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The Flash: Who is the Reverse-Flash?

The midseason finale airs tonight and it'll finally bring Flash's villain into the spotlight. But who's behind the mask? Let's talk about it!

*Yup, this has plenty of spoilers. Leave now if you haven't watched all of the episodes!*

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We're just hours away from the midseason finale of CW's The Flash and it's looking like it'll be a very, very exciting episode. We're all anxious to see what'll happen, but there's one enormous question on our minds: Who's the bad guy? As you can tell by the episode's title, "The Man in the Yellow Suit" will bring the evil speedster front and center, but who is it? If you read the comics, you know Reverse-Flash has been Eobard Thawne (name's a bit familiar, yeah?) and Hunter Zolomon. We know Harrison Wells wants to push Barry Allen to become the ultimate hero and we know he's from the future (or he just has crazy good tech... maybe a New God?), but what part does he play in this? Let's speculate!

First and foremost, Wells has to be a critical role in this story. To not have him be a key part of this would be pretty baffling. There's been a ton of foreshadowing with the guy and we know he'll do dark things to make sure Barry survives and becomes better and better. We know he has a secret room that can give him a look at what's going on in the future. The most interesting bit from this is a headline which reveals Flash goes missing after a "crisis" in 2024. Did Wells go back in time to assure Barry Allen can save the planet in 2024? Or is he pushing him so he can save the world without vanishing? Even if he has good intentions, we know he isn't the most admirable guy around. Remember Joe West questioned Wells about the murder of Barry's mom and then, shortly after that, Joe was threatened by the evil speedster? The timing of that can't just be coincidental, people.

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We also saw him kill Simon Stagg, sent Plastique on what was clearly a suicide mission, and released Girder to fight Blackout. Would Girder survive that fight? Wells likely didn't care whether the durable dude lived or died; he just needed the villain to buy them some time. If Girder happened to win, that would just be an added bonus and they'd have to find out what to do next with the metahuman. Then there was a really big twist: Wells taking a sample of Blackout's blood so he can find out how to drain Flash. Is it just to weaken the hero or is it to give himself -- or someone else -- super speed? And why is he fooling everyone into thinking he's in a wheelchair? Likely so they don't suspect him of anything. If there's a yellow blur zipping around and causing trouble, your immediate suspect isn't the guy who allegedly can't use his legs anymore.

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Even if he isn't communicating with Reverse-Flash, we all know he's going to play a pivotal part in this story. That said, all of these factors lead to him being strongly connected to the yellow blur. Is it him, though? Having him and him alone behind this arc would just be way too obvious. There's something more going here, something that needs to leave viewers stunned and drop their jaws. Making the aha moment just, "Yup, it's Wells!" would be a huge letdown. Thankfully, it's probably not going to be that simple.

It's easy to think Wells is the one responsible for everyone. It looks like he's from the future, he wants to make Barry become a better hero, and he's shown he'll kill anyone that gets in the way of his mission. What about Eddie Thawne, though? The last name immediately caught the attention of comic fans and everyone began to speculate. Well, what if Wells is working with Thawne? Let's say Wells did come back from the future with the objective of pushing Barry. After giving the speedster his powers, he'd need to create an antagonist. Who better than the guy who now believes Flash is a legitimate bad guy? Oh, and this person just happens to be dating the woman Barry loves, too. That's just the icing on this evil cake. If Wells came back -- whether he has super speed doesn't matter for this part -- and took a sample of Barry's blood, could he eventually test it on Thawne? Thawne's clearly outclassed, so how does he hope to bring Flash in? Gaining his speed would certainly be one way, right? But then Wells could open Thawne's eyes, make him realize the world quite literally needs Flash.

