Eobard Thawne

This page is about the antagonist of season one. For the scientist whose identity he assumed, see Harrison Wells

Eobard Thawne
Biological Information
Status	Unborn
General Information
Occupation	Physicist Director of S.T.A.R. Labs (formerly) Leader of Barry Allen's team (formerly; in secret) Vigilante (formerly; in secret)
Family	Eddie Thawne (ancestor; deceased)
Alter ego	Reverse-Flash
Actor	Tom Cavanagh (as Harrison Wells) Matt Letscher (as Eobard Thawne)

"I've controlled your life for so long, Barry. How will you get along without me?"

—Eobard's last arrogant words to Barry Allen^[src]

Eobard Thawne (born in 2151) was a supervillain from the future known as "Reverse-Flash" who traveled back into the past to kill Barry Allen as a child. While attempting to do so, he battled the future Flash that transported Barry's younger self away to safety whilst an angry Eobard escaped after killing Nora Allen. When he tried to escape back to his time, however, Eobard lost his super-speed, becoming stranded in the 21st century.

Impersonating Harrison Wells, he forged a life for himself as a scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs eventually becoming the Director and pushed through for the creation of a particle accelerator to ensure that Barry Allen becomes the Flash and teach him to increase his speed so that he could return to his own time in the future.

Because his ancestor Eddie Thawne killed himself, Eobard was erased from existence.

He was the main antagonist of the first season of The Flash.

Biography

History

Eobard was born in 2151 and became a metahuman with almost the same powers as Barry Allen/The Flash, though suffers the flaw of having a limitation to the Speed Force he can access. After a yet to be revealed future event Eobard not only time traveled to a point where Barry was alive but also came to form a bitter grudge against the speedster, and became a criminal named Reverse-Flash whose life’s desire was to kill him at any cost. Eobard and Barry would fight each other for a long time but with neither speedster managing to defeat the other. He also somehow obtained possession of Gideon, an artificial intelligence program created by Barry.

Crisis in 2024

In the year 2024 Reverse-Flash engaged Flash, Green Arrow, Atom and Hawkgirl in Central City atop tow leaking oil trucks. However in the confusion Flash and Reverse-Flash vanished and were reported as missing.

Murder of Nora Allen/Becoming Harrison Wells

In an attempt to kill Barry before he becomes The Flash, Eobard traveled back to the year 2000 to kill Barry as a child only to be pursued by the Flash from the future. The two fight inside the Allen house, each landing solid hits on each other with Eobard gaining a slight upper hand. When the 11 year old Barry comes into the room he sees his mother, Nora in the center of the room surrounded by streaks of yellow and red lightning. Seeing this as his opportunity to be rid of The Flash, Eobard moves in to kill 11 year old Barry only to be stopped by the Flash who manages to take his younger self 20 blocks away to safety. In a fit of rage and frustration for failing to kill Barry yet again, he killed Nora instead. He flees the scene to return to his own time which he hopes will now be one without The Flash but he is stopped by his sudden loss of connection to the speed force. After Gideon confirms that his powers have been drained due to his latest time jump he realizes that he is now stranded in the 21st Century with no way back to his time.

Eobard Thawne looking down on Harrison Wells.

Realizing he needed to wait it out until Barry becomes the Flash in the future, to harness his Speed Force, he stalked the scientist Harrison Wells, who he recognized as a great mind from his past. He made him crash his car, killing Wells' wife Tess Morgan and leading to Eobard stealing Wells' face, intending to use Wells' reputation and his own futuristic knowledge to create the particle accelerator ahead of schedule (In his original history it apparently took Wells until 2020 to create it). As he was found, he subsequently took the identity of Harrison Wells.

"Wells" and Hartley playing a game of chess.

After opening S.T.A.R. Labs, Thawne grew close to Hartley Rathaway, making him his protégé. They often bonded through activities such as games of chess. After Cisco arrived to S.T.A.R. Labs, Eobard began growing closer with Cisco, much to Hartley's dismay. When Hartley realized the particle accelerator could fail and cause an explosion, Eobard fired Hartley.

Explosion of the particle accelerator

As of 2013, "Wells" was still the director of S.T.A.R. Labs. In late 2013, he held an event at which he planned to switch on S.T.A.R. Labs' particle accelerator, which he had created. He began speaking on stage, claiming that the particle accelerator would create a brighter future, bringing advancements in power and medicine, as well as physics as they knew it. Later that night, the particle accelerator was switched on. However, particles began to behave abnormally, such as liquids floating in the air, followed by a loud bang from the accelerator. Wells sent Ronnie Raymond and Cisco Ramon down to manually shut the particle accelerator down before anything bad happened. After Ronnie had vented the system, assuring S.T.A.R. Labs' safety but sacrificing himself in the process, Cisco called Wells down to the chamber. Wells made his way down, but not before entering a secret room , taking off his glasses and watching a screen, on which Barry Allen, then a forensic assistant, soon to be known as The Flash, was struck by lightning in his lab. After the explosion, Harrison was allegedly paralyzed, though it was later found out it was a facade. (Wells had hidden an machine inside it, which fed him with Speed Force.)

