Warning: SPOILERS for The Flash episode “A New World, Part One” are ahead!
Many of the most popular superheroes have an arch-nemesis, i.e. a villain who ranks above the other members of their rogues gallery. Batman has The Joker, Superman has Lex Luthor, and for The Flash, specifically Barry Allen, that tile belongs to Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash/Professor Zoom. That’s especially been the case in The CW’s The Flash, with Thawne, whether he’s played by Tom Cavanagh or Matt Letscher, having been an antagonist presence in the life of Grant Gustin’s Barry for the entirety of this TV series’ run. But we’ve now hit the beginning of the end of The Flash’s ninth and final season, and following last week’s episode bringing back Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen and potentially securing the survival of the Arrowverse, this week’s episode brought Thawne’s storyline full circle.
