Author: Eobeth

I'm a fan of Eobard Thawne aka Reverse Flash / Professor Zoom. I cosplay as a female version (DC Earth-11) hence the name Eobeth. I use this site (and Tumblr) to collect my reviews of merchandise, comics and media with Eobard in. I am slowly reviewing every comic he has ever been in.

The return of Professor Zoom part 3

3rd Jan 2016 · Leave a comment ·

The previous comic reviews can be found here; PART 1 & PART 2

The next parts are here; PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7 & PART 8.

The Flash 42: Blood is thicker

Barry Allen, aka, the Flash, races over to Iron Heights prison as soon as he discovers that his previously incarerated father is missing. He wants to examine the scene but is denied as he is apparently too close to the case. He is told that his dad was part of the break out but he refuses to believe it, thinking that he has been kidnapped instead. So Barry examines the room at super speed (I love that he is wearing a Batman shirt) finding nothing. Iris turns up but she’s not looking for a story cause she’s meant to be on only Flash stories. She tells Barry that the Flash is hated by the cops and seen as a problem by the people of the city due to the damage he leaves in his wake. As per usual, disaster and character assassination are at the forefront of ‘good’ news reporting. Anyway, Iris was actually there to see her brother Daniel West aka Reverse Flash. She reports that Wally, her nephew, is now doing well, applying himself at school so that’s a good thing at least.

Meanwhile at a Medi-Barn distribution centre, Henry Allen and co are stealing stuff. So much for Henry not being a criminal. (There is a nice nod to Kord industries on one of the boxes.) Henry apparently has a plan but unknown to him, Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom, is watching him unseen. Henry and co are about to leave when Professor Zoom triggers the alarm just to be annoying. A guard rushes in and Henry tells him not to shoot, that they can come to a peaceful arrangement, but Professor Zoom has other ideas. From the unseen dimension / speedforce Professor Zoom makes Henry pull the trigger on his gun, killing the guard. Henry is confused but they need to run before they get caught, so off they go.

Anthony aka Girder goes back to Keystone city to visit his grandma. She is just about to fix him a snack when the Flash turns up. Grandma is having none of it and threatens the Flash, however Girder just goes straight ahead and fights him. The Flash agrees to leave Girder’s gran alone in exchange for knowing why they kidnapped Henry. Girder tells him that they didn’t but he doesn’t believe him. They continue to fight and Barry eventually leads him to a junk yard where he captures Girder using a giant magnet. He tells him to talk, but Girder isn’t believed and so just tells the Flash to ask Henry himself.

The Flash then turns up at one of the prison guard’s house. Turns out that the guard’s wife is dying of a blood disease and Henry promised to help cure her if he helped him escape. The guard had looked into it and found out that Henry was indeed an amazing blood doctor previously at the forefront of his field and so agreed. He’s prepared to go to jail for this as long as his wife gets treatment but the Flash says he won’t turn him in as long as he says when he sees Henry again.

As the Flash is running home, Professor Zoom pulls up next to him. Barry asks who he is but Eobard just asks why Barry is so angry, insinuating childhood trauma as the cause. Barry goes to grab for him but Eobard is too fast. Eobard disappears and Barry finds that he had chased him down to in front of Barry’s childhood home where his mother was murdered.

The comic ends there with Barry striking a rather flexible pose. I can’t pinpoint what exactly is wrong with it, or maybe I’m just distracted by how fabulous his butt looks, but I’m sure there is something up with that position.

Part 4 tomorrow.

The return of Professor Zoom part 2

2nd Jan 2016 · Leave a comment ·

Part 1 of this 8 part review of the newest Professor Zoom story arc is HERE

The following parts are here; PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7 & PART 8.

The Flash 41: Yellow

I’m so conflicted about Brett Booths artwork. Some of it is awesome but then there are anatomy mistakes and he is just not great with faces. Anyway, on to the plot.
It’s another beautiful day in Central City and the Flash, aka Barry Allen, is fighting an 8ft mech rhino-guy. As this is happening and Barry is bragging about being the fastest there is another figure, Professor Zoom aka Eobard Thawne watching the fight. He is literally walking round Barry, talking to him as if he was in slow motion. Barry notices enough to be distracted and so rhino-guy knocks him down.

