Mirror Master Explained

Mirror Master is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a recurring foe of the Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors.^[1] Three individuals have donned the guise of Mirror Master, and have been members of the Rogues. In 2009, Mirror Master was ranked as IGN's 79th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.^[2]

Both incarnations of Mirror Master have made several appearances in DC-related media, with Sam Scudder being portrayed in live-action by David Cassidy in the 1990 The Flash series and by Grey Damon in the 2014 The Flash series, while Efrat Dor portrayed a gender-swapped version of Evan McCulloch, named Eva McCulloch, in the 2014 series.

Publication history

The Sam Scudder version of Mirror Master first appeared in The Flash #105, and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.^[3]

The Evan McCulloch version of Mirror Master first appeared in Animal Man #8, and was created by Grant Morrison and Chas Truog.

Fictional character biography

Sam Scudder

Samuel Joseph Scudder is a simple convict, but has the goal to learn how to get inside the reflection of a mirror. Stumbling into a hall of mirrors, he experiments and discovers a way to get in his own reflection. He uses this power to become the criminal Mirror Master,^[4] and is a frequent foe of the Flash. Scudder is killed around the same time as Barry Allen, alongside Icicle, during Crisis on Infinite Earths.^{[5] [6]}

In the Blackest Night crossover event, Sam Scudder is reanimated as an undead Black Lantern during the Blackest Night and is preparing an attack on the Rogues with the other deceased members, who are also reanimated.^[7]

In The New 52, a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe, Sam Scudder is the current Mirror Master. It is revealed that a year prior he, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard underwent a procedure at an unknown facility that would merge them with their weapons, giving them superpowers. The procedure went awry, causing an explosion at the facility. Golden Glider, who was also at the facility, was caught in the explosion. The five were given superpowers but each in a twisted manner. Heat Wave gains pyrokinesis but at the cost of his body being burned, Weather Wizard becomes emotionally tied to his weather wand causing constant depression, Mirror Master is trapped in Mirror World, and Golden Glider becomes an astral projection of herself. It is implied that Mirror Master is in a romantic relationship with her. The Rogues blame Cold for this and have turned against him because of it.^[8]

Evan McCulloch

Scottish mercenary Evan McCulloch was left as a baby on the doorstep of an orphanage run by a Mrs. McCulloch, with nothing but his first name and a photograph of his parents. He grows up fairly normal and around age 8, McCulloch is sexually assaulted by an older boy. Evan, in self-defense, drowns the boy in a creek, and eventually leaves the orphanage at age 16.^[9]

He settles in Glasgow, taking up a life that leads to crime and eventually takes up employment as an assassin. He becomes one of the most renowned mercenaries in the United Kingdom. One day, he has two hits scheduled, and due to an eye injury is unable to make out his second target. After firing his shot, he recognizes the target as his father.

At his father's funeral, McCulloch sees his mother. He tries to work up the courage to see her, but visits her too late, discovering that she has committed suicide. Stricken with grief at the loss of both parents, McCulloch decides to turn himself in but is instead picked up by a consortium of U.S. government and big business interests, who offer him the costume and weapons of the original Mirror Master in exchange for his services.

He moves to Keystone City and comes into conflict with Wally West, the third Flash. He discovers a "Mirror Dimension" which enables him to travel through any reflective surface.^[10] In Underworld Unleashed, the Rogues accept Mirror Master as Scudder's successor. After being betrayed by Neron, Mirror Master and four of the other Rogues die and go to Hell, only to return after a confrontation between Neron and the Flash.^[11]

In "One Year Later", Mirror Master appears as a member of the new Suicide Squad.^[12] Inertia persuades Mirror Master and the Rogues to kill Bart Allen, but they are enraged after learning that they murdered a child.^[13]

In The Flash #12 (2024), Mirror Master and the Rogues work with the Arc Angles, a group of inter-dimensional entities who are poisoning the Speed Force. After the Arc Angles betray Mirror Master, he works with Barry Allen and Wally West to battle them, during which he is killed and erased from history.^{[14] [15]} Mirror Master is later revealed to have survived and been transported to the Absolute Universe (AU), where he meets his AU counterpart.^{[16] [17]}

Powers and abilities

Both version of Mirror Master uses mirrors that produce fantastic effects such as hypnotism, invisibility, holograms, physical transformations, communications and travel into other dimensions (other parallel universes or planes of existence). Evan McCulloch uses a laser pistol unlike Sam Scudder.

