This is a full length review detailing the plot of the below
comic, many spoilers!

Issue 79: The once and future Flash

Ok, so final part and I am totally torn. On the one hand, YAY! Eobard isn’t dead. On the other, this story is just so….. Well I think you’ll get my opinion from the review.

This issue starts with Wally West (Mk2 Flash) and Eobard Thawne (Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash) fighting among the remains of the Flash Museum. Wally’s losing but is determined to find out why all this has happened. Wally confesses that he is confused because he saw the real Barry snap Eobard’s neck all those years ago, killing him. However Eobard states that he hasn’t even met Barry yet (which is really dubious considering his origin comic). He claims that in 2460 there is no crime and all heroes have been forgotten (this also goes against the original stuff as they have a
knowledge of heroes and they have jails and crime in the future as per the 60s/70s comics).

Anyway, Wally encourages him to talk and he does. Apparently Eobard liked history, discovered the JLA and Flash was his favourite hero for being pure, noble and sacrificing himself to save mankind. So he becomes obsessed, collecting Flash memorabilia, prizing the biography he found (I still prefer the original material and not this rewrite. Everything from here diverges completely). He even has plastic surgery to look like Barry. So one day whilst in an antiques shop he finds the Cosmic Treadmill. The guy won’t sell it and so he kills him and take it. Then he gets to work replicating the original accident that gave Barry his powers, spending his fortune and loosing years of his life. But it is apparently worth it because he gets the super speed powers and plans to travel back to meet Barry and become his sidekick. So he travels through time, misses his mark and ends up in Wally’s era. Half naked and disorientated he makes it to the Flash Museum.

Eobard finds a new purpose in becoming the Flash, wanting to be a hero and join Wally and the others. So he goes to look through the rogue’s gallery only to discover that he, Eobard Thawne is actually the Flash’s worst enemy (Ok, so there are paradox issues here that upset me). This drives him crazy as he knows that his hero is destined to kill him. However, he realises that he can’t be killed if he hides and then he sees his reflection that he looks like Barry Allen and his mind snaps. Delusional, his mind retreats behind the identity of Barry Allen and thus becomes him (Meh). This does explain why the Lantern ring said he was telling the truth, because he honestly thought he was.

Wally vows to send Eobard back to his own time, though he doesn’t want to go because then he’d meet Barry and be destined to die. Eobard goes to destroy the cosmic treadmill but Wally talks him out of it, so he tries to take out Wally instead but is interrupted by Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Max Mercury and Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick). Hal’s ring still has the yellow impurity and thus his powers don’t really work on our yellow clad villain. The two speedsters also fail because Eobard is just faster than both of them. Hal instead drops a load of rubble on him but Eobard vibrates through it escaping whilst vowing to come back and take out Wally like he did Jay Garrick.

Wally has only just discovered that something happened to Jay and so the whole group go to visit him in hospital. Eobard broke his leg in 6 places. Wally feels that it is all his responsibility but the team aren’t really having it. He does point out who the author of the future biography is which we’re not told but does makes everyone happy. Meanwhile on the TV behind them Wally’s girlfriend Linda Park is doing an interview when she is interrupted by Eobard killing her guest and then taking her hostage. Eobard is back to his original face by this point as well, though I am not sure how.

Anyway, Wally runs to save Linda and does. Then the fight starts. Wally is at a total disadvantage cause Eobard is practically invisible to him as he is moving so fast. Wally is down but Eobard goads him and his words hit home. Wally struggles up, kisses Linda goodbye and then chases after Eobard. Wally finally lets go of his fear of replacing Barry by being as fast and thus becomes as fast, an equal match for Eobard. They fight but Wally loses his footing and Eobard is about to kill him when a miracle happens and Eobard gets struck by lightning. Wally then takes the advantage, beats the crap out of Eobard and tricks him back onto the cosmic treadmill, sending him home.

So Eobard gets home, his mind addled and not remembering his trip to the future. Though there are two problems. One is that he was missing for 48 days. And two is that he would still have speed powers. I know I mentioned this before but I totally don’t see why they had to change his whole back history and do all this when they still could have done this plot within the original canon.

Anyway, Wally is happy, the other heroes are happy and Linda is too. Jay is healing up well. And in the last pages they reveal who wrote the biography of Barry Allen, it was Iris West-Allen and in 1997 a good few years after when the comic is set.