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longitudinalwaveme · 6 months

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The Flash Rogues/Hunger Games Crossover That No One Knew They Wanted!

In a fit of insanity, I have decided to write a Hunger Games fanfiction that features the Flash characters as if they were a part of the Hunger Games universe.

Here are the characters who are going to appear in this bizarro version of the 56th Annual Hunger Games. Flash characters will be italicized

Capitol Residents

President Coriolanus Snow (obviously)

Caesar Flickerman (again, this is a given)

Paul Gambi: District 6 Stylist. (He's the Rogues' tailor in the Flash comics, after all.)

Dexter Miles: District 6 Escort. (This somehow seemed appropriate.)

District 1 Residents

Osgood Rathaway: Mayor of District 1

Rachel Rathaway: Osgood’s wife

Hartley Rathaway: Male Tribute, age 12. Osgood and Rachel’s son.

Sapphire Steele: Female Tribute, age 18 (Volunteer)

District 2 Residents

Aurelius Stone: Male Tribute, age 18 (Volunteer)

Claudia Remington: Female Tribute, age 18 (Volunteer)

District 3 Residents

Giovanni Giuseppi: Male Tribute, age 13.

Mindy Hong: Female Tribute, age 13.

District 4 Residents

Mags Flanagan: Winner of the 11th Hunger Games, mentor to Digger.

George “Digger” Harkness: Male Tribute, age 16 (Volunteer)

Azure O’Rourke: Female Tribute, age 17 (Volunteer)

District 5 Residents Roscoe Dillon: Male Tribute, age 15.

Mayella Day: Female Tribute, age 17.

District 6 Residents

Fred Chyre: Mayor of District 6

Larry Snart: Former Peacekeeper. Father to Len and Lisa.

Jay Garrick: Victor of the 15th Hunger Games; only living victor from District 6. Mentor to Len and Lisa.

Leonard Snart: Male Tribute, age 17 (Volunteer). Narrates half the story.

Lisa Snart: Female Tribute, age 12. Narrates the other half of the story.

Roy Bivolo: Age 12. Reaped for the Games; Len takes his place when he volunteers.

District 7 Residents

Pine Rookwood: Male Tribute, age 16.

Sierra Fox: Female Tribute, age 17.

District 8 Residents

Richard Swift: Victor of the 17th annual Hunger Games. Mentor to Sam Scudder.

Sam Scudder: Male Tribute, age 15.

Martha Scudder: Sam’s mom. (This one is a Flash OC.)

Bobbi Weaver: Female Tribute, age 16.

District 9 Residents

Marco Mardon: Male Tribute, age 16. (Volunteer)

Claudio Mardon: Marco’s older brother, age 17. Reaped for the Games; Marco takes his place when he volunteers.

Isabela Daniels: Female Tribute, age 15.

District 10 Residents

Mick Rory: Male Tribute, age 18.

Iris West: Female Tribute, age 17.

Barry Allen: Iris' boyfriend, age 17.

District 11 Residents

Jennifer Conners: Female Tribute, age 15. (Another Flash OC of mine.)

Thomas Henry: Male Tribute, age 17.

District 12 Residents

Albert Desmond: Male Tribute, age 17.

Rita Jones: Albert’s girlfriend, age 17.

Lilybet Thompson: Female Tribute, age 14.

The first chapter of the story, Cold Fire, has been posted on AAO3 if you're interested.

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i-aint-here-man · 20 days

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Is there a Doctor Alchemy on this flight?

Every Flash-Fan, whether you watched the CW series or simply are a comic fan-whatever, knows Dr Alchemy

Albert Desmond is undoubtly the most popular one as he's "the 1st Doctor" and has been serving this role non-stop pretty much since 2004, but there were some "proteges" I'd like to delve into, hence this post will be about nearly everything

So, once upon a time in popculture there used to exist this trope of "opposite twins":

-Samantha & Serena in Bewitched (which seems to be the primal source of this trend),

-Gwen & Sunny in Ben10,

-Wayne & Lucien from The Cramp Twins and many many more

Anyway, in

July '80; in The Flash #287

Cary Bates starts the arc with Dr Alchemy's attack at the lab in CCPD. Naturally, the last wearer of the mantle - Al Desmond, comes first to Barry's mind, although he doesn't want to believe that Al would revert to his criminal career

'cause here's the thing: Mister Element appeared in Showcase #13 whereas Dr Alchemy debuted in Showcase #14, where even Flash pointed out the quick change in Desmond's alter ego

What's even more interesting, it seemed like Al just "wanted to be" a criminal

Since then, Al did his time in prison, became a model citizen...

