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The Calculator has started a new business venture that puts every hero’s secret identity in jeopardy.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers from The Flash #778, by Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan, Brent Peeples, Jeremy Cox, Peter Pantazis, Matt Herms and Rob Leigh, on sale now.
In The Flash #778, Shimmer and Mammoth kidnap Irey West and bring her to the lair of the Calculator, who’s in the midst of establishing a metahuman-trafficking ring. Horrifying enough on its face, Calculator ratchets it up further by revealing how he is finding his targets.
Using his mastery of hacking, the Calculator can access a registry of blood work. From there, all he needs to do is find the genetic markers for superpowers, and he has his new target. Unfortunately, this means that any metahuman who has had blood work done is at risk of being discovered. It’s a system that puts the whole superhero community in peril.
As the Calculator explained it, he can access a virtual Rolodex of blood work. It isn’t always the same registry, but there are enough names on the list that he can cross-reference their genetic information with a test for metahuman markers in their DNA. Once he has a hit, he can use his skills to locate this person as the registry would contain their name, giving him a lead, if not an exact address.
Calculator’s actions after seizing Irey point to how this can affect the superhero community. He had her dosed with a tranquilizer to limit her powers, even actively joking that he didn’t want her to “run away.” This seems to confirm that the tests not only identify if someone is a metahuman but can discern their powers. As a result, it is possible that because he knows Irey has a connection to the Speed Force, he also knows she is somehow related to, or at least affiliated with, The Flash.
The broader implication is that the Calculator could access the genetic information of any metahuman and try to determine if they’re a hero or not. Blood work is a common enough practice that every gets it at some point in their lives. If the genetic information of the Flash’s children is accessible to the Calculator, then people like Supergirl or Black Lightning could be at risk of their blood work falling into the wrong hands. The Calculator may not see the opportunity presented before him yet, but it could become an even more lucrative form of business for him than metahuman trafficking.
Imagine him identifying heroes’ civilian identities based on their genetic information. He could generate plenty of funds selling that information to the highest bidder. Or he can keep it to himself and blackmail the hero in a way that makes Calculator’s life significantly easier. Essentially he could render secret identities moot for many and force the rest to be even more scrutinizing about their personal information.
The Justice League has already attempted to build its own mental health facility. Perhaps an entire health care industry should be the next step. Even then, though, the information would still be at risk. Calculator has often been likened to Oracle in terms of computer skills. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to get around whatever kind of firewalls the heroes put up. Their greatest secrets, even potential weaknesses, all accessible with a few clicks on a keyboard.
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