After Barry was put in to a coma due to the lightning strike caused by the shock-wave, his condition eventually went critical, at which point Wells convinced Joe West, Barry's foster father, to allow him to move Barry to S.T.A.R. Labs.

Working with The Flash

After Barry woke from his coma, Dr. Wells was called down to the lab to talk to Barry. He took Barry around S.T.A.R. Labs, explaining what had actually happened on the night of the particle accelerator explosion and how they'd moved him. Before they could run more tests, Barry left. After having realized he had the ability to run super fast, Dr. Wells and the team went to an airfield where they sought to test Barry's speed. Wells cautioned restraint, though Barry instead ran at full pelt, accidentally running in to barrels of water. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry told Harrison of his belief that perhaps there were more powered humans like himself, perhaps even another with super speed (as he had seen on the night of his mother's death, which, of course was turned out to be "Wells" himself), though he said he believed that Barry was most definitely unique. Following a later run-in with Clyde Mardon's weather manipulation, however, Barry returned, angry that Harrison had seemingly lied to him. The latter admitted fault, explaining that the explosion had released various forms of seemingly theoretical energy across the city, including anti-matter, dark energy and x-elements. Barry mentioned that he planned to stop Mardon, though Wells attempted to stop Barry from taking the risk, as he was incredibly important in terms of scientific advancement. Despite Harrison's claims that Barry was not a hero, only simply a boy who was struck by lightning, he headed out to find Mardon anyway. As Barry struggled to unravel a tornado Mardon had made, Dr. Wells intervened over the communication, apologizing, reassuring Barry that he did in fact believe in him, that he could undo Wells' wrongs. After, Harrison went to a secret room in which he held a digital newspaper from 2024, headlining that The Flash had gone missing in a crisis (see above).

After Barry's run-in with a strongman at the Central City National Bank, he arrived back at S.T.A.R. Labs with a formerly broken wrist. Barry described the strongman to Wells, voicing his wishes to take the information to the police. However, Harrison reassured Barry that keeping his secret identity hidden was the best option, for his safety. He sent Barry to go obtain DNA samples from the crime scene. Later after they'd pieced together evidence leading numerous crimes to suspected meta-humans from the Central City Circus, Dr. Wells provided some details he knew on Mr. Bliss from having attended the circus previously, and Barry left to find the circus. Cisco and Caitlin arrived back sometime later with Barry. They explained how he'd been forced in to a catatonic state by Nathan Bliss. Harrison urged that Barry get better in order to save the city. Figuring that the catatonia could last from a few minutes to a few years, he suggested that Cisco and Caitlin go to warn spectators of a Central City Cougars game of what Mr. Bliss and his circus were about to do. After they left, Wells stood up from his wheelchair and went to his secret room, opening a panel and picking out a gadget. He returned to Barry and used it on him, waking Barry up almost automatically. As he placed the gadget in to his jacket, Barry asked what had happened, Wells putting it simply down to his regenerative capabilities. He sent Barry to follow after Caitlin and Cisco to the stadium. After Barry had defeated Bliss and his circus, they went through S.T.A.R. Labs and talked. Initially discussing Barry's distaste for Cisco's "super protein bars", Wells complimented him as being a hero, rather than a supposed freak. Barry soon left for his job.

After having acted as a hero, Barry returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Dr. Wells again cautioned restraint to Barry, telling him to make sure he knew his limits. Barry later tried to act the hero again, though he passed out. He was taken to S.T.A.R. Labs and despite being scolded, they decided to try some tests. Barry began running on a modified treadmill, causing him to eventually pass out. Harrison identified that it had to do with his glucose levels, due to an extremely fast metabolism processing it too fast. They hooked Barry up to 40 IV bags before he finally awoke. As they began discussing a new diet for Barry, Joe West entered the room; Wells was surprised to see him. He reassured Joe that they were looking out for what was best for Barry, though Joe disagreed that what they were doing was the way to do it. Barry yelled at Joe, causing him to get upset and leave. A while later Barry returned to S.T.A.R. Labs, having been beaten up by another meta-human, who they identified by blood samples as Danton Black. Barry decided against trying to take him down, and despite Harrison's support, he was adamant that what they were doing was a mistake. Following that, Wells went to talk to Joe. He claimed that next time Barry suited up, he would doubt himself. Wells headed back to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Caitlin was able to grow a clone of Danton Black from a replicating cell, so they called Barry in and explained this. The clone promptly awakened, presumably due to the prime Black activating some clones, and Joe hurried in through the doors, shooting the clone and reassuring Barry that only he could stop meta-humans, being one himself. They talked to Barry when he reached Stagg Industries and Dr. Wells noted that he had to find the prime one, the original Danton Black. Ultimately, Danton was knocked over an edge, but despite being caught by Barry, forced himself to drop, killing him. The team watched a news report of it on the TV afterwards. Following that, Dr. Wells visited Simon Stagg. After Stagg claimed that he wanted to find and use "the streak," Wells stood up from his wheelchair and stabbed the man, claiming that The Flash, as he would one day come to be known as, had to be kept safe.

