The Zoom suit was a protective suit that Hunter Zolomon used to hide his identity as his super villain alter-ego, Zoom, and got stuck wearing it for eternity upon his capture and transformation by the Speed Force.
Overview
Original suit
The suit is almost identical to Barry Allen's and Eobard Thawne's respective suits, but instead of being reverse colors of each other, Hunter's suit is filled with black and grey colors, with a reverse Flash symbol on the chest like Eobard's. Also unlike other speedster uniforms, Hunter's has a full mask, the face of which resembles a scarecrow or demon like figure. Another difference is that while previous speedster uniforms have had a mask which folded back like a hood, Hunter's mask is completely separate from the rest of the suit.[1]
Current suit
The suit's appearance was altered when Zoom was captured by the Time Wraiths.
In the final battle against The Flash, Hunter's mask was half-torn by his enemy. After the Time Wraiths captured Hunter and transformed him into decayed spectre-like being, the suit as whole slightly changed in appearance, with the ear-pieces on the mask turning red from black, along with the symbol on his chest turning from black to red-on-white.[2]
In his later appearances, the symbol on his chest had changed from red-on-white to red-on-black. Also, the lightning design on the belt portion of the suit seems to of changed from silver outline to all silver.[3]
Functions
- Identity concealment: Hunter used a pitch black mask to conceal his identity and stay anonymous. The mask was damaged after his final battle with Barry who tore the left side of it off, he now has no use for it.
- Force resistance: Like the Flash and Reverse Flash's suits, Hunter's Zoom suit is designed to be resistant to extreme physical forces and protect the wearer from it. An example of this was when Hunter was attacked by Killer Frost in which the suit was providing Hunter with a bit of protection.
- Clawed gloves: Unlike the Flash and Reverse Flash suit, Hunter's gloves are spiked-tipped, giving the appearance that he has claws. He mainly uses them as offensive weapons to stab his victims and was thought to be the method to how he steals the speed of other speedsters. This was revealed to be false, when "Jay" reveals that he "lost his speed" due to "overusing Velocity 6". He could channel the electricity on him to his claws to shock and cause pain to people he touched with them, as he did to Harry. At super speed or by vibrating, the claws can have enough force and momentum to kill someone that they are stabbed into, as he did to Reverb when vibrating his hand and he did to Rupture when charging at super speed. They became actual claws after the Time Wraiths transformed Hunter into the Black Flash.
- Intimidation: Fitting in with his sadistic and feral personality, Hunter's suit functions well for intimidation purposes due to its frightening appearance. Complimenting the sound that Hunter's Speed Force connection generates, with the appearance of Hunter's blue Speed Force lightning, the slitted mouth, and the suit's black coloring give him the terrifying appearance of a thunderstorm incarnate. This gives him a psychological edge over his opponents, using fear to get under their guard. Unlike the first time, the suit's eyes used to glow blue, but now it just shows some demonic eyes with scar type things on it. The Zoom suit resembles blue lightning.
- Earpieces: The suit has wireless communication capabilities through its built in earpieces, though it is unclear what Hunter uses them for, though it is highly possible that he uses them to communicate with his lieutenants to make sure the city is in line. Unlike the Flash and Reverse Flash suit, his lightning bolts on his earpieces are curved at the tip instead of being straight, and retained this property after being turned into the Speed Force enforcer.
Known users
- Hunter Zolomon/Zoom/Black Flash (status unknown)
Appearances
The Flash
Season 2
Season 3
Season 5
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DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Season 2
- "The Legion of Doom"
- "Doomworld"
- "Aruba"
The Chronicles of Cisco
- Template:COC
Trivia
- Zoom's mask seems to resemble the mask Hunter Zolomon was wearing during his shock therapy treatment; this is probably where he got the idea from.
Behind the scenes
- In DC comics, Hunter Zolomon's suit was almost exactly the same as Eobard Thawne's but had dark lenses on the eyes. This is changed in the TV show, along with most of Zolomon's character.
- In DC comics, Black Flash wears a black and red version of The Flash suit, similar to the one shown on the show, but with no connection to Zolomon. However, Thawne and Barry would go on to take up the mantle of the Black Flash after it is destroyed.
- It is unknown why the emblem on the suit became white when Zolomon was first captured by the Wraiths, the same color as it is in the comics, but then reverted to black in subsequent appearances. It is presumably an oversight by the animators.