Wade Eiling

Wade Eiling
Biological Information
Species	Human
Status	Alive
Universe Information
Home universe	Earth-1
General Information
Occupation	Military general
Alter ego	Goldfinger (while controlled by Grodd; formerly)
Actor	Clancy Brown

"Still pulling needles out of Barry Allen?"

—Wade Eiling to Harrison Wells^[src]

General Wade Eiling is a corrupt military general of the U.S. Army, who was in charge of several of the military's meta-human projects. He was forced to commit robberies under Grodd's mind control for a short period of time, and was partially referred to as simply the General and Goldfinger by Joe West.

Biography

Early life

Wade Eiling previously did many inhumane experiments on Grodd with the intent of increasing his intelligence, but "Harrison Wells" shut down the experiment before they could finish.

Experiments on and hunt for Bette Sans Souci

After the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator accident which granted Bette Sans Souci the power of turning ordinary objects into explosives, Wade began experiments on her, hoping to use her as a weapon in war. After Bette caused an explosion in an office building, Wade decided to take over the case. Wade managed to track Bette and shot Bette though Bette was saved and taken to safety by The Streak. Wade later made it to S.T.A.R. Labs after tracking her location by lacing the bullets with a tracker. Wade was too late as they managed to get Bette out before he arrived. He also had a confrontation with Wells, who denied harboring Bette. When Wade threatened Wells, Wells said if he did it again, he would end him, meaning he would use his powers to kill him. Wade left the crippled scientist alone, reminding that they could've changed the world together.

When Bette supposedly surrendered herself, he and his men were attacked by her with her powers. When Bette was caught off guard, Wade shot and killed Bette right in front of Barry. Her DNA merged with bomb particles became unstable upon her death as her entire body began to glow, leading to a huge explosion from the amount of explosive potential in her body, though Barry rushed her to the river to prevent the city from being hit by the impact. It was at this time Wade learned of Barry Allen being the Streak due to unmasking himself to talk to Bette as she was dying, which the General saw. Wade later claimed that the military were only testing explosives and that the city shouldn't be alarmed.

Wade later returned to S.T.A.R. Labs to confront Wells about the Streak. Seeing the potential in meta-humans, he suggests that they work together again, to which Wells refused. Wade threatened to bring his soldiers in to take over the building, but Wells countered that he could bring an army of press as well and he could testify against him for his unethical projects. He warns Wade not to threaten him again, or he would end him, and not just his career. Turning to leave, Wade reminds Harrison that he knows his secret and the public will learn it as well.

Hunting Firestorm

Some months later, Eiling detected a nuclear explosion in the badlands outside Central City and ordered his men to retrieve Firestorm. He had an encounter with Barry Allen and the separated Ronnie Raymond at Jitters, and he later abducted Martin Stein. However, following his defeat at the hands of the Flash, he was taken by the Reverse-Flash, who revealed his true identity as Harrison Wells. Wells told him he was a meta-human, and therefore, that he "looked out" for other meta-humans, Wells then proceeded to release Grodd on him.

Puppet to Grodd

Some months later, Eiling attacked the bank under the persuasion of Grodd, but he was defeated and unmasked by The Flash. He was brought to the Pipeline and Team Flash discovered that Eiling was being controlled by Grodd, as his mind was in a near-vegetative state. However, Grodd used Eiling to talk to the team. After the team defeated the telepathic gorilla, Eiling was freed from his mind control and was released from the Pipeline, heading back to his military base and begin to hunt down Grodd.

Personality

Wade is shown to be a ruthless and immoral man. He will do anything, including inhumane activities such as experimenting on humans and animals, to strengthen the US military. It could arguably qualify as a monomania, or a singular obsession, since Wade dismisses the fact that he knows Barry Allen is the Flash, given that they have a mutual enemy (Eobard Thawne). He does seem to have some respect for Eobard, as Harrison Wells, even calling him the smartest guy that he knows.

Eiling is a remarkably intelligent man and master strategist, as seen how he used highly specialized weapons against both Flash and Firestorm to target their specific traits and abilities. This shows his dynamic and adaptable mind and how he is always preparing for every possible threat or eventuality. He is very much the worst example of a utilitarian, ready to kill anyone who resists him so long as they can still be of use to him, such as when he attempted to shoot Martin Stein in the head upon learning that he didn't need Stein alive to learn more about the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. matrix. Despite his corrupt nature, ruthless and inhumane actions, he truly believes his actions are for the betterment of the U.S. and the army, always claiming that more soldiers lives can be saved and more enemies of the U.S. defeated through his plans to use metahumans as living weapons for the army, and feels the ends will justify the means without remorse

Appearances

The Flash

Season 1

• "Plastique"
• "The Nuclear Man"
• "Fallout"
• "Rogue Time" (pictured)
• "Grodd Lives"

Season 2

• "Flash Back" (pictured)

Comics

The Flash: Season Zero

• "The Impossible Mission" (mentioned)

Trivia

• In the DC comics, Eiling was known as the General, and had transferred his mind into the body of "The Shaggy Man", a monstrous, indestructible beast.
• Joe refers to Eiling as Goldfinger when he was in costume under Grodd's control, a reference to the James Bond villain of the same name.
  • While Eiling is in costume before his identity is revealed, the subtitles simply refer to him as "Masked Man"
• He is not seen again following Season 1; beyond his plans to hunt down Grodd, his current whereabouts are unknown.