The Flash – Is Henry Allen Zoom?

The newest big bad of this season of The Flash is the dark speedster named Zoom. Seemingly originating from the parallel world dubbed “Earth 2”, Zoom fought the alternate reality Flash, Jay Garrick. After the finale of the first season of the Flash, a portal between Earths 1 and 2 opened, with Zoom seemingly doing his darndest to put an end to all speedsters other than himself, placing a target on the back of Earth 1’s Flash, Barry Allen. Little is known about the identity of this ghostly speedster, but a popular theory among fans of the Scarlet Speedster is that Barry’s own father, Henry Allen, is none other than Zoom!

In the comics, Zoom was actually Hunter Zolomon, a friend of Wally West (another Flash in a series of Flashes) who was crippled by the telepathic gorilla, Grodd. In trying to turn back time to fix his broken legs, Zolomon activated the cosmic treadmill which proceeded to blow up in his face. Luckily, the accident fixed Hunter’s legs and allowed him to control his own timeline, granting him a form of super speed that makes him far faster than any other speedster on the planet. While Hunter certainly isn’t out of the running to be revealed to be the CW’s Zoom, the evidence is stacking higher and higher in favor of Henry Allen. In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the biggest hints at Barry’s dad being the latest Rogue.

Exit Stage Left

Exit Stage Left

In the premiere episode of the Flash’s second season, Henry Allen was finally released from prison for the death of his wife. Barry’s mother was of course actually killed by Eobard Thawne, the twisted Reverse Flash from the future, now trapped in the past pretending the deceased Harrison Wells. To celebrate, Barry and the gang held a welcome home party for Henry to which he took the opportunity to split almost immediately. Henry’s reasoning behind cutting the scene was that Barry “didn’t need two fathers in his life”, seeing as how Joe West had taken that role. This reasoning seemed a little flimsy to many fans, wondering if he had actually been telling the truth, planting the seeds of his potential secret identity.

When Henry eventually returns to Barry’s life several episodes later, he informs Barry that he was on a fishing trip during his absence. Again, this tale had the audience raising yet another big eyebrow, as he seemingly, and conveniently, was unable to be contacted during that time. Perhaps he was using this opportunity to put on a black suit and attempt to take out some speedsters? “Going on a fishing trip” is usually one of the biggest phony excuses in media that Barry is just gullible enough to buy from his father…if this is actually his father at all.

Doppelgangers Abound

Doppelgangers Abound!

Certainly are a lot of alternate reality doubles popping up in Earth 1 these days huh? Linda Park encountered her own mirror image in the form of Earth 2’s Doctor Light, the gang is dealing with a more altruistic, yet still as prickly, Harrison Wells from Earth 2, and who’s to say that we won’t see more Earth 2 folks popping up? This leads us to the idea that while Henry Allen may be Zoom, it’s not exactly our Henry Allen. When Henry returns from his “fishing trip”, you can see several differences in both his mannerisms and his appearance. His clothes are a little darker, his hair is parted differently and seems to be slicked down, and he seems a tad curter and direct in general.

It’s entirely possible that the second Henry Allen of Earth 1 was released from prison, his Earth 2 counterpart snatched him up at super speed, gave Barry a fake story about needing to leave in order for him to find himself, and then started running the night away. The pieces of the puzzle point toward this being a very real possibility, as its par for the course this season, and would make for quite the shocking reveal down the road.

Once a Speedster, Always a Speedster

Once a Speedster, Always a Speedster

Swinging back around to the idea of a shocking revelation, it’s just too good of an idea to drop the bomb that John Wesley Shipp, the actor who portrays Henry Allen, is Zoom, because he was once in fact the Flash himself! The first Flash television series was actually released in 1990 on CBS, where JWS portrayed a much larger, though similar Barry. This series was hot on the heels of the Tim Burton Batman movie, so rather than the Flash looking more like a speed runner, he appeared bulky and clad in rubber to mimic the Dark Knight of the time. Though only lasting for one season, the series had its charm and managed to give us some great characters, specifically Mark Hamill’s Trickster, who even appeared in the recent CW series.

Laying out that John Wesley Shipp is the antagonist for this second season would be another fantastic nod to the old series, while also shattering expectations as Henry Allen as Barry’s father would be one of the last people you would expect. Shipp is no stranger to putting on the tights, and it would certainly seem like getting a crack at Zoom would be something he would jump at, and perhaps already has.

Just Look at Zoom

Just Look at Zoom

One of the most blatant tells in Zoom’s identity is simply by looking at him, the guy is huge! Zoom towers over Barry and doesn’t exactly look like someone you would think as a speedster. Zoom’s build is quite similar to Henry Allen’s, seemingly having a combination of speed and downright ruthlessness in his effectiveness in snuffing speedsters. The other candidates for the dark speedster such as Earth 2 Wells, or even an alternate evil Barry, just don’t fit the profile. Zoom’s a monster and you can tell he’s modulating his voice using his powers in a very similar method as Barry did, vibrating his vocal chords. For Barry, you can still hear his voice while he’s the Flash yet much deeper, and while Zoom is voiced by Tony Todd (Candyman), you can sell the idea that it’s a distorted version of Henry’s voice.

There have also been several theories suggesting that Zoom’s eyes are the same as Henry’s, and his pronounced Adam’s Apple can actually be seen through the suit. As you can see though, there are several clues and hints leading one to believe that Henry Allen is Zoom, but we’ll have to keep watching to find out!