a subtle lie detection exam, Hunter quickly became aware of this and showed none of the physical signs of deceit; showing his skills as a liar.[8] While infiltrating Team Flash, he kept trying to make Barry become faster so he could eventually steal his speed without attracting any suspicions from them. Hunter was also successful into manipulating Barry into strongly wishing to defeat him by killing Henry Allen in front of Barry so he could make the latter race him in the Magnetar to create the pulsar needed to destroy the multiverse. As the Black Flash, Hunter is no longer capable of being deceitful.
Weaknesses
Diminished senses: After his metamorphosis from the Time Wraiths, Hunter's senses appear to be much weaker, only able to perceive targets in motion. To which, if a speedster is not currently channeling the Speed Force (i.e. remains completely still) Hunter can't sense or even see him properly. Furthermore, while he can still see things (evident by the fact he never runs into anything), he apparently cannot differentiate between creatures that do not have Speed Force in them and inanimate objects, meaning he is completely oblivious to any danger that isn't an active speedster.[26]
Extreme cold: For every speedster low temperatures are a problem as it slows them down and can weaken their healing abilities. It is proven Hunter possess this weakness when Killer Frost used her ice manipulation to stall him long enough for Team Flash to escape his lair. In his new form as the Black Flash, it's shown to still be a weakness to him, and the only thing who can destroy him according to Savitar, as he shatters upon being frozen by Caitlin.[1]
Interdimensional energy: As a servant of the Speed Force, Hunter is now vulnerable to the inter-dimensional energy produced by Cisco's "gold-tooth" technology. While fighting him in the Speed Force, Barry overloaded the "gold-tooth" transmitter on his chest and attached it to Hunter. The inter-dimensional energy from the transmitter overflowed into his body, tearing him apart in an explosion of light.[32]
Former weaknesses
Psychological trauma: Hunter suffers from severe PTSD, due to him watching his father kill his mother. Barry utilized his past memories to induce extreme psychological trauma, in order for him to lose his focus and become more feral, thus allowing Barry to overpower him, trap him and finally unmask him. He constantly has flashes to his traumatic experiences, either his father killing his mother, the orphanage he was placed in, or his shock therapy treatments. Caitlin unknowingly caused him to experience these flashes more frequently, as her words would constantly remind him of these events. After being enslaved by the Speed Force for all time, Hunter's sanity, and any sense of identity was completely erased, reducing him to a feral beast unable to act beyond the will of the Speed Force, though with the small benefit of no longer being vulnerable to traumatic memories.
Time Wraiths: As Hunter continually broke the rules of the Speed Force, trying to manipulate it in order to recover from the side effects of the Velocity serums, especially after he went back in time and created a time remnant, Time Wraiths, the Speed Force's enforcers, were continually sent by the Speed Force to go after him. Hunter was terrified of the Time Wraiths and he was very careful in avoiding them as much as possible. When the Time Wraiths were intentionally summoned by Barry with the creation of a time remnant of his own, the Wraiths chose to go after and punish Zoom instead of Barry for the violation of the rules of the Speed Force (possibly since the remnant was used and sacrificed to save the multiverse). As they attacked Zoom, he screamed helplessly as the Time Wraiths aged him into a corpse-like figure, rendering him an eternal slave to the Speed Force. This also caused his lightning to change from blue to red while parts of his suit, particularly the emblems, also changed color from black to red.
Velocity serum: While the Velocity drug boosted Hunter's speed to tremendous levels upon overdosing, the speed drug had a severely side-effect. In addition to these enhancements only being temporary, they left his natural connection to the Speed Force weakened so much that he could no longer use his powers naturally without the serum nor could the Speed Force be detected in him. Even more, a lasting side effect caused him cellular degeneration would in due course kill him . However, his remaining traces of natural Speed Force energy significantly slowed down the damage to his body.