Then it changes to now, the previous battle being a flash-forward. Barry Allen is taking a shower and just as he gets out he is startled by a large black and white rat. Which is what he gets for sharing an apartment with former Pied Piper, Hartley Rathaway. The rat is called Moon and is apparently very tame.

So Barry dresses and takes off to visit his dad Henry at Iron Heights prison. Henry is incarcerated for killing his wife and Barry’s mother, Nora. Barry is excited as he has apparently found some evidence to help clear his father’s name, however Henry is less than happy, telling Barry to stop. But then Barry mentions a name, Thawne, and his dad loses it, confessing to the crime and putting the phone down.

On the way back to his cell, Henry is given a message by the criminal Double Down, saying that ‘the Professor sends his regards’, and that the man in yellow is coming. This is apparently enough to send Henry over the edge and a fight starts, though not for long as a friendly guard breaks it up. Once back in his cell with cell mates Travis, Ernie and Anthony, Henry hatches a plan. Lucky for him his cell mates are actually Mogul, Black Mold and Girder.

Meanwhile Barry hasn’t given up and is explaining about his lead to his boss and surrogate father Darryl at the GCPD. They are having a heart to heart when there is a report of a break in and the need for immediate back-up. Barry runs off to become the Flash and we are back at the fight from the beginning. It recaps Barry being distracted and getting hit, but then he gets up, speeds round the rhino-guy who promptly passes out from lack of air.

Meanwhile over at Iron Heights, Henry is pretending to be sick so that they can escape. To be honest it is the oldest trick in the book. They escape, hijack a boat and Henry goes off to protect his son. Though I’m not sure how he plans to do that all things considered.
The comic ends there. Part 3 tomorrow.

The Return of Professor Zoom Part 1

1st Jan 2016 · Leave a comment ·

The Flash relaunched back in 2011 as part of DC’s N52 range. Most of the Rogues were there, though slightly reinvented however Professor Zoom previously Reverse Flash, aka Eobard Thawne, was missing. Daniel West, Iris’s brother took up the mantel of Reverse Flash after an accident and turning evil. However in 2015 Professor Zoom returned.

All the following parts of this review are here, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7 & PART 8.

The Flash Annual 4: The Acolytes of Zoom

Before I get onto the story I just wanted to talk about the art. It isn’t bad but I don’t feel it’s up to DC best standard as there are inconsistencies and I just don’t find it as polished as it could be. I’ve seen worse but it annoys me when things like eye colour changes between panels, or basic anatomy obviously isn’t right.

Anyway, so this story starts out in 1520 Aztec South America. The Aztec empire is dying as the Spanish have invaded. But there is one beautiful Aztec woman who isn’t running, Magali, the fountain of youth who has the power to change the age of anything organic. The conquistadors have surrounded her but there is an old man traveling with them. He introduces himself to Magali as Eobard Thawne and claims that he will save her if she makes him young again. She agrees and Eobard deals with the conquistadors in a flash of black lightning, revealing himself as a speedster. He then invites Magali, to join him in recruiting others who have been given power by the lightning to fight against a great future evil called The Flash!

Next they are in 1883 at a diamond mine in Africa. Someone with powers is stealing the diamonds. It turns out that it is Xolani, one of the Zulu and he has the power to become a teleporting shadow type creature. He briefly visits his wife before going to hide the diamonds he stole, so that the white men don’t find anything. However his wife finds a diamond under her pillow, believing it a gift. Whilst Xolani is burying his stolen diamonds he is confronted by Eobard and Magali. A fight breaks out revealing that they all have powers. Xolani explains that he is burying the diamonds cause if enough go missing the white miners will leave and his village can be free. Suddenly there is an explosion from the village. When they get back there the whole village has been burnt down and his wife murdered. Xolani agrees to go with Eobard and Magali in exchange for help getting revenge.

Next they are in 1957 Australia. There is a Maori woman on a carnival stage. She is apparently the unmovable human Block and punters are paying to try and move her. All of them fail, even the strongest man can’t lift her until a man comes up and insults her Maori heritage, so she punches him. A fight breaks out, someone then shoots her, which does nothing and then they turn on her completely calling her a witch and a freak. She is saved by Eobard and co. He explains that like them she is touched by the lightening and has god like power. She agrees to join him in his quest. Eobard is really good at giving a convincing speech that plays on the current vulnerabilities of the person he’s trying to recruit.

