To see more of my fully fleshed out theories click:
CW's Reverse Flash Explained - CW's Cobalt Blue Explained - Has Flashpoint Already Occured?
Explaining the Colors:
By this point I would hope everyone realizes my theories (or in this case "sub-theories") are always based in comic book fact, nothing more, nothing less. So here I will do a short analysis and speculation as to what happened the night Barry was struck, and what happened the Nora Allen died as there seems to be some controversy and confusion around what happened.
To properly explain the two, I first need to clarify who looks like what when they are running.
Barry as The Flash - Wears a
RED costume - therefore when he isn't running at speeds enough to travel time, the blur left behind him is
RED, and the lightning left behind him is
YELLOW. This is why when he is running without his suit, what is left in his wake is
YELLOW lightning.
So, Barry going "slow" =
RED Blur,
YELLOW Lightning
Barry going "fast" = No Blur, MORE
YELLOW Lightning
on the other hand we have...
Eobard/Wells as The Reverse Flash - Wears a
YELLOW costume - therefore when he isn't running at speeds enough to travel time, the blur left behind him is
YELLOW, and the lightning left behind him is
RED. This is why when he is running without his suit, what is left in his wake is
RED lightning.
So, Eobard going "slow" =
YELLOW Blur,
RED Lightning
Eobard going "fast" = No Blur, MORE
RED Lightning
*When I say "slow" and "fast" I mean typical running speed for a speedster vs. the speed needed to travel time*
Also note that this tactic was used in S01E06 "The Flash is Born" to perpetuate the hidden identity of the Reverse Flash
The different colors of lightning signify a connection to the "
POSITIVE" (Barry) and "
NEGATIVE" (Eobard) Speed Force(s)
The Night Nora Allen Died:
Now, something that was glossed over amidst all of the reveals in Episode 1x15, "
Out of Time", was the revelation that in this version of events BARRY not NORA was the intended target of Well's/Eobard's attack. Whereas in the comics Nora was Eobard's intended target, he killed her simply to further ruins Barry's life, and he did so in a series of other ways as well.
Pushing Barry down the stairs, killing/hurting Barry's dog, etc
This minor change, along with actually having both Barry AND his father AT the scene of the crime, while its happening does raise some questions, once I will adress throughout this post in various areas. The questions include:
What does this mean for Flashpoint? , Why does Eobard think he can kill Barry?, What Happened AFTER Nora's Murder, and some other minor tidbits scattered throughout this post.
Now, onto the scene itself...
Ah, the floating water, what does it mean? Well it seems to clearly symbolize the presence of a speedster, or the effects a speedster may have on the objects around him, hence the wine floating after the particle accelerator is turned on.
Also note the color of Barry's two lights, hardly a coincidence
Now at first glance looking at the slideshow to the left one may think the red = The Flash since his suit is well... red and yellow = The Reverse Flash because his suit is yellow.
But...this is one of the few scenarios (you can see up close in the next slideshow) that the two of them are moving so fast, that the colors of their costumes are not distinct unless the camera/person is focused directly on their body.
The slideshow to the right further explains the color concept given above, Wells/Eobard is moving so fast at this point, that there is no blur left by his costume, only the very sharp (in comparison to Barry or Wells running now) yellow outline of his costume, and then the red lightning he leaves behind.
Later flashbacks to this scene give the Reverse Flash's eyes a little red glow to keep with the design change they made, but these screen grabs are from the leaked pilot.
Ah the scene that may take fans hopes for Flashpoint and toss them out the window...I for one think Flashpoint should be written "already occurred" and use that as a work around so the event doesn't have to be tackled...there are other flaws with Flashpoint occurring which I wrote about
here.
But this scene in particular is VERY telling...Barry...who is running at his full speed manages to get himself out of the house...but barely.
In the comics..Nora is the target...and Barry does NOT have to save his younger self...in this world...he
has to chose...if he saves his mom...then his younger self and technically himself (older) also die...and therefore....still no Flashpoint.