After the Darbinyan crime family were gassed to death by a presumed meta-human, the S.T.A.R. Labs team began researching what they could, all of them excited by the potential prospects. Joe noted that they would have to find somewhere to hold them, as Iron Heights was less than ideal, and Cisco suggested the particle accelerator. Cisco and Dr. Wells went down to the particle accelerator's core chamber. Dr. Wells had to go do some modifications while Cisco waited, and they soon went back up. Wells realized it was hard for Cisco to be there. The two later assisted Barry when he went after a mist-controlling meta-human inside the Central City Shopping Mall. However, Barry discovered that the man could turn himself in to gas, and inhaled some of his toxic gasses, before racing back to S.T.A.R. Labs where the team painfully extracted the poisonous gas. The team was soon able to identify the makeup of the gas: hydrogen cyanide with traces of a sedative. Barry figured that the two would be mixed in a death row execution and they identified the meta-human as Kyle Nimbus, proudly nicknamed The Mist by Cisco. Barry went to protect Nimbus' next target, Detective West, and the team supported him. Unable to outrun The Mist, they suggested he make him tired, as he would have to revert to his physical, human form eventually. Barry succeeded and The Mist was taken back to S.T.A.R. Labs, where he was locked up in the particle accelerator prison.

Wells defeated Barry in a game of chess while Barry also played a game of table tennis with Cisco and a game of Operation with Caitlin. When Felicity visited S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells greeted her and was more than pleased to meet her, noting he's aware of all her accolades and that he always keeps an eye out for such talent. When Felicity questioned about the possible dangers of what Barry does, Wells reassured her that everything they do is to ensure Barry's safety and that Barry is in good hands. Wells was later furious at Cisco, who built a weapon powerful enough to kill Barry despite his speed without any consent, though Cisco built it prior to Barry waking from his coma. Wells ordered Cisco to track down where the cold gun is and to do so immediately after telling him weapons don't belong in S.T.A.R. Labs. After Felicity left, Wells noted she was a remarkable young woman. Wells told Cisco to never do anything as to build such a weapon again, though he was unaware of another similar weapon that Cisco had built which was also stolen.

After Barry failed to stop Tony Woodward, Dr. Wells told Barry they'd find a way to stop him, but told Barry to rest and heal for the time being. A day later, Joe visited Wells, asking for help on Nora Allen's murder case. When Joe asked if his particle accelerator was possibly involved, Wells reminded Joe that the murder occurred 14 years ago. After a few other suggestions from Joe, Wells told him that they were all highly unlikely. After Barry tried to stop Tony Woodward alone, Wells was furious as they had yet to find a way to stop him. When Barry told him that he could just heal, Dr. Wells told Barry he can't heal if he was killed. Wells then told Barry could stop Tony Woodward if he moved fast enough as any material can be struck at a high enough velocity. The following day, Wells had a drink with Joe, where Joe suggested that he was involved as Wells arrived shortly after Nora was murdered. Wells told Joe to look up Tess Morgan before leaving. Joe visited Wells at S.T.A.R. Labs, apologizing for accusing him for murder. Wells then told Joe about his past and why he moved to Central City.

In an entry in his personal log, Dr. Wells noted that Barry was driven to use his powers to help people, and stated that this was keeping Barry from realizing his full potential. He later told Barry that he had to "kick it up a notch" in his training. When Farooq Gibran attacked S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells released Tony Woodward, offering him his freedom in exchange for killing Farooq. Later, he had a brief argument with Barry about sacrificing Woodward to stall Farooq, angrily insisting that he had merely done what was necessary. When Farooq cornered Team Flash, Wells confronted him, reciting from memory the names of everyone who died in the particle accelerator disaster, and demanding that Farooq leave the others alone, saying that he was the only one who deserved to be punished. After Flash defeated Farooq, Dr. Wells made another log entry, stating that he had previously been mistaken and that Barry's desire to help others was the key to developing the Flash's potential, not an obstacle as he had thought. He then took a blood sample from Blackout's corpse, saying that he was interested in finding out how the latter had drained the Flash's powers.

As the Reverse-Flash, Wells reappeared in Joe West's house, while he was investigating the man in yellow, and stole the evidence and threatened his daughter Iris by stabbing a similar knife into her photograph, to scare Joe away from investigating Nora's murder.

