Nothing’s more horrifying than looking into the future and seeing nothing but pain and suffering, and nobody knows that better than this pair of scheming and manipulative time-travelers! Reverse-Flash! Sworn enemy of the Flash who went back in time to kill his nemesis as a child, but ended up setting him down a path of heroism! Kessler! The future version of Cole MacGrath who traveled back in time to strengthen his past self, no matter what the cost! Sparks will fly and powers will be pushed to their very limits, but only one man can be…’’’THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR!’’’
Introduction[]
Reverse-Flash[]
| “ | We've been at this a long time, you and I, but I'm always one step ahead. It is your destiny to lose to me, Flash, just as it was your mother's destiny to die that night.
— Reverse-Flash
|
” |
Eobard Thawne was born in 2151, a member of the prestigious Thawne family, consisting of politicians, scientists, and captains of industry. Through unknown circumstances, Eobard gained a limited connection to the Speed Force, and traveled back to the time of the Flash. Slowly forming a bitter rivalry, the two speedsters clashed frequently, but neither was able to gain the upper hand over the other. In 2024, Eobard discovered the Flash’s true name, and attempted to travel back in time to kill his foe’s younger self. Despite the efforts of the Justice League, both the Flash and Reverse-Flash were sent back in time to 24 years earlier. Attempting to murder a young Barry, the Reverse-Flash was stopped when the Flash carried his younger self to safety. Enraged, Eobard murdered Nora Allen in an attempt to traumatize Barry, then fled.
Before he could return to his own time, Eobard realized he had drained his connection to the Speed Force, stranding him in the 21st century and forcing him to hatch a plan to create the Flash so he can return home. First, he stalked and murdered Harrison Wells, the scientist who created the particle accelerator that created the Flash, and took his place. He then devoted his life to both ensuring the creation of the particle accelerator and watching his nemesis grow. As time went on, “Wells” grew fond of both Barry, though he still hated his future self, and the rest of the S.T.A.R Labs team, in particular Cisco Ramon and Hartley Rathaway, who he later fired to prevent from fixing the particle accelerator. When the accelerator was activated, it malfunctioned, and “Wells” made sure that both Cisco and Grodd, a gorilla who he and General Wade Eiling had been running tests on, were exposed to it’s energy. After the accident, “Wells” faked being crippled so as to stay beneath suspicion, and convinced Barry’s guardian Joe West to let S.T.A.R Labs take care of Barry, who was in a coma after being struck by lightning. When Barry awoke from his coma, he came to the realization that he had super-speed, and began using his power to help people and stop deadly metahumans, with Wells and the rest of the team’s assistance.
Having regenerated some of his powers, Eobard became the Reverse-Flash once more, and revealed himself to Barry before luring him into a fight in a football stadium, where he easily defeated him before taunting him and leaving. Barry and the group, alongside Joe and a task force led by his partner Eddie Thawne, attempted to set a trap for the Reverse-Flash by locking him in a force field, but he outsmarted them by moving quickly enough to create an after-image of himself savagely beating “Wells” and forcing them to let him go. Once free, the Reverse-Flash easily slaughtered the task force and savagely beat Joe, but abstained from hurting Eddie, his ancestor, before running out of S.T.A.R Labs with Flash in pursuit. Once again, Eobard prevailed over his less experienced counterpart, with only the intervention of Firestorm saving Barry.
After hearing of the dissapearances of both industrialist Simon Stagg and reporter Mason Bridges, Barry became suspicious of “Wells”, and worked with the rest of the group to determine who he reallly was. However, Eobard managed to narrowly avoid another set-up by the group, but was forced to reveal his identity. Kidnapping Eddie as insurance, Eobard then released Grodd, now much larger and pyschic, on the city as a distraction. When Eddie attempted to stand up to Eobard, he revealed that Eddie never marries Iris West, who instead marries Barry, and that Eddie is seen as a failure by the rest of his family. With the group distracted, Eobard finished repairing the accelerator and escapes, though he returns later to power it up. Arriving outside of S.T.A.R Labs, Eobard was confronted by not only Barry, but also Firestorm and Green Arrow. After a brutal fight, Eobard was defeated and locked into the pipeline, where he revealed his true motives to Barry, and offered to show him how to time-travel so he could save his mother in return for his release. Ultimately agreeing to his offer, Barry traveled back in time, but realized he couldn’t change time without losing his friends. He returned to the present and destroyed Eobard’s time sphere, preventing him from returning to the future. Enraged, Eobard attacked and easily defeated Barry, but before he could kill him, Eddie, realizing why he was brought here, shot himself in the chest, creating a time paradox. Eobard, realizing he was going to be erased from history, mocked Barry for a final time before vanishing.
