The Flash: Is Nash Wells Really Reverse Flash?
The events of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' left a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the [...]
The events of "Crisis on Infinite Earths" left a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to the Arrowverse and perhaps the largest of those questions falls into one big category: what happened to various pre-"Crisis" characters? This question is of particular interest on The Flash, the show that saw the most involvement of doppelgangers from other, now destroyed Earths especially doppelgangers of Harrison Wells. As was established in the show's midseason premiere, "Marathon", of all the various versions of Wells that could have survived it's Nash who actually did so. Except, at the end of last week's "Love is a Battlefield" we got the glimpse of another Wells, one that appeared to be Harry from Earth-2. But what if the real mystery here isn't who Nash glimpsed but who Nash is? What if the man Team Flash knows as Nash is really Eobard Thawne, Reverse Flash?
As fans of The Flash know, of all of the villains that Central City's heroes have faced over the years there's none quite as villainous as the first of them: Reverse Flash. The villain has been a thorn in the side of Barry Allen for a long time, starting in Season 1 when it was revealed that he had taken on the appearance and the life of the real Earth-1 Harrison Wells and used his position to orchestrate the very event that gave Barry his powers among other horrors. Despite being literally erased from existence at one point, Reverse Flash just keeps coming back, most recently at the end of Season 5 after manipulating Nora West-Allen into creating the situation that allowed him to break out of prison in the future.
Since then, there's been no real update on what's happened with Reverse Flash and his post-"Crisis" status has never been confirmed. That means it's possible that Nash Wells could really be another disguise for Reverse Flash. It's something that might explain why we saw another version of Harrison Wells in that moment as well, since technically this wouldn't be a situation of doppelgangers. Reverse Flash is only wearing the appearance of Harrison Wells. He isn't actually one. Reverse Flash also did once tell Barry that he would never know what face he might appear as in the future so this could be a clever case of hiding in plain sight. If it is Reverse Flash, it would make for an interesting new face off between Barry and his old enemy in this brave new world. It could also be something that ties into the idea of the real consequences of "Crisis" something that showrunner Eric Wallace previously teased.
"One would think the true fallout of 'Crisis' is the death of Oliver Queen and not having your mentor — you know, Obi-Wan is gone, Luke must rise up, become a hero — and that happens, don't get me wrong, but that's not the real fallout of 'Crisis,'" says Wallace. "The real fallout of 'Crisis' has yet to be seen. That is the heart of our story, and that is the heart of what is going to lead Barry on a very emotional journey that he is not prepared for. That's one of the things having Keiynan back as Kid Flash does for us: [It] directly addresses — because Keiynan will be in one of our episodes in 'Graphic Novel #2' — [and] is to help Barry deal with the real fallout of 'Crisis.'"
Who do you think Nash really is? Let us know in the comments below.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.