Well, it wasn't perfect, because he happened to have few relapses now and then, whether he:

was mind-controlled by Professor Zoom [The Flash #147]

was possesed by this "evil star" that aCtUalLy had been influencing his mental condition from the beginning [The Flash #216]

orrr was possesed by a demon? [The Flash #230]

In The Flash #153 Albert feels an urge towards doing evil, hence he behaves compulsively, firstly imitating having a gun, attempting to rob a restaurant and then suiting up in Element's costume

He later returns as Mr Element in order to rescue Flash, simultaneously deceiving Thawne ['cause Zoom believed that was the result of his "evil-making machine"] Fortunately, Barry takes Al to 25th century, where the latter goes through some "electro-re-education programme"

[at least it worked all right here, right Alex DeLarge?]

Later on, Al relinquishes "the Dr Alchemy-self" in The Flash #230

[aight, I know, sorry for this long interlude but I found it necessary to include it - now back to #287]

Upon meeting Desmonds, Rita - Al's wife, reveals that her husband's been absent at the time of Alchemy's assault, further increasing Barry's suspicion; police arrives, takes Albert to custody and not long after - Dr Alchemy escapes, ultimately leading Allen to a terryfying conclusion

But, reaching the final page, the reader finds out that

*tum tum tuuuum*

The Flash #288

Soooo the new Dr Alchemy is an Al Desmond. Both Desmonds happen to be "astral/platonic twins":

-they both were born into Desmond families [although they aren't really related]

-they both are fond of chemistry

-they have the same voice

And the most interesting aspect about their "connection" - while one is a good citizen, the other tends to behave violently, albeit this doesn't explain Al's becoming a criminal in the first place

and yeah, second-Albert created a hypnotic serum, which he named...desmondium

...right

As the second-Albert battles and seemingly wins over Flash, he proudly reveals his secret. Barry obviously gets out of the trap, but at least now his mind is at ease about Albert. Talking about Albert, what's up with him?

...

[*sets "Without me" by Eminem]

The Flash #289

That's right, Mr Element's back in action, but despite his previous returns, this time Al ain't sinister nor controlled - he's deliberately a good guy, whose only goal is to stop Dr Alchemy. Albert donned his old alter ego as he felt responsible for Dr Alchemy's deeds

Barry learns from Rita about Alchemy's potential hideout.

And so, the final battle between Dr Alchemy, Flash and Mr Element...doesn't happen as Al's quickly rendered unconcious, but heyy, Barry's here to save the day

And so, the two pals walk into the night as Al confesses that it's over finally

...

The Flash vol 2 40

Years later, Wally tries to exorcise an irish ghost out of Linda. In order to do that, they pay a visit to Albert Desmond who apparently inhabits now a goth-like mansion

And then...Albert?

So not only does he look different, but he behaves oddly, too. He's clearly obsessed with recreating the Philosopher's Stone for some reason

aight, it's Alvin

But what is "concerning" is his usage of that stone; Alvin seems out of practice, sloppy and uncreative when it comes to choosing the post-transformed product; he makes a few pauses, ponders too long over what the Stone can transform things into

To put it simply, isolation & obession drove him even more insane, rendering him insensible

But well, Wally manages to defeat him; he and Linda find the real Albert Desmond

poor guy...well anyway, hopefully this time it's really ov--

Ehh, for fock's sake...

The Flash vol 2 41

Alvin somehow breaks out [only leaving a salty statue of himself behind in the cell] and creates chaos for kicks, but suprisingly - this time he utilises the Philosopher Stone's powers quite well even going as far as to defeating Wally

Simultaneously Albert returns as Mr Element, but it still isn't enough to beat Alvin

Then a slight retcon happens while Wally realizes that Alvin is pretty much just a manifestation of Al's evilness with fake memories implemented by the Stone itself. In result, Al accepts the reality and destroys Alvin once and for all - FOR REAL this time

In Who's who in DC Universe #14 we find out that, sadly, after retrieving the Philosopher Stone, Albert started to become more and more seduced by his artefact

