Eddie Thawne, also known as Johnny Quick, is a former Central City Police Department detective-turned-hyperhuman who took over Central City after gaining the power of superhuman speed.
Biography
Becoming a speedster
In 2014, the night of the particle accelerator launch, Detective Eddie Thawne was in his friend CSI Barry Allen's lab, trying to destroy evidence. When the particle accelerator exploded, Barry was killed while Eddie was struck by lightning, gaining the power of superspeed. Afterwards, Eddie became a criminal under the alias "Johnny Quick". His first act was to murder 10% of Central City's inhabitants.
As Johnny Quick, Eddie joined forces with four other hyperhumans – Power Ring, Owlman, Superwoman, and Ultraman – to form the Crime Syndicate of America in order to take over the United States. While the others had vast territory under their thumbs, Eddie was content with Central City, as he secretly feared his fellow members.
Eddie took over S.T.A.R. Labs and renamed it the Speed Central, his headquarters. He also formed his own personal army, the Quickling, to help him maintain order in Central City.
At one point, Eddie captured Clyde Mardon, and utilized his powers of weather manipulation in order to control the city's weather.
In 2015, Eddie scoured the whole city to find a missing Quickling and finally located him at the Augustyn Tower, in the captivity of the Rogues. As revenge, Eddie vibrated the ground with his feet to make the building collapse, killing everyone inside, including Lisa Snart.[1]
Defeat
- The following took place in an alternate timeline where Flashpoint never happened.
In 2016, Eddie learned from a Quickling that another speedster had arrived in Central City. He encountered the intruder, Barry Allen, who accidentally journeyed to Earth-27 from Earth-1. They both fought but Barry managed to escape. In their second battle, Barry defeated Eddie to free Central City. After learning his secret identity, Barry, with the help of Hartley Rathaway, was able to imprison Eddie in the pipeline of Speed Central.[1]
Invading another Earth
In 2018, Owlman built a device that could create an interdimensional breach in order to escape the annihilation of Earth-27 by the Anti-Matter Man. The breach was opened in Central City, where the Crime Syndicate broke Eddie out of Speed Central. After entering the breach, Eddie and the Crime Syndicate arrived on another Earth, where they began causing chaos for fun.
The Syndicate eventually came into battle with this Earth's vigilantes. Eddie saw Superwoman trying to enslave Barry and protested that he wanted to personally kill the speedster as revenge for him imprisoning the former. The argument soon triggered a fight between the two, which ended when a vigilante used her supersonic scream to disorient them long enough to allow Barry to escape Superwoman's lasso. Barry then used the lasso to tie up Eddie and Superwoman. The Syndicate members were imprisoned in the pipeline.
When Barry came to interrogate the Syndicate on how the breach opened in Central City, Eddie angrily shouted at that he wouldn't tell him anything. Superwoman mocked the fact that Eddie currently didn't have his powers, to which Eddie threatened her. After Ultraman decided to confess that Owlman was the one who opened the breach, Eddie called him a traitor. Later, Iris West-Allen delivered Eddie some lunch from Big Belly Burger.[2]
Powers and abilities
Powers
- HyperHaven connection/Hyperhuman physiology: Eddie's powers come from a connection to HyperHaven, gained when struck by dark matter lightning and exposed to various chemicals. This altered and supercharged his DNA, cells, and neurotransmitters, augmenting his physiology. With his bones, joints, and tissue all enhanced, Eddie obtained a lean, muscular frame and well-beyond peak human condition to easily handle the rigors of his powers. These include resisting high-level friction, inertia, air pressure, reduced oxygen, vectors, and kinetic impact.
- Superhuman speed: The main superpower of all speedsters, Eddie could generate large amounts of kinetic energy in his cells to allow for movement at incalculable speeds, most notably while moving their bodies or even simply one part of it or more at a time. In addition, Eddie has access to a special "Speed Force equation" (3X2[9YZ]4A), which increases his speed even more.
- Superhuman agility: Eddie has the power of inhuman balance, dexterity, equilibrium, and body coordination. He can maneuver himself far greater than that of human beings.
- Superhuman reflexes: Eddie had a much greater reaction speed than a normal human.
- Superhuman perceptions: One of Eddie's most frequently-used applications of his speed; he routinely moves so fast the citizens of Central City appear to be standing still, causing him to derisively call them "statues".
- Superhuman momentum: Eddie can generate great amounts of physical force by packing speed into his blows, enhancing the impactive force to inhuman levels.
- Accelerated healing factor: Eddie could quickly heal from wounds and near-death experiences.
- Bodily vibration: Eddie has the power to vibrate his molecules at the frequency of air, therefore being able to phase any part of his body through objects and people.
- Superhuman durability: Eddie has the power to withstand large levels of physical harm while sustaining little to no injury.
- Superhuman stamina: Eddie can stay at peak physical condition without tiring, allowing him to handle the strain of racing at superhuman speed for a long time period without any indication of fatigue or distress.
- Superhuman speed: The main superpower of all speedsters, Eddie could generate large amounts of kinetic energy in his cells to allow for movement at incalculable speeds, most notably while moving their bodies or even simply one part of it or more at a time. In addition, Eddie has access to a special "Speed Force equation" (3X2[9YZ]4A), which increases his speed even more.
Appearances
Novels
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Johnny Quick is a criminal speedster from Earth 3 who joined the Crime Syndicate. In the New 52, his real name was revealed to be Jonathan Allen, a high-profile criminal.
- Eddie served as the main antagonist of the book, The Flash: Johnny Quick.
References
| Other versions of Eddie Thawne (Earth-27A) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Eddie Thawne. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: Prime | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 1 | ||||
| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
| Earth: 27A | ||||