The character known as Reverse Flash is the arch-enemy of the Flash and has proven to be one of the most dangerous thorns in the Scarlet Speedster's side. Completely irredeemable, this refugee of the 25th century was obsessed with the Flash and went through painful modifications to access the Speed Force so he could travel back in time and encounter the object of his mania.
The Reverse Flash would become one of the Flash's worst enemies, doing whatever it took to torment and destroy his foe. There are few villains who have went to the lengths he has to destroy their foes, earning him a spot in the pantheon of DC's greatest villains.
10 Why He's The Greatest: The Sheer Sadism Of The Man
The Reverse Flash isn't like a lot of villains. He doesn't want to take over the world or get rich. He only has one interest in life- destroying Barry Allen and poisoning his legacy. There's nothing Reverse Flash won't do to achieve this goal and it's driven him to do some pretty terrible things to the Scarlet Speedster over the years.
What makes Reverse Flash so dangerous is his complete and utter lack of morals and sadism. This is a man who went back in time to kill Barry Allen's mother just to make his life worse. He'll do anything to hurt his foe.
9 Why He Isn't The Greatest: He Doesn't Do Everything He Can With His Powers
Reverse Flash's power are a result of the Negative Speed Force, the dark opposite of the Speed Force, which is one of the most powerful forces in all of comics. This parasitic energy gives him many of the same powers as the Flash has, with some extras that make him even more dangerous, like the ability to kill speedsters with a touch or travel through time unaided.
Reverse Flash could put these powers to amazing use if he really put his mind to it but instead he uses them just for tormenting the Flash. Reverse Flash could do all kinds of things with powers to make himself a bigger threat but he never does.
8 Why He's The Greatest: No Remorse
The Reverse Flash has been responsible for some very bad things over the years, with his actions having serious repercussions for the Flash over the years. However, no matter what he does, he never lets it affect him unless the effect is to fill with sadistic glee. Reverse Flash has no remorse at all and that's one of the things that make him so dangerous.
Reverse Flash has traveled throughout time, killing people, tweaking the timeline into something that is more fitting to his own desires. He's even been responsible for the death of his own younger brother, all in an effort to get the result he wanted.
7 Why He Isn't The Greatest: Not Down With Doom
The greatest assemblage of villains in the DC Universe is the Legion of Doom. The villainous team's roster is a who's who of dastardly villains, with the arch-enemies of the Justice League all included in the team's membership. The only one missing is Reverse Flash.
Reverse Flash is way too interested in tormenting Barry Allen than he is in anything else and sees no reason to be a member of the Legion of Doom. While being a member of the team isn't a requisite for being DC's greatest villain, it shows that a villain is willing to take on any hero out there and that's just not something Reverse Flash cares about.
6 Why He's The Greatest: Sharp Dressed Man
Reverse Flash has been a part of many of the Flash's greatest stories and one thing is certain- he's always looked good while doing it. Reverse Flash has one of the best costumes, hero or villain, in all of comics. Carmine Infantino gave readers a design coup when he made the costume for Reverse Flash. The idea of it was so simple- literally just reversing the Flash costume's color scheme- but brilliant at the same time.
A character's look is a huge part of what makes them popular and the Reverse Flash looks great. His costume's color scheme just screams villainous, the yellow giving the whole look a sickly, evil feel to it that has made his costume iconic.
5 Why He Isn't The Greatest: His Mania Makes Him Kind Of Dumb
Reverse Flash's obsession with the Flash is his defining feature but it's also one of his greatest weaknesses. Reverse Flash wants to hurt Barry Allen so badly that he doesn't always think things all the way through- his plans begin and end with doing something terrible to Allen. While this makes him quite dangerous, it also makes him easy to stop.
Barry Allen is one of the better detectives in comics and can figure out his enemy's schemes quickly. The simplicity of Reverse Flash's schemes means that they may be efficient but they're also easy for the Flash to disrupt and stop.
4 Why He's The Greatest: He Can Take Down Just About Any Hero
Being a speedster in the DC Universe is a huge deal. Speedsters are among the most powerful heroes and villains around, with their powers giving them a wide variety of combat options. When a speedster puts their mind to it, there are few beings that can actually defeat them; this doubly goes for Reverse Flash, as his lack of morals means he'll use his powers in devastating ways.
Reverse Flash can do everything that the Flash can in a fight and more because of the different powers the Negative Speed Force gives him. That's just one of the things that makes Reverse Flash so scary- with all of that power, he has nothing holding him back from using it.
3 Why He Isn't The Greatest: He's Never Really Accomplished Anything Terribly Impressive
One of the biggest strikes against Reverse Flash is that the things he's done have been kind of small potatoes when it comes right down to it. Sure, he killed Barry Allen's mom but that action affected no one but Barry; it might have caused Barry to screw things up in Flashpoint but that was Barry's fault for doing it.
Reverse Flash could have done all kinds of terrible things with his powers but he hasn't. He's made sure his personal timeline is what he wants it to be and he's killed Barry Allen's mom and framed his dad. For someone who can travel through time, that's not much.
2 Why He's The Greatest: The Caliber Of Threat He Represents
Reverse Flash is one of the most deadly villains in the DC Universe because of what he can do with his powers and his sadistic attitudes. As a villainous speedster, just about any hero Reverse Flash faces is in a whole lot of danger in a fight and his ability to travel through time means he can not only mess with any aspect of the hero's life but that even death doesn't stop him- there's always another Reverse Flash in the timestream ready to strike.
There are few villains who can pose the kind of threat that Reverse Flash can. He's the perfect mixture of power and craziness and he can pose a massive threat to any hero he faces.
1 Why He Isn't The Greatest: Too Flash Centric
Reverse Flash hates the Flash and that's pretty much all there is to him. While the Flash is one of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe and Reverse Flash has been a huge part of his mythos, the fact that Reverse Flash pretty much doesn't care about any other hero unless they are in his way fighting the Flash is a big strike against him being the greatest villain in the DC Universe.
The biggest villains are ones that fight multiple heroes and while Reverse Flash is definitely the Flash's greatest villain, his focus on the Flash means that he can't really be considered the greatest villain in the DC Universe.