Since the movie about Superman, fans have considered Lex Luthor a character that particularly hates his hero. But nothing compares to a villain who was once a big fan.
Which villain is it? Eobart Thawne made his first appearance in 1963 in the comic The Flash No. 139. Thawne was born in the 25th century and was a big fan of Flash; one might even say he was obsessed.
He obsessively tried to explore the Speed Force, the power behind the Flash’s abilities, to become like his great hero.
When he managed to gain the Speed Force, there wasn’t much for heroes to do. So he took matters into his own hands. He pushed a woman off a roof and saved her right after to enjoy the glory.
But at some point, Thawne realized he was never meant to be a hero. His fate was to become the Reverse Flash, a counterpart to the real Flash. This drove him mad, and his admiration turned into hatred, which he made Flash feel quite intensely.
There are few villains that hate as much as Reverse Flash
What has Reverse Flash done? Thawne dedicated his life to Flash, namely Barry Allen. He did everything possible to destroy his life. He is probably even worse than a nasty Marvel villain. He traveled to the past and changed the future.
This way, he killed Barry Allen’s mother in his childhood and ensured that Barry’s father was punished for the murder. But he also did more complex things to create more enemies for Barry. The villain Zoom arose solely because of Thawne.
But even though he hates Flash and can travel through time, he cannot kill him there or ensure that he does not gain the Speed Force. This is because his existence as Reverse Flash depends on the existence of the hero Flash.
Since he still wants to unleash his hatred, he quietly torments Barry in his childhood, as shown in the One Shot Flashpoint: Reverse Flash No. 1 (via x.com):
- He pushes little Barry down the stairs
- Ensures that he does not catch a baseball as a child
- He also caused a gust of wind that blew his homework away
- Wipes out the existence of his childhood friend so that Barry has no friends left
Apart from that, he regularly attempts to kill Barry’s wife and other friends and lovers. The irony is that his fate is to lose, as he is the counterpart of Flash.
He exists only because of him, and Flash exists only because of Reverse Flash.
When Barry tried to save his mother in the past, he created the Flashpoint universe. In this dystopian world, there is no Justice League, Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, and Batman is not Bruce Wayne but his brutal father (via IGN).
How do I best experience Reverse Flash? If you are only interested in the villain, there are several options, including series and movies:
- If you want to experience the entire Flashpoint saga, you can get the complete edition, which is relatively expensive with over 1500 pages and more suitable for collectors.
- The One Shot Flashpoint: Reverse Flash is only available as a single issue in English, so you would have to buy the issue used or read it as a Kindle version.
- In the comic series: The Flash: Rebirth, Eobert Thawne plays an important role.
- If you prefer to watch something, the CW Flash series is a good choice. While it is often cheesy and not incredibly well produced, the Reverse Flash has a prominent role.
- If you are an animation fan, the movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox might be worth your time.
The Flash is one of the most well-known heroes of DC. A somewhat lesser-known hero is quite a silly character, but he is much stronger than one might initially think: A hero in the DC universe is as silly as Deadpool but one of the most powerful people on Earth