Kessler[]
| “ | I've always been there, Cole. Every step of your life.
— Kessler
|
” |
Originally a Conduit with fledling lightning powers, Cole MacGrath chose to flee with his wife and children when the being known as “The Beast” attacked Empire City. The Beast, unopposed, laid waste to the entire planet, killing Cole’s family. Grief-stricken, Cole used his powers to go back in time and prevent the tragedy from ever happening, no matter what. Upon arriving in the past, Cole changed his name to Kessler, and usurped control of the organization the First Sons, before commissioning Dr. Sebastian Wolfe to build the Ray Sphere. When the Sphere was completed, Kessler had it moved to Empire City, and had his past self deliver it. When Cole had reached his destination, Kessler called him and asked him to open it, and Cole reluctantly complied. When opened, the Sphere was activated, resulting in a massive explosion that devestated Empire City, but kickstarted Cole’s powers.
With everything going to plan, Kessler began prepping Cole to fight the Beast, and appeared to him so he could show him a vision of the dystopian future. Cole, however, misinterpreted the vision, and came to believe Kessler was responsible for what he saw. After Cole’s battle with Sasha, Kessler extracted her and contacted Cole as his men were torturing her, enraging him. Later, Cole and Zeke Dunbar managed to obtain the Ray Sphere, but were confronted by Kessler, who convinced Zeke to activate the Ray Sphere in an attempt to give himself superpowers. Zeke remained powerless, and left with Kessler. Kessler then kidnapped Trish, Cole’s girlfriend, and hung her from one side of the building along with six doctors, and forced Cole to pick between them. When Cole chose to rescue the doctors, Trish fell to her death, and died in Cole’s arms. Cole swore vengeance against Kessler, and one-by-one dismantled his operations before confronting in Ground Zero of the blast.
Kessler explained to Cole that he had been destined to survive the blast, and explained that he had been there for every step of his life. During their ensuing battle, Zeke came to Cole’s aid, and was blasted back. After a tough fight, Cole overpowered Kessler and fatally shocked him with lightning. Dying, Kessler used the last of his powers to reveal to Cole who he was, shocking him. Understanding of his future self’s motives, Cole swore that he would be ready to fight the Beast when it came.
Powers and Abilities[]
Reverse-Flash[]
| “ | I want you to take a moment and think about all the things that define your life. All the people you love. Your job. Your co-workers. Your home. And now imagine if one day in a flash all of that vanished. Do you simply accept your new life, continue on or would you do whatever it takes to get back what was taken from you?
— Reverse-Flash
|
” |
- Superhuman Speed: Thanks to his connection to the Speed Force, Eobard can run at speeds incapable of being seen by the human eye, to the point where he's capable of appearing as both the Reverse-Flash and Dr. Wells in front of dozens of people. Even the Flash, moving at Mach 2, was incapable of keeping up with him.
- Healing Factor: In part due to his increased speed, Eobard's ability to heal is accelerated to the point where he can recover from vicious wounds and bruises on his face in a matter of hours.
- Enhanced Strength: Eobard can use his speed to enhance to superhuman levels, to the point where even the Flash couldn't stand up to anything more than a couple of hits and he can even force his arm through a human's chest with minimal efforts. According to himself, he can hit with the force of a speeding car.
- Speed Vacuum: The Reverse-Flash can create bursts of air, like tornadoes, to send his opponents flying. When hit with one of these tornadoes, Firestorm was sent flying across the city.
- Heightened Perception: Eobard's perception of the world around him was so slowed down that he could see the world around him in slow motion. Even the Flash moving at Mach 2 was unable to disorient him.
- Superhuman Endurance: The Reverse-Flash can withstand incredible amounts of damage and pain, and recover from most attacks almost instantly, to the point where he can be knocked and near-instantly stand back up. Most attacks can be knocked off of him like nothing while he's in motion.