The team end up in Oklahoma in 1982 during a tornado. The cause is actually a teenage boy. Xolani and Block stop him. The poor boy is Roscoe, his power to create tornadoes having destroyed his home. They were medicating him to control his powers but Eobard convinces him that he just need guidance and training. So on the promise of giving him a new family, Roscoe joins them too.

So with his team assembled and joined by a non-powered guy called Selkirk who is just really knowledgeable about the Flash, the team start training. They apparently train for centuries, getting the teamwork perfect so that they can take down the Flash. It is here that they start to call Eobard Professor Zoom and it is revealed that his powers are a control over time, not speed. I want to know in their centuries together, who does the cleaning, cooking etc. Do they have games night? Squabble over what movies to watch?

Anyway, Magali eventually asks Eobard about his past but he doesn’t reveal anything to her. However we do get to see a flashback. Turns out that it was Eobard who set the conquistadors on Magali, who placed the diamond under the pillow and tipped off miners to Xolani’s village, who told the guy to taunt Block about being Maori and contaminated Roscoe’s meds to set him off. When they eventually find out, and I am certain that they will, they are going to be so pissed at Eobard. Oh and he’s taught them how to take out someone with super speed, yeah, that’s not going to back fire at all….
Part 2 tomorrow.

Image · 25th Dec 201529th Jun 2019 · Leave a comment ·

eobeth: Merry Christmas or whatever winter festival you celebrate 🙂

Image · 25th Dec 201529th Jun 2019 · Leave a comment ·

eobeth: Yes please 🙂 I am so happy that Matt Letscher will be reprising his role as Eobard Thawne / Reverse Flash. I personally always preferred him as Eo cause of the similarity to the comics. Plus we can now have both Tom and Matt … Continue reading

Image · 24th Dec 201529th Jun 2019 · Leave a comment ·

eobeth: From Matt Letscher’s twitter Edit: Link HERE I’m so excited! *makes incoherent fan girl noises*

The Reverse Flash Returns

23rd Dec 2015 · Leave a comment ·

eobeth:

This is the rumoured name of episode 2:11. However, imdb are now listing Matt Letscher, who played original Eobard Thawne as rumoured to be in that episode.
I really hope this is correct!

The death of Iris West part 3

23rd Dec 2015 · Leave a comment ·

The previous reviews can be found here, PART 1 and PART 2.

The Flash issue 283 – Flashback

(Or Professor Zoom’s guide to romance & rejection)

In a quick flashback to the previous comic it is revealed that during his journey back to the 1970s, Barry Allen aka the Flash has worked out who killed his wife Iris. However, just as he gets back to his own time he is caught in an explosion. Zoomy (as in Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom / Reverse Flash) is waiting for Barry to arrive to watch his demise. There is a massive explosion and Zoomy believes that he has won, finally kiling the Flash.However he notices a film projector. Not expecting Barry to own one he investigates and finds the surveillance film that shows Iris’s death. He comments on how desirable Iris is and so steals a picture of her for later use, then runs off to cause more mischief in the city.

Turns out that Zoomy is behind the sudden rise in the drug trade. He is manufacturing heroine to create a nation of junkies that can work as his slaves.Yeah, cause junkies are so incredibly reliable. Apparently his reason for all this is simply because he’s bored as there is no crime in the future. Amusingly his drug making minions think that he’s crazy.

Ok this is where stuff just gets creepy… Zoomy gets his minions to kidnap a woman, dose her with ether and then hands her over to a plastic surgeon so that he can transform her into Iris. Yeah… because that isn’t creepy as fuck! But apparently he’s still in love with Iris, so that’s what he’s going to do.

So with his soon to be love undergoing surgery, Zoomy sits down to voice record his diary. I’m not sure why there is a name change but he calls himself Professor Adrian Zoom, (The writer, Cary Bates was unaware that John Broome had already named him Eobard in issue 153. It gets retconned back to Eobard later). Zoomy had actually removed the records that previously existed of what he had done in this time and for some unknown reason now feels the reason to replace them. He reveals that his plan was to escape the boredom of the future by coming to the 20th century, being a crime lord, kill the Flash and then take his wife. He regrets that the last part didn’t happen.