And it looks like he gave in, 'cause he appears few times in Waid's run

When Johns took over, he made Albert into a stereotypical mystic, who spends a lot of time on reading and practising alchemy [even his cell's been decorated in goth-theme] and he stays this way till N52&Rebirth

But before I get to that "version", lemme talk a bit about the third Alchemy - perhaps the lest known, Curtis Engstrom. He worked as an advisor on a S.T.A.R. Labs project that would use Philosopher's Stone's special properties to cure blood diseases. He of course stole both the device and the Stone. In prison he met a guy, who later tricked him, stealing the device from the first thief. Curtis decided to get his revenge on the guy, got the Philosopher's Stone, calling himself the Alchemist. Engstrom, despite lack of experience, cleverly uses the Stone's power i.e. by creating copper stalagmites while it's raining [electricity conducive] or by lacing an area with thin molybdenum strings [sharp enough to slice Flash] Engstrom only appears in two issues - The Flash #71-72

Rebirth

In Rebirth Albert does appear a few times. In The Flash #764-766 Albert tricks Barry into wielding Philosopher's Stone in order to control Flash himself; oh and he kinda absorbs Stone's powers so he doesn't physically need it anymore

A propos, depending on the issue, Albert either used the Stone to access powers or used it to channel his powers

Exemplary:

-in The Flash #216 Al revealed that the elemental-gun only concencrated his elemental energy, although nothing like this had ever happened before

-albeit in The Flash #230 a similar thing happened, this instance regarding Dr Alchemy, thus he didn't need the Philosopher's Stone anymore

-ever since the Alchemy-excorsion, Al has been constantly using his Elemental Gun

[The Flash #41 & the coolest Mr Element design, along with his cool af machine gun]

-then in Rebirth Al initially used the Philosopher's Stone embeded in a ring, but later he acquired the Stone's powers thanks to lighzinium - a protective material layered on the Flash-ring by Barry

...

Additional notes: °although mostly it's been implied that Al's identity disorder wasn't caused by the Philosopher's Stone, The Flash #765 clearly states a connection between those two aspects °the ring from The Flash #764-766 resembles greatly the Dragon-Eye one back from #216

°reaction-image

°intriguing, but whenever Dr Alchemy appeared in Waid's Flash-run he has never been referred to by his name; NOT ONCE

In fact in Waid's run he looks a lot more like Alvin, although considering the Who's who in DC Universe we have to think it's actually Allbert

°more interesting, The Flash vol 2 Annual 8 takes place right before Messner-Loebs' run and guess who's the villain of the week?

That's right, Dr Alchemy, whose name's never called out and in opposition to later issues we can't assume it's Albert under the mas--the hood

What's even funnier, present Wally's telling Linda that story, mentioning at the end "amazingly enough, Alchemy would eventually turn up again...and again that's another story"

If Wally'd be talking about #40-#41, then it's stupid cos Linda knows about that incident first hand cos she was there

°[*"The Man who sold the world" plays in the back*]

Thug: So uhh mr Desmond, how much of that gold do we need to transform?

Albert:

La-li-lu-le-lo

#dc comics #wally west #dr alchemy #Mister Element #Doctor Alchemy #Albert desmond #Alvin desmond #the flash #barry allen #geoff johns #mark waid #william messner loebs #cary bates #philosopher's stone

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starkdirewolflove · 1 year

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Ok now I have to watch The Flash movie since one of the Derry Girls (Erin) Saoirse-Monica Jackson is gonna be in it as Patty Spivot.

#the flash #barry allen #patty spivot #albert desmond #derry girls #saoirse-monica jackson

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doyouknowthisdccharacter · 3 months

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Where'd you first encounter this character? Put it in the tags!

And check out our pinned post for more info, and our tag #dyktdcc-character for other polls!

#dyktdcc-character #dc comics #albert desmond #mr element

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the-antiapocalyptic-man · 1 year

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Doctor Alchemy, a Flash Rogue usually associated with Dr. Julian Albert Desmond, is actually a construct created by a discreet alchemical engine known as the Philosopher’s Stone. It will almost create sub-constructs known as “Mister Element” for certain situations. The Stone’s goal seems to be reunion with the rest of the Four Wonders of Alchemy: a Universal Solvent, an Elixir of Youth (possibly related to the Lazarus phenomenon), and most nebulous and mysterious of the Wonders, the Secret of Perpetual Motion.

