In two weeks, Barry Allen will finally come face-to-face with the man that murdered his mother when he was a boy: the Reverse-Flash, one of Flash’s most notorious enemies from the comics. The Flash has been teasing the man in the lightning since the pilot, but viewers haven’t seen him other than in that first episode and his cameo last week when he threatened to kill Iris if Joe didn’t stop investigating Nora Allen’s murder. However, viewers will have to wait a while longer to find out who the mysterious killer is.
Grant Gustin told EW that although Barry will come to blows with Reverse-Flash in the episode “The Man in the Yellow Suit,” he and his allies won’t be learning the inverted doppelgänger’s identity. Said Gustin:
“Barry will actually get to come face to face with him, not just running with him, but standing face to face with him, looking at him. He’s vibrating, so he doesn’t know who he is. We don’t see his face. No characters see his face and the audience doesn’t necessarily see his face either, but Barry gets to hear him say that he killed his mom.”
Barry has been using the same tricks (voice distortion and blurring his face) to disguise his identity in recent episodes, but it sounds like the yellow-garbed speedster has a better handle on keeping his identity a secret. Gustin also mentioned the producers have many surprises up their sleeve, and that fans who think they know who the killer is may not be as close to the truth as they think they are.
“I didn’t even remotely see coming what Andrew Kreisberg told me is going to be one of the turning points with that storyline. I’ve heard so many theories surrounding Reverse Flash that are all interesting. I was like, ‘Oh, I know what’s going on,’ but literally no one knows what’s going on. Anyone who thinks they know what’s going on is wrong. I’m in the in and I thought I knew, but Andrew told me and I was like, ‘Holy crap.'”
Spoilers from the comics below
There have been several Reverse-Flashes in the comics, but the one that has antagonized Barry the most over the years is Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Professor Zoom. Hailing from the 25th century, Thawne has been responsible for many of the tragic moments in Barry’s life, including going back in time to kill his mother. Given their name similarities, the prime Reverse-Flash suspect has been Joe’s partner Eddie Thawne. While fans learned a little about Eddie’s tough childhood in the “The Flash is Born,” there’s still a lot we don’t know about him. He looked surprised when he saw a metahuman for the first time and he has a charming personality, but all of it might be a charade to hide his true intentions.
One character who appears to be off the hook is Harrison Wells, who is also from the future and quite familiar with Flash’s future exploits. Wells’ actions and demeanor away from Team Flash have been suspect, and his plans for Barry are still a mystery, but he’ll be with the team when Reverse-Flash attacks, and you can’t be in two places at once...unless you’re Multiplex. Then again, there’s always the possibility that Wells is somehow working with the evil speedster, or that Reverse-Flash is actually a future version of Wells. Whoever this mystery man is, he’s going be causing hell for Barry and the S..T.A.R. in two weeks. Make sure to tune into The Flash’s midseason finale on December 9 at 8 p.m. to watch the insanity unfold.
