All 15 Versions Of Harrison Wells That Have Appeared In The Flash
Tom Cavanagh has played 15 different versions of Harrison Wells on The Flash; the following are all the Arrowverse dopplegangers for the scientist.
Since the introduction of the multiverse in season 2 of The Flash, the show has had 15 different versions of Harrison Wells, all portrayed by Tom Cavanagh. From the Earth-2 alternate Wells, who reluctantly took on a mentor role for Team Flash in seasons 2 and 4, to the one-off Wells the Grey (a clear Gandalf analog), each version of the character has been a unique, distinct person, demonstrating Cavanagh's impressive acting chops.
The different versions of Wells started as a way to keep Tom Cavanagh on the show after the season 1 finale killed off his original character. Over time, it evolved into a running gag, with the question of who’s the next Wells being a frequent question for producers at the start of each season, with even the characters catching on that it’s essential for them to always have a Wells on the team.
With 15 different versions of Harrison Wells appearing on The Flash, there have been a variety of different characters filling the "Wells" role on Team Flash. From one-off joke characters to big players who are integral to the plot, the following is every version of Harrison Wells that has appeared on The Flash.
The first version of Harrison Wells to appear is actually the main antagonist of season 1, Eobard Thawne. A speedster and time traveler from the 22nd century, Thawne first idolized the Flash, eventually coming to hate him and becoming his archenemy, the Reverse Flash. His connection with Harrison Wells came when he tried to kill a young Barry Allen after learning he was the Flash’s secret identity: Thawne used his speed powers to travelled to the past and killed Nora Allen, Barry’s mother; however, Eobard's speed abilities began to fluctuate and he was unable to travel forward to his future. He then took over Harrison Wells’s identity completely, pushing forward the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator so that Barry Allen would become The Flash several years earlier, allowing Thawne to regain his own speed and return to his future sooner.
Despite being the original Harrison Wells of Earth-1 (the main Arrowverse Earth pre-Crisis), not too much is known about the original Harrison Wells. He appeared only in a singe episode, flashbacks in season 1’s “Tricksters”, in which he was a likeable but eccentric scientist, happily married to his business partner Tess Morgan. Just as he’s putting plans in motion to create what becomes S.T.A.R. Labs, however, he’s killed by Eobard Thawne, who takes over his identity to get the particle accelerator up and running years ahead of schedule.
Harry was the first alternate Wells and the most prominent one, being the main Wells on the team in both seasons 2 and 4. His daughter, Jesse Wells, was captured by Zoom, leading to Harry working with Zoom at first to get her freedom. He eventually turned on Zoom and used Team Flash to help break Jesse free.
After Jesse develops super speed and takes off as a heroine on her own, Harry rejoins Team Flash in season 4 to fight against the Thinker. While trying to keep up with the Thinker, Harry abuses an upgraded version of the Thinker’s Thinking Cap, leading to him losing his natural intelligence. He leaves the team by the end of the season, barely able to even speak in clear sentences. According to Cisco, Harry was starting to regain his intelligence before the Crisis destroyed the multiverse, though Harry managed to survive, like every other Wells, in Nash Wells’s mind post-Crisis.
H.R. Wells was the main Harrison Wells of season 3. As Harry wanted to return to Earth-2, Team Flash sent out a broadcast across the multiverse to try and find his replacement, ultimately landing on H.R. despite Harry’s objections. Rather than being a brilliant scientist like the other versions of Wells, H.R. was the idea guy and face of S.T.A.R. Labs on his Earth, with his partner, Randolf Morgan, being the scientific mind.
While he’s not a great scientist, H.R. was quite good with people. This is shown most clearly in his interactions with Wally West, helping him to better develop his super speed when everyone else on Team Flash was ignoring him. H.R. eventually sacrificed himself in the fight against Savitar, dying in Iris’s place to help set up a plan to defeat Savitar.
