One of the more intriguing mysteries of the fall television season this year is the true identity (and overarching purpose) of "The Flash's" Dr. Harrison Wells. Now, an article over at Comic Book Resources is touting one of the better theories that I have heard on this riddle so far.
DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns is executive producing "The Flash" series and has apparently had a good deal of creative pull and/or insight on the program. Johns has recycled characters from the old "Super Friends" cartoons before, when the Wonder Twins and Wonder Dog appeared during his run on the "Teen Titans" comics. But those were relatively major characters, whereas a new fan theory proposed by Jonathan Corbitt via Facebook suggests a minor character seen in one episode might be unlock the mystery of Dr. Wells' identity.
Corbitt writes: "One thing that you should look into about the 'Harrison Wells' theory is an old, 1980 'Super Friends' episode, 'The Elevator to Nowhere'. In the cartoon, Wonder Woman and the Atom are summoned by a Dr. Wells. He tells the duo that he can be reached below ground and for them to get into the elevator, which is really a time machine, and they are forced to go on a time travelling adventure unwillingly. Eventually they get back to the present (1980) and incarcerate Dr. Wells. It never says Dr. Wells' first name, but I would assume this is the same, infamous Dr. Harrison Wells."
I completely agree with what the CBR author says in that by looking at the image above, "the art on Dr. Wells does look a little bit like actor Tom Cavanagh would look if he were drawn into an episode of Scooby-Doo."
From what I am recalling of the episode myself, it doesn't cover anything that Corbitt's initial theory doesn't. The story is only about eight minutes long, and the majority of that is spent with hijinks such as Wonder Woman being detained by George Washington and Blackbeard, the infamous pirate, entrapping poor Atom in a glass jar. Not much super-heroism in that, eh?
All that being said, it's almost impossible to ignore the fact that Harrison Wells' secret chamber on the show, where he's been seen on several occasions discussing time travel and the like with his supercomputer, Gideon, could easily the show's version of the "elevator" seen in the cartoon version.
The episode in question is available to buy on Amazon right here. Give it a view to form your own opinions.
