The Thinker is the name of five supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first incarnation Clifford DeVoe is an enemy of Jay Garrick. The second incarnation Clifford Carmichael is an enemy of Firestorm. The third incarnation Desmond Carter is an enemy of Batman. The fourth, an A.I. incarnation of the Thinker, is an enemy of the Justice Society of America. An unidentified incarnation of Thinker, introduced in the New 52, is an enemy of the Suicide Squad. The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including television series and feature films. DeVoe made his live-action debut in The Flash, portrayed primarily by Neil Sandilands. In the DCEU, Peter Capaldi portrayed original variation Gaius Grieves in The Suicide Squad (2021)
Publication history The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of Thinker first appeared in All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943) and was created by Gardner Fox and Everett E. Hibbard. In October 1947, the Thinker was one of the six original members of the Injustice Society, who began battling the Justice Society of America in All Star Comics #37 (Oct 1947). The Cliff Carmichael incarnation of Thinker first appeared in Firestorm #1 (1978) and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Conway recounted, "My original notion on Firestorm was to do a book that would be DC's complement to Spider-Man, in a sense. We would have a young adolescent male who gets superpowers and doesn't know quite what to do with them. My flip on it was that rather than being the science geek who was being picked upon by the jock, my hero would actually be the jock who was picked on by the geek, and that was going to be Cliff Carmichael's role." In The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man #50, the strap on Ronnie Raymond's football helmet is cut, and in the following issues Carmichael is suspected of the crime. Though Conway later said that he must have intended to ultimately reveal someone else as the culprit, John Ostrander took over as the series' writer and had Carmichael confess to cutting the strap. In Firestorm #99, Carmichael became the Thinker as part of a genre-wide trend in which civilian cast members were almost eliminated from superhero comics.
Fictional character biography
Clifford DeVoe
Clifford DeVoe is a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933. Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered have the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he starts a new career as the brain behind small-time villains. As the Thinker, he is defeated by the original Flash/Jay Garrick, his most recurrent foe. DeVore wields the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that can project mental force. The Thinker is a member of the Injustice Society, leading an army of prison escapees like the other members. In Plateau City, the police nab a shabbily dressed man who is trying to shoot the governor. They discover that this man is a dead ringer for the governor and also claims to be the real governor. The Flash arrives on the scene to overhear this, but moves on to confront the hoodlums attacking the city. The Thinker appears on the scene, firing a ray at the Crimson Comet, causing him to gain weight and crash through a roof. Recovering, the Flash speeds over to the governor's mansion, only to overhear the governor ordering all police forces to surrender. Flash enters his office and discovers the governor to be a dummy/machine, which flees through an open door. Flash attempts to warn the police that a phony governor put out the message, but the Thinker shows up and tells the Flash that he is speaking into a dead mic, then snares him with invisible wires. The Thinker appears as a judge in the 'trial' of the JSA, but is revealed as Green Lantern in disguise, having captured the real Thinker after escaping Brain Wave. This leads to the Injustice Society's defeat. Together with the Fiddler and the Shade, the Thinker is the man behind the decades-long "abduction" of Keystone City and the original Flash. His "suspended animation-time" in Keystone keeps the Thinker young over the years, and he continues his criminal career in modern times. DeVoe accepts a mission with Task Force X in exchange for a full pardon. Although he is seemingly killed by Weasel during this mission, he turned up alive soon after, only to be dying from cancer due to the cap. In 2016, DC Comics implemented a relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52" reboot. Thinker is depicted as a former district attorney.
Cliff Carmichael
Clifford Carmichael is an intellectual bully and the rival of Ronnie Raymond (one half of Firestorm) at Bradley High and later at Vandemeer University. Cliff viewed Ronnie as a rival due to his popularity. He torments Ronnie throughout his high school career and later at Vandemeer University. It was at Vandemeer that Cliff's pranks turned sinister as he cut the helmet strap on Ronnie's football helmet, hoping to get him injured. Cliff's cousin Hugo Hammer accidentally takes Ronnie's helmet, causing his neck to be broken during a football game. Wracked with guilt after accidentally paralyzing Hugo, Cliff is admitted into a mental institution. He is used as a test subject for experiments with the original Thinker's Thinking Cap and uses the cap to analyze the device and improve on its design. Implanting microchip versions of the helmet into his brain, Cliff becomes a "cyberpunk maniac" with metahuman powers. As the new Thinker, he is drafted into the Suicide Squad after attempting to kill Amanda Waller. After several missions, he betrays the group for the villainous Cabal. The Thinker later appears as a foe of Jason Rusch, the second Firestorm. When Killer Frost discovers that the consciousness of Ronnie Raymond still exists within the Firestorm matrix following his death during Identity Crisis, Thinker exploits a new opportunity to antagonize an old foe. Technologically dominating the minds of Multiplex and Typhoon, he battles Firestorm, ultimately destroying Ronnie's consciousness. Jason dissolves the enhancements in the Thinker's brain, leaving him comatose. In Infinite Crisis, Cliff joins Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.
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