Pied Piper (DC Comics)

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This article is about DC Comics' Hartley Rathaway. For other comics topics, see Pied Piper (disambiguation).
Hartley Rathaway
Pied Piper
New Earth
Team affiliationsRogues
Notable aliasesThomas Peterson, Henry Darrow
Abilities
  • Genius-level intellect
  • Enhanced hearing
  • Sound manipulation
  • Master musician
  • Utilizes hypnotic flute

Pied Piper (Hartley Rathaway) is a

the Flash. The character was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino, and made his first appearance in The Flash #106 (May 1959).[1]

Piper was originally introduced as a foe of the Flash / Barry Allen and eventually became a member of the Rogues, a criminal association led by Captain Cold which often battled the Flash.[2] During the crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths, most of the Multiverse was destroyed, which resulted in the DC Universe being rebooted; moreover Barry died, and Wally West took up the mantle of the Flash. Following the events of Crisis, Piper was re-introduced in The Flash (vol. 2) #20 (December 1988) as having reformed and become a champion for the poor. Soon afterward, he became an ally and personal friend of Wally, and an integral member of the Flash family.

Following the events of Flashpoint, DC Comics rebooted its universe once again and relaunched its titles in 2011, during The New 52 event. Here, Piper is portrayed as a former member of the Rogues, who has given up being a vigilante and is dating David Singh, Barry's Director at the Central City Police Department. Although an ally of Barry, Piper was unaware of his double life as the Flash and has a smaller role. Following Infinite Frontier, Wally again became the main Flash—Barry's role being diminished—and Piper was once-more depicted as aware of his friend's secret identity and member of the Flash family.

The Pied Piper appeared in the

ninth seasons of The Flash, portrayed by Andy Mientus
.

Publication history

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character made his first appearance in The Flash #106 (May 1959).[3]

Following the events of Crisis, Piper was revealed to be gay in The Flash (vol. 2) #53 (August 1991).[4]

Fictional character biography

Hartley Rathaway was born

Flash
.

Reform

Rathaway, as appeared in The Flash vol. 2, 190 (November 2002). Art by Scott Kolins.

After Allen's death during

Linda
, whom he helps with scientific problems.

Sometime later, Piper was arrested for the murder of his parents. Wally was sure Piper could not have committed such an act, but Piper himself seemed to believe himself guilty. Wally eventually discovered that the true murderer was

Zoom
.

It was later revealed that Barry Allen had

the Top
, turning him into a hero (the Top had gone on a murderous rampage and Allen believed this was the only way to stop him from causing more harm). As a hero, the Top went insane over the guilt of his earlier deeds. After Allen had died, Wally received a letter from Barry asking him to restore Top's mind if he ever returned. After Wally had Zatanna restore the Top's mind, the Top revealed that when he had been a hero he had attempted to reprogram many of the other Rogues into heroes as well, including the Pied Piper.

When the 'good' Rogues went after the remaining 'bad', Top returned to undo his brainwashing on the redeemed Rogues. When the Piper battled the Flash, West unmasked himself, triggering a flood of memories of their friendship and causing the Piper to pass out as his mind repaired itself. When he awoke, Piper appeared to be his old self again and came to Linda's aid. Piper remains the only Rogue to no longer be a villain, save for

Magenta
. He later had all charges for murder cleared.

One Year Later

Brother Eye
finishes assimilating Apokolips.

DeSaad finally gets into Brother Eye's control and convinces Piper to play his flute to activate the Anti-Life Equation. Piper agrees to play, but upon hearing that DeSaad was the mastermind behind his recent misfortune, in an almost successful attempt to break his spirit and take control of him, he kills DeSaad with a tune. He plays one final time for Brother Eye, a swan song, "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, that blows up the merged entity Brother Eye/Apokolips, with him still trapped inside, apparently left to die.[9] However, he is later seen alive in the streets of Gotham City, saying that if he was allowed to live for some reason, this time he will play on the side of the angels.[10]

Final Crisis

Pied Piper returns in the

Zoom and the Rogues, using his flute to paralyze the combatants, and taking the opportunity to revenge himself upon Mirror Master through a kick in the face. Before he can do anything else, Libra appears, and stabs Piper in the shoulder with his spear. Although wounded, Piper is able to contribute in the killing of Inertia by holding him in place for the Rogues using his flute. Piper is later mentioned to have turned himself into the Central City Police Department.[11]

