Thinker (DC Comics)
The Thinker is the name of five
The first incarnation, Clifford DeVoe, is an enemy of Jay Garrick. The second, Clifford Carmichael, is an enemy of Firestorm. The third, Desmond Carter, is an enemy of Batman. The fourth, an A.I. version of the Thinker, is an enemy of the Justice Society of America. An unidentified version of Thinker, introduced in the New 52, is an enemy of the Suicide Squad.
The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including television series and feature films. The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of the Thinker made his live-action debut in the television series The Flash, portrayed primarily by Neil Sandilands. In the DC Extended Universe, a variation of the unidentified Thinker called Gaius Grieves appears in The Suicide Squad (2021), portrayed by Peter Capaldi.
Publication history
The Clifford DeVoe version of Thinker first appeared in All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943) and was created by Gardner Fox and Everett E. Hibbard.[1]
In October 1947, the Thinker was one of the six original members of the Injustice Society, who began battling the Justice Society of America in All Star Comics #37 (Oct 1947).[2]
The Cliff Carmichael version of Thinker first appeared in Firestorm #1 (1978) and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom.[3]
Conway recounted, "My original notion on Firestorm was to do a book that would be DC's complement to Spider-Man, in a sense. We would have a young adolescent male who gets superpowers and doesn't know quite what to do with them. My flip on it was that rather than being the science geek who was being picked upon by the jock, my hero would actually be the jock who was picked on by the geek, and that was going to be Cliff Carmichael's role."[3]
In The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #50, the strap on Ronnie Raymond's football helmet is cut, and in the following issues the cast members come to suspect Carmichael of the crime. Though Conway later said that he must have intended to ultimately reveal someone else as the culprit (commenting "Cliff was a jackass, but he wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac"), John Ostrander took over as the series' writer and had Carmichael confess to cutting the strap.[3] In Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #99 Carmichael was transformed into the Thinker as part of the genre-wide trend in which civilian cast members were almost eliminated from superhero comics.[3]
Fictional character biography
Clifford DeVoe
Thinker | |
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Publication information | |
mind control |
Clifford DeVoe was a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933. Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered had the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he started a new career as the brain behind small-time villains. As the Thinker, he was defeated by the original Flash/Jay Garrick, his most recurrent foe. He always sought out new scientific devices to use and his most important was the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that could project mental force. The Thinker would use this device repeatedly over the years.
The Thinker was a member of the Injustice Society, leading an army of prison escapees like the other members.[4] In Plateau City, the police nab a shabbily dressed man who is trying to shoot the governor. They discover that this man is a dead ringer for the governor and also claims to be the real governor. The Flash arrives on the scene to overhear this, but moves on to confront the hoodlums attacking the city. The Thinker appears on the scene, firing a ray at the Crimson Comet, causing him to gain weight and crash through a roof. Recovering, the Flash speeds over to the governor's mansion, only to overhear the governor ordering all police forces to surrender. Flash enters his office and discovers the governor to be a dummy/machine, which flees through an open door. Flash attempts to warn the police that a phony governor put out the message, but the Thinker shows up and tells the Fastest Man Alive that he is speaking into a dead mic, then snares him with invisible wires.
The Thinker appeared as a judge in the 'trial' of the JSA, but was revealed as the
In recent years, DeVoe accepted a mission with Task Force X in exchange for a full pardon.
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Thinker is depicted as a former district attorney of Keystone City back in the 1940s and fought Jay Garrick. After being briefly told by Eobard Thawne that everyone will forget him, Jay throws his helmet towards Thinker to knock him out and then takes down Thinker's henchmen.[8]
Cliff Carmichael
Thinker | |
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Publication information | |
Created by | Gerry Conway Al Milgrom |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Cliff Carmichael |
Species | Human Cyborg |
Team affiliations | Suicide Squad Secret Society of Super Villains |
Abilities | Technologically derived telekinesis and mind control |
Clifford Carmichael was an intellectual bully and the rival of Ronnie Raymond (one half of Firestorm) at Bradley High and later at Vandemeer University. Cliff viewed Ronnie as a rival due to his popularity.[a] He tormented Ronnie throughout his high school career and later at Vandemeer University. It was at Vandemeer that Cliff's pranks turned sinister as he cut the helmet strap on Ronnie's football helmet, hoping to get him injured. Cliff's cousin Hugo Hammer accidentally took Ronnie's helmet. During a football game, Hugo neck was broken.
Wracked with guilt after accidentally paralyzing his cousin, Cliff was admitted into a
During the 2005–2006 "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Cliff appears as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.
