The Flash has had its fair share of mysteries over its two seasons so far, and with Zoom's identity out of the way, none have been so fantastically frustrating as the identity of the man in the iron mask in Zoom’s Earth-2 lair. The show has held off on giving us any solid information about just who Zoom has deemed so important as to imprison him long-term without killing him. Even Zoom actor Teddy Sears didn’t know who was behind the mask until production started on the finale. According to recent Flash episode director Kevin Smith, the reveal will not disappoint.
That’s one of the first things I asked when I got up there. I was like, ‘Who’s in the iron mask?’ And they told me and I cried. It’s beautiful. It will make you cry. I almost wish I was involved in the moment in some way.
Kevin Smith’s chat with Zap2It definitely reflects that he’s a fan of the show. What Flash viewer wouldn’t immediately want one of the big finale spoilers if given the chance? As the director of last week's episode, Smith was in the perfect position to ask for details about the man in the iron mask.
Unfortunately for those of us who are still in the dark, Kevin Smith kept mum on any plot details that could give away the identity. The closest that he has come to dropping any spoilers has been to praise how The Flash handled the reveal.
I was like, ‘Holy Shit!’ It expands the show at the same time as being insanely emotional and touching and perfect. That show is insanely well-written within an inch of its life.
Kevin Smith is an expert in all things DC Comics, so his “Holy shit!” reaction can be taken as a sign that the reveal is going to be unforgettable. Honestly, I’m just glad to know that the man in the iron mask is going to be somebody significant with emotional ties to the characters. There’s been too much build in Season 2 for The Flash to be able to get away with putting a third-string character into the mask.
At this point, The Flash hasn’t dropped enough big clues for us to say for sure who is the man in the iron mask, but there are some candidates that we can rule out. Most of the main male characters have either been accounted for or killed on both Earth-1 and Earth-2. As far as I’m concerned, the significant exceptions as of now are Earth-2 Wally West, Earth-1 Hunter Zolomon, and Earth-2 Henry Allen. The Arrow fan in me thinks that the style of the mask could work as a hint of an Earth-2 John Diggle who went on a very different path because Earth-2 Oliver died, but my money as of now is on Henry. The REAL Jay Garrick also has to be addressed at some point, so maybe that's got something to do with it.
Of course, there is the possibility that the man in the mask is a future and/or alternate version of one of the guys of Team Flash, and the latest episode was so wild that it’s not entirely unreasonable to wonder if the man in the iron mask is actually the Speed Force in solid form. Considering that The Flash has worked to keep the mystery going, we definitely shouldn't base our big guesses just on the man's physical build. Any extra could have been wearing the costume in earlier episodes.
There are only two episodes of The Flash left this season, so be sure to tune in to The CW on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET to see what happens with the man in the iron mask. To see what you can expect for next season, check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Season 3 of The Flash.
