User blog:IamLucifer69/PE Keep Proposal - Zoom (Arrowverse)

My next PE Keep proposal is about the Speed Demon himself from Season 2 of The Flash, Zoom.

P.S., this is about Zoom BEFORE he became the Black Flash.

What's the work?
The TV series in question is The Flash, which is part of the popular Arrowverse on The CW network. It is about Barry Allen, who is a forensic scientist that was struck by lightning and woke up from a 9-month coma with superhuman speed. He becomes the Flash and uses these powers and help of his allies at S.T.A.R. Labs to fight other meta-humans and criminals, and hopes to find the "man in yellow" who killed his mother when he was a child and sent his father to prison. Season 2 is basically about the fallout of Barry solving that mystery.

Who's the Candidate?
The villain in question is Zoom. He is an evil speedster who is from the alternate Earth-2 and rules it with an iron fist through power and intimidation. While masked, people speculated about whether or not Zoom was even human. He was initially introduced as Jay Garrick, the Flash of Earth-2 and Zoom's archenemy. However, it is later revealed that he was a fraud as well as Zoom. His real name was in fact Hunter Zolomon, a convicted serial killer who was believed deceased during the time he got his powers. His primary motivation was to become the best speedster on any Earth in the Multiverse and created a drug to go faster, but it resulted in him dying. Thus, he spends a majority of his career trying to steal other speedster's powers to cure himself.

What have they done?
Before he got his powers, Zolomon was a serial killer convicted of 23 counts of murder. After gaining his powers, Zoom terrorised Central City and beyond while recruiting every meta-human there was and killed the ones who refused. According to Harry Wells, Zoom lured 15 cops into a trap and killed all but one so that he could demonstrate his seemingly unstoppable powers. After letting the survivor live to tale, he later showed up at his home and killed him. It was also how he got his moniker. After the Velocity-6 drug began killing him due to his dissatisfaction with his initial speed, he kidnapped the real Jay Garrick from Earth-3 to get his speed so he could cure himself. However, when he failed, he then had him locked up and placed a mask on him to prevent him from speaking or using his powers. He then stole his name and alias to give people false hope while using time remnants to be in two places at once.

To ensure Harry would help him gain Barry's speed, he kidnapped his daughter to ensure his compliance and sometimes tortured her in his free time. In order to make Barry go faster, he sent meta-humans to Earth-1 to fight him and make him go faster. As Jay Garrick, he trained Barry to fight Zoom, secretly helping him gain more power for him to steal. During his first fight with Barry, he brutally tortured him, broke his spine, and dragged him across Central City to showcase his victory. Throughout the season, Zoom is often seen killing countless people, including his own time remnants. When Reverb and Deathstorm overpowered the Flash, he ruthlessly killed them for disobeying them. When holding Barry prisoner, he started beating him senseless. During his hunt for Harry Wells on Earth-2, he spread destruction to the city and carved flaming messages on the buildings, demanding for Wells.

After his identity was revealed, Zoom kidnapped Wally West so Barry could give him his speed. After this, he kidnapped Caitlin Snow, wanting to be with her at any cost. After Killer Frost of Earth-2 tried to kill her, Zoom retaliated by killing her. Later though, when Zoom got frustrated with her hesitance, he let her go and eventually tried to kill her for it. Wanting more, Zoom then decided to take over Earth-1 and killed Rupture as well as countless cops to show off his unstoppable power. He then brought Earth-2 meta-humans to Earth-1 and allowed them to cause mass chaos and destruction. He sent Black Siren to destroy buildings with people inside to distract Team Flash. Wanting to anger Barry, he kidnapped and kill his father in front of him. Wanting to race Barry to prove himself superior, Zoom kidnapped Joe to ensure his cooperation. Finally, Zoom attempted to destroy the entire multiverse during his race with Barry.

In Season 5, he is seen for a moment as he confronts Barry and Nora West-Allen from three years into the future. Realizing that she was another speedster, he attempted to kidnap her and take her speed as well.

Freudian Excuse/Mitigating Factors
There are only two redeeming qualities that would try to justify Zoom's actions. The first is his childhood. When he was 11, his father killed his mother right in front of him, therefore traumatising him for life. He was later sent to an orphanage since no other family member wanted him. He is therefore a contrast to what Barry would've become if he didn't have people who took care of him instead of being alone. The other is that while he openly didn't care about the lives he destroyed and the people he had killed, he showed genuine feelings for Caitlin Snow. However, it is also most probable that he was just simply obsessed with her as well. This is proven after when the breaches between the two Earths were closed as he kept Killer Frost in his lair, even when she betrayed him.

Final Verdict
I feel that even though he might have had genuine feelings for Caitlin Snow and that his backstory is admittedly quite tragic, they still do not justify his countless heinous acts and crimes, and therefore, he should stay on as Pure Evil. What do you all think; cut or keep?