- Speed Mirages: Reverse-Flash is so fast he can make after-images of himself, enabling him to fool the others into believing that he and Dr. Wells weren't the same person.
- Intangibility: Reverse-Flash can use his speed to vibrate himself so quickly that he can phase through objects and people. He often uses this power to phase his arm through people's chest, crushing their heart and killing them. He can also use this power to destroy electronics.
- Genius-level Intelligence: Reverse-Flash is both a scientific and tactical genius, having planned out numerous strategies and designed the particle accelerator that gave the Flash his powers. It's made clear he's constantly thinking and planning on a scale greater than anyone else, enabling him to stay one step ahead of the rest of the team.
- Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant: The Reverse-Flash is a fairly talented hand-to-hand combatant, capable of holding his own with, and almost overpowering, Oliver Queen, one of the most skilled fighters in the DCTVU.
- Expert Speedforce User: Years of experience and experimentation have given the Reverse Flash an opportunity to fine-tune his abilities, and as such, he's got an expert sense of what the Speedforce can and can't do. He often uses this knowledge to help (and hinder) Barry.
The Flash - vs. Reverse Flash, First Fight
Reverse-Flash uses his powers and experience to effortlessly defeat the Flash (twice!)
Kessler[]
| “ | What seperates the strong from the weak is the abillity to take the beating, hell, to love the beating... No matter how great the pain...
— Kessler
|
” |
- Electrokinesis: Kessler's experience over decades has given him a mastery of his lightning powers. He can use his ability to launch bright-white, much more powerful lightning bolts, create electric mines, make a much-more powerful variant of shockwave, and create duplicates of himself. For a list of his known powers, go here.
- Enhanced Strength: Thanks to his bionic arm, Kessler is much stronger than the average human being, and was capable of holding the younger Cole back with only a bit of effort.
- Enhanced Durability: As a Conduit, Kessler was far more durable than an average human, and was capable of being beaten, shot, and hit head-on with a lightning storm
- Teleportation: Kessler can use his powers to move so quickly it appears he's teleporting.
- Bomber Drones: Kessler can summon three First Son bomber drones to circle and attack his targets.
- Skilled Tactician: Kessler is an incredibly skilled thinker, capable of setting up a massive plan that spans decades, and manipulating numerous people into going along with his plan.
InFAMOUS Gameplay Final Boss Fight Kessler (Mission 39--The Truth) Ending Cutscene
Kessler has his final battle with Cole.
X-Factors[]
| Reverse-Flash | X-Factor | Kessler |
| 85 | Strength | 80 |
| 85 | Mobility | 85 |
| 90 | Intelligence | 75 |
| 80 | Experience | 70 |
| 100 | Brutality | 100 |
| 79 | Creativity | 85 |
Explanation[]
- While Kessler's cybernetic arm should enable him to take this edge, what tips this in the Reverse-Flash's favor is the momentum he's able to give himself with his super-speed, enabling him to land punches that can send people flying.
- Both Kessler and the Reverse-Flash's powers enable them to easily and quickly reach any terrain.
- This one is a fairly easy edge to the Reverse-Flash. Eobard Thawne is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scientists and thinkers on the planet, and was capable of easily posing as Harrison Wells. Kessler, on the other hand, is a skilled tactician and planner, but nowhere near Thawne's level.
- The Reverse-Flash takes an edge here. While Kessler is a hardened survivor of a post-apocalyptic future, Eobard has been doing battle with the Flash and his allies for years, and has been quietly setting up his plan to return home in a much more hands-on fashion than Kessler.
- Both men are equally ruthless, and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, be it slaughtering innocents or killing those they care about.
- While both men were largely self-taught in their powers, Reverse-Flash tends to fall back on a certain set of abilities, while Kessler was constantly learning new abilities and adapting them to their max potential.
Notes[]
- Voting ends November 9th.
- It will be set in Starling City, early into Flash Season 1.
- The Scenario: Kessler attempts to time-travel back to Empire City, but messes up and is brought to Central City instead. Confused, he is confronted by the Flash, who was drawn to the burst of light. Kessler, refusing to come back to S.T.A.R labs for testing, attacks Barry, and easily trounces the inexperienced hero. "Dr. Wells", fearing for Barry's safety, suits up and races to save Barry from Kessler.
- Happy Halloween everybody!