After the reveal of the cast of characters that will be in The Suicide Squad movie at DC's Fandome live stream, fans are curious about the origins of each villain. Peter Capaldi's character The Thinker might be familiar to fans of the CW's Flash as the villain has appeared on the show before.
But who is The Thinker in the comics? There have actually been four different characters who have used the moniker. Clifford DeVoe, Cliff Carmichael, Desmond Connor, and AI have all been called The Thinker in DC Comics. However, the character has always been a criminal known for his intellect, hence the name.
Clifford Devoe was the first to appear, way back in 1943, facing off against the original Flash, Jay Garrick, in All-Flash #12. A failed lawyer, DeVoe turned to a life of crime but was often bested by Garrick. He turned to his knowledge of technology to create devices to enhance his mind and finally defeat The Flash. He invented the Thinking Cap, a metal contraption that gives him telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Throughout the years, Clifford has been affiliated with both the Injustice Society and The Suicide Squad. The most prominent character to take up The Thinker mantle, DeVoe was created by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard.
Cliff Carmichael, created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom in 1978, first appeared in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1. However, he officially took on the name in #99 of the same title. Cliff was a childhood bully to Firestorm Ronnie Raymond. Throughout Ronnie's high school and college careers, Cliff tormented him. After an attempt at injuring Raymond goes wrong, Cliff is admitted to a mental hospital where he was experimented on using DeVoe's signature Thinking Cap. Cliff used the knowledge gained from the cap to improve it by making a microchip version and implanting it directly into his brain. This Thinker shares the same abilities as DeVoe and has also been affiliated with The Suicide Squad. It should also be noted that Cliff was The Thinker that was in John Ostrander's run of Suicide Squad, which James Gunn is said to be taking inspiration from for his movie.
Desmond Connor and AI are completely different variations of the character. Unlike the previous two, these Thinkers have different abilities. Connor does have telepathy but can project fears, much like Scarecrow's fear toxins, while AI is an artificial intelligence version of the Thinking Cap. Neither has been affiliated with Task Force X, but AI was a part of a couple of groups such as the Injustice Society and the Secret Society of Super Villains. Desmond Connor was created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle for Batman: Shadow of the Bat #67 in 1997 where he was an easily beaten Batman foe. David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns created AI to be introduced in JSA #9 he is the most recent Thinker to be created, making his debut in April 2000.
Though it is not completely clear which Thinker Capaldi will be portraying yet, it's safe to say the character will bring an intellect the previous film's team lacked. Gunn seems to be a fan of Ostrander's Suicide Squad, so it might be a safe bet Cliff Carmichael will be the version we see on screen. However, Devoe is more widely known, especially from his appearance on The Flash. Fans will have to wait to see when The Suicide Squad hits theaters next year, but in the meantime, they can read up on the different versions of the characters to see which they'd prefer.
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