Twice-Told-Tales: Pied Pipers Perplex Winged Wonders

Several men have assumed the identity of the Pied Piper. Some were good. Some were bad.

The most famous modern day Piper was Hartley Rathaway, a wealthy lad born deaf, who gained an obsession for music once his hearing was restored. He developed wind instruments that emitted sonic frequencies that spawned a wide array of effects upon their listeners. As the Pied Piper, he used his innate musical aptitude as a supervillain in Central City. Repeatedly, Hartley clashed with the Flash of Earth-One, who defeated him time and time again. Despite his parents' riches, Hartley's second obsession towards crime and his desire to repair them for the money they invested in him over the years kept the Pied Piper active among Flash's Rogues Gallery.

One one occasion, the Piper created a horned instrument for a crook named Elmer, who along with his confederates used it for their crime sprees in Midway City. This attacted the attention of Hawkman. After devising the means to counteract the disorienting effect of their horns, the Winged Wonder brought both Piper, Elmer and their henchmen to justice.

On Earth-Two, that world's Hawkman and Hawkgirl met a mysterious man named the Pied Piper, who had in his possession a horn that exhibited similar disorientation effects when played by their owners. This Piper was benevolent, however, and was taken in by Hawkman's alter ego Carter Hall to be his valet. However, when a crook named Butch and his henchmen broke into Hall's house, they encountered both the Piper and Hawkman himself, who had been in his upstairs workshop. When the gangsters threatened the Piper with Hall's life, the horn player agreed to assist them in criminal pursuits. Soon after, the Winged Wonders captured Butch and his gangsters, and acquainted the Piper with a music band leader that he could play for professionally.

This modern day descendant of the Pied Piper, somewhat reminiscent of the original rat catching musician of fables, seemed to mirror a modern day rat catcher whom Earth-One's Zatanna encountered after seeking out the folklore original. Zatanna's father Zatara on Earth-Two also once encounted the original fabled Piper. 

Two other Pied Pipers on his world appeared: a gadgeter who battled Batman without sonic weaponry. The other faux Piper was a henchmen who bedeviled Mister America. Like Elmer, this latter Piper was merely a pawn of another criminal, the Queen Bee. Temporary clones of the Pied Piper also plagued both the Justice League and Jimmy Olsen of Earth-One on occasion.

The actual counterpart of Hartley Rathaway was Isaac Bowlin, who utilized similiar sonic science but through a string instrument as the Fiddler. Both were the preeminent malevolent musicians of their Earths. Each would be frequent collaborators of supervillain teams and fellow Flash foes. Finally, there was the Pied Piper of Earth-S, a recurring rogue of Captain Marvel Junior's.