- "Her hero. How noble. Oh, wait. You didn't stop JFK from getting assassinated or make sure Hitler stayed in art school. You saved your mommy. You missed her. And in a supreme act of selfishness, shattered history like a rank amateur, turned the world into a living hell moments away from destruction, and I'm the villain? "
- —Eobard Thawne explaining how Barry inadvertently caused an apocalyptic war after saving his mother.
Eobard Thawne was a scientist from the 25th century who, after traveling to the 21st century, became the speedster supervillain known as Professor Zoom and the Reverse-Flash, and as the archenemy of the Flash.
Biography[]
Origins[]
Eobard Thawne was a scientist from the 25th century who replicated the powers of the 21st century superhero the Flash but used his powers of super speed and time travel for his own gain as a criminal called Professor Zoom. During one of these exploits he traveled back to the Flash's era and developed a grudge against him and sought to kill him, regardless of how many died in the crossfire or if he had to die himself.
Original Timeline[]
Zoom hired the Rogues to lure the Flash into the Flash Museum and trap him, using liquefied material that would harden on contact, but planned to kill the Flash along with ten square blocks of Central City with 25th century explosives even Zoom couldn’t disarm if he wanted. After the Rogues succeeded in trapping the Flash, Zoom made his presence known and revealed his intention to Flash and betrayed the Rogues by planting the bombs on them to kill them too. As he planted the last bomb on Flash, the latter manages to trap Zoom in the material as well. Zoom refused to disarm the bomb declaring that his life is a small price if it means Flash dies. However the Justice League soon arrive and Wonder Woman uses her lasso to get Zoom to tell her how to disarm them. However Zoom told them they couldn’t be disarmed, as he’d designed them not to be, but the Justice League managed to take a Rogue each away from the city and disarm the bombs. The Flash then finished off the last bomb with a miniaturized tornado in his hand and foiling Zoom’s plot. As Superman prepared to take Zoom away to S.T.A.R. Labs Zoom taunted the Flash by reminding that no matter how fast, he’ll never save everyone, especially those that matter the most to him. Zoom was soon taken away to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Flashpoint Timeline[]
Just moments after the incident however Barry, unable to accept his mother’s death anymore, raced back in time to prevent her death, radically altering the timeline, breaking the time barrier so significantly it altered events both past and future. In this new timeline the world is in World War III between the warring factions of the Atlanteans lead by Aquaman and the Amazons lead by Wonder Woman, and most of the world’s population has been decimated. Zoom however, being empowered by the Speed Force, was unaffected by the timeline change. When Barry regained his Speed Force connection Zoom utilized his power to physically harness more Speed Force than Flash preventing him from travelling back to undo his actions.
Seeking to lure the Flash to London where the final battle between Atlantis and Amazon would occur Zoom saved Lois Lane from an Amazon ambush, killing the Amazons and allowing himself to be seen on Lois camera. Successful, as this would later be found by Thomas Wayne, the Batman of this new timeline. He and Flash traveled to London to find Zoom as a result, Zoom waited for the Flash to show.
As the battled approached it’s conclusion Zoom finally revealed himself to Flash and the two fought amidst the chaos but Zoom gained the upper hand and severely beat Flash. A half-dead Flash, believing Zoom altered the timeline, demanded an explanation and Zoom explained Flash’s actions and why time changed so radically and accused him of being selfish, accusing him of being the villain when he’s the one who travel back in time to save his mother at the expense of everyone else. As the battle waged Zoom continued to beat down Flash until Aquaman set off his secret weapon, a bomb powered by Captain Atom that would destroy the world if activated. Flash tried to reason with Zoom reminding him that he would be killed too but he simply stated that if dying meant Flash would die with him, it was worth it. Flash tried to time travel again but Zoom re-harnessed the Speed Force again and kept him trapped mockingly saying there is not enough Speed Force to go around. As Zoom gloated however he is suddenly shot in that back of the head by Batman and after shock, falls to the ground and dies. Though Flash is shocked Batman killed Zoom he reminds him he didn’t exactly kill Zoom if Flash goes back and changes the timeline back.