Sherloque was the Wells on Team Flash in season 5. He’s a renowned detective, brought on to help solve who Cicada is, the metahuman serial killer loose on Earth-1. He sends Team Flash after the wrong person, however, and then tries to escape with the money they offered, later explaining it was to pay off alimony owed to his seven ex-wives. Sherloque then joins Team Flash to solve the actual mystery in order to make up for his previous deception.
In contrast to H.R. and Wally’s bonding, Sherloque and the new speedster Nora often clashed with each other. Sherloque deduced that Nora had some communication with Eobard Thawne in the future, trying to push Nora to come clean about it before he goes ahead and reveals it to the team himself, driving a wedge between everyone that allows Eobard to escape in the future.
Nash is the current and possibly last Wells to appear on The Flash. On his original Earth, Nash was a treasure hunter in the style of Indiana Jones, eventually taking his adventures to the rest of the multiverse. He comes into contact with Team Flash while trying to disprove the existence of the Monitor, Mar Novu, which backfires on him: He inadvertently caused the Crisis by releasing the Anti-Monitor, and became Pariah, being forced to witness all the damage that he’d caused.
In the new multiverse, Nash joined Team Flash, mostly taking over Cisco’s place on the team. With the rest of the multiverse seemingly destroyed, he’s the last Wells to physically survive. All of the other Wells doppelgängers, along with Eobard Thawne, managed to escape and survive in Nash's mind, leaving the door open for more versions of Wells in the future — even without a multiverse.
Harrison Wolfgang Wells is one of the founding members of the Council of Wells, put together by Harry Wells to help track down the identity of the Thinker. He’s one of the most prickly Wells, being rather arrogant to the point of ejecting Harry from the Council of Wells rather than help him when his intelligence starts to fade.
Wells the Grey is a strange one, even by the standards of the different versions of Harrison Wells. He appears in a single episode, “When Harry Met Harry,” connecting to a Council of Wells meeting before being ejected by Harry. Between his dress and style of speaking, it’s unclear if he’s an actual wizard or just thinks that he is.
While he’s just referred to as Harrison Wells in his one appearance, Earth-17 Wells obviously has a steampunk background, with his English accent and giant goggles. The team encounters him in the episode “The New Rogues,” when Harry wants to leave, and the team needs another Wells to take his place. Harry devises an equation to test for intelligence, broadcast throughout the multiverse, with only Steampunk Wells, H.R. Wells, Hells Wells, and Mime Wells responding to the communication.
Wells 2.0 is a cyborg from Earth-22 and member of the Council of Wells. His Earth appears to be a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with his cyborg parts being necessary to survive. He lost his eye in a battle with his daughter and it is strongly implied to be a cannibal that ate the Earth-22 version of Cisco Ramon.
Sonny Wells used to be a member of the Council of Wells until being kicked out, being one of the first members of the Council of Harrisons, picked for their emotional rather than intellectual approach to problems. Sonny has a smug New York City vibe to him, while still being kind enough to work well on the Council of Harrisons, helping Harry even when he’s losing his intelligence.
H.P. Wells is one of two French versions of Harrison Wells. Rather than a scientist, he’s a poet, and therefore much more in touch with his emotional side. This gets him kicked out of the Council of Wells and instead put on the Council of Harrisons.
H. Lothario Wells is a playboy Wells and member of both the Council of Wells and Council of Harrisons. Lothario is both a genius and really good with people, unlike most of the other Wells who are one or the other. He was kicked out of the Council of Wells, but more for his playboy lifestyle than not being smart enough to be part of the council.
Similar to Steampunk Wells, not much is known about Hells Wells, making only a short appearance as a hologram in the episode “The New Rogues.” He refused to explain his background, such as why his nickname is “Hells Wells” or why he looks like he comes out of the Old West. He was smart enough to figure out the equation Harry devised as a test of intelligence, but was nonetheless rejected as a potential Wells to join the team.
Mime Wells is a French Harrison Wells from an unknown Earth. He’s one of the few that responds to Harry’s intelligence test in “The New Rogues.” He’s quickly shot down for joining the team, not because of the possible language barrier, but because he pantomimes everything — with Harry saying they couldn’t trust a mime.