With John Ostrander's revival of the Suicide Squad in a 2007-2008 miniseries, Cliff was once again associated with the Suicide Squad under Amanda Waller's direction.[12] It was revealed that although Firestorm had removed the enhancements in Cliff's brain, he made a full recovery and continued to serve as a technical support staffer and lackey to Waller in her operations of the Squad. Eventually betraying the Squad under the direction of "the General", Cliff shot King Faraday and subdued Waller in the middle of an operation. Faraday recovered, shooting Cliff three times and presumably killing him before rousing Waller and regaining control of the Squad.[13]
Des Connor
Thinker | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Batman: Shadow of the Bat #67 (October 1997) |
Created by | Alan Grant Norm Breyfogle |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Desmond Connor |
Species | Human Cyborg |
Abilities |
|
Des Connor was a villain who also used the name "the Thinker" and faced Batman in Gotham City. Possessing telepathic abilities enabling him to amplify the fears of others, Connor began a partnership with hypnotist Marlon Dall. Their combined illusions caused the city's most prominent citizens to commit various criminal acts which they used as a distraction for their own heist. This Thinker was swiftly beaten by Batman, who was somehow immune to his powers.[14]
Artificial intelligence
Thinker | |
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Publication information | |
JSA #9 (April 2000) | |
Created by | David S. Goyer Geoff Johns Stephen Sadowski |
In-story information | |
Species | Artificial intelligence |
Team affiliations | Injustice Society Secret Society of Super Villains Checkmate Legion of Zoom |
Notable aliases | White King's Bishop |
Abilities | Binary intelligence capable of integrating into and controlling computerized and electronics systems |
When the re-formed JSA moved into the
The Thinker A.I. resurfaced in
During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, the Thinker A.I. was among the villains in Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.
The Thinker A.I. has been brought into Checkmate as the White King/Mr. Terrific's Bishop.[18][19]
In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". The Thinker A.I. appears as a member of the
Unnamed Thinker
Thinker | |
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Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #24 (December 2013) | |
Created by | Matt Kindt Patrick Zircher |
In-story information | |
Species | Human Cyborg |
Team affiliations | Secret Society of Super Villains |
Abilities | Superintelligence |
During the 2013–2014
Other versions
JLA: The Nail
In
Flashpoint
In the
In other media
Television
- The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of the Thinker makes minor non-speaking appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society and the Flash's Rogues.
- The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of the Thinker makes a minor non-speaking appearance in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Sword of the Atom!".
- The Marlize DeVoe, developed the "Thinking Cap" to increase his intelligence, only to become a metahuman with gifted intelligence and an advanced form of ALS. In an attempt to cure himself and remove technology from the world, Clifford became a wheelchair-bound cyborg and tricked the Flash into helping him create 12 metahumans so he can steal their powers, give himself a new body, and counter the Flash and his allies. While the speedster eventually succeeds in foiling Clifford's plans, the latter's "Enlightenment" satellite would go on to create more new metahumans and meta-technology that empowered individuals such as Cicada.
- The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of the Thinker, based on his Golden Age counterpart, makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Stargirl episode "Summer School: Chapter One" via a photograph. This version previously fought the Justice Society of America.
Film
The Thinker, based on the unidentified incarnation, appears in
Notes
- ^ As revealed in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #53 (November 1986). DC Comics.
References
- ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
- ^ a b c d Wells, John (September 2016). "Bullies and Blowhards of the DC Bronze Age". Back Issue! (#91). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 26–27.
- ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ^ Waid, Mark. "Chapter 7 Stolen Thunder". The Life Story Of The Flash by Iris Allen. DC Comics.
- ^ Doom Patrol and the Suicide Squad Special #1. DC Comics.
- ^ a b The Flash (vol. 2) #134 (February 1998). DC Comics.
- ^ The Flash #750. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad #48. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad #61. DC Comics.
- ^ Firestorm (vol. 3) #11 (May 2005). DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 3) #1. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 3) #7. DC Comics.
- ^ Batman: Shadow of the Bat #66. DC Comics.
- ^ JSA #17. DC Comics.
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #187. DC Comics.
- ^ JSA Classified #5. DC Comics.
- ^ Checkmate (vol. 2) #9. DC Comics.
- ^ Checkmate (vol. 2) #13. DC Comics.
- ^ The Flash #760. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #24. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #25. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #26. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #27. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #28. DC Comics.
- ^ Suicide Squad (vol. 4) #29. DC Comics.
- ^ Justice League: the Nail #2. DC Comics.
- ^ Flashpoint: Legion of Doom #3 (August 2011). DC Comics.
- ^ "'The Flash': Tom Felton Not Returning as Series Regular". EW. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "'The Flash' premiere recap: Team Flash is back, baby!". EW.com.
- ^ Venable, Nick (19 January 2018). "How The Flash Could Use The Cerebral Inhibitor To Defeat The Thinker". Cinemablend.com. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ Anderson, Jenna (2018-01-30). "'The Flash' Plans an Unlikely Escape in "True Colors" Preview". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ^ Vary, Adam B (August 22, 2020). "'The Suicide Squad' First Look, Full Cast Revealed by Director James Gunn at DC FanDome". Variety.
- ^ Gunn, James [@JamesGunn] (July 4, 2021). "[In response to "Is it true the Thinker's real name is Gaius Grieves?"] Yes" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
External links
- The Flash TV Show season 4 Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine