Over the course of The Flash’s run (pun fully intended) on The CW, many of the Scarlet Speedster’s adversaries from the comics have been adapted for the small screen, from Captain Cold and Reverse-Flash to Gorilla Grodd and The Thinker. With The Flash’s ninth and final season underway, two new enemies have presented themselves, with Richard Harmon’s Owen Mercer taking over as the new Captain Boomerang, and Batwoman’s Javicia Leslie playing Red Death. But there’s now speculation that before The Flash is over, Cobalt Blue will also be introduced, and it’ll be a returning character carrying that mantle.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Rick Cosnett will reprise Eddie Thawne in The Flash Season 9. Originally a main cast member in the show’s freshman season, Eddie sacrificed his life in an effort to erase Eobard Thawne, his descendant, from existence. While Cosnett has reprised Eddie a few times in the years since then, it’s either been through scenes set before his death or as manifestations conjured by things like the Speed Force or Deathstorm.
However, thanks to leaked set photos shared by Canadagraphs, it appears that the Eddie Thawne we’ll see in Season 9 is potentially the character resurrected. Cosnett was photographed shooting a scene for Season 9’s eleventh episode where he’s furiously digging up a grave, specifically Eddie Thawne’s, as another picture showed the character’s tombstone. What’s especially interesting is that a different tombstone showed that someone passed away in 2043, meaning that this scene is set in the future.
The Flash fans will remember that after Eddie Thawne shot himself in the Season 1 finale, his body was sucked in by the singularity that appeared above Central City. So Eddie’s body was never actually recovered, meaning it’s possible that it could not only have been transported to the future, but also revived through unknown means. Additionally, don’t forget that in the final minute of The Flash Season 8’s finale, a mysterious blue gem was shown in a laboratory in 2049, and that’s been all but directly confirmed to be a Cobalt Blue tease. All this, plus how Cobalt Blue depicted in the comics, has prompted speculation that Eddie will become this villain in the Arrowverse.
For those unfamiliar with Cobalt Blue, it was Malcolm Thawne who went by that identity in the comics. In addition to, like Eddie, being an ancestor of Eobard Thawne, he was also the twin brother of Barry Allen. Malcolm was given to the Thawne family by the doctor who delivered the twins after he accidentally killed the Thawnes’ newborn, and Malcolm grew up abused and unaware of his true heritage. Malcolm’s grandmother trained him to harness their families mystical ability to control the “blue flame,” and when he learned about where he really came from, because Barry had already died in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Malcolm dedicated his life to killing all of Barry’s descendants and those who carried on the Flash legacy, starting with Wally West. This vendetta was passed on to others who went by Cobalt Blue in the centuries to come.
If Eddie Thawne will indeed be The Flash’s Cobalt Blue, it’ll be interesting to see how this version of the character is different from the comics version besides their backgrounds. For example, would Eddie have the same kind of magical abilities, or would the blue gem simply turn him into a speedster? Then there’s the question of why Eddie would embark down the villainous path given that he was a good guy when he last saw him. Has his experience with death twisted his mind? Again, we don’t know for sure if Rick Cosnett’s character will become Cobalt Blue, but it would be a fitting development given both Cobalt Blue’s origins and that it was a Thawne who was this show’s first bad bad.
New episodes of The Flash air Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on The CW. Keep track of what other shows are on the air right now with our 2023 TV schedule, and continue visiting CinemaBlend for news regarding currently-airing and upcoming DC TV shows.