Cheating death[]
At the moment he felt the bullet piercing the back of his skull, Thawne drew the Speed Force into his body with all the will he had hoping to keep himself alive at least for a while. This extended the "moment" before death took him. It also allowed him return to the new timeline that Barry created. This however did not heal his wound, Thawne had to be careful about running too fast as the more Speed Force he used the weaker his extended "Moment" begins to diminish. Thawne then attempted to get the "Get Out of Hell Free" card from Dr. Fate and Task Force X, and killed several members of the team. When finally in possession of the card during a final showdown with Deadshot, a severely wounded Bronze Tiger cut several of his fingers off losing the card. Thawne was shot multiple times by Deadshot. As he died the Speed Force left his body and he was returned to the moment in the Flashpoint Timeline after Batman shot him, killing him permanently. His body vibrated as he died, fizzing out of existence as the timeline corrected itself.
It's likely that Thawne's soul is now residing in Hell, alongside Copperhead, Silver Banshee, Killer Frost and Vandal Savage.
Personality[]
Professor Zoom is a calm, collected, stoic, sadistic, merciless, manipulative, arrogant and highly intelligent psychopath. Zoom lacks any form of morality, being completely devoid of empathy or remorse for the atrocities he commits. He rarely loses his temper, often maintaining a calm and collected composure, as well as being semi-polite to all around him. Even in defeat he only expresses subtle anger followed by taunts toward his captors. Despite this, the most defining trait of his personality is his pathological hatred of his arch-nemesis, the Flash. Thawne is more than willing to go to every possible length to kill Flash no matter what, regardless of the lives he has to end or ruin in order to do it. His hatred for Flash is so great that he is more than happy to sacrifice his own life, if it means killing him; without a second thought. Zoom would also happily sacrifice the whole planet Earth and by extension the entire universe itself if it meant killing Flash, showing that he considers revenge against the Flash to be his sole purpose in life. However, rather than kill him outright, Zoom always tries to make Flash’s death as emotionally and mentally painful as possible, showing an intense desire to make him suffer before he dies.
The only things that rival Zoom's hatred of the Flash are his arrogance and sadism. Despite the Flash being the one he hates more than anything, Thawne greatly enjoys the suffering of those who have nothing to do with his grudge as well. This is shown during his slow and painful killings of both Vandal Savage and Bronze Tiger, as well as reveling in the chaotic and destructive world war Flash’s flashpoint unintentionally caused. An even greater example is when after subduing Flash inside the Flash Museum, Zoom attempted to blow up his own henchmen along with Flash and several blocks of Central City, for no other reason than pure sadistic glee. This also shows he has no regard for those who work under him, seeing them only as disposable tools. Thawne also never considers the possibility that his plans might fail, always considering them to be fool-proof. He always underestimates his enemies, be they Flash or someone else. This arrogance and underestimation of his opponents is what leads to Zoom’s defeat at Flash’s hands every time. However, it was both his arrogance and sadism that lead to both of his deaths first at the hands of Batman (Thomas Wayne) and then Deadshot, as he wasted time both torturing his enemies and boasting about his triumph as well as disregarding injured fighters whom he did not consider threats (Batman and Bronze Tiger).
Professor Zoom shows all the traits of a true psychopath: lacking any form of empathy or remorse, possessing a high IQ, having extreme narcissism, skilled at lying and manipulation, and devoid of fear.
Physical description[]
Thawne bears a close resemblance to Barry Allen, except for having red eyes with black sclera and having a more muscular build. Zoom's costume is also similar except for being yellow with red lines and the flash symbol being drawn backwards.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
Speed Force Connection/Superhuman Speed: Due to his connection with the Speed Force, Eobard has the power to move and think at superhuman speeds. He is shown to be faster than the normal speed of time, allowing him to defy forces such as gravity to an extent, while he is also adapted to extreme temperatures, impact, and deprivation of oxygen. Other superpowers that he had were his superhuman reflexes, superhuman agility, superhuman metabolism and superhuman resilience, being the two latter ones the main reason for which he was able to cheat the death several times. Other powers that Zoom had were the intangibility and the enhanced momentum. He also had the ability of aerokinesis, to create wind vortexes and use electrokinesis, generating Speed Force lightning.