A few weeks later the Reverse-Flash stormed Mercury Labs looking for a tachyon prototype device, killing the guards but was unable to reach the device due to the doctor sealing it away and he stormed off. Later the Reverse-Flash spied on Barry as he talked to Iris then when Barry noticed him he ran after him, demanding to know why he killed his mother, but the Reverse-Flash instead challenged him to a fight in a stadium. The Reverse-Flash proved to be the better speedster but also claimed that Barry already knew his identity, that they'd fought for a long time with Barry always losing. He also told Barry it would be his destiny to die at his hands, as it was his mother's. Later S.T.A.R. Labs orchestrated a trap using the tachyon prototype and lured the Reverse-Flash in. A holographic recording, seemingly actually real to almost everyone, played of the Reverse-Flash, who only answered to Dr. Wells. As the force-field appeared to fail, Wells rushes into the force-field so fast that no one had time to think and were all frozen, making it look like the Reverse Flash pulled him into the field. In the field, Wells hits himself so fast that no one can see it and makes it look like the hologram of the Reverse Flash is doing it. After the field disappears, Wells runs to his room, puts his suit on and leaves a very lifelike speed-mirage of Wells laying on the floor by bouncing back and from both locations repeatedly, then snatches the device as the Reverse Flash and speeds it to his secret room. He then reappears in the basement, and while still bouncing back and forth to maintain the speed-mirage of Wells, the Reverse Flash kills Eddie's task-force in seconds without any effort and attacks Joe, letting Eddie live. This reminded him of his previous threat to Joe, then The Flash arrived and fought him. However, the Reverse-Flash again proved superior to the Flash, but he was timely saved by Firestorm. The Reverse-Flash vowed their fight wasn't over and ran.

Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin continued to train Barry to improve his speed using a drone to fire at him. After Cisco called the man in yellow "The Reverse-Flash", Wells approved of the name, unlike Caitlin. After Snart returned, Barry decided to pursue Snart, though Wells warned Barry The Reverse-Flash is a greater threat. Due to Snart's threat, Wells and Cisco presented the CCPD with a shield that could withstand Snart's cold gun. During Barry's battle with Leonard Snart and Mick Rory, Wells realized the best way to let Snart's and Rory's guns cross streams is to move slower.

Wells guided Barry to detour the Royal Flush Gang. After a suggestion from Cisco, Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells all took a group picture together. Later that night, Wells went to his mansion and got off his wheelchair. He received a phone call and was attacked by Hartley Rathaway. After Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin arrived, Wells told them he won't require their help with the case. Barry realized it couldn't have been a teenage prank and Wells told Barry he knew who it was. After Barry stopped Hartley from attacking his families company, Hartley told Barry he knew of Wells' secret. After Hartley was locked up in the meta-human prison, Wells asked how Hartley figured out that The Flash worked with them and Wells was told he figured out through triangulation. Harrison returned to his team and admitted he knew there was a chance of the explosion. After Hartley escaped the prison, Wells ran out of his Time Vault but collapsed to the ground after losing his speed. Hartley approached Wells and asked Wells if he was still "hsi guy". Wells later decided to regain his team's trust by publicly admitting he was aware of the chance of the particle accelerator exploding. He was then asked by Mason Bridge if he had any plans in the future of turning the particle accelerator on. After Hartley attacked the Keystone Cleveland Dam, Barry went to stop Hartley. Barry was quickly stopped with soundwaves though Wells transmitted waves through the cars at the damn, stopping Hartley. Harrison then told he wished to one day regain the trust of the team but Barry told him he already had. Later, Wells returned to his Time Vault, reporting to Gideon that his speed comes and goes. Gideon reported that it is unsure how longer the Tachyon device is viable and Wells told Gideon that it was only meant to be a temporary fix and the real end game was coming.

Personality

As Harrison, Eobard was a scientific genius responsible for numerous achievements in the scientific field and had a large sense of respect from the scientific community, as was the very genius behind the particle accelerator's existence. Eobard was a character of duel-identities towards his team and himself as he openly appears caring and compassionate, guiding Barry into his journey of becoming the Flash, but had been shown to be willing to kill to ensure his safety, and willing to sacrifice the meta-human prisoners to ensure his protection. He was also willing to sacrifice other people as he activated the particle accelerator after being warned of its possible malfunction at the risk of the city and sacrificed Ronnie Raymond's life, all to ensure Barry Allen would be struck by the lightning bolt that turns him into the Flash.

Eobard was shown to be a very secretive man, as not one of his workers had ever visited his house - had either killed or manipulated people to their deaths. He did, however, seem to care about Barry's life, as he nearly gave up his secret to rush to Barry when he chose to take a missile head on, instead of running from it. He also protected Grodd from being tortured by Wade Eiling's inhumane experiments. Despite at first being tempted to kill Firestorm, Eobard decided to delay his plans to help him separate into two people again.