So, could this Reverse-Flash be future Thawne sent back to push Barry and make sure he becomes better and better so he can eventually save the world? In the episode's teaser, Reverse-Flash says it's Flash's destiny to always lose to him. Could that also be a jab about who Iris chose to be with? Future Thawne being Reverse-Flash could make sense because all of the evil he's doing is for the "greater good" -- it's assuring Flash can save the planet when he needs to. Having Thawne, Barry's friend, behind the mask would be a huge emotional blow for the hero.

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What if there isn't just one Reverse-Flash? In Geoff Johns' story Rogue War, Thawne and Zolomon joined forces. Wells turning Thawne into Reverse-Flash and having him come back from the future is pretty easy to swallow, but what if Wells also has those powers? "If so, why hasn't he used them? Like when he killed Stagg?" To build suspense for the viewer, of course! It's kind of like why the murderer over in Arrow used a voice modifier -- that was obviously just there to leave us wondering and didn't seem to serve any practical purpose within their world. Having both of these characters involved would be quite a twist, after all.

If you watched the latest teaser for tonight's episode, you'll see there's a scene where the man in the yellow suit is confronted by Wells, detective West, Thawne, and other officers. Now, having Thawne, Wells, and the speedster all in the same room implies it can't be Wells or Thawne, but what if there's two antagonists in a yellow costume, just like in Rogue War? What if the man in the costume is future Thawne and current Wells is the other one? During the scene, the man with super speed grabs Wells and races away. Now, to many viewers, that may leave them thinking Wells is in danger, but I can't help but think that means they're working together and he wants to remove Wells from the scene and create even more doubt as he makes it looks like Wells is in danger. Or, it could be as simple as Wells does one day turn Thawne into the Reverse Flash and the metahuman removes Wells from the scene so he can give him a good dose of exposition and let him know what's going on. There's also the possibility that Thawne is just a red herring, something to throw off fans of the comic and Wells is doing this all on his own. After taking the blood sample, what if he eventually gains Flash's powers, and then that version comes back to this time to continue pushing Flash? That wouldn't be too far-fetched at all. Many of us would prefer something more -- and it's likely the team behind the show knows this -- but it doesn't seem impossible, either.

Current Wells AND Thawne looking at the villain? Looks like it can't be either of them, unless there's TWO villains...
Current Wells AND Thawne looking at the villain? Looks like it can't be either of them, unless there's TWO villains...

Sure, Gorilla Grodd being involved would be pretty cool, but that would be so random for non-comic book fans (only two nods to the character so far) and it would seem like a very abrupt twist to them. It just wouldn't pack the same amount of weight for many people out there. Comic fans? It would rock, but we all know they need to appeal to people who don't read the comics, too. They definitely have plans for the character down the road, but to be behind the Reverse-Flash story? It's possible, but doesn't feel probable. I'd be more than happy to eat my words on that one. Also, explaining the speed force in the midseason finale seems like it may be a little too out-there for non-comic fans and piling on too much exposition at the last second. Adding a whole new and critical factor to this world could lessen the emotional impact by these twists because it's basically an infodump for casual viewers. It's looking like they'll simplify that so it's easier to digest for a majority of viewers, but that doesn't mean it can't be done well. I mean, the show has been great so far, hasn't it? Because of that, Wells pushing and pushing Flash so he can eventually give people in the future access to the speed force probably isn't what's going on. The objective is to make a viewer's mind explode, not to seriously confuse it. Just like Grodd, this could happen, but given the handling of the show, it doesn't seem probable.

Whooo are you? Who who, who who?
Whooo are you? Who who, who who?

There's countless other theories that come to mind (evil Allen! New Gods!) and I'm sure there's more than a few that haven't been mentioned or even thought of while writing this article, but all signs seem to point back to Wells and/or Thawne being essential parts in Reverse-Flash's story. It takes plenty of elements from the source material (man from the future who wants to push Barry, friend from the police department) and has the potential to be an awesome storyline. Will the man in yellow force Barry to take a life in order to save one? Guess we just have to wait and see what really happens later tonight!

"The Man in the Yellow Suit" airs tonight on The CW at 8/7c.