Isaac
Bowin was the son of British aristocrats, but early in life
he developed wanderlust and traveled to India. He soon found himself
living on the streets, turning to petty crime to keep himself fed.
Thrown into prison after a merchant caught him stealing, his cellmate
was a mysterious fakir who agreed to teach him the mystic lore of
the East. Isaac was a proficient student, soon mastering magic, and
after carving a fiddle from materials in his cell, he and the fakir
made good their escape. Now calling himself the Fiddler,
he murdered the fakir and the merchant who had him arrested before
traveling to America to make a fortune in crime. (All-Flash
#32)
Fiddler arrived in Keystone City, where he met the original Flash
and was quickly apprehended. The Fiddler soon escaped from prison
and captured the Flash in turn. (Speed
Force Special #1) Oddly, the Flash was freed by his own future
self, who had journeyed into the past with Hippolyta (Wonder Woman
III). (Wonder Woman vol. 2 #130)
The Fiddler would be a persistent thorn in Jay Garrick's side. In
early 1947, when Garrick married his longtime sweetheart,
Joan Williams, the Fiddler, Shade and Thinker were there to spoil
the honeymoon. (Flash
vol. 2 #161)
Soon after this, they two battled again at a city pier,
where Fiddler's musical vibrations caused the pier to crumble, and
he was apparently killed. (All-Flash
#32)
Of course, the villain survived and plagued the Flash
on more occasions. He also briefly joined the the Injustice
Society of the World where he fought against the entire Justice Society
of America. (All-Star
Comics #41)
Several years later, in 1954, he reappeared with his Injustice Society
cohorts the Gambler, and the Icicle. This gange was broken up by
none other than another contemporary "villain," the Shade, who from
time to time secretly did good deeds. (Starman vol. 2
#46)
The Fiddler's biggest claim to fame is the time he teamed again
with Thinker and the Shade to shift all of Keystone City out of
phase with the rest of the world, paralyzing the inhabitants — including
Flash. This held for over ten years when Jay Garrick's successor,
Barry Allen discovered the barrier
separating Keystone City from the outside world. The two Flashes
met for the first time restored Keystone to the real
world. (Flash vol. 1 #123, Secret Origins #50)
When the Justice League of America formed, the Fiddler
was among the first to form a group against them as the Crime Champions. (JLofA
#21-22) Over the years he appeared frequently among his cohorts
and the occasionally revived Injustice Society. (All-Star
Comics #63, Justice League of
America #183-185) He was also a founding member of its modern day incarnation,
Injustice, Unlimited. (Infinity, Inc. #34)
After so many defeats, the aging Fiddler decided to try traveling
back in time and attempt to kill the Flash in the 1940s. He was pursued,
however, by Katar Hol (Hawkman III) and Shayera Thal (Hawkwoman),
who disguised themselves as the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl. At
the end of this misadventure, he apparently perished. (Hawkworld
Annual #1)
Iron Heights; Fiddler told some guards not to judge his fellow
inmates because they were all artists like himself. (Flash
vol. 2 #208)
Fiddler called up Calculator to obtain some information, but
couldn't afford Calculators $3,000 per question rate. (Identity
Crisis #4)
This group lay dormant for many years until a new (?) Mockingbird assembled
a group of super-villains to challenge Lex Luthor's massive new super-villain
alliance. Those who refused to join Lex were branded as enemies to this society.
Mockingbird contacted six rebel villains to stand against them: Scandal,
Deadshot, Cheshire, Rag Doll III, Parademon and the
Fiddler. At the end of this group's first mission (against the H.I.V.E.,
which is now overseen by Talia), individuals on the team were "judged" by
Mockingbird; the Fiddler was judged incompetent and was immediately executed
by Deadshot. The team then recruited Catman as their new sixth
member. This group was clever, but Mockingbird was moreso. When Cheshire attempted
to leave the Secret Six, Mockingbird threatened the life of her daughter, Lian. (Villains
United #1)
Notes
The story from the Speed Force Special is meant to be the Fiddler's first
encounter with the Flash.
Thanks to Tom Tomorrow
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SEE ALSO:
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FEATURED APPEARANCES:
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SERIES: ...
Powers
Fiddler possessed magical abilities that he channeled
through his violins. The musical vibrations he created could shatter
solid objects, create force-fields and hypnotize others. Fiddler
used violins gimmicked with weapons such as blades and guns. His
usual mode of transport was a violin-shaped car.
