Reveals and reversals come fast and furious on The Flash. But the "Tricksters" episode may have been the most jaw-dropping yet. I knew it would be an instant classic as soon I heard that the legendary Mark Hamill would be reprising his villainous role from the '90s Flash series. But I had no idea that we'd get such concrete proof of the true identity of Harrison Wells in the same episode, or that his origin story would be so damn heartbreaking. To put it another way, I didn't expect to be sobbing over the beautiful, doomed Tess Morgan while silently begging the editor to cut back to James Jesse and his creepy licorice already. "Tricksters" just made me want to learn more about Tess Morgan, so could The Flash DC Comics hold some clues?
I assumed I'd find more information about Tess, or at least someone like her, in the comics, because any superhero worth their salt lives in a world of abject, paralyzing tragedy. That's how we get superheroes. It's how we get super villains, too. In this Flash episode, we learned that there's a reason why Doctor Wells' nice guy face and non-threatening glasses don't jive with his dastardly plans. There was a real Harrison Wells once. He was kind, brilliant, and married to a kind and brilliant woman. You know, the kind that looks even more ethereal in posthumous flashbacks.
The man we now know as Wells but who is actually Eobard Thawne has mentioned Tess Morgan before. The two were partners in work and life until Tess perished in a car accident. Dr. Wells' wife gave S.T.A.R. Labs its name (she and Cisco definitely would have gotten along), and she crazy-admired her husband.
It's worth noting that current-day Wells looks awfully sorrowful when Tess comes up in conversation. Either the Reverse-Flash is a hell of an actor (possible) or he's absorbing some of Wells' memories (which is way more fun).
So, what do we know of the lovely Tess? We know that she was even smarter than her husband, which was something that made him proud instead of threatened. (TEAM REAL HARRISON.) They used to live in Maryland together, and the particle accelerator was their collective dream. And that's basically it. The DC Comics universe is no help here. Tess Morgan is an original creation of this Flash adaptation and so, a total wild card.
I'm still stuck on the idea that the identities of Thawne and Wells have merged, fundamentally. The "Tricksters" flashback would indicate that the real Harrison Wells is completely gone, but, in his current form, his actions don't always support that theory. I think that Thawne's base, evil instincts are constantly fighting against Wells' memories of the wife that he lost. Maybe I'm too trusting, but I say there's good in him still. I will fight anyone who says that this Wells doesn't feel a genuine fondness for Barry, for example.
So no, I don't think that Tess Morgan is going to show up alive. We won't discover that she was a metahuman. But that's OK. Tess doesn't need to be extraordinary to be important to The Flash mythology.
Images: Cate Cameron/The CW; niveaserrao, felicityholysmoak/Tumblr