Electromagnetic radiation: Since Hunter was also a user of Velocity 9 like August Heart, his speed could be disabled. However, since Hunter gained his speed naturally, it is unknown whether his powers would be completely disabled or if he'd just lose the speed boost from the Velocity 9.
Equipment
Zoom suit: Hunter wears a protective suit as his super villain alter-ego, Zoom, to hide his identity from his enemies. It is unknown what materials it's made out of. The suit includes a mask that fully hides Hunter's face. The mask has small line shaped gaps on the mouth resembling a demented smile. This causes it to resemble the equipment he wore during the electroshock therapy sessions in the asylum. The suit's gloves are adorned with sharp "claws", allowing Hunter to perform slashing and pirecing attacks upon his enemies. The left side of the mask was ripped off by Barry after he defeated Zoom. While the Time Wraiths began taking Zoom away, red speed force lightning changed the colors of the emblems in the suit; the lightning emblems on the ears changed from black to red, the outlines and lightning symbol on the chest also transformed from black to red except the inner part of the logo was filled in with white. In later appearances, the inner part of the logo was black.
Clawed gloves: Unlike the Flash and Reverse-Flash suits, Hunter's gloves are spiked-tipped, giving the appearance that he has claws. He mainly uses them as offensive weapons to stab his victims and was thought to be the method to how he steals the speed of other speedsters. This was revealed to be false, when "Jay" reveals that he "lost his speed" due to "overusing Velocity 6". He could channel the electricity on him to his claws to shock and cause pain to people he touched with them, as he did to Harry. At super speed or by vibrating, the claws can have enough force and momentum to kill someone that they are stabbed into, as he did to Reverb when vibrating his hand and he did to Rupture when charging at super speed. They became actual claws after the Time Wraiths transformed Hunter into the Black Flash.
Earpieces: The suit has wireless communication capabilities through its built in earpieces, though it is unclear what Hunter uses them for, though it is highly possible that he uses them to communicate with his lieutenants to make sure the city is in line. Unlike the Flash and Reverse Flash suit, his lightning bolts on his earpieces are curved at the tip instead of being straight, and retained this property after being turned into the Speed Force enforcer.
Former equipment
The Flash suit: Hunter wore a protective suit as his superhero alter-ego, The Flash, when he goes out fighting crime. It is unknown of what materials the suit is made. The suit includes a helmet, which is part of the military uniform Hunter's father wore during his service in the War of the Americas. However, Hunter additionally decorated the helmet with small yellow wings made of some sort of metal. Hunter based this costume off of the real Jay Garrick, to represent hope so he could sadistically take it away from the people to appease his sick twisted nature.
Helmet: A silver metal kettle helmet, which was part of War of the Americas. He additionally decorates 2 small yellow wings made of metal. It can be used as a Shield to withstand bullets and catch them as well. When punching the helmet at supersonic speed, it will cause vibrational sonic blasts to be fire from the helmet.
Similar to how Barry Allen is called the Scarlet Speedster on Earth-1, Hunter Zolomon, while masquerading as Jay Garrick/The Flash, was known as the Crimson Comet on Earth-2. However, it's later revealed to be another name he stole from the real Jay Garrick.
Zoom is the first main antagonist from The Flash who is not native to the show's universe as he is from Earth-2.
However, this may no longer be true in the new multiverse, where his home universe seems to be Earth-Prime.
Hunter is the first main antagonist to successfully kill another main antagonist in the Arrowverse (having killed a time remnant of Eobard Thawne).
During his time as the Black Flash, Hunter generated red lightning instead of blue. It's unknown if during that time he had a connection to the Negative Speed Force or not.
Hunter racked up quite the body-count during his lifetime, having killed around 52 people including Eobard Thawne.
Even though Hunter had a major role in Season 2 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, he appeared only three times in that season and was mentioned as "Black Flash" due to his enslavement as an enforcer the Speed Force.
He is the only main antagonist to have interacted with both the Reverse-Flash and Savitar, who were also main antagonists from The Flash.