Theoretically the argument could be made of "Barry could go faster"...but he barely saved himself the first time...and was facing a Reverse Flash (Wells/Eobard) that was just as fast as him. Even so...he would need to save, himself, his mom, and his dad (unless he wants him to die).
I find it cool that the first photo almost looks like a hand (his own hand...) is on young Barry's shoulder.
Now, onto the biggest question's raised:
What does this mean for Flashpoint? - Seeing as Flashpoint being tackled is much easier said then done I would assume this serves as a work around from the storyline....rather than Barry's actions changing the WORLD... he himself would simply die.... therefore creating an enormous paradox in the space time continuum.
Why does Eobard think he can kill Barry? - This question and the one that follow are debatably the MOST important questions that we as fans need the answers to. Eobard Thawne, despite HATING Barry Allen...knows that if he were to kill Barry...then he himself would cease to exist....this rasies the question WHY does Eobard think he can kill Barry? Does this version of Eobard exist OUTSIDE of the timeline?... This did happen one time in the entire history of comics...and funnily enough...it was DURING Flashpoint that this occurred. (In the photo above Eobard tells Barry he was INSIDE of the timestream when Barry changed the timeline, therefore he was left uneffected.)
What Happened AFTER Nora's Murder - This is something the show has carefully evaded and it leaves us fans with questions...such as How does Eobard end up losing his speed? One theory I have seen around the web is the "Eobard and Barry merged into one being theory" The thought that future Barry was somehow absorbed into Wells is quite ludicrous in my own opinion as it really hasn't been suggested in the slightest, and would imply that the show had taken large liberties in merging the
Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline and
Flashpoint and made it so that Barry's disappearance at the end of Crisis that stopped the entire event was actually due to him chasing Eobard and then merging with him? It just seems super convoluted in my own opinion, and it would imply that Barry's famous action of becoming the lightning bolt that struck himself (which is still viable despite the particle accelerator coming into play...I'll explain this in a second), did not happen. We also know for a FACT that Barry was not "merged" with the RF when he saved himself (as a kid)...but again we do not know what happened AFTER Nora was killed...we see Barry run down the road by his future self, and then we he returns we see cops at his house, so clearly some time has passed. The ONLY reason I even mention this is because according to executive producers there is still a "big twist" in Wells/Eobard's future on the show that we have yet to see....but I highly doubt this would be it.
The second and more likely option in my own opinion is that Barry used another one of his powers (the show has been VERY good at expressing that he can do more than just run), so him using his power to absorb speed, and leave Wells stuck (like Magneto at the end of X-Men 3, thought to be depowered) may be Barry's form of punishing him without killing him, or the absorption may have been accidental. Below is Barry's exact power:
-
Steal Speed: Speed Force conduits can steal the accelerated motion or momentum from objects or people to reduce their speed or even virtually stop them. Conduits may also steal the speed from other Speedsters or other fast moving people.
I would assume that after this, Barry returns to the future and perishes in the Crisis of 2024, only to come back and be the lightning that stuck himself (see below).
The Night Barry Was Struck
Ah, the floating chemicals once again...some have suggested that these chemicals float in the presence of a speedster, which I agree with, but not in the same way they do. Numerous people around the web believe the floating chemicals is a sign of the fact that Wells/Eobard is present when Barry gets stuck, to either stop it, or to make sure it happens.
At one point in the comics, as is mentioned in
The Flash: Rebirth Eobard DID try to stop Barry from being struck and allow himself to become the Flash, BUT he soon fades away before he gets the chance because time dictates Barry MUST become the Flash for him to become the Reverse Flash.
However, my own theory is that this is exactly how
Crisis of Infinite Earth's ends...Barry becomes the lightning that stuck himself....the chemicals float...because Barry himself (older self that is) is there. Even with the addition of the particle accelerator to Barry's origin, the lightning bolt theory is still feasible. We know that the accelerator opened portals and allowed all kinds of "dark matter and x-elements" into the world, so would it stop one lightning bolt made of PURE speed force energy?..If your a little confused...here is a quotation that may clear things up.