He explains that many months ago he went to visit Iris when she was alone and confessed to her just how much he loved and admired her. He went on to pour out his heart, including his plan to kill Barry so that he’d have no competition. Zoomy obviously doesn’t quite understand how love is a two way thing. Iris laughs in his face and rejects his offer thus he offers her an ultimatum. Either she dumps Barry or he’ll kill her and she has 24 hours to decide. He wipes her mind of their conversation and then disappears. 24 hours later Iris is at the heroes and villains Whitlock masquerade party and Zoomy is stalking her. He gets a dance with her, tells her who he truly his and then asks her out again. Iris slaps him and that seals her fate.

Barry has been injected with Angel Dust by this point and so is all woozy. Iris goes to get Barry some water and walks into the room where Yorkin aka Beast-man is (I have no idea why he is hiding out there). Anyway, Zoomy is hiding behind the door. He vibrates himself invisible and in what he calls a crime of passion, he vibrates his hand through Iris’s head, killing her. He leaves the body there, allowing Yorkin, who is known to be violent to take the blame.

Zoomy stops his diary recording there, or as he calls it, ‘the Professor Zoom chronicles’. He’s all emotionally drained from talking about Iris and decides to take a nap, claiming that he’ll record about his killing of the Flash tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the factory where the heroine is being made suddenly starts to tremble and falls apart. Back at his hideout Zoomy is woken up to the voice of the Flash stating that he knew that Zoomy had killed Iris cause only another speedster could be invisible on the film. He then goes on to explain that the explosion didn’t kill him but as it tore him apart he gained control of his molecules and moved them a few hours into the future and very slowly reconstructed himself. Yeah, I know, a very silly explanation, but all this old stuff is full of silly explanations.

So obviously they both fight. Zoomy claims he loved Iris more. Barry just gets more pissed at him. Zoomy thinks he’s lost Barry after knocking him into the ocean and so goes to get in his time machine. However, Barry swam after him and gets to the time machine too, and knocks Zoomy out. He sets the machine for the future, hoping that they’ll reinstate the death penalty for Zoomy’s crimes, however they start going back in time instead.

Zoomy reveals that the time machine is booby-trapped and that it will go back and self-destruct if anyone uses it but him. Barry decides to get out of there, despite Zoomy saying he’ll never outrun the time shock wave. Barry leaves anyway as Zoomy begs him not to let him die alone.

The next issue I’m not going to review as I’m only reviewing Zoomy centric comics. But I will tell you that Barry travels through his own timeline, eventually getting back to the present where he decides that he now must get on with his life without Iris. What happens to Zoomy is not revealed, he’s presumed lost in space and time, probably dead.

The murder of Iris West part 2

22nd Dec 2015 · Leave a comment ·

First review in this arc can be found HERE. and the next part can be found HERE

The Flash issue 282 – Mishmash

Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash is quickly sinking towards the centre of the earth thanks to heavy matter/ gravity boots put on him by Zoomy (Eobard Thawne a.k.a. Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash) in the last issue. Barry manages to vibrate enough to stop the heat from killing him as he gets to the earth’s core. The boots aren’t core proof though and so they melt from heat releasing the Flash to be taken back to the surface by lava currents.

He pops up in the ocean only to discover Hal Jordan a.k.a. Green Lantern looking for him. Hal picks Barry up, but Barry denies wanting any further help as he wants to track down Iris’s killer himself. Because Zoomy mentioned that Iris’s killer was a matter for the history books, Barry decides that he will go to the future and look through said books.

Barry uses the cosmic treadmill and arrives in the 25th century, causing a flying car crash! He saves the car and a future policeman recognises him. Luckily he’s a fan and discovering that Flash is trying to apprehend Zoomy, he gives Barry directions to the historic library. He gets there and with the aid of a robot helper looks up Iris. It says her killer is unknown. Barry suddenly realises that Zoomy was just using this as a distraction.

Meanwhile, the chief of central city police, Paulson has just landed in a small South American country for what his family believe is a vacation. However, in reality he is on the run because it was really him who put out the hit on Frank in the last issue. Anyway, the Flash suddenly turns up and drags Paulson out of his car. He’s going to drag him to jail for being corrupt and suggests his family take his money and hit Disneyland instead. He gets Paulson to confess, though he swears that there is another man behind the whole thing, a Mr ZYX, however he never saw him. The Flash drops him off at the police station, having recorded his confession and leaves him to be locked up.