Other versions

• An alternate universe variant of Mirror Master appears in Tangent: Superman's Reign #1. This version's body is composed of a glass-like substance and can create portals to other universes.
• An unidentified Mirror Master makes a cameo appearance in Justice League International #65 (June 1994) as a member of the "League-Busters".
• A character based on Mirror Master called Mirror Man appears in "Gotham Underground" and as a member of the New Rogues until he is killed by Mirror Master.^[18]
• An alternate timeline variant of Evan McCulloch / Mirror Master appears in the Flashpoint tie-in Flashpoint: Citizen Cold. After being imprisoned in the Mirrorverse and presumed dead, he recruits Weather Wizard, Tar Pit, and Fallout to form the Rogues before breaking out to pursue revenge against Citizen Cold, only to be killed by him.^[19]
• A heroic, futuristic incarnation of Mirror Master called Mirror Monarch appears in The Flash (vol. 3) as a member of a metahuman police force called the Renegades from the 25th century.^{[20] [21]}

In other media

Television

Live-action

• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in The Flash (1990) episode "Done with Mirrors", portrayed by David Cassidy. This version is a criminal who utilizes holograms projected by reflective disks.
• Characters based on Mirror Master appear in The Flash (2014):
  • The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in the third season, portrayed by Grey Damon.^{[22] [23]} This version was originally a member of Leonard Snart's gang three years prior to the series before gaining mirror-based abilities amidst the explosion of S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator. This also trapped him in a mirror, where he remained until escaping in the present and freeing his partner Rosalind Dillon from Iron Heights Penitentiary so they can go on a crime spree together, though the two are defeated by the Flash and Jesse Quick. Scudder and Dillon later joined Black Hole until Mirror Monarch (see below) shatters him, revealing he was the first mirror duplicate.
  • A female character based on the Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master named Eva McCulloch (portrayed by Efrat Dor) appears in the sixth and seventh seasons.^[24] She is a quantum engineer, co-founder of McCulloch Technologies, and wife of its CEO Joseph Carver who was also blasted into a mirror and became a mirror doppelgänger when S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator exploded, though she was trapped for six years. After learning Carver stole her technology and used it to create Black Hole, McCulloch developed and honed her newfound mirror-based abilities to get revenge. During her sixth year in the mirrorverse, McCulloch traps several key figures with her and uses mirror duplicates of them to procure technology and eventually escape the mirrorverse. Upon doing so, she kills Carver and retakes her company. After attacking Black Hole's remnants, shattering Scudder's mirror duplicate, discovering her true nature, and the Flash leaking it to the public, McCulloch goes berserk, takes the name "Mirror Monarch", and attempts to replace everyone in Central City with mirror duplicates until the Flash and Iris West-Allen convince her to stand down. Due to her duplicates having grown too powerful, the three destroy them before McCulloch releases her prisoners and returns to the mirrorverse to start anew.

Animation

• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in the episode "Reflections in Crime", voiced by Casey Kasem.
• An amalgamated incarnation of Mirror Master appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by Alexis Denisof.^[25] This version is a small-time criminal like Sam Scudder and has mirror-based abilities similar to Evan McCulloch. After making minor appearances in Justice League, he appears in Justice League Unlimited as a member of the Rogues and Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.
• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in The Batman episode "A Mirror Darkly", voiced by John Larroquette. This version is a brilliant but mad optical physicist who is assisted by Smoke (voiced by Amanda Anka).
• The Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master appears in , voiced by Tom Kenny.
• An unidentified incarnation of Mirror Master appears in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special, voiced by Breckin Meyer. This version is a member of the Legion of Doom.

Film

• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in , voiced again by Alexis Denisof.^[26] This version is a member of Vandal Savage's Legion of Doom.
• An unidentified incarnation of Mirror Master makes a non-speaking appearance in as a member of the Rogues.
• The Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master appears in Injustice, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.^[27]
• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in , voiced by Troy Baker.

Video games

• The Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Brandon Young.
• The Sam Scudder and Evan McCulloch incarnations of Mirror Master appear as character summons in .^[28]
• The Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Sam Heughan. This version is a member of the Rogues and Legion of Doom.

Miscellaneous

• An unidentified incarnation of Mirror Master appears in Super Friends #23.^[29]
• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master is referenced in the Ookla the Mok song "Stranger in the Mirror".
• The DCAU incarnation of Mirror Master appears in issue #12 of the Justice League Unlimited tie-in comic book.^[30]
• The Sam Scudder incarnation of Mirror Master appears in issue #16 of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold tie-in comic book.^[31]
• The Evan McCulloch incarnation of Mirror Master appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic. First appearing as the leader of a U.S. government-backed strike team, they are hired to kidnap Jonathan and Martha Kent in an attempt to make the increasingly hostile Superman stand down and stop meddling in government affairs or else they will kill the Kents. In response, the Justice League launch a manhunt for Mirror Master, eventually locating him and rescuing the Kents. Years later, Plastic Man breaks Mirror Master, among other supervillains, out of prison to help Batman's Insurgency cripple Superman's Regime. Mirror Master leads the Rogues in doing so until Bizarro kills Heat Wave and Weather Wizard, after which the surviving Rogues and the Flash hold an informal memorial service for them.

