Zoom

Hunter Zolomon became Zoom after a devastating injury left him paralyzed and embittered toward Wally West's Flash, manipulating time rather than true super-speed to move with terrifying velocity — positioning himself as a self-styled 'teacher' who believes heroes must experience tragedy to grow stronger.

Few villains cut as chilling a figure in DC's Modern Age as Zoom, who burst onto the scene in Flash #206 in 2004 and immediately carved out a place among the scariest threats in the speedster corner of the DC Universe. Sharing pages with the likes of The Flash, Wally West, Hunter Zolomon, and Green Lantern across titles including Flash, Wonder Woman, and the landmark Infinite Crisis, this is a character who clearly moves in the highest-stakes company DC has to offer. Sixteen years of appearances speak to a staying power that casual readers might overlook but devoted collectors absolutely recognize. If you're tracing the darker threads of Modern Age DC storytelling, Zoom is a name worth knowing.