Thinker

> If God existed, wouldn't this be proof that he wasn't good at all?
>
> Thinker to Rick Flag, The Suicide Squad

Doctor **Gaius Grieves** was a hyperintelligent metahuman scientist known as the **Thinker**. He was used as one of the top scientists of Corto Maltese dictator General Presidente Luna to help develop Project Starfish. Later, he was captured by Task Force X and forced to join them in their fight against Luna and his project. Fueled by self-preservation, Grieves led Task Force X to Jotunheim, where they accidentally released Starro the Conqueror, who killed Grieves for imprisoning it.

## Biography

### Affiliation with Jotunheim

 File:Young Thinker.jpg
Gaius Grieves was hired as a chief scientist at Jotunheim and experimented on Starro. He served under the Herrera family and later assisted Corto Maltesean dictator Silvio Luna in developing the powerful Project Starfish around the creature and its abilities. He was cruel as Starro's captor, unnecessarily torturing the alien and its hosts in multiple experiments.

It is implied he sexually abused the Starro or its captives as well, as one host stated Grieves "had his way" with them.

### Encountering Task Force X

In 2021, he was captured by the invading United States black-ops group Task Force X, who forced him to help them in their mission to destroy Jotunheim and Project Starfish.

### Infiltration in Jotunheim

After they get through the guards, Peacemaker shoves the Thinker's face into the retinal scan in order to enter Jotunheim. Inside the building, Task Force X sees the numerous victims of Grieves' experiments, consisting of dissidents and journalists opposing the Herrera regime that have been used as test subjects in Project Starfish. These captives - all possessed by Starro - plead with Task Force X, revealing that Grieves has tortured and "had his way" with them. Grieves then divulges that Corto Maltese secretly worked with the American government to study Project Starfish, with Peacemaker having been sent by Amanda Waller to cover up evidence of said collusion. Suddenly, the explosives placed throughout Jotunheim go off earlier than expected, disrupting the confrontation between the Thinker and Task Force X, and shattering the glass window overseeing Starro's enormous cell.

### Killed by Starro

With Jotunheim in ruins on the verge of collapse, and Starro's confinement at an end, Gaius Grieves has just enough time to realize what has happened before Starro's tendrils shoot out from the shattered window and wrap around Grieves, who is dragged into the former's cell, leaving trails of blood from his fingers in a vain attempt to hold on to the floor. Brought before Starro, Grieves desperately tries to diffuse the situation by promising to change, only to have one of his arms and legs ripped off. Starro then throws the Thinker's body at a window hard enough for it to splatter on the glass upon impact.

## Personality

> Your people have always been squeamish about the sacrifices necessary for scientific advancement.
>
> The Thinker to Rick Flag, The Suicide Squad

The Thinker appears to be sly and manipulative, sleazy, self-preserving and intelligent. He attempted to play to the weaknesses of Task Force X, and was reluctant to join them as he values his life and doesn't want to die, hinting that every action he takes is for his own gain.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

* **Superhuman intelligence**: The Thinker had extreme intelligence and incredible problem-solving skills. The electronics embedded in his head supposedly amplified his cognition, though this was stated in jest, so the accuracy of this claim cannot be determined. He was a geneticist and a master tactician, as well as extremely knowledgeable.

### Abilities

* **Bilingualism**: The Thinker is fluent in English and Spanish.

## Relationships

Allies* Jotunheim
* Silvio Luna † - superior
* Mateo Suarez † - superior
	+ Rick Flag †
	+ Robert DuBois/Bloodsport
	+ Christopher Smith/Peacemaker
	+ Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man †
	+ Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2
	+ Nanaue/King Shark
	+ Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
* Maltese resistance - assistance to Task Force X during Jotunheim mission
	+ Milton †
* Starro † - former manipulatee and captive turned killer

## Behind the scenes

* In DC Comics, there have been several characters to take up the mantle of the Thinker over the years. Along with the unnamed Thinker of the current DC continuity the DCEU version is based on, the most notable versions are Clifford DeVoe, Cliff Carmichael, Desmond Connor, and the Thinker A.I. All of them are hyperintelligent criminals that have fought various versions of the Flash on various occasions.
* The Thinker in the DC Extended Universe is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following the Arrowverse incarnation portrayed by Neil Sandilands in the CW's Flash TV series.
	+ He is also the first onscreen incarnation to not be based on the Clifford DeVoe version of the character.
* Dean Grimes was a stunt double for Peter Capaldi in the role of the Thinker.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "OTHER: The Thinker's Real Name (Not Clifford Devoe)" - Reddit
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Suicide Squad
3. ↑ Thinker's Splat card describes his intelligence.

## External links

The ***DC Extended Universe Wiki** has a collection of images and media related to* **Thinker***.*
* File:Favicon.png Thinker on DC Database
* File:WP favicon.png Thinker on Wikipedia

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