WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "Death of the Speed Force," the latest episode of The Flash.
Reverse-Flash is back and he's wearing a familiar face, but he's a bit lacking in the superpowers department.
In "Death of the Speed Force," the latest episode of The Flash, Harrison "Nash" Wells finally admitted he had been seeing ghostly echoes of his doppelgangers. However, Cisco brushed him off in favor of stopping Turtle II. That ended up being a nearly fatal mistake -- and led to the return of Eobard Thawne.
Frustrated, Nash returned to the office building that's home to the Central City Citizen and Ralph Dibny's practice. As soon as he walked into the hallway, though, he was confronted by Reverse-Flash's specter. Before he could make a move, Thawne ran right at him and somehow took possession of his body.
So, when Cisco went to apologize to Nash, he didn't find his frenemy. He entered Nash's office with a lengthy apology, but Thawne didn't respond. He simply closed the door while Cisco's back was turned. The noise caused Cisco to turn and truly look at Nash's face. He immediately realized something was wrong. "You're not Nash," he said.
"Hello, Cisco," Thawne breathed. He ran at Cisco and knocked him backwards into the desk, pinning him there by his neck. He raised his hand with the intention of vibrating it through Cisco's chest, but his speed powers failed to manifest. When he tried again, Cisco pointed out that Thawne didn't have his powers because he was in Nash's body.
A fight ensued. Though he didn't have his super speed, Thawne eventually got the upper hand. Fortunately, Cecile sensed the conflict from down the hall and came running. She managed to stun Thawne with a taser. "He's so full of hatred," she gasped.
They managed to get Thawne into a cell in the Pipeline, then called Barry down to see him. "What do you want?" Barry asked, to which Thawne snapped back, "What do I always want? To kill you. And I'm being patient."
"I can't wait to slit your throat," Thawne whispered. "When I do, when I get out -- believe me, I will get out -- I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to kill your family, then I'm going to kill your friends. I'm going to kill all your friends, starting with your new pal Nash."
Barry shook his head. "Whatever you've done to him, we're going to stop you," Barry said with a smirk.
Thawne scoffed. "Isn't it true in a few short weeks, you're going to be powerless to stop me?" he asked, which wiped the smile off Barry's face. "Right? Because your Speed Force is dead? I can feel it. That's what you get, Barry, for trusting such a puny, pathetic force. That's why I built my own. I'm coming. I'm coming for you."
"Tick tock," he added as Barry walked away.
Thawne didn't realize it, but he actually ended up giving Barry an idea in that moment. While it is true that the Speed Force is dead, Barry was inspired to try and create his own, artificial version of it in the same way Thawne built the Negative Speed Force. Until then, though, he is running on borrowed time -- literally. He will have to budget his remaining Speed Force until Team Flash comes up with a solution to the Speed Force's demise.
Airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/CT on The CW, The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet and Hartley Sawyer.