8 Intriguing Theories About The Man In The Iron Mask’s Identity In The Flash

Introduced in the fourteenth episode of The Flash's second season, the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask has had everyone talking ever since. There are almost countless theories out there as to who it can be, but who are the most likely candidates? Well, there are a long list of possibilities, and not even the cast of the show knew his identity until they started shooting the finale. Teddy Sears (who plays Zoom in The CW series) recently promised that the reveal will be "very satisfying for the viewers," and expectations are now sky high for his unmasking to be a huge and shocking moment. So, with that in mind, we've sifted through all the clues and theories to come up with the eight most likely candidates for who he could be. When it comes to great twists and turns, The Flash always delivers, so chances are that whoever's beneath that mysterious mask is going to be a big name, and you can bet your life that it will end up being one of this lot... 8) Wally West In the comic books, Wally West also has superspeed, and with Barry Allen poised to recreate the particle accelerator explosion which gave him his powers in the first place, that could very well be when Joe's son gains his own remarkable abilities. Or not. What if it's the Earth-2 Wally who is actually a speedster? Killer Frost mentioned in the latest episode that Zoom only holds on to those he needs, and that could explain why he's keeping him prisoner (due to him wanting to take that hero's speed next). Revealing Wally as the real hero of Earth-2 would be a fun twist which could leave the door open to the Earth-1 version embarking on a similar path a little further down the line. Ultimately though, this doesn't feel like a big enough reveal, and The Flash is probably better off just focusing on the version we've been getting to know this season. 7) Max Mercury Max Mercury has served as a mentor to everyone from Jay Garrick to Barry Allen and Wally West over the years, and it would actually be pretty surprising not to see this time travelling speedster show up in The Flash at some point in the near future. Whether him being revealed as the Man in the Iron Mask would be a satisfying pay off is hard to say, especially as it's only going to be viewers with a good knowledge of the source material who recognize the name. Still, introducing Max as a new mentor to Barry could be very interesting, especially as his comic book counterpart was at one time possessed by The Rival, another mysterious speedster who is essentially Jay's own Reverse-Flash. With that in mind, Max could actually be revealed as the big bad of season three if that's once again the case. 6) Eddie Thawne When we last saw Eddie Thawne, he shot himself through the heart in order to wipe his descendent Eobard (a.k.a. Reverse-Flash) from history. His body was then sucked into the Singularity, and who knows what sort of changes it could have gone while passing through that doorway. In fact, there's a chance that Earth-2 technology could have been used to save his life, and if that's the case, it means that the Reverse-Flash could make a return somewhere down the line, too. However, with Iris and Barry seemingly about to finally embark on a romantic relationship, Eddie's return would throw a real spanner into the works for them, and if he has been given powers of some sort, his presence in season three of The Flash could shake things up in a very big way. 5) Hunter Zolomon While posing as Jay Garrick, Zoom showed Caitlin Snow his Earth-2 doppelgänger, Hunter Zolomon. However, how do we know that wasn't the same time remnant he used to fake his death? Even though the reasons are unlikely to be revealed until the finale, Zoom kidnapping his Earth-1 counterpart could make a lot of sense, especially if he believes he needs him to survive or has some sort of plan for his doppelgänger (the fact that Zoom seems to dislike being unmasked could explain why he's covered the mysterious character's face up...the escaped mental asylum patient likely doesn't want to have to look at himself). Hunter could then be brought back in season three as an ally to Barry, a similar role he played to Wally in the comic books...until he too became Zoom when the hero refused to use his superspeed to travel back in time and save him from being paralyzed. However, his Zoom actually slows down time around him in order to create the effect of him moving extremely fast. 4) Barry Allen We know that the Man in the Iron Mask isn't the Earth-2 Barry Allen, but he could still be a Barry from the past or future. Time travel is a very confusing thing, but The Flash does a great job of handling it, so you have to believe the show could come up with a convincing explanation both as to why Zoom has kidnapped whatever version of Barry this might be and how he'll factor into the series moving forward. Bear in mind that we still don't know what happened to the Barry who travelled back to stop his younger self saving his mother, so The Flash could very well find a clever way to tie this season two story into that somehow. Confused yet? Again, time travel can be a baffling storytelling device, but provided they handle it the right way, this could be a really unique reveal. 3) Earth-1 Harrison Wells (a.k.a. Eobard Thawne) Zoom has been a great villain, but I think it's fair to say that the majority of The Flash's fans would still like to see the Reverse-Flash return. Eobard Thawne somehow being saved by the Earth-2 bad guy would make for a shocking twist, and he could have actually plucked him from the timeline in order to steal his speed before taking Barry's. Making season three all about Eobard's quest to regain his speed would be a little too much like season one, but bringing the character back in some capacity (even if he's once again disguised as Harrison Wells after the Earth-2 version returns home) still has a ton of potential. Again, this is a tough one to figure out, but The Flash is a series which could make something like this work, and most people definitely wouldn't see it coming. 2) Jay Garrick Whoever is in the Iron Mask spelled out "J-A-Y" to Barry when he was being held captive by Zoom, but was that in a bid to reveal the real identity of the villain (who was posing as Jay Garrick at the time and had not yet been revealed as Hunter Zolomon), or a way of trying to tell the hero who he really is? The Flash's showrunners have already confirmed that Hunter Zolomon is not a reinvention of the actual Jay Garrick, so revealing a new actor as the actual Jay would be a great way of redeeming the hero that fans are still desperate to see in live-action. It also sets up a third season where these two iconic DC Comics superheroes could actually team-up together. Whether Jay is currently a regular guy or already has powers, this twist is one which would please just about everyone. 1) Ronnie Raymond The last time we saw Ronnie Raymond, he was flying into the Singularity as one half of Firestorm in order to detonate and close the breach. Dr. Martin Stein came back from that alone, and is now paired up with Jax in Legends of Tomorrow as a new version of the hero. Ronnie also surviving the explosion but being stranded on Earth-2 makes perfect sense, and Zoom deciding to kidnap him as a bargaining chip would also work. Plus, there's a very good chance that after falling for Caitlin, Zoom would want to keep Ronnie hidden from her and the rest of Team Flash, hence the mask. A return for Ronnie in the finale would result in some much needed happiness for Caitlin after being betrayed by Zoom, and also gives The Flash one of its best supporting characters back. That does it for our picks, but feel free to head on down to the comments section below and let us know who you think is beneath the iron mask.