WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash #761, by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands, on sale now.
The Reverse-Flash has been a plague on Barry Allen's life even before he was a superhero. In fact, Eobard Thawne most's heinous act is well-known: When Barry was just a child, the villain killed his mother, a crime for which his father Henry Allen was framed and arrested.
Thawne may have started out as the Flash's most devoted fan, but his obsession quickly transformed him into his most dangerous villain. For years, the Reverse-Flash has been a constant plague on the Scarlet Speedster's life -- but his machinations have only been partially revealed, until now.
In The Flash #761, the Flash and Reverse-Flash wage what is destined to become their final battle. When they do, the villain reveals the truth about his secret superpower and how it affected not just Barry's life, but that of the entire Flash Family.
In the past year, it's been revealed Reverse-Flash was responsible for creating some of the worst Flash villains: Hunter Zolomon, whom he insured would become Professor Zoom, as well as August Heart, who became Godspeed following his brother's death. In The Flash #761, as Barry and Eobard are locked in a super-speed battle, the villain mentions the creation of these two villains as an example of how he has continued to torment Barry's life.
That's only the start. Thawne then reveals his most powerful and devious superpower: Thanks to the Negative Speed Force, he is able to plant ideas in people's heads by talking at super-speed. Essentially, he can Inception their minds, forcing them to take courses of action they never would by themselves.
Through a sequence of flashbacks, it's revealed how many times he has used this power to influence members of the Flash Family. He planted doubt in Jay Garrick by telling him he would be forgotten; he made sure Batman and Barry would keep their investigation into the Watchmen button a secret; he convinced Bart Allen to run away; he broke the bond between Barry, Wally and Wallace.
What's more, he even influenced Wallace's time in the Teen Titans and ensured Barry and Wally would fight each other in 2018's "Flash War." Perhaps most shockingly, he was the one who pushed Wally West to cover up his crime in 2018's event series, Heroes in Crisis.
Essentially, The Flash #761 just changed everything readers thought they knew about the events surrounding the Flash Family these past several years. What's more, it even retcons the events of Heroes in Crisis, by having part of the event be influenced by the Reverse-Flash.
This superpower makes Thawne even more of a threat and positions him as the Flash Family's worst enemy. Everything bad that's happened lately -- the mistrust and the animosity, the secrecy and the out-of-character moments -- were all because of Thawne.
For years, there was some darkness at the heart of the Flash Family; it's what pushed them apart and drove them away. However, longtime fans didn't believe characters who knew and trusted each other so much would do that to one another -- and it turns out they were right. They wouldn't. It was just their worst enemy's ultimate goal.