Professor Zoom
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Professor Zoom is a comic book super-villain in the DC Universe. He is primarily associated with the superhero Flash, and is the second of the Reverse-Flashes. He first appeared in The Flash (1st series) #139 (September 1963).
[edit] Character History
Originally, Eobard Thawne was a criminal from the 25th century, who found a time capsule containing the Silver Age Flash's costume. He was able to use a machine to amplify the suit's speed energy, giving himself the abilities of the Flash as long as he wore it. In the process, the colors of the costume reversed, the suit becoming yellow, the boots and lightning bolt highlights red, and the chest symbol's white circle becoming black. He used his speed powers to commit crimes, but was stopped by the Flash, who had travelled forwards in time to witness the time capsule being opened because it also contained an atomic clock which threatened to explode like an atomic bomb. The Flash, assuming his counterpart might know where the clock was, pursued Professor Zoom. After a destructive battle, the villain was finally defeated when he boasted how he used a chemical coating to protect himself from air friction. Betting that the invisible aura around his body would be superior protection, The Flash seized Zoom and began to push him forward so fast that the intense air friction overwhelmed the coating and the resulting burns forced Zoom to surrender. However, it all proved a waste of time, as Zoom knew nothing about the clock and The Flash was just barely able to find and remove it to an isolated area before it exploded.
Blaming the Flash for his defeat, Thawne began travelling back in time to gain revenge, using his knowledge of "history" to his advantage. He also became obsessed with "replacing" Barry Allen, not only as the Flash, but as the husband of Iris West. After Iris finally made it clear that this would not happen, Zoom (apparently) killed her. It took a long time for Allen to get his life back together after this. Shortly after he had found love again, Zoom reappeared, threatening to kill his new fiance. Terrified that history would repeat itself, Allen instinctively and inadvertently killed his enemy, breaking Thawne's neck in a final struggle.
Being a time traveler, Eobard Thawne has managed to appear since then. The Return of Barry Allen storyline in The Flash (2nd series) #74–#79, revealed that he started out as a fan of the Flash. After gaining super-speed by replicating the electrochemical bath that gave Barry Allen his powers, he travelled backward in time to meet his hero.
Miscalculating, Thawne arrived in the period after Barry Allen's death and horrified to learn he was destined to become Allen's greatest enemy and die at his hero's hands. His mental state already unbalanced by the trip through time, his unstable mind therefore created a scenario in which he was Barry Allen, returned from the dead, as a means of saving himself from his predestined fate.
After uncovering the truth (Thanks to his discovery of Thawne's copy of Allen's as-yet-unpublished autobiography), Wally West (the third Flash) sent Thawne back to his own time, simultaneously getting over his fear of replacing Barry by becoming as fast as his mentor had been. Although Thawne's mind blanked out these events, they apparently lead to his later obsession.
Later still, it was revealed that the Thawnes and Allens had a long-standing feud by the time of the 25th century. Eobard was descended from Malcolm Thawne, a.k.a. Cobalt Blue, Barry Allen's long lost twin brother. The Thawne/Allen feud was apparently ended in the 30th century by Meloni Thawne's marriage to Don Allen, and the birth of their son, Bart Allen (later Impulse and, far later, the second Kid Flash, and ever farther later Flash). However, Meloni's father created a "Reverse-Impulse"; a clone of Bart called Thaddeus Thawne, who took the name Inertia. Inertia made several attempts to replace Impulse before rejecting his role as an instrument of vengeance.
Zoom also returned to battle Wally West, working side-by-side with his own successor, former police profiler Zoom, having been pulled out of time shortly before Barry broke his neck. Using the cosmic treadmill, the two Reverse-Flashes intended to force Wally to watch the aftermath of his first battle with Zoom (When his wife Linda Park (comics) miscarried) over and over again, but the intervention of Barry Allen, from a time shortly before his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths, transferred Professor Zoom back to his present, allowing Wally to not only defeat the new Zoom but also to undo Linda's miscarriage.
[edit] Other media
- In the Flash, Barry, while pretending to be the scientist who "created" The Flash, calls himself "Professor Zoom."
- In the Flash episode Twin Streaks (episode 18), a clone of the Flash is created, who attempts to assume Barry's identity and wears an alternate costume (blue).
- In the season two finale of Justice League Unlimited, Brainiac created evil robot versions of the Justice Lords. The Flash's counterpart wore the reversed colors like the Zooms. The overall costume was a reversal of Wally West's costume, not Barry Allen's.
[edit] External links
- Alan Kistler's Profile On: THE FLASH - A detailed analysis of the history of the Flash by comic book historian Alan Kistler. Covers infromation all the way from Jay Garrick to Barry Allen to today, as well as discussions on the various villains and Rogues who fought the Flash. Various art scans.
- Crimson Lightning, an online index to the comic book adventures of the Modern Age Flash.
