The majority of Season 3 of The Flash still lies ahead, so the show still has many secrets left to reveal before another summer hiatus. But the one that seems to be provoking the most fan theorizing is the identity of the season's first major villain. Doctor Alchemy showed up on The Flash after Barry ditched the Flashpoint timeline. Now, the masked bad guy is restoring the powers of citizens who were metahumans in that universe. He demands their fealty and — in the case of Edward Clariss — kills them if they fail. Fail to what? Well, to achieve the goal of every Flash villain ever: defeat Barry Allen. Whose face is behind that mask, though? I've collected the most popular theories about Doctor Alchemy's identity, so you can make up your own mind.
There is a chance that Doctor Alchemy's alter ego is someone the audience hasn't met yet, but that would make for less of an impactful reveal. The secret identity trope is the tale as old as time in the superhero genre, and the traditional rules for that tell me I'm looking for somebody I already know. Who is Doctor Alchemy on The Flash? These candidates are the current frontrunners.
Julian Albert
This is the most popular Doctor Alchemy theory. Does its obviousness make it the least plausible too? Either way, fans are suspicious of Julian Albert and his intense dislike of his colleague Barry. He's a metahuman expert, as Doctor Alchemy seems to be as well. And the casting of Harry Potter actor Tom Felton suggests that Julian is much more than he seems.
Jay Garrick
Barry wouldn't take to this reveal very well, that's for sure. There's huge emotional resonance, since Earth-3's Jay looks exactly like his deceased father, Henry. Still, it was awfully convenient that Jay tracked Barry all the way into Flashpoint to send him back to his original timeline. Is his concern sincere, or did he need Flash back there in order to carry out his Alchemy plans?
Flashpoint Cisco
I didn't get enough of the callous, billionaire version of Cisco Ramon before Barry righted the timeline, so this theory is a favorite. A Reddit user going by the screenname antonis_dela introduced the topic on the site's Flash board with a compelling bit of evidence. "How he remembers all the metas?" the post asks. "Simple. He is vibin' em." The question remains, though: how did Flashpoint Cisco escape that timeline before it was destroyed?
H.R. Wells
Thanks to Eobard Thawne and Season 1, I'm used to men with the face of Harrison Wells breaking my heart. The Earth-19 version of the man may be setting me up for a fall yet again. H.R. Wells answered the Earth-1 S.T.A.R. Labs call, but he's a little too nice and a little too helpful to be entirely trustworthy. At this point, Team Flash ought to be interrogating anyone who just shows up on their doorstep. Or in their wormhole, as it were.
Will one of these four men be revealed as Doctor Alchemy? As fun as it is to guess, I'm still hoping The Flash will surprise me again.
Images: Dean Buscher/The CW; julianalbertgifs, dailydcheroes, flashfam, rumplestiltskin/Tumblr
