Pied Piper (DC Comics)

This article is about DC Comics' Hartley Rathaway. For other comics topics, seePied Piper (disambiguation).

Pied Piper(Hartley Rathaway) is asupervillainturnedsuperheroappearing incomic bookspublished byDC Comics,and is commonly associated with the superherothe Flash.The character was created by writerJohn Broomeand artistCarmine Infantino,and made his first appearance inThe Flash#106 (May 1959).

Hartley Rathaway Pied Piper
Pied Piper as depicted inThe Flash#138 (August 1962). Art byCarmine Infantino(penciller) andMurphy Anderson(inker).
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Flash#106 (May 1959)
Created by	John Broome(writer) Carmine Infantino(artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Hartley Rathaway
Species	Human
Place of origin	New Earth
Team affiliations	Rogues
Notable aliases	Thomas Peterson, Henry Darrow
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Enhanced hearing Sound manipulation Master musician Utilizes hypnotic flute

Piper was originally introduced as a foe of the Flash /Barry Allenand eventually became a member ofthe Rogues,a criminal association led byCaptain Coldwhich often battled the Flash.During thecrossover eventCrisis on Infinite Earths,most of theMultiversewas destroyed, which resulted in theDC Universebeing rebooted; moreover Barry died, andWally Westtook up the mantle of the Flash. Following the events ofCrisis,Piper was re-introduced inThe 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 ofthe Flash family.

Following the events ofFlashpoint,DC Comics rebooted its universe once again and relaunched its titles in 2011, duringThe New 52event. Here, Piper is portrayed as a former member of the Rogues, who has given up being a vigilante and is datingDavid 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. FollowingInfinite 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 thefirst,second,sixthandninth seasonsofThe Flash,portrayed byAndy Mientus.

Publication history

Created byJohn BroomeandCarmine Infantino,the character made his first appearance inThe Flash#106 (May 1959).

Following the events ofCrisis,Piper was revealed to be gay inThe Flash(vol. 2) #53 (August 1991).

Fictional character biography

Hartley Rathawaywas borndeafand received assistive technology in the form ofhearing implantsthanks to research funded by his wealthy father (later it was revealed that the implants were made byDr. Will Magnus).He became obsessed withsound,and pursued little else in life; experimenting withsonictechnology, Rathaway eventually invented a technique ofhypnotismthrough music, and a way to cause deadly vibrations. Growing bored with his lifestyle, he turned to crime as the Pied Piper and frequently clashed withBarry Allen,the secondFlash.

Reform

Rathaway, as appeared inThe Flashvol. 2, 190 (November 2002). Art byScott Kolins.

After Allen's death duringCrisis on Infinite Earths,Hartley retired from crime to become asocialistchampion of the poor and underprivileged. He also came out as one of DC's first openlygaycharacters, and joked that this was ironic, as he was one of the few villains to have ever "gone straight". He first realized he was gay when he became attracted toRod Laurenwhen watchingThe Crawling Hand.Rathaway becomes a good friend of the Flash,Wally West,and his wifeLinda,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 wasMirror Master.Unaware of Wally's discovery, Piper broke out ofIron Heightsand struck a deal of some sort with former Rogue andFBIagentthe Trickster.During this time, Flash asked theSpectreto erase everyone's memories of his secret identity, due to his wife suffering amiscarriagefrom an attack byZoom.

It was later revealed that Barry Allen hadZatannatamper with the mind of supervillainthe 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 forMagenta.He later had all charges for murder cleared.

One Year Later

One Year Later,Pied Piper was seen in the pages of bothThe Flash(vol. 3), andCountdownteaming with a new group of Rogues led byInertia.The team of Rogues has him working with his parents' murderer, Mirror Master. Piper reveals that he has rejoined the Rogues with a plan of infiltrating them, but whenCaptain Cold,Heat Wave,andWeather WizardkillBart Allen,he and Trickster are forced on the run together. They are pursued by theSuicide Squad,the QuestionandBatwoman,Poison IvyandDeathstroke,and Wally West. Wally confines the two of them at the wedding ofGreen ArrowandBlack Canary,despite the warnings that Deathstroke is planning an all-out assault at the occasion. They manage to escape the wedding assault, while inadvertently picking upDouble Downas a passenger. The trio stop at a diner, only to be attacked by the Suicide Squad. Double Down is captured, but Piper and Trickster, using an invisibility field, decide to follow the Squad and free the other captured villains. After encountering and freeingTwo-Face,Piper and Trickster are again attacked byDeadshot,who pursues them relentlessly until he succeeds in murdering Trickster. With Trickster's death, the cuffs activate a 24-hour self-destruct, which Piper is able to delay with his flute. When the train they are on is submitted to a border check, Piper flees into the desert. Delirious from the heat, he begins to imagine Trickster's corpse is talking to him. After severing the hand from the rest of the corpse, Piper is brought toApokolipsbyDeSaad.DeSaad unlocks the shackles, and claims that Piper can channel the Anti-Life Equation and control the planet. Before the Piper can do so,Brother Eyefinishes 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, aswan song,"The Show Must Go On"byQueen,that destroys Apokolips, with him still trapped inside, apparently left to die.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.

Final Crisis

Pied Piper returns in theFinal Crisis: Rogues' Revengemini-series. He invades the police precinct, and picks up Trickster's will, which is actually a fake that contains information on the other Rogues, written in invisible ink. Piper later steps into the middle of the fight between Inertia,Zoomand 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,Libraappears, 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.

