The Flash: Who Is Joseph Carver?

The Flash returned from its midseason break on Tuesday night with the series' first episode not [...]

By Nicole Drum

The Flash returned from its midseason break on Tuesday night with the series' first episode not only of the back half of its sixth season, but its first following the events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths". While the episode saw Team Flash dealing with the fallout of the events of "Crisis" and the various changes that the event created in their reality, it also saw Iris and her "Team Citizen" back on the case of the mysterious organization they were investigating before the end of the Multiverse. That investigation introduces a new face to the story and its one that fans of DC Comics may know: Joseph Carver.

Spoilers for The Flash episode "Marathon" below.

Thanks to a tip from an informant, Iris goes to McCulloch Technologies to speak with Joseph Carver, the CEO of McCulloch and husband of Eva McCulloch. It quickly becomes clear that Carver is not quite what he seems and that's something that will come as no surprise to fans of the comics.

Created by Joshua Williamson and Neil Googe, Joseph Carver first appeared in 1996's The Flash (Vol. 5) #1 and is a scientist who was trying to find ways to weaponize the Speed Force. In the comics, Carver his struck by lightning while doing research much like Barry Allen was, but he didn't gain superpowers. Because of this, he became bitter about speedsters and The Flash, prompting him to look for ways to weaponize the Speed Force for his own gain. He ends up part of the terrorist organization known as Black Hole whose goal was also to exploit the Speed Force for their own gain. The organization was responsible for a variety of Speed Force powered weapons, such as the Lightning Guns that fire electric blasts.

The Flash appears to be playing with the idea of Carver and Black Hole a bit by having the not-so-good-doctor focus less on the Speed Force and more light-based technology. When Iris confronts Carver, she brings up the photon gun that was stolen from McCulloch Technologies and has been used to murder at least one person. Carver tries to deflect and convince Iris there's no story there, but Iris isn't having it...and it puts her right in Black Hole's crosshairs when Carver orders a new take on Doctor Light - Kimiyo Hoshi - to kill her with that proton gun.

It will be interesting to see how Carver factors into the rest of The Flash's season especially with his wife, Eva McCulloch coming to the series as well. Last fall it was reported that Efrat Dor had been cast as Eva, a role described as "a quantum engineer and co-founder of McCulloch Technologies, Eva McCulloch is a scientific genius who works on the bleeding edge. Eva has been away from Central City for many years. But a chance meeting with Iris West-Allen results in a surprising alliance that pushes the boundaries of sanity, while also uncovering a vast conspiracy to take down Team Flash and its allies."

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Trending Now: