Edwin Gauss

Edwin Gauss
Biological Information
Species	Meta-human
Status	Deceased
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-1
General Information
Alter ego	Folded Man
Actor	Arturo Del Puerto

"Some places are harder to get to than others, but if you ascend your mind to a high enough plane-- you can go anywhere. And my mind is really high."

—Edwin Gauss to Ralph Dibny^[src]

Edwin Gauss (died early 2018), nicknamed Folded Man, was one of the twelve "bus metas". His powers were absorbed by Clifford DeVoe, and Edwin's body was briefly used by him until DeVoe took over Ralph Dibny's body.

Biography

Transformation to meta-human

On October 10, 2017, Edwin Gauss rode a bus through Central City and when Ralph Dibny got on the bus and couldn't pay for the ride, Edwin paid it for him. During the bus ride, a portal opened, releasing Barry Allen from the Speed Force, bathing all of the bus passengers in dark matter. On gaining his powers, Edwin immediately "folded", vanishing into a pocket dimension. For that reason, no one saw him for several months afterward.

Getting found

When Edwin came out of a pocket dimension to put some mail in the post box, he was confronted by The Flash, Vibe, the Elongated Man and Killer Frost who thought they were tracking a pocket dimension of the Thinker. Because he didn't expect to see them, he got surprised and fell back into his pocket dimension.

Later, Team Flash tracked him down to some sort of hippie commune. There, he got chased by Caitlin, but he was too fast and had to be stopped by Barry. Edwin panicked, but after they told him they weren't cops, he calmed down. He then asked about their "ninja buddy" which was a Samuroid sent by DeVoe. The Samuroid then stabbed Caitlin and threw her into a tree stump. Barry then quickly dismantled the Samuroid and caught Caitlin. Then he told Ralph to bring Edwin to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Attacking DeVoe's lair

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Edwin agreed to staying in the pipeline for his own protection but later he got lured out by Ralph holding some Zesty Ranch. They then started talking about the first couple of times he "folded". Edwin said that the very first time he was in a white space for days. He also said that another time he tumbled down a ramp and ended up in a space age-y room with blue lights and there was also a bald man in a Professor X float-y chair with tubes coming out of his noggin and a lady in a white lab coat with a hot accent. Ralph then realized that Edwin was talking about DeVoe's lair and asked Edwin if he could bring them there again to which Edwin responded with yes.

Ralph then planned to let Edwin bring him there so that he could stop DeVoe for good by killing him but then they got stopped by The Flash who fought with Ralph and knocked him out. Team Flash then reconsidered Ralph's plan and then chose to let Edwin send The Flash, Vibe and Killer Frost to stop DeVoe. After Edwin sent them there, he returned to the pipeline.

After DeVoe broke into S.T.A.R. Labs he took Edwin's body and powers. After confronting The Flash, DeVoe proceeded to take Ralph's body, leaving Edwin dead.

Legacy

Edwin's death was avenged when Ralph Dibny regain full control of his body, forcing Clifford DeVoe's consciousness out of the latter's body, after transferring his consciousness into his hoverchair, but perished once-and-for all when his wife Marlize removed the chair's power source, putting an end to DeVoe's madness.

Powers and abilities

Powers

• Meta-human physiology: After Edwin was struck by the dark matter energy after the Flash was released from the Speed Force, his DNA was altered, enabling him to access his newfound powers.
  • Dimensional manipulation: Edwin has the ability to create portals to pocket dimensions by "folding". It is presumed that his power is automatic.

Appearances

The Flash

Season 4

• "The Flash Reborn" (unseen; riding the bus)
• "Run, Iris, Run" (mentioned)
• "Null and Annoyed" (pictured)
• "Lose Yourself"
• "Fury Rogue" (pictured)
• "Think Fast" (pictured)
• "We Are The Flash" (pictured)

Trivia

• Unlike most of the other bus meta-humans; Edwin is (genuinely) not a villain.

Behind the scenes

• In the Flash comics, Edwin Gauss is an American physicist that becomes the Folded Man, a super-villain who uses a suit he built to travel between dimensions, able to become two-dimensional as well as four-dimensional. In the show, he is instead Hispanic and his powers are in his genetics, and he is not evil.
  • His powers have also changed from literally folding himself through two-dimensions and four-dimensions to entering pocket dimensions.