'The Flash' reveals the identity of the man wearing the iron mask that has been kept in Zoom's lair on Earth-2 all this time and it's a familiar face.
- May 25, 2016
AceShowbiz - "The Flash" pulled another twist in the season 2 finale that has brought another speedster into the fold. The Man in the Iron Mask who was held prisoner by Zoom in his lair on Earth-2 was none other than [SPOILER ALERT!] the real Jay Garrick from Earth-3, who is played by John Wesley Shipp.
Yes, Shipp is back in The Flash costume after playing the character on the 1990s TV series. The twist also allows Shipp to stay on the show after his other character, Barry's father Henry Allen, was killed by Zoom.
Shipp admits he was as surprised as viewers would be about this twist. "I never saw this coming," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I left at the beginning of the season, I came back once, but for the most of the season, I was gone. So to be brought back as part of a triple whammy, first with Henry's death, which I expected, then the reveal of the man in the iron mask, which is me, which I didn't expect, and then I certainly didn't expect the man in the iron mask to be Jay Garrick. It's a triple whammy for sure."
Shipp reveals that Jay's dynamic with Barry is going to be completely different from Henry's, although they have the same face. He says, "They had a very physical, hands-on relationship. It was very important to Barry. But that's not who Jay is. Jay has no idea when he comes out of that iron mask, the emotional mine field that he is walking into. Going forward, that's going to be interesting to explore."
"He wants to have the same relationship with Jay that he had with his father, but Jay is coming from place of, 'That has nothing to do with who I am,' " Shipp adds. "This isn't the Henry/Barry relationship in another form. Jay is a very different guy."
Also in the season finale, Barry managed to defeat Zoom. But losing his father after losing his mother was too much for him, so he decided to save his mother in the past. This, of course, will have repercussions for him and the timeline in general.
If a fan theory that first started after Barry decided against saving his mother in last year's finale is right, the show is going to do the Flashpoint in season 3. The said arc was introduced in the comic book, "The New 52", in which Barry finds himself in an alternate timeline in which his mother is not dead, but most of the world's heroes are like villains.
