The Flash Tom Cavanaugh IS Harrison Wells/Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash

[Rowsdower!]

If they do that, I would laugh so hard every time I see RF on the screen

Bank on it. Remember RF's words: "I guess you could say I'm the reverse." See! He named himself! And who is always the one naming characters? CISCO!

Mystery solved.

 

[roach]

Here's a thought I had...what if the world of Arrow and Flash is the Flashpoint world???
In the Flashpoint series Barry went back and saved his mom and it changed things drastically.
So what if future Barry and RF are fighting and RF decides to go back and time to kill Flash...and Flash follows...and in preventing him from killing his younger self RF ends up killing his mom and changing everything. From the future newspaper we know there was a Waynetech and if a Crisis happened then there had to be other superheroes...but because of RF tampering there's no one else around...except for Green Arrow (who in the grand scheme of things would be looked at as a gnat to RF). However in eliminating Flash...RF eliminates his ability to go fast and time travel...He's stuck in the past....so he takes on the identity of Harrison Wells and creates the accident that creates The Flash. This would explain why we're only seeing RF now.
Wells encourages Barry to go faster...thus energizing the suit he has and giving him the ability to go back home.
I am willing to bet Wells is stuck in our time and is waiting for Barry to get faster so he can return to the future.

 

[DigificWriter]

Making the name Harrison Wells an alias for Eobard Thawne is an unnecessary layer of complexity on what is already a complex enough story idea. It seems crystal clear at this point that the writers and producers have taken story elements from the comics involving the Reverse Flash and applied them to the character of Wells.

 

[Cain]

No making the name Harrison Wells an alias for Eobard Thawne is simply a way to mislead the audience that is already familiar with the source material. No different than Talia al Ghul being called Miranda Tate. A magician would not reveal the end of their trick before performing it the same way a writer would not reveal the trump card before the narrative calls for it.

Wells could also be somebody who actually existed but had their identity stolen and taken over by the RF once he ended up stranded in the past. I don't understand how you have the word writer in your screen name and yet seem unimaginative enough to not get stuff like that by now.

 

[roach]

Making the name Harrison Wells an alias for Eobard Thawne is an unnecessary layer of complexity on what is already a complex enough story idea. It seems crystal clear at this point that the writers and producers have taken story elements from the comics involving the Reverse Flash and applied them to the character of Wells.

But we already know that Wells isn't his real name. I seem to remember that someone looked into his past and saw that he just popped up.
and a time traveller naming themselves Harrison Wells (H.G. Wells) is something a someone would do if they didn't want to tip people off that he's a distant relative to someone currently living.

 

[DigificWriter]

Most writing is fairly straightforward. Twists inside twists only work if they're being carried out in a way that's not going to lose the broadest-possible audience. They already revealed that Wells is the RF; they're not going to later reveal that he's somebody else (Eobard Thawne) as well, because doing so would just risk confusing general audiences who aren't familiar with comics.

There's a reason why most of the television stuff that JJ Abrams has been involved with has either failed outright or fizzled creatively: those shows got too far 'into the weeds' when it came to offering up twists and crazy story elements.

Having Wells - as the RF - be from the future is a complicated enough story idea without adding on unnecessary layers like him having another name entirely.

 

[Cain]

Most writing is fairly straightforward. Twists inside twists only work if they're being carried out in a way that's not going to lose the broadest-possible audience. They already revealed that Wells is the RF; they're not going to later reveal that he's somebody else (Eobard Thawne) as well, because doing so would just risk confusing general audiences who aren't familiar with comics.

Your opinion not fact. There is absolutely nothing inherently confusing about "this man is from the future and his name is actually such and such". Especially since aliases and identity misdirection have been tropes that have been used in pop fiction for decades upon decades.

JJ Abrams shows fizzle out because JJ Abrams generally sucks and with his works its always eventually exposed that the Emperor really has no clothes. But that's a whole other thread altogether

 

[DigificWriter]

You want a different example of why most writing and storytelling is straightforward? Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. It's his best series, but ultimately didn't last because it was too esoteric for general audiences to understand.

