7 Times The Flash Improved DC Mythology (& 4 Times It Failed)

3. Making Eobard Thawne An Even More Personal Villain

Eobard Thawne, aka Reverse-Flash, has had several different origins and backstories across the various continuities and do-overs of the comic book world.

These days, the accepted canon has Thawne as a 25th century rogue who becomes so bitter at Barry Allen that he goes back in time to kill Barry’s mother, Nora. That in itself is a monumental moment in comics, for it effectively led to the whole Flashpoint arc which changed the landscape of DC Comics and ushered in the rebooted continuity that was the New 52.

In terms of heinous, sinister acts against a superhero, it doesn’t get much more personal and spiteful than travelling back in time to kill that hero’s mother. But still, The CW’s The Flash went one better than this.

Not content on having Thawne off Nora Allen, the first season of The Flash saw it revealed that Harrison Wells – who was Barry’s father figure and mentor – had actually been Eobard Thawne, aka Reverse-Flash, all along.

Thawne had killed the real Wells years prior and decided to take on his likeness, forming a bond with Barry Allen that was helping the troubled speedster to deal with the death of his mother and the incarceration of his father.

With this decision, The Flash as a TV show instantly made Eobard Thawne an even more chilling villain with a somehow even more personal connection to Barry Allen.