The New 52: The Flash and Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion (2011–2016)

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Hartley is now the conductor of Central City's orchestra, and it is said that he is a 'reformed vigilante'. He later assists Flash and former Rogue teammate Captain Cold against the newly united Rogues.[12]

He is in a romantic relationship with David Singh, the director of the crime lab at the Central City Police Department.[13]

DC Rebirth: The Flash (2016–present)

Powers and abilities

A genius of sonic technology, by the age of sixteen Rathaway had crafted a sophisticated

DeSaad, Rathaway's power is based on the manipulation of The Anti-Life Equation
. Rathaway also employs a number of devices that can generate or amplify sound for destructive or protective purposes.

Other versions

Action Comics

The first Pied Piper appears in Action Comics #48 (May, 1942). Working for the Queen Bee, the Pied Piper would play his flute, whose music would compel the VIPs that had been previously drugged by Queen Bee to follow him. He'd lead them to a hidden bunker under the ocean where Queen Bee would hold them for ransom. He was stopped by Mister America.

Earth-S

The Earth-S version of Pied Piper appears in Captain Marvel Jr. #2 and 3 (1942). This version is an enemy of Captain Marvel Jr.

Flash Comics

A version of Pied Piper appears in Flash Comics #59 (November, 1944).

Detective Comics

A version of Pied Piper appears in

Robin
and the Pied Piper was eventually captured.

Mystery in Space

A version of the character named Pied Piper of Pluto appears in Mystery in Space #110 (September, 1966).

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, the Pied Piper is a hero who has had his vocal cords ripped out by Citizen Cold, forcing him to rely on a cybernetic replacement.[14] Pied Piper was also a childhood friend of Wally West. He arrives at Wally's lair and discovers that Wally has been killed by Citizen Cold. Pied Piper takes Wally's place in uncovering evidence of Citizen Cold's true identity. Pied Piper runs through the sewers and intends to rescue Iris West from the Rogues but was apparently killed by Citizen Cold's exploding ice sculpture.[15] He was later revealed to have survived, and revealed to Iris that Citizen Cold had killed her nephew. After threatening to reveal Citizen Cold's true criminal identity, Pied Piper was briefly attacked by Citizen Cold, who was then frozen by Iris as payback for what he did to Wally.[16]

DCeased

In the timeline depicted in DCeased, Hartley is living with David Singh in their apartment, having battling the "Anti-Living" with his powers, until they rescued by Martian Manhunter.[17]

In other media

Television

  • An original incarnation of the Pied Piper named Hamlin Rule appears in a self-titled episode of Wonder Woman, portrayed by Martin Mull. This version hypnotizes women to rob the venues at which he performs.
  • The Pied Piper makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance".
Andy Mientus as Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper in The Flash.
  • The Pied Piper appears in
    Red Death
    .
  • The Pied Piper makes a cameo appearance in The Sandman.[19]

Film

Video games

The Pied Piper appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Jim Canning.

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0
    .
  2. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X
    .
  3. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6
    .
  4. ^ Yezpitelok, Maxwell (September 24, 2011). "William Messner-Loebs' Flash (Part 3)". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #190 (November 2002)
  6. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #12 (February 2008)
  7. ^ Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11 (June 2007)
  8. ^ Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (August 2007)
  9. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #9 (February 2008)
  10. ^ Countdown to Final Crisis #1 (April 2008)
  11. ^ Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #3 (November 2008)
  12. ^ The Flash (vol. 3) Annual #1
  13. ^ The Flash (vol. 4) #8 (June 2012)
  14. ^ Flashpoint #1 (June 2011)
  15. ^ Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #2 (July 2011)
  16. ^ Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #3 (August 2011)
  17. ^ DCeased: Hope at World's End #1
  18. ^ "The Flash Casts Smash Alum to Play Gay DC Comics Villain Pied Piper". TVLine. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  19. ^ Opie, David (August 7, 2022). "The Sandman includes some major superhero cameos you might have missed". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  20. ^ Mayimbe, El (May 19, 2008). "Supermax: Green Arrow Story Details + Villains/Inmates Gallery". LatinoReview.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

External links

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