According to Gideon, Eobard was short tempered and unstable, which can be seen in his murder of Nora Allen after future Barry saved his younger self from danger (though he reasoned that he murdered Nora to try and ward off Barry from becoming the Flash) and his numerous threats to Iris and the rest of Barry's loved ones whenever his plans start to fail, attempting to kill them seemingly on a whim. After finding out that Barry and his team knows he was the Reverse-Flash, he reveals a part of his real personality; Eobard was self-righteous, and try to justify his immoral actions, by stating that everything he had done, has made Barry and his team's lives better, despite the fact that he had been selfishly using Barry, so he can get back to his own time, Eobard had now completely abandoned his dual-identities.

Once finally dropping his facade as Harrison Wells, Eobard showed himself to have a very arrogant and somewhat sadistic side, mocking his enemies for their vain attempts to stop him. He also showed delight in others' confusion at the situation. Another notable personality trait is his deep and insatiable hatred for the Flash (for future Barry, presumably the one from the year 2024; for unknown reasons). He hated him so much and was frustrated by his failed attempts to kill him, that he went back to a time when the Flash was still a child to kill him, killing his mother in a fit of rage when he failed yet again.

However, it seems that in addition to absorbing the genetic makeup and physical appearance of Harrison Wells, Eobard also took on some of the personality traits of the latter. Most significantly, this included the late scientist's love for Tess Morgan, which initially also allowed him to convince Joe, who also lost his wife, of his innocence in Nora's murder. This may have also influenced Eobard in other ways, as shown below.

Eobard also came to genuinely care for his co-workers at STAR Labs, even growing to see Cisco and Barry as sons (in spite of his former vicious hatred for the latter). However, he was still willing to kill Cisco in order to preserve his secret. Eobard ultimately justifies this action by stating that from his perspective, Cisco had already been dead for centuries, and has also used this rationale to justify his other murders, such as that of Nora Allen. While he has felt genuine remorse for both murders, it wasn't enough to dissuade him from his plans.

However, after Barry destroyed his time machine, Eobard regained his violent hatred for the Flash, and vowed to kill him and then everyone he ever cared about. After Eddie's death, which had the side-effect of returning him to his original body and killing him, Eobard regained his old personality and showed absolutely no guilt or remorse for his actions, even mocking Barry about how he had controlled the latter's life every step of the way.

He was also very laid-back about what happens to him, though this usually happened when he believed that his plan will not be affected. Even when confronted with the combined forces of The Flash, Arrow and Firestorm, Eobard showed absolutely no signs of fear or concern and instead remarked 'this would be fun'. In any case, he didn't try at all and let himself lose to them so that he'd get thrown in to the pipeline.

In his final moments before he was erased from existence, Eobard had absolutely no guilt or remorse for her actions.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Speed Force connection/Meta-human physiology: Eobard gained the powers of the Speed Force, which lets him run at extraordinary speeds. The Speed Force also granted him intricate powers such as intangibility and time traveling. It was unknown how Eobard obtained the powers of the Speed Force. Even if Eobard was faster than the Flash, it was the Speed Force's inter dimensional nature that allowed speedsters to pass through the fabric of reality and time itself. Since Eobard had a fluctuating connection to the Speed Force, he could not distort reality and time on his own and ultimately needed Barry to create one through time to allow him to travel through it to his own time, which was his ultimate end game.

  

  The Reverse-Flash using his superhuman speed.

