On The Flash, during Barry Allen's visit to Earth-2, we got a brief glimpse of a mysterious man in an iron mask, a prisoner of Zoom's. Since then, we've seen a few other shots of that character, but with no real hints about who he really is.
With Zoom finally revealed as an alternate Earth version of Jay Garrick, that raised even more questions about the identity of the mysterious prisoner. Is that iron-masked prisoner yet another Jay Garrick? Or is he perhaps someone else entirely?
We examined some theories about who (or what) the man in the iron mask really is (and no, we don't think it's Leonardo DiCaprio).
Jay Garrick
The most obvious theory involves the character being Jay Garrick from an alternate Earth, which suggests that Zoom wants to collect versions of himself. This also leads into the theory that Earth-2 Jay Garrick, friend to Earth-1 Team Flash, is not dead, but just another Jay in Zoom's collection.
Why would Zoom want to collect other versions of himself? It would make sense that he plans on harnessing the power of all his counterparts, right? What if Zoom suffers from the same malady that threatened the life of Earth-2 Jay Garrick? Remember how Caitlin had an idea to cure him with matching DNA? Well, what if Zoom has that same illness: wouldn't he also need matching DNA to cure himself? That's why the other Jay Garricks come in handy.
However, that begs the question as to which Jay Garrick this is. We know that Zoom can easily travel through time, so it's even possible that the man in the iron mask is the presumably dead Earth-2 version of the character. We never saw a body when Zoom "killed" him, so what if he survived to become Zoom's prisoner?
Of course, this also works if another theory proves correct: that Zoom is actually Hunter Zoloman, who just pretended that he was Jay Garrick. We've already met Hunter Zoloman on Earth-1, who is, supposedly, Jay Garrick's double in that universe. This could also suggest that the Jay Garrick that Caitlin knew wasn't even Jay Garrick at all, specifically since he did not have any powers. What if he was just the Hunter Zoloman from Earth-2 instead?
Yes, it's all very convoluted, but that's what happens when you have a show about multiple Earths and time travel.
Future Barry Allen From Earth-1
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In the first season of The Flash, we saw a newspaper article from the future about the Flash's disappearance. That future disappearance was never resolved, not even after the team erased Earth-1 Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne from existence. So, what happens to future Barry Allen that causes him to go missing?
Perhaps future Barry gets kidnapped by Zoom and put in a prison that will hold him and prevent him from using his speed powers. We already know that Zoom has powers far greater than Barry's, and that means that he can travel through time at will, so maybe he nabbed the Flash from future Earth-1 and captured him.
Why? Zoom seeks to become more powerful, so maybe he wants to harness power from multiple versions of the Flash (specifically as he tasked Harrison Wells with stealing power from present day Earth-1 Barry to begin with).
Hunter Zoloman
We've already learned that Hunter Zoloman is Jay Garrick's DNA match, and we've seen him on Earth-1. What if that guy we saw sitting on the park bench in the scene with Jay and Caitlin was just a ruse set up by Zoom to keep Caitlin from getting too hot on the Zoom trail? Perhaps Zoom set up his prisoner as Jay's DNA match there, but then later takes him back to prison on Earth-2. This sort of goes along with the theory that Jay and Hunter Zoloman are one in the same, but then, we get back into the sort of convoluted and complex theories of time travel and multiple universes.
Considering that we've already seen hints that Zoom is Hunter Zoloman and not Jay Garrick, this kind of goes along with the similar reasoning that Zoom wants to collect versions of himself to either cure an illness or to grow more powerful (we're betting on the latter). Or perhaps Hunter and Jay are twins, but either way, this theory could prove true.
In DC Comics, Hunter Zoloman becomes Zoom, so there's credence to this theory.
Eddie Thawne
This is probably wishful thinking, but just because Eddie Thawne killed himself on Earth-1 doesn't mean that he doesn't have a doppelganger on other versions of Earth, including Earth-2. We're not exactly sure why Zoom would keep Eddie prisoner, but it's possible, right?
There's also another detail to contend with: when Eddie killed himself to erase Eobard Thawne from existence, his body got sucked into the wormhole. That means there's no proof that he actually died: what if he ended up on Earth-2 and in the hands of Zoom? Because of his experiences with Earth-1's Team Flash, that would make him a valuable prisoner, a card to pull out of the deck to shock Barry and his friends when they least expect it.
Eddie was the key factor in stopping the bad guy during the show's first season, so who's to say he doesn't have an equally-valuable role this season?
Earth-1 Henry Allen
We're still in shock that Barry's father decided to leave Central City immediately after getting out of prison. That was something no one saw coming. What if his leaving has something to do with this season? What if we haven't seen him this season because of Zoom?
Think about this: Henry leaving his son so soon after getting reunited with him made absolutely no sense. What if he didn't leave of his own free will? What if Zoom threatened him (or Barry) and forced him to go to Earth-2? What if Zoom deliberately made Henry leave to become his prisoner, only to hold onto Henry for later use against Barry?
Think about how it would affect Barry if he learned that his father was prisoner to his archenemy. That would impact the show big-time, and cause a lot of surprise and drama for Barry and those around him.
Even if Henry did leave his son of his own will, he still could have become Zoom's prisoner. Henry is something that could easily be held against the Flash as leverage, so it kind of makes sense that it's him behind the iron mask.
The Flash airs on The CW on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST.