The New 52:The FlashandForever Evil: Rogues Rebellion(2011–2016)

In September 2011,The New 52rebooted 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 teammateCaptain Coldagainst the newly united Rogues.

He is in a romantic relationship withDavid Singh,the director of the crime lab at the Central City Police Department.

Powers and abilities

A genius of sonic technology, by the age of sixteen Rathaway had crafted a sophisticated flute capable of hypnotizing anyone within range of its sound. He can make anyone do what he wants, and can even make himself 'invisible' to the perception of others. Although he focused obsessively on sound-based technology in his early years, he later expanded his scope to more general mechanical tinkering. Initially, he employed his mind control techniques almost exclusively on humans (and occasional animals), but during his incarceration in Iron Heights he became infatuated by the prison's ubiquitous rats and incorporated them into his gimmick, adding another similarity to his namesake. He is able to use nearly anything that can create tones for his sonic manipulations, including touch-tone telephones and grass blade whistles. According to DeSaad, Rathaway's power is based on the manipulation of theAnti-Life Equation.Rathaway also employs a number of devices that can generate or amplify sound for destructive or protective purposes.

Other versions

• An unrelated Pied Piper appears inAction Comics#48 (May 1942) as a servant ofQueen Beewhose flute playing could compel individuals she had drugged into following him. While assisting Queen Bee in holding VIPs for ransom, he is thwarted byMister America.
• An alternate universe variant of the Pied Piper from Earth-S appears inCaptain Marvel Jr.(1942) as an enemy of the eponymous character.
• An unrelated Pied Piper appears inFlash Comics#59 (November, 1944).
• An unrelated Pied Piper appears inDetective Comics#143 (January 1949) as a pipe shop owner and an enemy ofBatmanandRobinfrom Gotham City who is obsessed with pipes and bases his crimes on them.
• An unrelated Pied Piper called thePied Piper of Plutoappears inMystery in Space#110 (September, 1966).
• An alternate timeline variant of the Pied Piper appears in theFlashpointtie-inCitizen Cold.This version is a hero and childhood friend ofWally Westwhose vocal cords were ripped out by the eponymousCitizen Cold,forcing the Pied Piper to take on a cybernetic replacement.After discovering Cold had killed Wally for discovering the former's identity, the Pied Piper takes over the case. Following a failed attempt on his life by Cold,the Pied Piper tells Wally's auntIris Westwhat happened, leading to her killing Cold to avenge Wally.
• An alternate universe variant of Hartley Rathaway appears in theDCeasedtie-inHope at World's End.This version lives in an apartment withDavid Singhwhile battling the "Anti-Living".

In other media

Television

• An original incarnation of the Pied Piper namedHamlin Ruleappears in a self-titled episode ofWonder Woman,portrayed byMartin Mull.This version hypnotizes women to rob the venues at which he performs.
• The Pied Piper makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in theJustice League Unlimitedepisode "Flash and Substance".

Andy Mientusas Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper inThe Flash.

• The Pied Piper appears inThe Flash,portrayed byAndy Mientus.This version is a formerS.T.A.R. Labsemployee and protégé ofHarrison Wellsbefore he was fired for attempting to expose the dangers of the latter's particle accelerator. When the accelerator exploded, Rathaway gained superhuman hearing that left him in constant agony. In retaliation, he developed sonic-wave weaponry to exact revenge on Wells by targeting his new protégé, theFlash,as well as implants for himself that serve both as hearing aids that dull sound and as discreet weapons. In thefirst season,Rathaway attempts to get revenge on Wells for ruining his reputation. Though he is captured, he later manages to escape. In thesecond seasonepisode "Flash Back", the Flash travels back in time to defeatZoom.Along the way, he prevents Rathaway's escape and joins forces with him to defeat a Time Wraith that followed the Flash through time. As a result of these timeline changes, Rathaway reforms. Due to changes made to the multiverse following the crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths",Rathaway became a sonokineticmetahumanand returned to being a criminal and an enemy of the Flash, who discovers that in an altered version of one of their original fights, he accidentally destabilized Rathaway's henchman/boyfriend, Roderick's, molecules. Due to this, Rathaway grew to resent the Flash. After they reconcile and join forces to stopGodspeed,they are able to save Roderick. In theninth season,Rathaway joins the Flash'sRoguesto combat theRed Death.
• The Pied Piper makes a cameo appearance inThe Sandman.
• The Pied Piper appears inBeast Boy: Lone Wolf.

Film

• The Pied Piper was reportedly featured inDavid S. Goyer's script for aGreen Arrowfilm project titledEscape from Super Maxas an inmate of the eponymous prison.
• TheFlashpointincarnation of the Pied Piper makes a non-speaking cameo appearance inJustice League: The Flashpoint Paradoxas a member ofCyborg's group who work to stop the war betweenAquamanandWonder Woman's forces.

Video games

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

Miscellaneous

• The Pied Piper appears inAll-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold#16.
• The Pied Piper makes background appearances inDC Super Hero Girlsas a student of Super Hero High.
• The Pied Piper appears inInjustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five#2.
• Hartley Rathaway / Pied Piper appears inWonder Woman '77Special#3

External links

• Arrowverse entry for Pied_Piper
• Gay League Profile
• Counting Down to Countdown V: Mary Marvel, Trickster, Pied Piper