Largely dormant for centuries, passed from owner to owner, the Stone escaped its then-owner Zobar Zodiak after an encounter with Jay Garrick in the 1940s. From there, it set about creating new bodies or possessing individuals like Dr. Desmond, with only one consistent goal over the ensuing decades: stealing the power of The Flash, the Speed Force Connection that the Stone believed was the Secret of Perpetual Motion made manifest.

While Alchemy’s inhuman nature made it somewhere implacable, the Stone was eventually put into service by cult leader Savitar, assisting them in creating modified speedstar bodies and the destruction of their mutual foe.

#dc #headverse #fanart #au #doctor alchemy #mister element #albert desmond #julian albert #philosopher's stone #cult of savitar

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tzigone · 1 year

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The Redeemed Rogues

Bouncing around ideas for my headcanon reboot. Now, we all know Flash has an inordinately large number or Rogues that have been redeemed at one time or another. Since my headcanon characters will actually age and their stories will have ends, unlike real comics where they have to be kept in play, I'm thinking about what to do with these folks after they quit their criminal careers. I don't like them bouncing between good and bad - those that are redeemed stay so (and there's no mind-control making them go good).

Al and James are the ones that matter to me, I know Hartley matters to others. And Mick happened in the comics, too. Chime in on which villains you think should or shouldn't go straight, but Al and James are non-negotiable in my universe.

Albert Desmond - First rogue to go straight. Well, he'll quickly become engaged to Rita (maybe meets her on work release?). But he has to get a job. We know from issue 153 that he worked at an industrial company and was offered promotion to supervisor - any idea what he'd actually be doing?

I'm not sure on the idea of kids yet - depends on how his mental health is. While he'll still be hypnotized by Zoom a couple times, I'm definitely not going with Dragon's Eye thing, so he doesn't have that to worry about.

Mick Rory - Well, he got tired of being in jail. Got a straight job. In the comics, it was in a glassworks so his parole officer could frame him. I'm fine with that, but if anyone thinks any other jobs, let me know. His wages will have to be garnished to pay for the damages he's caused to buildings through arson.

I'm much more silver age on Mick's origin. A big show to impress a girl. Though he's not as fickle as Cold. Anyway, he'll probably find a woman who likes dramatic displays. Get married, and maybe have a kid.

James Jesse - Honestly, I just really enjoyed reading him in the '80s Blue Devil comics and then later popping up in '90s Impulse. He's just fun in those. So, like many villains, he has a great invention. His anti-grav (probably not using air pressure version because it's harder for me handwave the science) is something that could be patented. I'm not sure if it's useful for airplanes or hover cars. But it'd be great for getting people out of burning buildings. I think it'd be good for moving things - from furniture to stock in warehouses.

He's not the settle down type. I see him bouncing from occupation to hobby and back as he gets bored with one thing and moves on to the next.

Hartley Rathaway - I admit to finding the incredibly bribing first appearance of his parents kind of amusing. I feel he's more defined by his dynamic with Wally. Do you think they should still be killed?

Then there are his personal relationships. I didn't read New 52 for various reasons. I understand he was married to Barry's boss there. That seems less likely with Barry not being youthified. And a large percentage of gay men are not in monogamous relationships, so it might be nice to explore that. Of course, I didn't read, so the marriage may not have included sexual monogamy.

Leonard Snart - He just gets older. After Barry's "death," there's little reason to keep up the show. Barry comes back, but he stays retired.

I've said before that his cold gun is worth a fortune. Great for police officers and home defense. And, depending on how it works for stasis-ness, it would be amazing for EMTs. And yeah, kids are going to get ahold of them and shoot each other with them - but hey, it's not like it hurts anyone.

He would be so rich, and him being rich off the dollars of police departments is amusing. He'd take care of his sister. I can't decide what to do with her - her focus was all about Roscoe originally, which makes her unwilling to give up and kinda one note. Either her motivation changes, as with the comic, or she loses her drive for some reason. Since Barry won't stay dead, maybe she finds out Roscoe was cheating or something. Or she could be given an entirely new motivation.

Anyway, Leonard will live well, and fall madly in love two or three times a year. He's very fickle, though, so it never lasts more than a couple months.

#Pied Piper #Leonard Snart #Mick Rory #James Jesse #Albert Desmond #Captain Cold #Hartley Rathaway #Heat Wave #Doctor Alchemy #The Trickster #Mr Element

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demonbirdsforever · 1 year

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Dual Natured.

