Flash Facts #1 | Introduction

Welcome to the very first installment of 'Flash Facts' created by yours truly, TheTrueBarryAllen. This is going to be a weekly blog series in which I discuss a wide variety of comic-based topics; focusing mainly on clearing up common misconceptions or answering questions that the community may have. The end-goal hope is to generate discussion among the community while trying to also be as informative as possible.

I'll also be looking for topic suggestions for next week's installment, so if you have a specific topic you'd like me to tackle just throw it in the comments or shoot me a PM and I'd be glad to give it a shot. It's also important to note that subjects ARE NOT LIMITED to Flash-based subjects, I just called it Flash Facts because I'm dumb and thought it was clever.

NOTE: I am not an official source for any canon material; I am just a fan who is sharing his views on a variety of subjects. Do not quote me as an official source but feel free to use this knowledge to build off of your own knowledge & research.

Reverse Flash? Zoom? Professor Zoom?

Throughout the years the Flash Family has obtained quite a wide variety of villains. They've got Gorilla Grodd, a telepathic gorilla with a brutal attitude. Abra Kadabra, a stage magician from the 64th Century who uses his future technology to emulate magic in the age of today. The Rogues; a team of blue collar villains who can manipulate the weather, mirrors and a wide variety of other strange abilities.

Then we've got the Reverse Flashes. I say Flashes because this name has been passed down JUST as many times as the Flash mantle. This has caused quite a few problems in the Battle Forums as I often see users mix up feats for various Reverse Flashes or mislabel the character. So I've decided to create this handy dandy guide to identifying which Reverse Flash you're dealing with.

Members of the Reverse Flash Family

The following characters are the members of the Reverse Flash Family:

• Professor Zoom
• Zoom
• Kid Zoom // Inertia
• The Rival
• Reverse Flash

Now it doesn't help that half the time they're just referred to as 'Reverse Flash' but adding Zoom to the name of 3/5ths of the group doesn't make it any easier for us.

So who is who and how can we tell the difference?

Professor Zoom | Eobard Thawne

Biography // Character History

Eobard Thawne is our first member of the Reverse Flash Family. He comes from the 25th Century and was a huge fan of Barry Allen, the 2nd Flash; however, this changed after Thawne learned that Barry Allen would eventually kill him. Thawne's origin has been altered three or four times to my knowledge but the basic premise is that he was Barry's biggest fan but then became a sociopath and made Barry's life absolutely terrible.

Identifying Characteristics & Markers

The following methods can be used to identify Professor Zoom among the other members of the RF family:

• Yellow & Red Costume that is the exact opposite of Barry Allen's.
• The eyes are uncovered and visible; this one is important.
• His belt is a series of horizontal zigzags; this one is important.
• He talks normally and generally makes references to his name being Professor Zoom.

The Belt

As I mentioned his belt is an important identifying marker; below is an image of Zoom (Hunter) and Professor Zoom (Eobard):

The belt on the LEFT is Zoom's (Hunter) while the belt on the RIGHT is Professor Zoom's (Eobard). This is a good way to tell them apart when they're both together on the same page or when viewing a feat.

The Eyes

The eyes are another method of identifying Zoom and Professor Zoom.

The character on the LEFT with the eye covers is Zoom (Hunter) while the character on the RIGHT with the visible eye's is Professor Zoom (Eobard).

Zoom | Hunter Zolomon

Biography // Character History

Hunter Zolomon is Zoom; our second member of the RF Family. He was originally a friend of Wally West who worked on the FBI to profile the members of the Rogues. He helped Wally West up until his back was broken when Gorilla Grodd broke out of Iron Heights Prison. Hunter wanted Wally to go back in time and prevent that event from happening but Wally didn't do it as he feared he would change the time stream. This created friction between the two and an accident involving the Cosmic Treadmill displaced Hunter from the time-stream. This warped his mind, gave him powers and turned him into Zoom.

Identifying Characteristics & Markers

The following methods can be used to identify Zoom among the other members of the RF family:

• Yellow & Red Costume that is the exact opposite of Wally West's.
• Eyes are covered and only red dots can be seen.
• Belt is a combination of two v-shaped lightning bolts.
• His speech is rushed and words often blend together.

