Edward Clariss

"A little quaking in your boots wouldn't be inappropriate!"

- Clariss to Barry Allen

Edward Clariss is a citizen of Central City, and was a meta-human speedster during the "Flashpoint" timeline. Known to the public as The Rival, he acted as the archenemy of Wally West/The Flash. As the Rival, he was ultimately defeated thanks to the joint efforts of Barry Allen, Wally West and Joe West, guided by the other members of Team Flash.

Flashpoint
Under unknown circumstances, Edward Clariss achieved the access to the Speed Force, granting him with incredible speed, which he used to terrorize Central City. He often faced off against the Flash with the goal of seeing who was truly the fastest and the strongest speedster. During a battle between the two in the fall of 2016, the Rival told the Flash that the people of Central City needed to learn that he had no rival. The Rival would soon come across his nemesis again, hurling him out of an office building at the climax of their fight.

The Rival encountered both "Kid Flash" and the other Flash at the sawmill on Williamson where he had been hiding out. In an effort to prove that he didn't fear either of them, the Rival unmasked himself and revealed his identity as Edward Clariss. He proceeded to challenge the two incarnations of the Flash, taunting the duo by asking which one of them would want to meet the Speed Force first. Unbeknownst to any of them, the public appearance of both Kid Flash and the Rival drew the attention of the Central City Police Department, which made plans to try and contain the battle to the sawmill.

Clariss initially faced off one-on-one against Wally West, but was quickly subdued; however, when Wally turned his back on his opponent in a moment of pride, the Rival impaled him, leaving his nemesis mortally wounded. Though Barry came to his ally's aid, Edward proclaimed that he would only allow the "unworthy" Flash to be taken away to receive medical attention if Barry could defeat him, proving himself a worthier rival. The Rival and the Flash proceeded to engage in a battle that raged throughout the sawmill, where the Rival would once again come up short. However, Barry suffered a sudden and untimely erasure of many of his memories as the Flash, a result of having rewritten the timeline, and Clariss took advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness, creating a pair of powerful tornadoes by utilizing his speed. However, he was shocked when the Flash managed to pull himself together and unravel the tornadoes by running inside each of them in the direction opposite their spin, after which he used his own speed to bring the Rival down. Defeated, he conceded to the Flash that he was indeed the fastest man alive. After Barry turned his back to Edward to check on Wally, Clariss again attempted to backstab his foe, but was shot by Joe West, who had arrived on scene in conjunction with the CCPD.

Current timeline
One night, Edward awoke in his house to a voice telling him that it was time to wake up. After he got out of bed to investigate, the word "Alchemy" was scratched by an unseen force into a mirror.

Powers (in Flashpoint timeline)

 * Speed Force connection/Meta-human physiology: Due to unknown circumstances, Edward gained access to the Speed Force, which allows him to handle extreme physical performances.
 * Superhuman speed: Edward can run at incredible speeds, presumably by tapping into the Speed Force. He is powerful enough that he can run along buildings and structures.
 * Superhuman reflexes: Edward possesses reflexes that are also enhanced to inhuman levels. This allows them to react instantly to almost anything, including other speedsters.
 * Superhuman agility: Edward possesses inhuman agility, coordination, balance, equilibrium, and dexterity, which allows him to not be tripped by great forces at super speed.
 * Superhuman stamina: Edward possesses stamina that enhanced to inhuman levels. They are able to withstand the stresses of moving at superhuman speeds, without tiring or becoming weak.
 * Superhuman durability: Edward possesses superhuman durability. This greatly increases their bodily resilience to inhuman levels, allowing most speedsters to develop inhuman resistance to lack of breathable air, exposure to toxins or sedatives, and impact with physical forces that would easily crush or kill normal humans. Users of the Speed Force can withstand great amounts of physical damage and sustain little, to no injury.
 * Superhuman momentum: Edward can generate great amounts of physical force through kinetic energy, simulating superhuman strength. His speed lets him channel the force into powerful strikes, propelling targets several feet.
 * Bodily vibration: Edward has the ability to vibrate any part of his body at different frequencies on command, with varying effects. One way he accentuated this ability, is distorting his whole body in a haze that normal people can't perceive properly. It can also garble his voice to disguise it.
 * Electrokinesis: As a speedster, Edward can generate powerful red electricity from his body when generating enough momentum. Edward can also project the lightning, even one right after another, by building up enough kinetic energy.
 * Aerokinesis: By running in a circular motion, Edward can create size F3 tornadoes by utilizing his speed.

Abilities

 * Skilled hand-to-hand combatant: As the Rival, Edward's superhuman speed and reflexes combined with his intelligence makes him a formidable opponent in close combat, managing to defeat Wally numerous times and proving himself able to hold his own against Barry, who was more experienced and trained in using his powers, for a little while before eventually being defeated by the Flash.
 * Tactician: Edward would utilize dirty tactics to achieve victory in the battles against his rivals, pretending to be defeated before getting up and stabbing them in the back. He would also taunt his opponents, counting on them losing control over the battlefield.

Former Equipment

 * The Rival suit: a protective suit filled with black and orange colors that Edward used to hide his secret identity as the Rival, allowing him not to leave any hair or skin samples at any of his attacks on CCPD.

Trivia

 * While Clariss is now still alive in the current timeline created by Eobard Thawne, it is unknown whether he still has any meta-human powers.

Behind the scenes

 * In DC Comics, Edward Clariss/The Rival is the nemesis of Jay Garrick/The Flash, who debuted in the Golden Age Flash Comics as a university professor who tried to recreate the formula that gave the Flash his powers, and was later characterized by his use of speed serums to enhance his speed, eventually completely dissolving in the Speed Force. Clariss was eventually brought back from the Speed Force in the form of a malevolent, unstable speedster entity made of pure Speed Force energy.
 * This is the first time that Edward Clariss makes his official debut on television.
 * His costume bares a resemblance to the New 52 iteration of the Black Racer.
 * The Flashpoint timeline version of Clariss had traits of the three of villains that Barry fought before him. Zoom, for dictating police and those who oppose him to fear him and stand down from pursuing him; Reverse-Flash, for the same red-colored lightning; and Clyde Mardon, for creating two tornadoes that Barry had to subdue before subduing him and then ending up killed by Joe West before he could kill Barry.