I thought this would be fun. There are quite a few characters with a dual nature or multiple personalities… or people. So thinking about which character has it the hardest when dealing with the darker half is a interesting thought. No?

#raven teen titans #harvey dent #two face #spectre #firestorm #rose canton #albert desmond #kay challis #enchantress #etrigan

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professionalbookhoarder · 1 year

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Silver Age: Green Lantern (2000)

A body-swapped Hal fights against the Injustice League (also body-swapped with the Justice League)

#the way he hits Lex with a bowling ball and Black Manta with a fish asfdsf #see this is why he's the best comedian in the justice league #dc comics #hal jordan #lex luthor #albert desmond #david hyde #felix faust

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emin-folly · 2 years

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I have a few mer Aus actually but here’s some silly ones~ Eobard somehow got changed into a merman (probably pissed off some sorcerer or something which, knowing him, won’t be that hard to do) and has decided to make himself Albert’s problem lol Eobard is having a existential crisis, Barry is trying not to enjoy this too much

I’m still trying to find how I want to draw Eobard, that’s why he keeps changing lol

#dc #dc comics #eobard thawne #reverse flash #barry allen #flash #albert desmond #mr element #mermaid #merau #Poor Eo #He doesn't know how to function without legs #The irony of being a runner who's half fish #Tho I think Al's the real one suffering here #Having to deal with Eo's whiny attitude #my art

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random-movie-ideas · 4 months

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Flash Villain Movie Villain, Part XIII: Doctor Alchemy

Albert Desmond AKA Doctor Alchemy is that one guy Draco Malfoy played in the show. That's who I knew him as, at least. He started out as a chemist who turned to a life of crime, using his knowledge of the elements. After discovering the existence of the Philosopher's Stone, he becomes obsessed with finding it, and fully embraces alchemy. In some versions, he also works for the same police precinct as Barry.

Origin Movie: You know, if you really think about it, the whole mix of chemicals turning Barry into the Flash would probably be something that Albert might take a keen interest in. Possibly, he might even find the lightning-struck mix is just the thing he needs to make the stone.

Sequel Movie: For a sequel, I'd say we might lean toward Wally's origin, say with Albert researching the chemicals that made the Flash, for the same reasons about, and his mucking about ends up causing a second accident that creates Kid Flash.

Finale Movie: I mean, he's not awful, per se, for a villain, even with the above-mentioned motivations, but he's also not the best either.

Supporting Villain: He has been a Rogue before, but if I remember right, that didn't end well, and Cold didn't take kindly to him trying to murder a civilian.

Here are my rankings:

Origin Movie: This and sequel are about equal.

Sequel Movie: He could be a good tie in for Wally's origin.

Supporting Villain: Maybe.

Finale Movie: There's probably better.

What do you think? Who should I cover next?

#doctor alchemy #albert desmond #the flash #flash movie #barry allen #humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return #To obtain something of equal value must be lost #That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange #In those days we really believed that to be the world's one and only truth

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buffyfan145 · 2 years

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It’s official now thanks to the 2nd issue of the prequel tie-in comic that in “The Flash” movie Saoirse-Monica Jackson is playing Patty Spivot and Rudy Mancuso is playing Albert Desmond/Dr. Alchemy!!! :D Both characters were revealed in the issue that came out today with the actors’ likeness. Sounds like Captain Singh was cast too as he’s also in the issue. All 3 characters were in the “Flash” TV show as well with Patty played by Shantel VanSanten, the Julian Albert version by Tom Felton, and Captain Singh by Patrick Sabongui, so as a fan of the show I’m curious to see how these film versions are.

#the flash #saoirse-monica jackson #rudy mancuso #patty spivot #albert desmond #doctor alchemy #captain singh

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 months

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Jay Garrick: the Flash Headcanon

SPOILERS for Jay Garrick: the Flash #1-4

So, Jay Garrick: the Flash has just introduced a villain named Doctor Elemental. His real name is Professor Hughes, and he was Jay Garrick's chemistry professor. He was also responsible for activating the metahuman powers of both Jay Garrick (the first Flash) and Jay's recently-introduced daughter Judy Garrick (the Boom), and is a nasty piece of work. He's experimented upon---and killed---dozens of people in an attempt to give people superpowers on a wider scale, and he's also frustrated with the fact that he was able to give Jay superspeed but was unable to grant himself metahuman powers. In spite of his lack of powers, however, he did manage to invent a pair of gloves that let him transmute the elements---hence his supervillain name.