Abilities[]
- Genius-level intellect: Zoom also possessed a genius-level intellect, as he was successfully able to replicate the reaction which granted Barry Allen his super speed almost 4 centuries after it occurred. Eobard was also good in engineering, as he created highly advanced explosives that cannot be disarmed even by himself.
Weaknesses[]
Even although his superhuman metabolism and resilience gave him the ability to act faster and thus be able to avoid, for example, the penetration of a bullet in his body, a mortal wound would cause his instant death, as was the case with The Flash; even although both enemies had an accelerated healing.
After he cheated death and arrived in the new timeline, Thawne seemed to lose his connection to the Speed Force and was only able to utilize the energy he had absorbed in his moment of death, causing him to "run on fumes." Because Thawne was dependent on the supply of Speed Force he had absorbed prior to his death to keep himself suspended in his dying moment, and using his powers drained what Speed Force remained from him, he was forced to limit his use of his powers. This caused Thawne to move much slower than he could under normal circumstances and forced him to rely on Killer Frost's powers to utilize his phasing ability.
Quotes[]
- "It was Batman. In another timeline. Can't say I blame him. Thanks to me, his entire world was going to die. Only Flash could turn back time, and I was damned if I was going to let that happen. I never saw it coming...but I felt it. I tried to vibrate my inner molecules to save my brain even as the bullet was tearing through. And at that moment, that very infinitesimal split second before death, I drew the Speed Force into me with every ounce of willpower I had left. And literally bought time. I expanded my moment of dying into days, maybe weeks...but it's like operating in a fog. Everything's a little unreal and warped. I feel like I'm walking through water sometimes, and when I speed up, I can feel my life slipping away. I'm running on fumes now, but I've got just enough gas for this. "
- —Zoom explaining how he used the Speed Force to expand his life before stealing the Get Out of Hell Free card from Vandal Savage.
- "Fuck my life. "
- —Zoom's last words.
Appearances[]
Films[]
- Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
- Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
- Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (flashback)
Trivia[]
- As the Reverse-Flash from the original timeline was still around until Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, it's left unconfirmed if the new timeline has its own version of Reverse-Flash. This is due to the fact that Deadshot was familiar with Eobard, so this opens up two possibilities: either Eobard replaced his new timeline counterpart as the sole Eobard Thawne, or he lives alongside his new-timeline self.
- There's also a chance that new-timeline Thawne could still be in the future being fully aware of the old timeline Reverse-Flash's actions.
- When Eobard takes his mask off he looks exactly like Barry Allen except with a more muscular facial structure. This is a direct reference to the comics where Eobard idolized Barry and after gaining access to the Speed Force altered his appearance to look exactly like him. He even masqueraded as Barry trying to escape his destiny as Barry's archenemy until Wally West exposed him.
- To convince Silver Banshee to work with him, he promised to take her back in time to punish her former clan. Given how depleted his powers were, however, it seems unlikely he would've had the ability to time travel, much less bring someone along with him. This means his offer was most likely a lie, or much like his counterpart on The Flash (2014 series), Thawne had a Time Sphere that could take the user any-when they wanted.
- Thawne is indirectly responsible for causing three different timelines to exist; excluding the Original Timeline.
- Taunting Flash about his mother's death lead to the creation of the original Flashpoint. There, Aquaman detonated Captain Atom to end the Atlantean and Amazon war.
- Flash prevented his past self from saving his mother, creating another new timeline. There Darkseid damaged the Earth and ruled most of the universe.
- With Earth doomed and so many dead, Flash created a new "time boom" and Flashpoint to rewrite reality to undo the damage.