The Speech

We've already discussed the belt & eyes in the Professor Zoom section; so onto Zoom's specific speech pattern:

We get two examples of Zoom's speech in this panel. We see that the words in his first line are all blended together without any spaces, a common sight with Zoom dialogue. We also see that he drags on the name 'Linda' in his last line, note the excessive amount of A's in the name.

Zoom (Hunter) is the only adult member of the RF family that talks like this.

Kid Zoom | Inertia | Thaddeus Thawne

Biography // Character History

Thaddeus Thawne is a clone of Bart Allen from the future. He is the ONLY teenager in the RF family. He worked alongside the Rogues and manipulated them into killing adult Bart Allen when he was the Flash. Thaddeus got his speed stolen by Wally West after this event and was placed in the Flash Museum as a living statue. Thaddeus was then rescued by Zoom (Hunter) and was given some of his powers to become Kid Zoom during Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge.

Identifying Characteristics & Markers

The following methods can be used to identify Kid Zoom // Inertia among the other members of the RF family:

• He is the ONLY teenage member of the group and is much shorter than the rest of them.
• His hair is exposed in both his Inertia and Kid Zoom costumes.
• As Inertia he wears a black and green costume.
• As Kid Zoom he wears a reddish/yellow costume.

Kid Zoom should never get confused with any of the other members of the RF family due to his size and stature; however, below is a picture of him as Kid Zoom:

The Rival | Edward Clariss

Biography // Character History

Edward Clariss was a professor as the university Jay Garrick (Golden Age Flash) attended. He emulated a formula to obtain his powers; however, it was only temporary so he was defeated rather easily. He eventually came back and fought Jay again but reached light speed and vanished. Rival appeared once more after Johnny Sorrow retrieved him from the Speed Force; however, he was pure energy this time around and ended up possessing Max Mercury. Rival has hardly any appearances and is not a well-established character.

Identifying Characteristics & Markers

The following methods can be used to identify The Rival among the other members of the RF family:

• He is the ONLY member to resemble Jay Garrick
• He wears a WWI era helmet w/wings on the sides.

Rival should never be confused with any of the other members because he is the only one who looks like Jay Garrick.

Reverse Flash | Daniel West

Biography // Character History

Daniel West is the brother of Iris West and was often in trouble with the law due to his antics. He was absorbed by the Speed Force when Barry Allen lost control of his powers and while inside the Speed Force obtained powers of his own. Daniel had been losing touch with his sister, Iris, and blamed this on his relationship with his father. So being completely irrational as most villains are he traveled back in time in an attempt to kill his father; however, his plan was thwarted by Barry Allen.

It is important to note that Daniel West is the only member of the RF Family to have no other name besides Reverse Flash. This can cause confusion from time to time if no pictures or names are provided besides 'Reverse Flash'. Daniel West is also a New 52 character.

Identifying Characteristics & Markers

The following methods can be used to identify Reverse Flash among the other members of the RF family:

• His costume is drastically different; being Red & Black.
• His costume is more armored than the rest.
• His energy is red and black.
• He is in the New 52.

tl;dr Version

If this is a lot to read and you're still confused; let me put it in simple terms:

• Professor Zoom - His name is Eobard Thawne and you can see his eyes under his cowl. His belt is also horizontal on his costume.
• Zoom - His name is Hunter Zolomon and you can't see his eyes. His belt is v-shaped and his speech pattern causes him to blend words together or slur them slightly.
• Kid Zoom // Inertia - His name is Thaddeus Thawne and he's the only member who is a teenager. His costume as Inertia was green/black and red/yellow as Kid Zoom.
• The Rival - His name is Edward Clariss and he's the only member who resembles Jay Garrick. He is also the only member who is a pure-energy form.
• Reverse Flash - His name is Daniel West. His costume is Red/Black and is more armored than the rest. He only appears in the New 52.

Current Status of Each Reverse Flash

• Professor Zoom - Killed by Thomas Wayne in Flashpoint; however, he has recently popped up again in New 52 Flash comics but has yet to do anything.
• Zoom - Has not appeared in the New 52.
• Kid Zoom // Inertia - Was killed by the Rogues during Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge. Has not appeared in the New 52.
• The Rival - Has not appeared in the New 52.
• Reverse Flash - Last seen as a member of the Suicide Squad in the New 52.

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this installment of Flash Facts! Leave suggestions for next week's installment and ask any questions that may have been left unanswered!