The Reverse-Flash is a name used by several supervillains appearing in American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. Each iteration of the character serves as a foil and an enemy of the Flash.

Characters

Edward Clariss

Edward Clariss (also known as the Rival and the Rival Flash) first appeared in ''

Flash Comics ''Flash Comics'' is a comics anthology published by All-American Publications and later by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics). The title had 104 issues published from January 1940 to February 1949. Despite the title, the anthology featu ...

'' #104 (February 1949), and was created by John Broome and

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...

Publication history

Edward Clariss first appeared in

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...

's final appearance in ''

'' #104 (February 1949), and was created by John Broome and

as an evil counterpart of Jay Garrick during the Golden Age of Comic Books. He would be revived by

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...

and David Goyer in a story called "Injustice Be Done" from the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

comic books through the Modern Age of Comic Books.

Fictional character biography

Although not called the Reverse-Flash, Dr. Edward Clariss was a professor at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

attended by the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

Flash, and had recreated the formula which was behind

's speed. He hears Joan Williams (Garrick's girlfriend) talking about how the Flash's own speed was given to another student, which helped him develop the formula. Bitter at the scientific community's rejection of his claims, Clariss becomes a criminal. A darker version of the Flash with a mask over his head, he gives the formula to other criminals. The Rival's version of the formula is temporary, and he is captured and jailed (later stories have indicated a possible link between the Clariss formula and the Velocity 9 created by

Vandal Savage Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, more widely known as Vandal Savage, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encount ...

, but thus far no such link has been conclusively proven). ''JSA'' #16 (November 2000) contains a flashback to a battle between the Rival and the Flash several months after the former's first appearance. Now that he has inexplicably regained super-speed, Clariss reaches light speed during the fight and vanishes into the

Speed Force A Speedster is a character, primarily in superhero comics, whose powers primarily relate to superhuman speed (also known as superspeed). Primary abilities shared by all speedsters include running at speeds far in excess of human capability (to var ...

. After the

's reformation 50 years later, Johnny Sorrow retrieves Clariss from the Speed Force and invites him to join the

Injustice Society The Injustice Society (also called the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America. The Injustice Society first appears in ''All Star Comics'' #37 (Oct 194 ...

. Driven insane in the Speed Force, the Rival races across the country on a killing spree. The Flash realizes that the Rival's path across the country spells out Clariss's name and the final murder victim will be Joan; Jay absorbs the Rival's speed before he can kill Joan. The Rival returns in ''Impulse'' #88 (September 2002), posing as Joan's doctor. Now pure speed energy, he possesses fellow Golden Age speedster Max Mercury. After battling Jay and

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

, Max time-travels to an unknown destination. In '' The Flash: Rebirth'' #4, Max escapes from the Speed Force and is rejuvenated by Wally West's energy; this allows him to return to Earth in a new body. Another Golden Age Reverse-Flash is a robot whose only appearance was in one panel of '' The Flash'' #134 (February 1998), where he is defeated by Garrick.

Eobard Thawne

Professor Eobard Thawne first appeared in ''The Flash'' #139 (September 1963). The

archenemy In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...

of Barry Allen, he is the first to take on the name Professor Zoom, and oftentimes the Reverse-Flash.

Hunter Zolomon

Hunter Zolomon (also known as Zoom) first appeared in ''The Flash: Secret Files & Origins'' #3 (November 2001). The archenemy of

Wally West Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics as the original Kid Flash and the third Flash (DC Comics character), Flash. His power consists mainly of speedster (fiction), superhuman speed. ...

, he is the second supervillain to be called the Reverse-Flash. Unlike all other Reverse-Flashes, he did not gain his superspeed from the Speed Force; due to an accident with the Cosmic Treadmill, Zolomon was essentially "derailed" from the time line, allowing him to control the rate at which he moves in time, which can make him faster than any speedster.

Thaddeus Thawne

Thaddeus Thawne (a.k.a. Inertia and later Kid Zoom) first appeared in ''Impulse'' #51 (August 1999), and was created by

Todd DeZago Todd Dezago (born 1961) is an American comic book writer best known for his collaborations with artist Mike Wieringo on ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' and their creator-owned fantasy series '' Tellos''. Early life Todd Dezago was raised in Rhineb ...

and

Mike Wieringo Michael Lance Wieringo (June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007), who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an Americans, American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' ''The Flash (comic book), The Flash'', Marvel Comics' '' ...