 

[roach]

Is his having an alias, in a show about people with aliases, really that big if a twist???

 

[DigificWriter]

Another reason why I don't see them doing any of the things some people think they might vis a vis Wells/the RF: all storytellers establish certain patterns for how they tell stories, and the way the episode stinger for The Man in the Yellow Suit was handled fits a pattern of storytelling from these writers and producers that had been adhered to for the midseason finales of the first two seasons of Arrow. Last night's episode of Arrow proves that they're willing to deviate from that pattern, but if they were going to deviate from it for Flash, I think they would've done so with TMitYS.

 

[Cain]

Dude nobody in the general audience ever had trouble following that

Spoiler

Norman Bates the shy and meek hotel keeper is really the conniving and vicious serial killer "mother"

Verbal Kint was actually Keyser Soze.

Capt. Dudley Smith model cop was actually Rollo Tomassi criminal master mind.

Leonard Shelby was actually Sammy Jankis.

Or that Miranda Tate well intentioned entrepreneur actually cold blooded criminal genius Talia Al Ghul.

so I really doubt that the guy they already know is from the future claiming "My name is Eobard Thawne from the future" will exactly throw them for a hell of a loop. No offense but you're probably the most close minded writer I have ever come across.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ How is believing that the writers are going to give us the most simplistic and straightforward story possible (which is that Harrison Wells is a time traveler, the RF, and possibly a descendant of Eddie's who killed Nora Allen and is looking to help Barry get stronger so that he can face and defeat him at his peak) being "closed minded"?

 

[Richard Grayson]

^ How is believing that the writers are going to give us the most simplistic and straightforward story possible (which is that Harrison Wells is a time traveler, the RF, and possibly a descendant of Eddie's who killed Nora Allen and is looking to help Barry get stronger so that he can face and defeat him at his peak) being "closed minded"?

And how is his name being different a huge twist or over-complicating anything? I doubt people are gonna get confused when they find out Wells isn't really his name.

Even bigger is that the fact that Wells actually has a backstory that apparently checks out. Might be that there was a Harrison Wells and RF killed him and his wife and stole his identity

 

[Lencho01]

Haven't been though the thread. So, maybe someone thought something similar...

http://comicsalliance.com/the-flash-season-1-recap-episode-9-the-man-in-the-yellow-suit/

Michael Paciocco · Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario

My own theory is a bit more Moffatish. Wells is Zoom, but he's in a time loop.

He's from the future and he keeps going backwards to fight the Flash, dragging Barry with him back in time.

Zoom kills Barry's mom, but also loses his speedy powers and ends up stuck in the past. He then creates (or takes the place of) Harrison Wells. Everything since - the particle accelerator, mentoring Barry, has been to ensure his own future (creating the Flash, etc.) and to create the technology he needs to go...BACK TO THE FUTURE! (Sorry, couldn't resist). So he's going to use the science juice from Blackout to steal some of Barry's speed so he can go back.

Reply · · 3 · Yesterday at 8:16am

 

[roach]

Haven't been though the thread. So, maybe someone thought something similar...

http://comicsalliance.com/the-flash-season-1-recap-episode-9-the-man-in-the-yellow-suit/

I said something similar a few posts back

 

[Delwin]

But the question - how is that possible that RF is at the same time in the same place as HW? How is his suit working since HW needed to stole the device? Is it mere existence of Flash giving him his power? If so, why he is faster, if he is just the reverse... I am actually more on the side of the story that HW is future Barry and sth went wrong... His avoidance of Iris, Flash ring and remarks of being "alike" with Barry. On the other hand - he is "studying" Barry as if he does not know him...

 

[roach]

I believe that RF is not a speedster but a time manipulator. This is how he is able to be in the same room and beat himself up.

