He doesn't run backwards, but the Reverse-Flash is every bit the antithesis of the Flash himself.
[distorted] Oh, I'm not like the Flash at all.
Some would say I'm the reverse.
Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we will explore the comic book origins of Eobard Thawne,
a.ka. Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash.
The Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne.
BATMAN: What kind of name is "Eobard?"
The twenty-fifth century kind.
He replicated the accident that allowed me to tap into the Speed Force.
Became a criminal, Professor Zoom.
As with most comic book characters, there are often reimaginings and different versions to a character's past.
We have chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 1963's issue #139,
which was expanded upon in 1993's The Flash, Volume 2, #74 to 79.
[grunts]
In Professor Zoom's debut comic appearance, he was introduced as a brilliant scientist
from the twenty-fifth century, dissatisfied with the mundane utopia of his time period.
When a time capsule from Barry Allen a.k.a. the Flash's twentieth century finds its way to his city,
he acquires one of the speedster's supersuits.
Discovering that the suit still held super-speed wave patterns, Professor Zoom dyes the suit in reverse colors
to represent his aversion for the superhero and uses its power to become the Flash's most diabolical villain
through means of time travel.
Through his many escapades with his rival, Professor Zoom's hate for the Scarlet Speedster
soon transformed into envy when he falls for the Flash's wife, Iris West.
He offers her an ultimatum: to leave her husband and spend the rest of her life with him.
For some "unknown" reason, Iris decides to refuse this "generous" offer.
Zoom becomes enraged and kills her by vibrating his hand through her skull.
You don't have to kill thousands of innocents to bring me down.
No.
No, I don't.
But I choose to.
When the Flash discovers the one responsible for the death of his wife,
he sends Professor Zoom into a timeless void through means of his time machine,
believing himself to be rid of the villain forever.
You may have my powers, Thawne.
But you have almost zero imagination about using them.
Years later, the two would be fated to meet again when Professor Zoom finally makes his way out
of the hellish realm of no return and seeks to have Barry join his late wife.
He makes dashing return on the day of Barry Allen's second wedding and attempts to kill his new fiancée.
Refusing to let the cruel fate befall him again, the Flash stops Professor Zoom by snapping his neck,
killing him instantly.
[grunts]
Eobard Thawne's origin story was later revised in the Wally West Flash era, where the Professor
was revealed be a Flash fanatic in the twenty-fifth century.
His obsession for the hero drove him to not only study his biography,
but transmute his facial features to resemble him.
When he uses his time machine to go back and meet his hero, he doesn't travel back far enough
and ends up in a time after Barry Allen's death.
It is here that he discovers his destiny in becoming the Reverse-Flash, his idol's greatest threat.
The realization warps his mind, leading to him posing as a resurrected Barry Allen.
Initially fooling the public, his identity is later revealed when his jealousy of the real Flash spirals out of control.
Wally West challenges the villain and sends him back to his own time, wiped of his memory
but with a newly acquired distaste for the Flash.
While Professor Zoom's disposition has allowed him to make subsequent attacks on the Flash's life,
he's prevented from ever killing him, as he would cease to exist without the superhero fueling the Speed Force.
He's instead settled with forcing Barry Allen to live out a life of despair and grief
by killing the ones closest to him through means of time travel, such as his own mother.
Oh, Barry. That's the beauty of all this.
I didn't do any of it.
[grunts]
[Flash grunting] You did.
Despite the super-speedsters' hate for each other, the Speed Force forever tethers them to each other,
with the Flash representing its positive energy and Professor Zoom representing its negative.
Professor Zoom has since appeared across various media, notable for being the antagonist
in the beloved 2013 animated feature Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.
I've notified Star Labs to ready a cozy little cell for you, Professor.
Recently, we've seen Professor Zoom on the small screen, portrayed by actor Tom Cavanagh on CW's The Flash.
[distorted] My goals are beyond your understanding.
Are you a fan of the man in the yellow suit?
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[distorted] See you soon, Flash.