So, we have a supervillain who calls himself Dr. Elemental, wears a big fancy cape and cowl, can transmute matter, and is obsessed with giving people superpowers by any means necessary. This leads me to my new headcanon----namely, that Dr. Elemental played a part in the creation of Dr. Alchemy.

Albert Desmond was born around forty years ago to an astronomer named Peter (or Herbert, or Herman---Cary Bates was bad at remembering characters' names) Desmond. Shortly after he was born, his father discovered a pulsating sun known as the Dragon's Eye. The energy from this star passed from his powerful telescope into the ring he was wearing, and then, when he held baby Albert, that same energy passed into the boy. Unbeknownst to everyone, this would imbue Albert with incredible power---but also a propensity towards mental instability. (This information comes from Flash vol. 1 #216.)

We know from Rita Desmond (Albert's wife) that his powers and mental instability were both dormant until he turned 20 years old and the Dragon's Eye star began pulsing. Thus, I think it's reasonable to guess that he was already in college, and possible that he had already met and become romantically involved with Rita, by the time his mental instability and powers first surfaced. (We also know that Albert had to have gone to college at some point, because, as per Gotham Central #28-31, he has PhDs in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology.)

Now for the headcanon stuff.

Professor Hughes is a creepy scientist who's invented technology to give himself elemental powers, and he is totally obsessed with granting other people superpowers. He also has an obsessive hatred for the first Flash, Jay Garrick, and, even though at this point the first Flash has retired (and has possibly become trapped in time thanks to a scheme from the Thinker, the Fiddler, and the Shade), there is now a new Flash---clearly with metahuman powers---running around. Worse, this Flash, from the name alone, is obviously a fan of the original Flash (whom Professor Hughes hates). He can't reveal himself to fight this new Flash directly, since that would necessitate revealing himself and jeapordizing his very long-term revenge plan against Jay Garrick's whole family, but he might be able to create a new superpowered rival for Barry.

This is where Albert comes in. Since Professor Hughes/Dr. Elemental seems to be a creepy, obsessive stalker, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to keep tabs on people who seem as though they may possess---or have the potential to develop---metahuman powers. So, when he hears that there's a brilliant young scientist, who has recently developed some mental health problems and who keeps having inexplicable things happening around him, he poses as a normal scientist, promises Albert explanations for the weirdness around him, and then uses their sessions together as a way to carry out his experiments on him.

Once he has Albert, he starts experimenting on him with a variety of substances (allegedly, they're meant to help him control his mental instability and the weird things that are happening around him, but in actuality, they're to either give him superpowers outright or greatly increase the potency of the powers he already has). This, naturally, does not do wonders for Albert's already unstable mental state, and things are made even worse for him by the fact that Dr. Elemental starts deliberately playing on his unstable psyche to induce a second personality, one that's basically the embodiment of his darker impulses and mental instability. After all, if he's going to fight the Flash for Dr. Elemental, he's going to need the proper motivation.

Dr. Elemental's experiments prove to be a phenomenal success. While the pulsing of the Dragon's Eye star would have eventually ensured that Albert developed incredible metahuman powers, the stress that Dr. Elemental's chemicals placed on his body caused the powers to manifest much more rapidly than they would have naturally. There was only one problem: namely, the fact that Albert's powers proved to be more powerful and extensive than Dr. Elemental could ever have predicted.

Albert Desmond possessed the power to transmute any substance into any other substance. Through his metahuman genes, the effect of the Dragon's Eye, and Dr. Elemental's experimentations, he could meet---and surpass---the abilities and powers that Dr. Elemental's own technology granted to him. Dr. Elemental, always jealous of those with natural abilities, and paranoid that his creation might turn against him, decided that he needed to take some precautions. To that end, he helped Albert create an "Element Gun", and, through a lot of manipulation and possibly even some drugs, convinced Albert that he needed to use the gun in order to manipulate the elements, and that he would be effectively powerless without it.

With that, he released Albert, who promptly designed a bizarre costume for himself, set up a hideout in some caves outside Central City, gathered up a team of henchmen whom he forced to wear even more bizarre outfits (and whom he named after the six inert gases), and started a crime spree as the fantastic Mr. Element. (Dr. Elemental was very pleased by Albert's choice of name.)