  • Superhuman speed: Eobard can move breathtakingly fast and is significantly faster than Barry, the one from the year 2014-2015, even when Barry reached Mach 2 and beyond, he had no problems following his movements with his eyes. Barry said that he's so fast that he could kill everyone in the police precinct in seconds. Eobard can create powerful winds with his speed and blow people back with his speed. Eobard ran to his secret room, put on his suit, ran to the force-field to create a streak of red, sped back to his secret room took off his suit and appeared back at the computers and Joe, Eddie and the S.W.A.T. didn't even notice he was gone. Eobard is so fast that he can leave behind lifelike after-images of himself, appearing to be in more than one place at once; he is so fast while doing this that the human eye literally sees two of him. Eobard may have used intangibility to kill Cisco, but he may have simply just thrown him arm into Cisco's chest at super speed, shredding through bone and crushing his heart with his fist. Even if Thawne was faster than the Flash, it was the Speed Force's inter dimensional nature that allowed speedsters to pass through the fabric of reality and time itself. Since Eobard had a fluctuating connection to the Speed Force, he could not distort reality and time on his own and ultimately needed Barry to create one through time to allow him to travel through it to his own time, which was his ultimate end game. In "Rogue Air", it is revealed that the reason why Eobard was so much faster than Barry, was because he was using a device that was stored on the underside of his wheelchair, that was charging his super speed.
  • Rapid cellular regeneration: Eobard's fast healing was displayed when the wounds inflicted upon him had vanished almost instantly after putting on the tachyonic device on his suit. Without the tachyon device, he healed completely in an hour and not instantly. Harrison's wounds from being attacked with the force of a speeding car by the "Man In Yellow" were completely gone without a trace afterwards, which he covered up by isolating himself to avoid speculation of any kind.
  • Extreme force generation: By building up enough physical force from any part of his body, Reverse-Flash is able to deal very punishing blows. This ability allowed him to exert inhuman physical strength with almost absolute ease and not experience any strain. Even Barry Allen with his accelerated recovery abilities was quickly pummeled to the point he was unable to fight back. He was able to tear up Barry's face a little bit by punching him an insane amount of times repeatedly and Barry still hadn't healed ever after he was defeated. Wells was able to run through the field and beat himself up and left similar damage that which a person would sustain from being hit by a car.
  • Bodily vibration: Eobard has the ability to vibrate some or all of his cells and overall parts of his body on command, with varying effects based on the speed and intensity of the vibrational energy he uses. Being able to move any part of his body at varying speed and intensity, He is able to vibrate at varying frequencies and with different levels of force. He can vibrate his whole body which hazes it so badly that people can't perceive him clearly, and garble his voice with a deep growl to disguise his voice.
  • Speed vacuum: With accelerated speed, Eobard can create fierce waves and vacuums of air by shaking a body part very fast.
  • Accelerated perception: Eobard's speed also extends to his senses and mental capacities, allowing him to take in information and process it at much faster rates than a normal human. This ability allows Harrison to see the world as if it is in slow motion, which, combined with his physical speed, lets him perform thoughts and actions long before a normal human around him could even perceive them. Even Harrison was having troubles keeping up with how fast Shawna's cells were moving when he was trying to look at them. When Barry was running at mach 2, Eobard was able to follow his movements with his eyes.
  • Superhuman endurance: Eobard was able to recover from attack and exertion much quicker than normal humans. While this does not enhance his durability above normal levels, it allows him to less able to be weakened or crippled by attack or damage. He can survive most extreme forces and make quick ground recovery if knocked off his feet. It was much harder to stun him when he is using his abilities as he can take multiple hits while moving and not be knocked down or stopped in his tracks. He can use the physical forces he generates around him when moving to protect him from other forces that are directed at him, though usually these forces must be indirect forces, such as concussion and impactive forces, if they were not as high or higher than that which he generates.
  • Speed mirages: Eobard can create after-images with his speed, making it appear like he's in two places at once, when in reality, he's just in one place at a time but he's bouncing back and forth so fast that the human mind can't perceive the difference. He used this ability to appear as if he was laying on the ground as the beaten down Wells, while he took out the team as the Reverse-Flash, but was moving so fast while doing all of it that the team couldn't perceive the difference in individuals. It's unknown how many speed-mirages Eobard can make.
  • Intangibility: Eobard can move and vibrate any part of his body so fast, that he can phase himself through people or objects. This ability appears to have damaging effects on electrical equipment, as it shorted out Mason Bridge's computer. It is believed that he used intangibility to phase his arm into Cisco's chest and shred apart his heart, however he may have simply just thrown him arm into Cisco's chest at super speed, shredding through bone and crushing his heart with his fist. When Eobard tried to get the Tachyon Prototype at Mercury Labs, the doctor sealed it with him in a room, and Eobard couldn't get it and left. It could be that his speed wasn't replenished enough to use his intangibility at this point and that's why he didn't just phase through the door.
  • Time travel: Eobard traveled through time to 2000 to kill Barry, but killed Nora in his anger and frustration and failing to kill Barry yet again, as well as to traumatize the younger Barry to keep him from becoming the Flash. After Eobard lost his connection to the Speed Force, he was trapped in the 21st century and devised a plan to return to his proper century by time traveling.
  • Red eyes: Eobard has the power to make his eyes glow bright red, which is dependent on his connection to the Speed Force. He has only once turned his eyes red without his suit on, and that was when he got angry at Eddie, all the other times he has only used this power while wearing his suit.
  • Electrokinesis: As a speedster, Eobard can produce powerful red electricity from his body and use it in any way he chooses. While running at super speed, red static emanates off of him. By generating enough friction in his body or on specific part of it, Eobard can produce a large, concentrated amount of red electricity and static. He can then unleash the accumulated energy on a target to deliver a strong static shock. Eobard also creates greater amounts of static from his body than normal do to his enhanced movements and fast molecules. He could use this in combination with his ability to phase through objects to send static and electricity directly into it or with his ability to move and vibrate fast enough to increase the physical damage he causes, to further the effectiveness and applications of these abilities. While generating static and electricity on his hand, he touched a computer and short-circuited it.