External links

• Alan Kistler's Profile On: THE FLASH - A detailed analysis of the history of the Flash by comic book historian Alan Kistler. Covers information all the way from Jay Garrick to Barry Allen to today, as well as discussions on the various villains and Rogues who fought the Flash. Various art scans.

Notes and References

1. Book: Rovin, Jeff . Jeff Rovin . . 1987 . Facts on File . 0-8160-1356-X . New York . 221–222.
2. Web site: Video Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, Reviews, News & Videos - IGN . Comics.ign.com . 2016-08-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131008222310/http://comics.ign.com/top-100-villains/79.html . 2013-10-08 .
3. Book: Cowsill . Alan . The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe . Irvine . Alex . Korte . Steve . Manning . Matt . Wiacek . Win . Wilson . Sven . 2016 . . 978-1-4654-5357-0 . 203.
4. Book: The DC Comics Encyclopedia . Dorling Kindersley Limited . 2004 . 0-7566-0592-X . 204.
5. Book: Cowsill . Alan . DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle . Irvine . Alex . Manning . Matthew K. . McAvennie . Michael . Wallace . Daniel . 2019 . DK Publishing . 978-1-4654-8578-6 . 87.
6. Crisis on Infinite Earths #10 (January 1986)
7. #1 (February 2010)
8. The Flash (vol. 4) Annual #1 (October 2012)
9. The Flash (vol. 2) #133 (January 1998)
10. The Flash (vol. 2) #105 (September 1995)
11. The Flash (vol. 2) #129 (September 1997)
12. Checkmate (vol. 2) #6 (November 2006)
13. Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 (August 2007)
14. The Flash (vol. 6) #12 (October 2024)
15. Web site: Champa . Madelyn . 2024-08-31 . Flash Kills Off a Fan-Favorite Villain After 35 Years . 2025-04-19 . . en.
16. Web site: Brooke . David . 2025-05-03 . ‘DC All In : Absolute Universe 2025 FCBD Special Edition’ review . 2025-05-17 . AIPT . en-us.
17. Web site: Cronin . Brian . 2025-05-07 . The Absolute Universe Receives a Shocking Turn of Events in DC All In FCBD Special Edition #1 . 2025-05-17 . . en.
18. Gotham Underground #3 (February 2008)
19. Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1 - 3 (June - August 2011)
20. The Flash (vol. 3) #1 (April 2010)
21. The Flash (vol. 3) #4 - 6 (July - November 2010)
22. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: "THE FLASH" CASTS ITS MIRROR MASTER. Comic Book Resources. Ching. Alfred. August 10, 2016. 11 August 2016. 11 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160811235958/http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/exclusive-the-flash-casts-its-mirror-master. dead.
23. Web site: Are More Rogues Coming To CW's Flash? | Newsbite | That Hashtag Show . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/F0HSlD3ohfg . 2021-12-21 . live. YouTube . 2016-08-10 . 2016-08-11.
24. Agard. Chancellor. The Flash casts Mayans M.C. actress in role that 'pushes the boundaries of sanity'. Entertainment Weekly. November 21, 2019. November 21, 2019.
25. Web site: Mirror Master Voices (Flash) . June 9, 2024 . Behind The Voice Actors. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
26. Web site: Tudor . Brian . January 18, 2012 . West Coast Premiere Of Justice League: Doom . June 9, 2024 . ScienceFiction.com.
27. Web site: Couch . Aaron . 2021-07-21 . DC's Injustice Sets Cast for Animated Movie (Exclusive) . 2021-07-21 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
28. Web site: Eisen . Andrew . October 4, 2013 . DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide . June 9, 2024 . IGN.
29. Web site: Super Friends #23 - S.O.S. From Nowhere (Issue) . June 9, 2024 . Comic Vine . en.
30. Web site: Justice League Unlimited #12 - Old School (Issue) . 2024-06-09 . Comic Vine . en.
31. Web site: Batman: The Brave and the Bold #16 - Mirror, Mirror... - Part One (Issue) . 2024-06-09 . Comic Vine . en.