Zoom's Powers... Explained?
By nickthedevil 16 Comments
Hunter Zolomon, ex-friend of wally West gained powers that surpassed the Flash's speed by quite alot.
However, it is one aspect in the Flash comics that has never been thoroughly explained. Especially in Flash comics, we get a description (even if far-fetched) that is acceptable and lets us wrap our minds around the fact, for example, why Captain Cold's cold gun can stop bullets in mid-air, or why the Flash doesn't burn up while running in the Earth's atmosphere. Zoom's powers are explained in Blitz By Jay Garrick, but it is only an educated guess, or hypothesis.
even with this vague description, There are still many questions like, "How can Zoom run across water?", "How can Zoom run across the world and not have to stop to eat, go to the restroom, or sleep?" well after some thought after my Physics Final (I know right?) i began to remember that Zoom is said to have his powers not come from the speed force, but to be derailed from the timeline. This train of thought, however, was followed by another memory: Eobard Thawne/Professor Zoom. Professor Zoom was the leading scientist in the 25th Century on the subject of the Speed Force, and replicated the accident that gave Barry Allen his own powers (This also gives him some credibility in his claims on the Speed Force) Even so, the Speed force wasn't very well explained in depth until Road to Flashpoint. We see Eobard Thawne experiment with his powers and gain abilities that are unknown even to the Flashes. Of course, Thawne harnesses the "Negative Speed force", but still admits that they are both capable of the same things (for the sake of hypothesis, bare with me). Now, it is widely believed by avid comic book readers that Zoom's powers have nothing to do with the Speed Force. I think otherwise. Why? here is why:
1.Hunter Zolomon's incident directly involved the Cosmic Treadmill
Hunter Zolomon gains his powers from an accident involving the Cosmic Treadmill. this object utilizes the power output of the Speed force to enable a flash to go back in time, to the destination and time of his choosing, alot easier. it's purpose is to be exposed to the speed force. Now, hold that thought, and come back to Professor Zoom's research of the Speed Force, and his replicating Barry Allen's accident:
The key component to replicating the accident that gave Barry Allen his powers, was the suit because it had been directly exposed to the Speed force. Hunter Zolomon was caught in an explosion involving the Cosmic treadmill. The Cosmic treadmill worked with time when given the Speed force. My conclusion here was: Did Hunter Zolomon accidentally replicate the Barry Allen incident? This does seem like I'm grasping at straws, but the obvious question that is probably being asked right about now is: "but don't Zoom's powers deal with Time? how can you compare a time machine to the Flash suit?" The answer is found in my next point.
2. Professor Zoom: "The Speed Force is Time"
Now, I may have left out a bit in his quote, but i paraphrased. Here is what he really says:
Here, Professor Zoom explains that the Speed force in itself, is Time. Back to what is known of Zoom, his powers deal directly with time. there, we can connect the question to point #1 to the next point,
3. Zoom's "windows through time"
During Zoom's first assault on Wally West and his Family and friends, there are "windows through time, that involve the people he is directly around, or himself.
We see points in the lives of those present around Zoom, be they future or past, they are there, and involve the person(s) present.
now back to scans in point #2, Professor Zoom explains:
" All of time. existence moving through reality. Kinetic energy. Temporal energy. A storm of intelligence and experience that can connect me to everything and everyone"
Zoom's windows in time are obviously a side effect of his powers. he is not in control of these windows during his first bouts with Wally West, and neither is he in full control of his "speed" at first.
Are Zoom's windows in time possibly the same things he talks about here? (Bottom Scene)
Professor Zoom describes what he sees as he steals the time of another person. he witnesses their memories, intelligence, and experiences first hand. it sounds an awful lot like what we see with Zoom. the only difference? Professor Zoom is in total control of his powers, where as Zoom has difficulty controlling his. This can be inferred, not only from his admitting it, but in his dialogue such as the slurs in his speech pattern and bunched up words/sentences.
Conclusion...?
Zoom's powers do in fact stem from the speed force directly. But in a different way entirely from what we see in The Flashes, or Professor Zoom. It can be argued that Zoom's pwers may work on the "Time" side of the speed force. Back in Point #1, the Cosmic treadmill was compared to the Flash suit. Eobard Thawne experimented with the suit, which wasn't exposed to time travelling, nor did it have anything to do with time traveling, unlike the Cosmic treadmill. Since it was the Cosmic treadmill that exploded, it may have only given Zoom part of the speed force that Professor Zoom had recently tapped into. In the Flashpoint event, Professor Zoom also becomes removed from the time line, just like Zoom is thought to be. This, and the residual red electricity that Zoom gives off at times begs the question, maybe Zoom has his powers from the Negative speed force? it would also certainly explain this:
We all know that Wally has found a way to make constructs with the speed force, and even materialize a suit out of it. is this what Zoom did in his first appearance?
so my final thoughts are, a very strong case can be made to argue that Zoom's powers are tapping into the Speed force, or rather, a different unexplored part of it. Due to the reboot, the chances that this same Zoom's powers being explained are very, very low. but this leaves it open to skepticism to fans like myself. maybe his powers do tap into the speed force? maybe they don't. It matters on the reader, the most when it comes to unexplained concepts like these.
I Hope you enjoyed this fan's amateur analysis.