. Another character not called the Reverse-Flash, he is a clone of Bart Allen. Inertia first fought Impulse. When Bart aged five years after ''Infinite Crisis'' and became the Flash, Inertia fought his genetic template again. Inertia was responsible for Allen's death; Wally West returned, taking revenge by paralyzing Inertia and installing him in the

Flash Museum The Flash Museum is a fictional museum that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The museum is dedicated to the superheroes sharing the alias of the Flash, with its primary focus on Barry Allen. It first appeared in the 'B' story from ...

. In '' Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge'', he is used by

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

and Zoom to try to get the Rogues to join the Secret Society. Inertia steals Zoom's powers, calls himself Kid Zoom, and is killed by the Rogues, who blamed him for making them kill Bart. Asked who created Inertia,

Ethan van Sciver Ethan Daniel Van Sciver (No date on article; date appears in the website') (; born September 3, 1974) is an American comics artist and social media personality. He is known for illustrating or drawing covers for a number of superhero titles in the ...

wrote that he could only accept five percent of the credit; the remaining credit belonged to

(20 percent),

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...

(25 percent) and

(50 percent). According to van Sciver, Inertia's appearance is an inverted depiction of Impulse. Inertia initially appeared in ''Impulse'' #50: "First Fool's" (July 1999), followed by #51: "It's All Relative" (August 1999). His greatest character development was in #53: "Threats" (October 1999). Inertia was not featured again until ''Impulse'' #62 and #66: "Mercury Falling" (July, November 2000), and again for another five years. He then began making regular appearances, primarily due to Bart being the Flash. Inertia appeared in ''The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive'' #5: "Lightning in a Bottle, Part 5" (December 2006). In addition to his ''Flash'' appearances, he appeared in ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' (vol. 3) as part of Titans East, an enemy team, beginning in ''Teen Titans'' (vol. 3) #43 (January 2007). The storyline concluded with (vol. 3) #46 (April 2007). Gathering the Rogues, he attempted to drain Bart's powers for himself; the plan backfired when Wally returned and Inertia's equipment drained the Speed Force, making the Rogues accidentally beat Bart to death. As Inertia tried to escape, he was captured by Wally who steals his speed, leaving him immobile. Inertia is primarily a speedster, remaining disconnected from the Speed Force after ''Infinite Crisis'' and injecting himself with Velocity 9. Although Velocity 9 has been unstable, Deathstroke's new variety seems to have no negative

side effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

. Inertia briefly shares his powers before his death with Zoom, who lends him his speed to pressure him into becoming a new Kid Flash. As the maddened Kid Zoom, he masters human time streams and reverts Zoom to the powerless Hunter Zolomon before he is killed by the Rogues. Inertia was later resurrected due to

Doctor Manhattan Doctor Manhattan (Dr. Jonathan Osterman), often shortened to Dr. Manhattan or simply Manhattan is a fictional character who appears in comics published by DC Comics. He debuted in the graphic novel limited series ''Watchmen''. Doctor Manhattan ...

's modifications on the timeline, but is currently trapped in the Speed Force. Inertia tries to stop Barry Allen, Max Mercury, and Jesse Quick from escaping the Speed Force, revealing that Eobard Thawne promised to release him and let him take over Bart Allen's body once the former succeeded in his plans. After Barry tries to appeal and talk sense into him, Inertia stops his attacks and runs off.

Daniel West

Daniel "Danny" West first appeared in '' The Flash'' #0 (November 2012). The younger brother of

Iris West Iris West is a fictional character, a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She has been the main love interest and later wife of Barry Allen, the alter ego of the Silver Age version of the superhero The ...

, the biological father of Wallace West and the uncle of

Tangent Comics

In DC's

Tangent Comics Tangent Comics is a DC Comics imprint created in 1997, developed from ideas by Dan Jurgens. The line, formed from various one-shots, focused on creating all-new characters using established DC names, such as the Joker, Superman, and the Flash. ...

, the Reverse-Flash is an evil, holographic duplicate of her Earth's Flash, Lia Nelson, who was created by a sinister government agency. She was charged with negative ionic energy to disperse the Flash's

photon A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless, so they a ...

-based form. However, the Flash's light-wave powers outmatched the Reverse-Flash's and the latter was destroyed. This Reverse-Flash appeared in only one issue: ''Tangent Comics: The Flash'' #1 (December 1997).

In other media

Television

* Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom appears in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!" voiced by

John Wesley Shipp John Wesley Shipp (born January 22, 1955) is an American actor known for his various television roles. He played the lead Barry Allen on CBS's superhero series '' The Flash'' from 1990 to 1991, and Mitch Leery, the title character's father, on ...

. * Three variations of individuals who have used the Reverse-Flash moniker in the comics appear in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

series, '' The Flash''. ** Eobard Thawne / Reverse-Flash (portrayed by

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

and

Matt Letscher Matthew Letscher is an American actor, director and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in the 1998 American swashbuckler film ''The Mask of Zorro'' and as Colonel Adelbert Ames in the 2003 American film '' Gods and General ...