RF's powers don't come from him but from the suit which is probably one of Barry's old suits. He is fast than Barry because he is manipulating time. No matter how fast a person runs if I can make myself 10 seconds faster I will always be faster.

 

[DigificWriter]

But the question - how is that possible that RF is at the same time in the same place as HW? How is his suit working since HW needed to stole the device? Is it mere existence of Flash giving him his power? If so, why he is faster, if he is just the reverse... I am actually more on the side of the story that HW is future Barry and sth went wrong... His avoidance of Iris, Flash ring and remarks of being "alike" with Barry. On the other hand - he is "studying" Barry as if he does not know him...

We don't yet have the answers to those questions, but we'll likely be getting them in the future. However, I don't think Wells was using the Tacyhon device to recharge the suit the way some people do.

@Richard Grayson: The reason that Harrison Wells being an alias overcomplicates an already complex situation is because it's an unnecessary detail that wouldn't add anything to Wells' story or his actions as the RF.

 

[jrmtz543]

Wells is still such a question mark. We've seen him display compassion (Grodd) and urge Barry to be a moral hero (Flash v. Arrow). Seems like he would've been more than fine with Arrow's version of justice if he were purely evil.....then again, maybe it's just more misdirection.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ Being a villain doesn't mean you don't feel compassion or can't empathize with people... unless, of course, you're purely psychotic.

Wells clearly has an agenda that involves Barry, so it's actually in his best interests to help Barry play hero. He also clearly saved Grodd out of more than just compassion.

 

[Richard Grayson]

I guess that's true but I'm still curious about the whole Harrison Wells and his wife subplot. When that came, I felt like that Wells was a different person, and RF took his identity

 

[Infinity9999x]

Most writing is fairly straightforward. Twists inside twists only work if they're being carried out in a way that's not going to lose the broadest-possible audience. They already revealed that Wells is the RF; they're not going to later reveal that he's somebody else (Eobard Thawne) as well, because doing so would just risk confusing general audiences who aren't familiar with comics.

There's a reason why most of the television stuff that JJ Abrams has been involved with has either failed outright or fizzled creatively: those shows got too far 'into the weeds' when it came to offering up twists and crazy story elements.

Having Wells - as the RF - be from the future is a complicated enough story idea without adding on unnecessary layers like him having another name entirely.

Not really. I don't see what's so difficult about understanding that concept. "I'm from the future. I used a fake name."

Pretty darn simple really.

 

[Infinity9999x]

But the question - how is that possible that RF is at the same time in the same place as HW? How is his suit working since HW needed to stole the device? Is it mere existence of Flash giving him his power? If so, why he is faster, if he is just the reverse... I am actually more on the side of the story that HW is future Barry and sth went wrong... His avoidance of Iris, Flash ring and remarks of being "alike" with Barry. On the other hand - he is "studying" Barry as if he does not know him...

In terms of being in the same place at the same time...I'm still not sure on that either. I was thinking that maybe he was just that fast, that he was actually jumping back and forth, but that seems pretty crazy. It's still a bit of a question mark. In terms of why he's faster, I think it's that he's just had that much more time to grow stronger. We're seeing Barry learn more and more and get faster and faster as the show goes on. RF has already done all of that. Classic "I have more experience" fight kind of thing.

Also, I had heard that one of the interpretations of RF in the comics (I don't know because I haven't read up that much on Flash) is that he does what he does in order to make Barry become the hero he needs to be in the future. I think that's an interesting angle on it.

I'm still wondering if there is a connection to Eddie. He lingered on him, and they had that question, "Why didn't he kill me?" Of course, it could easily be misdirection. However, what if Harrison is really future Eddie?

Still, either way, I'm very much enjoying the very complex character that Wells is turning out to be, and how much mystery still surrounds him.

 

[Spooderman]

Gah, I hope this show reveals the truth already. It's dragging on and on.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Gah, I hope this show reveals the truth already. It's dragging on and on.

I love it. The longer it goes the more we get to enjoy it. It's part of the fun. The anticipation is what makes a good mystery.