When Batman’s parents were gunned down in front of him, he swore then and there to wage war on crime so no one else would ever have to suffer as he did. But surprisingly, the one character who managed to spare Bruce from this pain is none other than Flash’s worst enemy: the Reverse-Flash.
One of the defining factors in the Flash’s life was the murder of his mother and his father being framed for it. This is what drove Barry Allen to become a forensic investigator: to eventually try and prove his father’s innocence. But after the Flash learns to time travel, he goes back in time and saves his mother from ever being killed. This led to the Flashpoint event, which had overwhelming consequences for the entire DC Universe. Not only did Barry create a doomed timeline, but after it was “fixed,” it created the New 52’s rebooted continuity. Flashpoint was a disaster for almost everyone involved — except for the Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne, who ended up saving the Wayne family in one corner of the DC Multiverse.
Reverse-Flash Could Save Everyone — If He Wanted
Bruce Wayne’s worst day was undone in the pages of Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1 by Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Scott Hanna, Alex Sinclair, Jeremiah Skipper, and Rob Leigh. In the original Flashpoint timeline, the Flash loses his powers, and, desperate to get them back, he has Thomas Wayne’s Batman help him recreate the original experiment that gave him his speed — which includes being struck by lightning. In the Dark Multiverse, this lightning bolt is intercepted by Reverse Flash, resulting in Barry being killed. Seeing a world completely destroyed because of Barry’s hope to see his mother again, Eobard decides to play around in this new timeline. This results in Eobard trying to take over America and killing several heroes. In order to stop him, Batman Thomas Wayne unleashes Superman, but things don’t go quite as planned. After Superman saves Eobard’s life, Eobard experiences hope for the first time, and what he does with that hope may either save Bruce Wayne’s life or doom it entirely.
With new hope for the world, Eobard decides to travel through time, “fixing” everyone’s life. Eobard is perfectly aware that Barry ended up nearly destroying the world because he hoped to see his mother. Eobard wants to see what the cost of others’ hopes will be, and so, in order to “thank” Thomas for letting him experience hope, Eobard goes back in time and kills the mugger before he can kill any member of the Wayne family. Eobard’s gift is a Gotham City without any version of Batman, as well as without Eobard’s interference. Whether this ends up being a good thing is up to the reader’s interpretation, but Gotham City without Batman historically doesn’t end up being a good place.
Eobard Thawne Saves The Wayne Family
One of the worst moments in Bruce Wayne’s life was having to see his family gunned down in front of him, and there’s no doubt that Bruce would give anything to undo this moment. That’s why it’s so surprising that, despite all the super-powered friends that Bruce personally knows, the only person who could save the Wayne family wasn’t a friend of Batman — it was Flash’s iconic villain Reverse-Flash.
Check out Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1, available now from DC Comics!
