Pied Piper
Real Name: Hartley Rathaway
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Former Aliases: No known former aliases
Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases
Status
Occupation: social activist and research scientist
Legal Status: Legal status unknown
Identity: Secret
Marital Status: Marital status unknown
Group Affiliation: Rogues Gallery
Base of Operations: Keystone City
Origin
Origin of character unknown.
Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown
Known Relatives: Osgood and Rachel Rathaway (parents), Jerrie Rathaway (sister)
First Appearance: Flash (1st series) #106 (April-May, 1959)
History
Hartley Rathaway was born deaf to incredibly rich parents. After his hearing was medically restored, he was amazed by music and sound. He developed a vast knowledge of sonics, and using this knowledge, fought the Flash as the Pied Piper.
Piper once suffered a nervous breakdown after the Flash apprehended him, so he was sent to Breedmore Mental Hospital to be treated. He apparently improved to the point where they let him use his technical knowledge to fix the hostpital's public address system. However, he used this to release hypersonic waves into the hospital, allowing him to escape. However, he was apprehended by someone resembling Reverse-Flash in a matter of minutes.
Piper reformed, however, and, living in New York, put his efforts into helping the homeless. He would go around to stores and restaurants to get food to give homeless citizens every night. One of his many efforts to help the homeless was with Freespace, a squatter's rights group who took over abandoned buildings.
When Wally West decided to move to Keystone City, Piper helped him out. His parents lived in Keystone, and had always tolerated his adventures as an outlaw until one of his more recent doings. However, he had recently received a letter from his mother inviting him back. He took her up on the offer, only to find that his family was being held hostage by some men who had been hired by the Turtle to recover an account book his father had hoped to use to settle some money problems. However, Piper defeated the Turtle's men and redeemed himself in the eyes of his parents.
Piper, who has since publicly announced his homosexuality, now is a great friend of Wally West's, and often contributes to the Flash's escapades with his technical expertise or acting as an informant.
Piper played a key role in helping to stop Kobra's Project Morpheus. He aided Linda Park in tracking his power sources and providing sonic weapons.
Characteristics
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 158 lbs (72 kg)
Eyes: blue
Hair: reddish blond
Unusual Features: No unusual features
Powers
Known Powers: No known powers.
Known Abilities:He is a genius at sonic technology.
Strength Level: Strength level unknown
Miscellaneous
Equipment:A special flute.
Transportation: No known transportation.
Weapons: No known weapons.
Notes
Trivia
Recommended Readings
Related Articles
External Links
References
- Flash (1st series) #325 (September, 1983)
- Flash #346 (June, 1985)
- Flash (2nd series) #20 (no cover date)
- Flash #23 (February, 1989) just in puppet form, a la Abra Kadabra
- Flash #31-32 (October-November, 1989)
- Flash #34 (January, 1990) as a hallucination
- Flash #35 (February, 1990)
- Flash #69 (October, 1992) voice on telephone, only
- Flash #74 (March, 1993)
- Flash #80-82 (Early September-Early October, 1993)
- Flash #87 (February, 1994)
- Flash #90 (May, 1994)
- Flash #93 (August, 1994)
- Flash #97-100 (January-April, 1995)
- Flash #106 (October, 1995)
- Flash Secret Files #1 (November, 1997)
- The Life Story of the Flash