) first appears in season one and continues to battle the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

and his allies throughout the series. Additionally, Thawne appears in the spin-off series ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American time travel superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, who are also executive producers a ...

'' as the leader of the

Legion of Doom The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in '' Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univer ...

as well as the crossovers "

Crisis on Earth-X "Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of the live-action television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash ...

" and " Elseworlds". ** Hunter Zolomon / Zoom (portrayed by

Teddy Sears Edward M. Sears (born April 6, 1977) is an American actor, known for his roles as Richard Patrick Woolsley on the TNT legal drama series ''Raising the Bar'', Patrick on the first season of FX anthology horror drama ''American Horror Story'' ( ...

and voiced by

Tony Todd Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954) is an American actor who made his debut as Sgt. Warren in the film ''Platoon'' (1986), and portrayed Kurn in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990–1991) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space N ...

) primarily appears in season two. This version hails from Earth-2 and is ultimately transformed into the Black Flash by the Time Wraiths for corrupting the time line. ** Edward Clariss / The Rival (portrayed by

Todd Lasance Todd James Lasance (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on ''Home and Away'', Cam Jackson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'', Ben McMahon on ''Crownies'' and Maj ...

) appears in

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. This version is a speedster who was originally a product of the " Flashpoint" timeline and arch-enemy of Wally West / Kid Flash. After the Flash undid the "Flashpoint" timeline, Clariss was made human again until Doctor Alchemy uses the

philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...

to turn him back into the Rival so he can seek revenge against the Flash. Clariss is ultimately defeated by the Flash, incarcerated in

Iron Heights Penitentiary Iron Heights Penitentiary is a fictional setting in the , a maximum-security prison which houses the many Flash rogues and superhuman criminals of Keystone City and Central City when captured. Iron Heights first appeared in ''Flash: Iron Heights ...

, and killed by

Savitar Savitar may refer to: *Savitr, or Savitar, a Vedic solar deity associated with the Aditya class of divinities *Savitar (comics), a supervillain published by DC Comics *Savitar, a character from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series *''Savitar'', th ...

. * Reverse-Flash makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

'' episode "L.O.D.R.S.V.P."

Film

* Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom appears in the

DC Animated Movie Universe DC, D.C., D/C, Dc, or dc may refer to: Places * Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), the capital and the federal territory of the United States * Bogotá, Distrito Capital, the capital city of Colombia * Dubai City, as distinct from th ...

films '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' and '' Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay'', voiced by

C. Thomas Howell Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966) is an American actor. He has starred in the films '' Soul Man'', '' The Hitcher'', '' Grandview U.S.A.'', ''Red Dawn'', ''Secret Admirer'' and '' The Outsiders''. He has also appeared in '' Gett ...

in both. * The Eobard Thawne incarnation of the Reverse-Flash appears in '' Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash'', voiced by

Dwight Schultz William Dwight Schultz (born November 24, 1947) is an American television, film and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action series ''The A-Team'' and as Reginald Barclay in the ''Star Trek'' ...

Video games

* Hunter Zolomon / Zoom appears as a boss in '' Justice League Heroes: The Flash''. * Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom appears as a mini-boss in ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play action combat massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game w ...

'' and the "Lightning Strikes" DLC. * The Eobard Thawne incarnation of the Reverse-Flash appears a playable character in '' Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham'' * The Eobard Thawne incarnation of the Reverse-Flash appears as a DLC skin in ''

Injustice 2 ''Injustice 2'' is a 2017 fighting video game it is the sequel to 2013's '' Injustice: Gods Among Us'' and is the second installment in the ''Injustice'' franchise based upon the DC Universe. It is developed by NetherRealm Studios and publishe ...

'', voiced by Liam O'Brien. * The Eobard Thawne incarnation of the Reverse-Flash appears as a playable character in ''

Lego DC Super-Villains ''Lego DC Super-Villains'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales. The fourth installment in the '' Lego Batman'' series of games, it is a spin-off that focuses entirely on villains of the DC Univers ...

'', voiced again by C. Thomas Howell. Additionally, the Arrowverse version of Hunter Zolomon / Zoom appears in the "DC TV Super-Villains" DLC pack.

References

{{Suicide Squad Characters created by Mike Wieringo Comics characters introduced in 1949 Comics characters introduced in 1999 DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Fictional characters with spirit possession or body swapping abilities DC Comics metahumans DC Comics robots DC Comics supervillains DC Comics male supervillains Clone characters in comics Fictional murderers Flash (comics) characters