Harrison Wells (Earth-1)

Harrison Wells
Biological Information
Species	Human
Status	Deceased
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-1
General Information
Occupation	Scientist
Family	Tess Morgan (wife; deceased) Unnamed (father-in-law; deceased)
Actor	Tom Cavanagh

"Research laboratories unconnected to the government, unconnected to any business interests or any of that kind of stuff. And then we build right downtown in the heart of the city, in the epicenter, and we become the heart of the city. We become the heart of the nation. We change the way you think about the sciences, and then..."

—Dr. Harrison Wells to Tess Morgan on his ultimate dream^[src]

Dr. Harrison Wells (died 2000) was a brilliant scientist, the husband of the late Tess Morgan, a close friend of Tina McGee, and an identity theft victim of Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash.

Biography

Early life

Harrison and Tess.

Harrison originally lived in Starling City and became a well respected yet eccentric scientist. He was good friends with equally devoted scientists Tina McGee and fell in love with Tess Morgan whom he eventually married. In 2000, Harrison had an idea for a laboratory and discussed this concept with Tess while on a date at the beach, which made her smile and even developed the name.

Death

Harrison killed by Eobard

In 2000, while driving home after their date on the beach, Harrison unknowingly drove into spike strips set by Eobard Thawne, causing an accident which totaled their vehicle, killed Tess instantly, and injured Harrison. In shock, Harrison is pulled from the car and told of his apparent future success by Eobard. Claiming a need to do these actions much sooner, Eobard used a futuristic device, completely dissolving Harrison into a decayed, featureless corpse in a matter of seconds as his murderer took on his likeness. Afterward, Eobard buried Harrison's body nearby and pretended to crawl out from the wrecked vehicle as first responders arrived, with Eobard identifying himself as Wells.

Original timeline

According to Eobard, Harrison and Tess would apparently go on to build S.T.A.R. Labs in Starling City and successfully unleashed the particle accelerator in 2020 which changed the course of history. Despite his design somehow not resulting in the accelerator not exploding like the current timeline, he was somehow connected to creating famous superhero known as The Flash, and whose legacy would inspire Eobard in the 22nd century to replicate these powers as the Reverse-Flash.

Legacy

With everyone remained unaware of Harrison's death, Eobard would pose as Wells for fifteen years with Harrison's reputation and later legacy suffering greatly thanks to Eobard's various actions.

Unknown to Eobard, Tina somehow knew something wasn't right after Tess's death as Harrison and Tina were good friends.

In 2015, Joe West and Cisco Ramon went to Starling City to do research, discovering the real Harrison's corpse. Joe kept this a secret for Iris West's safety to remain silent about the truth. However, the discovery is shared with Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow with Harrison's corpse in Central City.

When Team Flash initially met Harry Wells of Earth-2, Cisco and Joe unfortunately compared Harry to Eobard while Caitlin remembered Harry would actually be Harrison's doppelgänger. Harry later suspected an encounter during the Reverse-Flash's first time-travel trip to 2016 is what will eventually lead to Harrison's murder.

In 2017, H.R. Wells of Earth-19 trying to bond with Harry has H.R. wonder about their doppelgänger; H.R. could've referred to Harrison but Harry thought about Eobard.

During the Earth-X Nazis' invasion of Earth-1, Eobard kept his victim's likeness to mess with Barry for "old times' sake" and jokingly thought of Harrison's face as "handsome".

Personality

Unlike his murderer/impersonator Eobard Thawne and cynical Earth-2 counterpart Harry Wells, Harrison was a very kind and humble man with a cheerful nature similar to his Earth-19 counterpart H.R. Wells. A naïve scientist and loving husband, he showed and spoke of his dreams for the future while also being romantic to Tess Morgan. To which, he wanted S.T.A.R. Labs to be named after his wife. Harrison was clearly very much in love with Tess; he expressed only concern for Tess and none for himself after Eobard's crash. 

Abilities

• Genius-level intellect/Master Scientist/Business acumen: Harrison was a famous scientist who (in one timeline) successfully opened and operated his own scientific company, possibly similar to his various doppelgängers. Even more, his brilliance as a scientist was proven as the only known variation of Harrison Wells to successfully create the Particle Accelerator without negative results.

Appearances

The Flash

Season 1 "Tricksters" (flashbacks) "All Star Team Up" (mentioned) "Who is Harrison Wells?" (corpse) "The Trap" (mentioned) "Fast Enough" (mentioned; deleted scene) Season 2 "The Darkness and the Light" (mentioned) "The Reverse-Flash Returns" (mentioned) Season 3 "Attack on Central City" (indirectly mentioned) Season 4 "We Are The Flash" (indirectly mentioned) Season 5 "Goldfaced" (indirectly mentioned)

Arrow

Season 6

• "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 2" (indirectly mentioned)  

The Chronicles of Cisco

• Template:COC

Trivia

• Harrison has 12 known doppelgängers, making him the character with the most known doppelgängers.
• Harrison was one of three individuals who have an encounter with Eobard Thawne involving identity theft. The other two are Martin Stein and John Swigert.
• Like Eddie Thawne, Harrison's fate is largely unknown during the Flashpoint timeline but it can be presumed that he and Tess Morgan were still alive since Eobard was prevented from committing the murder.
  • For reasons unclear though, S.T.A.R. Labs' site by 2016 is Cisco Ramon's company. Based on Harrison's conversation with his wife back in 2000, S.T.A.R. Labs may have been established in Starling City instead of Central City in this timeline.
• It's been established that Wells had met Robert Queen at some point, although it is unknown if it was actually Harrison or Eobard.
• Harrison is the third character in the Arrowverse to have an episode named after him in a civilian sense, after Sara Lance and Felicity Smoak.

Behind the scenes

• Harrison Wells does not originate from the DC comics, as he is an original character specifically created for the show. However, there has been another character, only known as "Dr. Wells", who briefly appeared in the tie-in DC comic book of the 1990s The Flash TV series titled, Flash TV Special #1 (January, 1991).
  • Even before that, a villainous character also known as Dr. Wells, sporting similar looks, appeared in the 1973-1985 animated series Super Friends episode "Elevator to Nowhere".
• Harrison's overall characterization resembles Garrison Slate, the creator of S.T.A.R. Labs. Both wanted a government-free network of laboratories.

References

Other versions of Harrison Wells (Earth-1)
To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Harrison Wells.
New multiverse
Earth: Prime
Original multiverse
Earth: 1 • 2 • 12 • 13 • 17 • 19 • 22 • 24 • 25 • 47 • 221 • TUD1 • TUD2 • TUD12 • TUD23 • Netherverse • Eobard Thawne
Transmultiversal multiverse
Earth: 27A