Greg LaRocque

Eobard Thawne was born in the 25th century and grew up obsessed with The Flash in an age when hero worship was looked down upon. He emulated the accident that gave Barry Allen powers and came back in time to meet him, only to learn that he's destined to become The Flash’s greatest enemy, The Reverse Flash. This knowledge drove Thawne insane, and he believed he was Barry Allen for a time, fooling Barry’s family into believing he was back from the dead following Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Following his defeat at the hands of Wally West, Thawne returned to his home time period with no memory of the incident and became Professor Zoom, archenemy of Barry Allen. He went on to kill Iris West, and when he threatened to kill Barry’s new love Fiona Webb, Barry was forced to take Thawne’s life.

Professor Zoom returned to life following Blackest Night, went back in time to bring Barry Allen back to life in Final Crisis, and further ruined Barry’s life by framing his father for his mother’s death when Barry was just a child. At this point, Thawne was referred to more as the Reverse Flash, which had always been more of a nickname, but it helped differentiate him from the other Zoom (see below).

Eobard Thawne was partly responsible for the Flashpoint crisis that created The New 52, although he died at the hands of that reality’s Batman. The New 52 incarnation of Professor Zoom is a completely different character. Still from the future, he gained super speed but was stopped by ordinary citizens who looked up to The Flash. He went on to grant speed based powers to a legion of followers and began tormenting Barry Allen in the present. He was eventually defeated and currently resides in Iron Heights prison.