• • Flight: Eobard is so fast that, with enough momentum, he can propel himself through the air and move across it, just as he can move liquid or solid surfaces, as well defy gravitational force and not be pulled down easily by it. He can push off any form of matter, though he would need other masses, such as falling debris of various sizes to run on air, unless the air is moving at a speed that generates force which he can utilize to move across it or if he is moving at a speed that is far beyond supersonic, such as the speed of light. No matter the substance, he can create movement and move on or through any matter if he is moving at the right speed and utilizing the right amount of force and momentum. Eobard is faster than Barry so he would be able to fly.

Skills

• Genius-level intellect/Great business acumen: Eobard is very intelligent, as evidenced by the crucial role he played in Barry Allen's team, also due to his knowledge of the future, he spend the last 14 years trying to create the particle accelerator, and eventually succeeded. Eobard managed to run S.T.A.R. Labs very successfully for 14 years, until the particle accelerator explosion incident; caused the company to shut down.
• Expert tactician/Manipulator/Negotiation: Eobard is a great tactician, as evidenced by him coming up with plans to help Barry Allen defeat the meta-humans he goes up against as the Flash. He managed to prevent Barry and his team from figuring out that he is the Reverse-Flash, until he made the slip up, by killing Mason Bridge and making his body disappear, who was gathering evidence to prove that he was involved in Simon Stagg's murder. Eobard was always one step ahead of Barry, due to the fact that he planted hidden cameras to spy on the letter and his team. Eobard was a capable manipulator, he managed to manipulate Tony Woodward, and later Hannibal Bates, by negotiating that he will release them, if they help him, these have resulted in the latter two's deaths. When he crossed the fence leading to S.T.A.R. Labs, he instigated Barry to confront him. He wanted to get back into the pipeline anyway, so when Barry, the Arrow and Firestorm fought him, he let himself lose so that he could get captured.
• Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Whereas Barry relies primarily on his speed, enhanced physical force and momentum to overwhelm his slower opponents with random striking, Eobard as the Reverse-Flash was shown to be a very methodical fighter, striking at precise spots to systemically wear down his opponent. He was able to easily defeat Barry in hand-to-hand combat twice, and would have defeated him for a third time, if Eddie didn't sacrifice himself. While more often relying on his speed to quickly win him a fight, he was shown to be able to hold his own against a master unarmed fighter like Oliver while temporarily deprived of his speed, but once he got his speed back, he instantly had the Arrow pinned on the ground.
• Expert Speed Force user: Eobard was shown to have great intelligence about the Speed Force and its usage. He has many times helped and guided Barry to use it better. He knew it has powers to create vacuums, move seamlessly pass through any solid target and was able to direct Barry on how-to use the Speed Force to time travel. He also used it fluently in combat, much better than Barry is able to.

Weaknesses

• Speed Force connection flux: While originally having access to the Speed Force similar to Barry Allen, for unknown reasons, Eobard lost this connection after his failed attempt to kill Barry as a child. While later regaining his super speed and most of its related powers, he still lacks actual access to the Speed Force, rendering him unable to travel through time and stranded in the distant past. At the same time, his recovered speed is unstable, randomly appearing and disappearing, forcing Eobard to rely on the tachyon prototype to stabilize his powers for longer duration's. At the same time, his speed appears connected to his ability to walk as once his powers disappeared, Eobard's legs immediately gave out as well, making him collapse on the floor. Even if he could collide with a particle at Mach 2 or beyond he still could not break through the fabric of reality as the Speed Force's inter dimensional nature was the key to doing so. Even if Thawne was faster than the Flash, it was the Speed Force's inter dimensional nature that allowed speedsters to pass through the fabric of reality and time itself. Since Eobard had a fluctuating connection to the Speed Force, he could not distort reality and time on his own and ultimately needed Barry to create one through time to allow him to travel through it to his own time, which was his ultimate end game.
• Liquids: When Eobard is near a liquid, it floats in the air, giving a hint that he is present. This is caused by tachyons he is exposed to when working with them, handling objects related to temporal distortion such as future technologies in the present. It can also be caused if Eobard has recently moved through time, as tachyons usually have this effect when around time traveling speedsters who have used this power or where temporal distortions have been, such as time being altered on the road where the real Harrison Wells and his wife died, causing massive change in time and having marked the area to have tachyons.
• Nanites: When he was shot with a nanite arrow, he lost his powers for a short amount of time even though Oliver said it'd take away his speed for "quite awhile", and he could somewhat vibrate, allowing him to phase them out of his body, instantly restoring his powers.
• Ancestry: Being from the future, Eobard's fate was tied to the fate of his ancestors, more specifically Eddie Thawne. This was shown when he stole the tachyon prototype, sparing Eddie as Reverse-Flash while killing all the other police officers in seconds. His lineage to Eddie ultimately became his undoing when Eddie committed suicide, erasing Eobard from history.
• Cold temperatures: Because speed is produced by a build-up of heat in the target's atoms, Eobard is vulnerable to extreme cold temperatures. Under these conditions, Eobard's speed will be greatly reduced, and it will also temporarily stunt his healing capacities. If cold temperatures can weaken Barry, it can weaken Eobard.
• Electricity absorption: Eobard's unique biology causes his body to produce massive amounts of electricity, which charges his molecules and allows him to accelerate his movement. This electricity charges his cells, which gives him his speed. Should Eobard be drained of this electrical energy, he will lose his enhanced speed power. However, this power is genetically coded to his DNA, meaning he is incapable of losing his potential for enhanced speed, but the electricity in his body is needed to jump start it. If this electricity is absorbed by another source, such as in the case with the electricity vampire Blackout, all of Eobard's powers will be suppressed, including his healing and accelerated perception. Much like an electrical device, which needs to recharge, he must electrify himself to a great extent in order to jump start his powers once more. If Barry's powers can be absorbed, so can Eobard's.
• Hyper-metabolism: While moving at accelerated speeds, Eobard burns calories much faster than a normal person. This requires him to consume large amounts of nutrients to maintain his peak physical performance. Continued usage of his speed while deprived of such render him disoriented and weak before ultimately passing out as a result of low blood glucose. Also, because of his accelerated healing, he is unable to be given painkillers, sedatives, or anesthetics, as his body's metabolism burns through them too quickly for them to have any effect. Likewise, even a highly concentrated drug or toxin will only affect him for a few seconds of before completely wearing off. As seen drinking champagne and not getting him drunk, and eating big belly burger alot.