Albert fought the Flash and was imprisoned, but later dug his way out of jail with a spoon, then found his cellmate's "lucky stone", which he had decided must be the Philosopher's Stone. Sure enough, once he found it, he discovered that it could transmute the elements, and he used it to start a new crime wave as Dr. Alchemy. (His mental health also continued to deteriorate; the Dr. Alchemy name and costume were a sign of his developing a third personality.) What Albert didn't realize was that the stone he had found was, like the Element Gun, merely a conduit for his powers.

Albert fought the Flash again, and was imprisoned again...but this time, he decided to seek help for his mental problems, which he received. He served out his sentence, was released, and then returned to a normal life with his girlfriend Rita, whom he would soon marry. He also became close friends with Barry (who he did not know was the Flash) and Iris. This probably annoyed Dr. Elemental, so the man was no doubt pleased when manipulations from Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, and Albert's own mental instabilities caused him to occasionally revert to criminality---and he would be even more pleased when Alvin Desmond arrived on the scene.

You see, while neither the Philosopher's Stone nor the Element Gun had initially been anything special, Albert was so powerful that, when he used them as conduits for his power, they eventually gained powers of their own, with the Stone even developing a limited degree of sentience. Unfortunately for Albert, the Stone was very frustrated with his determination to live a normal life, and so it created a new wielder for itself out of Albert's darker impulses.

This new wielder, a simulacrum of a human, was named Alvin Desmond, and he became the new Dr. Alchemy. The Stone gave him false memories of his past and of his position as Albert Desmond's "astral twin", primarily to avoid any risk of Alvin spending more time questioning his existence and identity than he spent committing spectacular crimes with it. The plan worked perfectly, and the much more malevolent Alvin Desmond served as the Stone's perfect host, while also carrying on Dr. Elemental's twisted legacy.

However, both Alvin and Albert would eventually come to realize that Alvin was a creation of the Philosopher's Stone, and Albert would use that knowledge to seemingly destroy his evil "twin" (though the Stone could easily recreate Alvin if it ever wanted to do so). Albert then lived out a fairly peaceful and normal life for several more years.

While Albert was trying to be retired, the Philosopher's Stone was stolen by a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist named Dr. Curt Engstrom, who used it to become the Alchemist (and who lazily barely changed the Dr. Alchemy costume. At least Alvin had the excuse of a) being a simulacrum created by the Stone to be all the things it liked about Albert and b) attempting to frame Albert for his crimes!) He fought Wally once, but then never appeared again. I don't know what happened to him, but my best guess is that the Stone didn't like him for whatever reason and just abandoned him, thus leaving him unable to escape from prison.

A few years after that, Albert apparently had some sort of mental breakdown, and the Dr. Alchemy personality seemed to take over permanently. He generally was more interested in reading ancient tomes (some of which were apparently full of gibberish HTML) than in actively committing crimes, but he was crueler and more amoral than he had ever been before.

Around the same time, a corrupt police scientist named Alexander Petrov started using the Element Gun to kill other police officers, which he was able to do thanks to the residual power that Albert's extended use of the weapon had left in it. Unfortunately for him, he was stupid enough to frame Captain Cold for his murders, and Captain Cold promptly killed him for it as soon as he found out about it. It really makes you wonder how he managed to become a police scientist in the first place, since "framing Captain Cold for murder" is up there with "threatening to kill the Flash's loved ones" and "taunting Gorilla Grodd with bananas" in terms of things that you really, really shouldn't do if you value your health. Dr. Alchemy heard about this new Mr. Element and was not impressed, later thanking Cold for getting rid of his would-be successor.

Through his experiments on Albert Desmond, Dr. Elemental ultimately created FOUR different supervillains who would bedevil the Flashes, a feat which he counts as a unqualified success.

Some photos for reference:

Dr. Elemental:

Albert (and Rita) Desmond:

Alvin Desmond:

Curt Engstrom/the Alchemist:

Mr. Element II (Alexander "I Really Shouldn't Have Framed Len" Petrov)

And Albert's book of HTML:

#flash comics #flash rogues #jay garrick #barry allen #wally west #albert desmond #alvin desmond #dr. alchemy #mr. element #dr. elemental #spoilers #headcanon #rita desmond

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