WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for "Pay the Piper," the latest episode of The Flash, which aired Tuesday on The CW.
In the Season 6 premiere of The Flash, Barry Allen zoomed across Central City battling the villainous speedster known as Godspeed. However, when the Scarlet Speedster defeated his enemy, it became clear that he wasn't the real deal. In fact, what Barry had caught was just a programmed double of Godspeed. This new mystery was rapidly introduced, but it took a backseat to much bigger affairs as Bloodwork, the Anti-Monitor and the new Mirror Master all took precedence.
However, the mystery of the Godspeed doubles returned to the forefront in Season 6's penultimate episode. In "Pay the Piper," the Flash thought he was finally dealing with the real Godspeed, only to discover that it was just another fake. But this new double offered more information, revealing that there is actually someone else behind everything, a much more powerful villain who is looking to claim Flash's speed. The identity of this mysterious character is kept under wraps for now, which means that it's likely the answer isn't as simple as the real Godspeed. So, which of the Flash's villains could be behind this plan?
REVERSE-FLASH
Eobard Thawne has long been a thorn in Barry Allen and Team Flash's side. In fact, since Season 1, the character has effectively served as the series' primary antagonist. While he has been defeated multiple times before, the villain has always found a way to return to plague his enemies. After manipulating Barry and Iris' future daughter in Season 5, Thawne returned following the events of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover as one of the multiple versions of Harrison Wells living inside Nash. Eventually, Cisco and the team were able to exorcise Thawne from Nash before he could take over.
However, his threat is far from over. Now, the energy of the Reverse-Flash is out in the world without a proper form. This means that he doesn't currently have a body, but he could eventually return looking like anyone. Perhaps Thawne is using a pawn to create Godspeed doubles to take Flash's speed across time and space and, only when he has all of it will he be able to return to his proper form. It would bring the main villain back to the forefront as the series heads into its next season.
BATMAN: THE RED DEATH
The Red Death is a villainous, alternate version of Bruce Wayne that hails from the Dark Multiverse. The character first appeared in 2017's Dark Days: The Casting #1 as one of the Batman Who Laughs' evil Batmen and had a major role throughout the Dark Nights: Metal event. The Red Death is essentially an evil Batman who has the Flash's speed. On his world, Bruce Wayne grew evil and used his technology and gadgets to steal Barry Allen's speed. With his own speedster suit, he became the Red Death and used his abilities to kill anyone who stood in his way.
While the Red Death might not seem like the most obvious choice to be behind the Godspeed doubles, the character was actually already teased in the Season 5 episode "Memorabilia." A recording from the future name-dropped the Red Death and hinted at his reign of terror. Given that it doesn't appear as if Bruce Wayne will ever appear as Batman in the Arrowverse, the introduction of his Red Death persona would be a clever workaround. Since Batman is someone who is always prepared, he could be sending the Godspeed doubles after Barry to test him and only strike once he is properly ready. What's more, given that "Crisis on Infinite Earths" led to the destruction and rebirth of the Multiverse, this massive cosmic event could have created a gateway to the Dark Multiverse.
PARADOX
Paradox is a very recent addition to The Flash comic books. In fact, the character first appeared in February's The Flash #88, where it was revealed the villain first came into being the very night Barry Allen got his superpowers. After spending time being trapped in a pocket dimension outside of time and space, Paradox became a super-powered monster and attacked the 25th century, where he was defeated by Reverse-Flash and locked up. Eventually, Paradox was freed, and he traveled to the present to prove to be a dangerous new enemy hellbent on stopping the Flash from ever manipulating time again.
Although Paradox is a fresh new addition to the comics, his introduction isn't necessarily impossible given that showrunner Eric Wallace recently said Season 7 will feature more villains from the current run of The Flash comics. On the show, Barry Allen has often manipulated the time-stream, which means Paradox could easily be introduced with the same goal as his comic book counterpart. What's more, in the source material, Paradox has already manipulated Godspeed into working for him, which means the two characters already share a connection. Therefore, Paradox could be the one behind the Godspeed doubles, using them to go after Barry first, just like he did in the comics.
The back half of The Flash's Season 6 has dealt with the threat of the new Mirror Master, which means it's possible the mystery of the Godspeed doubles was never meant to be concluded this year. If anything, The Flash already setup Season 7's big bad right at the start of its sixth season. Whoever is behind this is likely going to be the next big threat to face Team Flash. Given the elaborate scheme at hand and the secrecy surrounding it all, it sure looks like the identity of the villain is going to be a big reveal. Unfortunately, with Season 6 ending with Episode 19 instead of 22, fans might have to wait a bit longer to find out the answer.
Airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, The Flash stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Carlos Valdes, Danielle Panabaker, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet and Hartley Sawyer.