Jay Garrick Is Only A Hero In ‘The Flash’ Comics

Throughout The Flash Season 2, Jay Garrick has been somewhat of a mystery — an incredibly handsome, if still suspicious, mystery. Jay just popped onto the scene in Central City a few months after the singularity between Earth-1 and Earth-2 opened and claimed to be a good guy. So far, he hasn't been anything but a hero, even though he was suspiciously absent at times. Now, with the reveal that Zoom is Jay Garrick aka Hunter Zolomon, is there anything we can learn about the version of Jay Garrick on The Flash from the comics?

In the DC Comics mythos, Jay Garrick was the first version of The Flash, as well as a scientist who mentored other speedsters — so pretty close to what we've seen so far on The Flash. In the comics, Jay was turned into a speedster when an experiment with a cyclotron (a particle accelerator) went wrong. After becoming The Flash, Jay created a long legacy of heroics in the comics, which include joining the Justice League of America, fighting to save the world on multiple occasions, and tutoring Bart Allen (aka teenaged speedster Kid Flash) in the ways of super-speed. So, the Jay Garrick of the comics is a generally all-around good guy.

OK, then how do we fit the comic book version of Jay Garrick into what we've seen of the character on The Flash? Well, last we saw of Jay on the show, he was being yanked through a breach from Earth-1 to Earth-2 and was seemingly killed by Zoom — aka also Jay Garrick? I think it's safe to say that the man in the Zoom suit is not the Jay Garrick we've come to know on the show, nor is he the character that led a long heroic life in the DC Comics.

In fact, the connection between Jay Garrick and Hunter Zolomon on The Flash is a bit confusing if you ask me. Remember, earlier in Season 2, Jay showed Caitlin Snow the (supposed) Earth-1 version of himself, who was named Hunter Zolomon. But, there's also the question of the man in the mask, who spelled out "Jay" to Barry Allen and Jessie Wells when they were all captured in Zoom's lair on Earth-2. Was he referring to Zoom — or was he referring to himself? Here's my theory: The man in the mask is actually Earth-2 Jay Garrick, heroic scientist and all, while Zoom is Hunter Zolomon posing as Jay.

Sounds crazy, right? I may be going a bit off the deep end with this theory, but villains have been known to pose as good guys on The Flash (looking at you Eobard Thawne/Earth-1 Harrison Wells). Still, it would be a cool way to keep Jay on The Flash even after Barry defeats Zoom — because of course he will. Or, I may be completely off base and Jay Garrick is simply an identity made up by Hunter Zolomon, but then the character would be a complete divergence to the DC Comics. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out on The Flash.

Images: Diyah Pera/The CW (2)