The Flash is just leaving the police station when Hal Jordan aka the Green Lantern turns up. He wants to talk to Barry but the Flash basically tells him to fuck off, even knocking him aside. Hal is confused by this and convinced that the Flash is still being effected by the Angel Dust. He tries to reach out to the Flash but is only met with violence. So Hal tries to capture him but it doesn’t work because lo and behold, it isn’t Barry at all but Zoomy in disguise. His yellow coloured suit still exerting the power to disrupt Hals green power ring. Zoomy gloats and runs off leaving Hal wondering where the real Flash is.

Turns out that the real Flash is in 2479 but about to return home. He travels through time, gets back to his treadmill when suddenly there is an explosion! To be continued.

The death of Iris West part 1

21st Dec 2015 · Leave a comment ·

This is the first part of a 3 part story line revealing the circumstances around the death of Iris West. Part 2 is HERE and part 3 is HERE.

The Flash issue 281 – Deadly Games

First of all a little background. Barry went to a fancy dress party with Iris in which he got injected with a massive amount of the drug Angel Dust, and Iris was murdered.

This issue starts with Frank Curtis, a detective friend of Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, calling him from a phone booth claiming to have undeniable proof that Clive Yorkin, a.k.a. Beast-man, didn’t kill Iris. Anyway, gun shots ring out and the phone goes dead. Frank fights for his life against 2 hitmen whilst Barry tries to work out where he is. The sound of clock chimes gives away the location and the Flash gets there in time to save Frank and get him to hospital.

The next morning Frank’s body has been reported missing, much to the despair of Chief Paulson, Barry and Frank’s boss. Turns out that he was behind the hit! Both Frank and Barry Allen were working on a narcotics case, which the hit seems to be related to. After a conversation with Barry and finding out that Frank is alive but in hiding, Chief Paulson panics, muttering to himself that Mr. Zyx wouldn’t be happy that the hit failed. So he tries to set up another hit. It must be great being police chief.

Frank is hiding out at Barry’s place which isn’t a big surprise. He has found security footage from the Whitlock masquerade party at which Iris was murdered. Obviously Barry is a little reluctant to watch the tape, but it shows what happened. Iris, dressed as Batgirl because it was a fancy dress party, finds Clive Yorkin (a.k.a. Beast-man) prowling the Whitlock house. At first Yorkin seems startled by the Batgirl costume, but then Iris looks behind her, also spotting something. It appears that she is struck, and that whatever is behind her is what Yorkin is watching and terrified by as he doesn’t even watch Iris drop. Yorkin runs off as soon as Barry arrives, dressed as the Flash.

Seeing the tape brings Barry understandably to tears, both at seeing his wife die again and also knowing that her killer is still at large. Barry send’s Frank away whilst he spends the night re-watching the tape. He knows that there is something wrong with it but can’t work out what. In the morning he goes to Iris’s grave and vows to catch her killer. On his way back, the police radio goes off alerting Barry to a shootout. Barry quickly becomes the Flash and dashes to the scene.

Once there he notices something odd, the policemen are being thrown about by an invisible force, well invisible to them but not to the Flash. It is none other than Zoomy (Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom/Reverse Flash). Four years in the comics since their last encounter. Barry threatens, Zoomy claims boredom and then a fight breaks out. Barry stops the gun fight first, saving the cops before taking on Zoomy.

Then one of the most hilarious fights I’ve read so far happens. Barry leads Zoomy out of town, goes to attack him, grabbing his shoulder and Zoomy literally splits in half. I just can’t even express how silly this is so I’ll just leave you with the picture below.

Anyway, Zoomy leads Barry on a round the world chase which leaves Barry super exhausted and he passes out in the desert. When he awakens, Zoomy is standing over him, having given him a gift whilst he was unconscious; heavy matter boots. These are so dense that Barry can’t vibrate out of them and so heavy that they will keep Barry sinking till he hits the earth’s core. Zoomy gloats as Barry sinks, claiming that being from the future he has seen the history records and knows who killed Iris.

The comic stops there, to be continued next time.