The Flash: Who is Hunter Zolomon?

However…it’s a bit tricky.

There’s more than one character who’s called himself the Reverse-Flash or Professor Zoom. The first, Eobard Thawne, is a time-traveling supervillain who drew his powers from the speed force like Barry Allen did, who had comparable speed and powers but who used them for evil.

“My name is Hunter Zolomon. Despite what the public believes, I am the fastest man alive. I am Zoom. But I am not a Rogue. Far from it. I have taken the name and colors from Eobard Thawne — the time traveler know as Professor Zoom — in order to terrorize my friend. Wally West. The Flash. I suffered through tragedy. I lost my family to it. I understand the depths it will drag one down to. And only by surviving it does one become stronger. I will recreate myself to help my friend and in turn — the world. I will do anything to make the Flash a better hero.”

He wasn’t technically faster than The Flash, though; his powers worked a little differently and involved manipulation of time, allowing him to basically move between seconds, appearing fast but in fact moving at normal speed, just in a way that made him nearly impossible to hit.

His backstory: He was severely injured following an attack by Gorilla Grodd and left paralyzed. He wanted then-Flash Wally West to travel back in time (The Flash can do that, especially using the Cosmic Treadmill) to stop the injury from happening, but Wally refused, not wanting to mess with the timestream. When Zolomon tried to use the treadmill himself to do it, the resulting explosion is what gave him his powers. He determined that in order to be a better hero and understand personal loss, Wally had to experience some of his own, and targeted Barry’s loved ones, even causing a miscarriage in his wife.

Like the Reverse Flash on television, he incorporated some black into the outfit, he worked to make Barry “better” and he had the crazy red eyes.

It wasn’t Zolomon who killed Barry’s mom, though; that was Thawne. So…which one is TV’s Reverse Flash?

…Well, we have no idea. Maybe we’ll learn tonight.