‘The Flash’ Finale: The Man In The Iron Mask In Jay Garrick

The Flash wrapped up its season 2 finale with the big reveal of who the man was behind the iron mask.

The Flash Finale

When the Man in the Iron Mask finally revealed himself, it was determined that he was the real, Earth-3 version of Jay Garrick. And who is portraying him? None other than John Wesley Shipp. Shipp not only played Harry Allen up until the character’s death last week, but he originated The Flash character in the CBS live-action series that aired in the 90s. For Shipp, his continued participation on the show came as a welcomed surprise.

“I always knew Henry Allen was closed-ended. He was there for a specific purpose, to get Barry to the point where he could fully own his powers,” Shipp told TVLine. “Henry always had a limited shelf life. But morphing into this new character, the opportunities are limitless, because, as you mentioned, there are limitless worlds, there are so many different things that could happen.”

Shipp added that producers had long had the revelation in the works, and had given the actor under the iron mask the hint to mimic Shipp’s hand motions. “The Man in the Iron Mask can only communicate in the way he uses his hands, and the day that he filmed those scenes, he was told it was me that he was to be imitating,” Shipp said. “It just proves that there are no small roles. Someone who shows that much dedication, my hat was off to him.”

When season 3 begins in the fall, Barry aka The Flash (Grant Gustin), is going to be in for some emotional heartbreak. While Jay Garrick looks and sounds similar to his beloved late father, he’s a different man altogether. “[Henry Allen] was very much a warm blanket for Barry when he was at his most vulnerable. That’s not gonna be Jay,” Shipp told TVLine. “Jay’s a superhero, he’s an original superhero, so he’s not gonna know from all that – my job, at the beginning, anyway, is to differentiate between Henry Allen and Jay Garrick.”

Shipp added, “Barry’s going to want to lean on this guy who looks just like his father but is not his father – that can create a whole bunch of psychological conflict too. I’m as excited as you are to see how all of this will play out.”