Equipment

• Reverse-Flash suit: Eobard wears a protective suit whilst acting as the Reverse-Flash, to hide his identity from his victims. It is similar to future Barry's Flash suit, but only reversing the colors (red to yellow, white to black).
• Earpieces: On the suit's cowl, there are two lightning-bolt shaped earpieces, also similar to those on Barry's Flash suit.
• Reverse-Flash ring: Eobard owns a ring with a Reverse-Flash lightning-bolt symbol on it that can open secret rooms within S.T.A.R. Labs. He uses it to open up a wall that contains a mannequin which his Reverse-Flash suit is draped over. Eobard is able to hold his entire costume and shoot it out of the top, allowing him to change into it at super speed and always have it ready for wear.
• Various Future Technologies: Eobard has several devices and gadgets from his time at his disposal. Some of them have be displayed and their functions have been shown, though there are those that are still unknown. On of these is a device with two cords that are connected to two organisms, corroding one of them and transferring that ones genetics, especially phenotypes, to the other, allowing the survivor to physically resemble the other on every way. This was used by Eobard on the true Dr. Harrison Wells and physically become him.
• Wheelchair: After the particle accelerator exploded, Eobard pretended he became paralyzed in his legs and uses the wheelchair to charge his speed and hide his identity from the team.

Appearances

Arrow

Season 3

• "The Climb" (referenced)
• "My Name Is Oliver Queen" (mentioned)

The Flash

Season 1 "Pilot" "Fastest Man Alive" "Things You Can't Outrun" "Going Rogue" "Plastique" "The Flash Is Born" "Power Outage" "Flash vs. Arrow" "The Man in the Yellow Suit" "Revenge of the Rogues" "The Sound and the Fury" "Crazy for You" "The Nuclear Man" "Fallout" "Out of Time" "Rogue Time" "Tricksters" "All Star Team Up" "Who is Harrison Wells?" "The Trap" "Grodd Lives" "Rogue Air" "Fast Enough"

Comics

The Flash: Season Zero

• "The Strongman Cometh"
• "Who Let the Chimps Out?"
• "Big Top Brawl"
• "A Captive Audience"
• "Showtime"
• "The Big Finale"

Trivia

• As Harrison Wells, he appears to be a fan of the Back to the Future film trilogy.
• When he runs at high velocity speeds, the electricity that radiates off of the Reverse-Flash is red while the Flash's is yellow.
• He seems to have a liking for food from Big Belly Burger.
• Both Eobard and Barry hide their identities, aside from wearing masks, by vibrating the molecules of their faces, similar to how Jay Garrick, the original Flash from the comics, did so during the Golden Age of Comic Books (1938-1957).
• In the DC comics, Eobard Thawne was originally a fan of Barry Allen, however when he traveled back in time using the Cosmic treadmill to meet his hero, Eobard became mentally unstable, this is what led to him becoming the archenemy of the Flash.
• In the Flash universe, Eobard already had an unstable nature, he also had a deep hatred for future Barry (prior to him being erased from existence), possibly the one from the year 2024, it was never revealed why he hated Barry or what the future Flash did to Eobard to make him hate the latter so much.

Behind the scenes

• Though Harrison Wells was in fact a real person, Eobard Thawne's adoption of the name is ironic, considering his status as a time traveler; H. G. Wells is an author who wrote the novel The Time Machine.

Gallery

Season 1

Promotional images

Eobard Thawne as Reverse-Flash

Concept artwork

Concept artwork

Concept artwork