Though it was never mentioned, Hunter is indirectly responsible for the events of Season 5 of The Flash: In "What's Past is Prologue", he chased after Barry and Nora West-Allen, which caused the device they were holding to break. That chase also caused the two to end up in 2015, and because of the importance of the device, it forced them to ask Eobard Thawne's help in fixing it. Years later, that incident gave Thawne the idea to manipulate Nora into breaking Clifford DeVoe's satellite, which changed the timeline and caused Orlin Dwyer to get meta-human powers as Cicada, thus causing the events of the season.
While Hunter failed in his goal to become the fastest speedster in the multiverse, his goal of making Barry embrace the darkness was achieved in a possible future in the case of Savitar.
Hunter is first referred to as "Black Flash" by Savitar in the Season 3 finale of The Flash, "Finish Line".
Black Flash's task to hunt speedsters who mess with time can be seen somewhat fitting as it goes well with his first name, Hunter Zolomon.
Black Flash's job is similar to that of a Time Wraith, but, according to Eobard, Black Flash is "far worse than a Time Wraith".[26]
His appearance as the Black Flash is different from the comics, as half of his mask is torn off (which was full in the comics, although the reason for this is because Barry tore Hunter's mask right before the latter was transformed by the Time Wraiths) and his lightning emblem is red and reversed of The Flash's with a black (and sometimes white) background, but in the comics it had a white background and the red emblem was not a reverse of the Flash's.
Hunters expressed hatred of police officers ultimately proved to be bitter irony for him, as his ultimate fate as the Black Flash is to essentially be an undead Speed Force police officer for all eternity.
Zoom is the only speedster to give off lightning while stationary, and his blue lightning seems much more serrated than The Flash's, and with more arcs.
The Anti-Monitor's endgame was foreshadowed by Zoom's final scheme, seeking the destruction of the multiverse using a machine powered by speedsters running on it.
Though unlike Zoom, he didn't want to leave a single universe (Earth-1) to survive, but rather rule the remaining netherverse alone.
Also unlike Zoom, he succeeded, albeit temporary.
Behind the scenes
In the DC comics, Hunter Zolomon (also known as Zoom and the Reverse-Flash) is the arch nemesis of Wally West and an enemy of Barry Allen. His powers via the Forever Force are portrayed as time manipulation, which allows him to alter the flow of time around his very being while slowing everything else around him to appear faster.
This version of the character has similarities to other enemies of the Flash in the comics:
The Black Flash is an entity of death acting on the Speed Force's behalf.
Jerry McGee/Speed Demon is Tina McGee's estranged husband who utilized Steroid B-19 as a speedster.
Johnny Quick is an interdimensional equivalent of the Flash who utilizes a special helmet to enhance his speed and even relies on "Speed Juice" made from a predecessor to increase speed to the point of dying.
Dell Merriwether/Suit is a serial killer who was electrocuted and took possession of a supervillain costume which had blue lightning seen from his possession of speedsters.
Hunter Zolomon was primarily portrayed by Teddy Sears, while the suited version of Zoom was portrayed by Australian stunt actor Ryan Handley and voiced by Tony Todd.
Zoom's eyes have gone through some changes. In a previous version seen in the trailers and in the season 2 premiere when Cisco Ramon saw him talking to Atom Smasher, Zoom's eyes glowed blue. However, the current version has his eyes pure black. This is most likely to give him a more "demonic" appearance and also having the blue eyes would have been somewhat repetitive, since Reverse-Flash had this quality last season. This seems to have been replaced by the presence of speed force lightning emanating from his body even when he isn't running.
As a the servant of the Speed Force, Hunter has a white emblem with a red lightning bolt and a red border. However, his emblem later changed to just a red border with a black inside and the same red lightning bolt, although this may simply mean that when he had a white emblem, his transformation into Black Flash wasn't complete yet.
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