Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Flash season 8, episode 18.
A new theory suggests that the version of Eobard Thawne introduced during The Flash season 8 came from a time in the past — from before he became the Reverse-Flash. The history of Eobard Thawne is difficult to map, given his extensive travels through time, space, alternate realities, and alternate timelines. This means there are several explanations for how an amnesiac and seemingly reformed Eobard Thawne might have come to exist in Central City in 2022, despite his having apparently been killed several times and erased from existence.
In the original The Flash comics, Thawne was a Flash fanboy from the future who traveled back in time to meet his idol after replicating the circumstances that gave him superspeed. After emerging in the Flash Museum and iring the exhibits, Thawne discovered, to his horror, that he was destined to become the worst enemy of the hero he'd worshipped all his life. This knowledge drove Thawne mad, driving him to dedicate himself to replacing his former hero, or destroying him so that he could get his life back.
The exact reasons why the Arrowverse version of Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) hates Barry Allen have never been revealed, although he has tried to kill him and replace him several times. Their most recent battle came during the Armageddon event that opens The Flash season 8, where Thawne attempted to trade places with Barry Allen in an alternate future timeline he dubbed the Reverse-Flashpoint. This version of Thawne, who had taken on the appearance of scientist Harrison Wells, was depowered and locked away in a secure ARGUS facility on Lian Yu. This made it all the more surprising when the first Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher) appeared in Central City with his original face.
The New Eobard Thawne Explained
The new Eobard Thawne first appeared in The Flash season 8, episode 18, "The Man in the Yellow Tie," where he was introduced to Barry Allen as the Chief of Engineering at Fast Track Labs. Thawne had been employed there for just over a year, having been hired on after it took him seconds to solve a complex equation that had baffled Dr. Meena Dhawan (Kausar Mohammed) for months. He proved to be a model employee and came to help Dr. Dhawan with her secret project, helping her to create an artificial Speed Force.
Thawne and Dhawan became romantically involved over the year that followed, with Thawne revealing to his new partner that he had no memory of his past beyond occasional flashes and a firm belief that he was meant to be a speedster. The two worked on constructing the futuristic machine Thawne had envisioned, which the imprisoned Reverse-Flash identified as the oscillation chamber he created as part of his Negative Speed Force when questioned by Barry Allen regarding the new Thawne's identity. They had planned to use Thawne as the test subject for their speed machine, but Fate had other plans in store for the couple.
Dhawan suffered from a heart condition that caused her to go into cardiac arrest on the night Thawne was meant to be empowered. Faced with the choice between the speed he craved and the woman he loved, Thawne chose to put Dr. Meena Dhawan in the oscillation chamber, which could only be used to empower a single person. This saved her life and gave her super speed, but it also caused her to become increasingly erratic due to the corrupting influence of the Negative Speed Force they had accidentally tapped. With Barry Allen's help, the new Eboard Thawne was able to save the soul of the woman he loved. Also, his story convinced The Flash that whatever crimes the other versions of Eobard Thawne had committed, this Thawne variant had found redemption through the power of love.
Is The New Thawne A Time Remnant Or A Doppelganger?
While the events of The Flash season 8, episode 18, "The Man in the Yellow Tie" convinced Barry Allen that this new Thawne was a good man, they did nothing to explain where he had come from. Barry ran through several possibilities over the course of the episode, first theorizing this Thawne was from Legends of Tomorrow season 2, before seemingly being destroyed by the Black Flash. This raised the possibility of the new Thawne being one of those remnants or a doppelganger of Eobard Thawne from another Earth.
Another interesting possibility was raised in the final moments of "The Man in the Yellow Tie," when STAR Labs got a call from Dr. Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) after Chester ed him for suggestions on how a new Eobard Thawne could exist in 2022. Ray revealed that he had been talking with Dr. Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) who related the events of Legends of Tomorrow season 7 to him and how the Legends had apparently witnessed the death of the original Eobard Thawne. Ray also explained how Thawne had been recruited by the Time Wraiths and died a hero's death, helping them save the timeline. It was Ray's hopeful belief that the Time Wraiths had somehow resurrected Thawne as a reward for his heroism and placed him somewhere he might do some good and find the love he'd never enjoyed in his first life.
Theory: The New Thawne Is From The Past
While Ray's theory is a romantic idea, it doesn't fit what little information is known about the Time Wraiths. While powerful, the Time Wraiths' abilities are limited to the temporal sphere and they only seem to be able to touch speedsters due to their connection to the Speed Force. If the Time Wraiths possessed complete power over life and death, they wouldn't need to bother employing rogue speedsters and time travelers like Booster Gold as guardians of the timeline. They could simply ensure that any troublesome time travelers were never born, to begin with.
The simplest explanation for why the new Thawne doesn't any of his time as the Reverse-Flash is that he has not become the Reverse-Flash yet, having come from some point in the distant past. This, coupled with the fact that we still don't know how he came to hate Barry Allen in the Arrowverse, raises the troubling possibility that we may come to see how their rivalry began shortly. While it would be nice to believe that true love could conquer all in the world of The Flash, the death of Dr. Meena Dhawan at Barry Allen's hand could easily push the new Thawne onto the road for revenge and lead him to become the Reverse-Flash for the first time.
The Flash releases new episodes on Wednesdays on The CW.