| “ | You gave me my world back. You'll get your world back, too. But you have to do more than just forgive yourself. You have to believe that your world can change. That's the part I'd forgotten. Thanks for reminding me. | ” |
— Hartley Rathaway to Barry Allen[src]
| ||
Hartley Rathaway, self-nicknamed Pied Piper, is an expert in psychoacoustics and sonic vibrations, and a former physicist at S.T.A.R. Labs. After being fired, Rathaway utilized his talents to become the criminal, but later reformed as an ally of Team Flash.
Biography
Early Life
At some point in his life, Hartley Rathaway came out as gay to his parents and was thrown out by them. Later he grew up becoming a physicist and was employed by S.T.A.R. Labs.[1]
Fired by Harrison Wells
Prior to 2014, Rathaway was fired by Harrison Wells due to his instability. During the Particle Accelerator Explosion, he gained the power of superhuman hearing and supersonic scream. As he failed at multiple things, he used the powers as a criminal and put together a group of henchmen. In 2014, he and his henchmen were encountered by The Flash. During the battle, Rathaway boyfriend/right-hand man, Roderick Smith, shot The Flash with a Sonic Cannon. The Flash countered it by throwing lightning. However, the lightning and the cannon caused an explosion and caused Smith to lose a stable body. Rathaway was frustrated after not being able to fix him and sent him to Mercury Labs.[1]
Pay the Piper
In 2020, Rathaway was encountered by The Flash during a jewelry store and his gauntlets were removed. As The Flash did not possess his Post-Crisis memories, he did not know Rathaway on Earth-Prime has the ability of sonic scream, and he flew away. As Chester P. Runk tracked Rathaway in a warehouse, the Flash then ran across the city but was nearly hit by a train. Rathaway was later able to escape.[2]
Godspeed War
| Note: | This section is a stub. Click the edit button to the right of the section title to expand it. |
During Godspeed's attacks, Allen is unable to stop Godspeed and asked Rathaway for help in the field of sonics. However, Rathaway refused unless they offer his something. Allen and Nash Wells later offered to restore Smith's body and Rathaway gladly accepted. When they tried to restore Smith's body, it did not work and instead caused pain on him. Later, Rathaway was sitting alone at the Pipeline until he heard The Flash needs help.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Superhuman Hearing: Rathaway has the ability to hear even the faintest sounds from a great distant.[1]
- Supersonic Scream: Rathaway is capable of emoting high frequency and concussive sounds from his mouth, which was able to send Godspeed backwards with a single scream.[1]
- Flight: By directing his screams towards the ground, Rathaway can push his body upwards and fly at an exceptional speed.[1]
Abilities
- Genius-level Intellect: Rathaway is an intelligent scientist, though was often considered unstable and hard to work with.[1]
- Engineering: Rathaway is a skilled engineer, with him single-handedly creating his Sonic Gauntlets.[1]
- Physics: Rathaway is familiar with a variety of physics concepts, but experts in psychoacoustics and sonic vibrations.[1]
Equipment
Current Equipment
- Pied Piper Suit: As the Pied Piper, Rathaway wore a black hooded suit.[1]
- Sonic Gauntlets: As a secondary weapon, Rathaway created and wielded a pair of advanced gauntlets that emit high frequency sonics.[1]
Former Equipment
- Sonic Cannon: The Sonic Cannons are a series of weapons that Rathaway invented for his henchmen.[1]
Appearances
| Appearances | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
Grodd Friended Me | Appears |
|
Pay the Piper | Appears |
|
Good-Bye Vibrations | Pictured |
|
Enemy at the Gates | Mentioned |
Gallery
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Civilian
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Pied Piper
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References
| Other versions of Hartley Rathaway | |||||||||||||||||||
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