However, after only a few weeks of happiness, the Crisis on Infinite Earths intervenes, and Allen is captured by the Anti-Monitor and brought to 1985; according to the Anti-Monitor, the Flash was the only being capable of travelling to other universes at will, so the Anti-Monitor could not allow him to stay free. Allen escapes and foils the Anti-Monitor's plan to destroy the Earth with an anti-matter cannon, creating a speed vortex to draw the power in, but dies in the process as the power becomes too much for his body.It has been said that Allen travels back through time and becomes the very same lightning bolt that gives him his powers, but later it is also strongly implied that the soul of Barry resides in the Speed Force, the mystical source and Valhalla open to all dead speedsters, and from which the living ones draw their amazing powers. After Allen's death, Wally West, his nephew and sidekick (known as Kid Flash), takes up the mantle of the Flash.
Now if we jump back to the scene, take note right away of the color of the lightning that strikes Barry...yellow...typically lightning traveling through open air emits white light...unless its your super-charged speed force enhanced self from the future that is...
Now as the scene continues (see slides 3-5) we can see something else, something I myself had to watch the scene a few times to notice...the dissipation of a mysterious red blur...not red lightning...but a red blur...so I wonder .... could this be confirmation that in this continuity Barry did indeed strike himself?
If the stills don't help the clip is below played at half speed.
Additionally this quote seemed to add a nice nod to what was mentioned above...it kind of bothers me when people take things at face value for the purpose solely to insult them, this quote, is one of those things. Since the extended trailers release people have complained (not all but some), that this line is just "bad CW writing" and it "comes off as corny"... but if we delve quickly into the history of the Flash as we have been, then we see that it may not be that at all. This is just the kind of storyline easter egg that Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti would throw in.
The Suit
Now since the beginning of the season many fans have been clamoring for Barry to get a suit upgrade, which he has had...although minor and unmentioned...but fans (myself included) still want the
Scarlet Speedster to actually WEAR scarlet. Amidst the clamoring for a suit upgrade is the hope that Barry will get his "ring suit" or the suit that comes out of the ring...this hope was re-ignited when fans saw the ring on Eobard's finger with clasps on it...something that has yet to be explained...is it possible that the suit we are seeing is simply a modified version of the current Flash suit? and Eobard's ring no longer works? Seeing as we have yet to see how Barry and Eobard looked the night of Nora's murder...I would be inclined to think the suit Eobard is currently wearing isn't the suit he wore that night.
However, back to Barry, we know for a fact that sometime between 2014 and 2024 Barry gets a VERY right off the page comic book suit, as he is seen wearing it when he "disappears" in 2024. Again, this ignited (or keeps burning) the fan need for the "ring suit".
Although I wouldn't (at all) have issue with Barry getting his famous "ring suit", I would be just as happy if he learned to use this simple trick Wally taught him in
The Flash: Rebirth, which is already where the Flash draws a lot of its source material from.
Just like that Wally is able to pull his costume (and everyone else) from the Speed Force, no long does anyone need to store it anywhere...as it is always with them. Again, I wouldn't mind seeing the ring, but I do feel the CGI needed for the ring is a little over the top and a waste of money:
Speed Force Suit - Would only require the CGI given like when he *SPOILER* revealed himself to Iris...a little spin and tada
vs.
Ring Suit - They could use the same concept...but everyone who REALLY wants the ring...also wants to see him change into this compressed costume...otherwise its just a ring...so they would need to shoot a scene (a few times) of him changing into this CGI suit at super speed.
Seasons End
Many fans seem to speculate that the season could end with Barry creating an alternate Flashpoint reality when he goes back and attempts to save his mother, I have given my thoughts on this both here in this article and
here. I for one think that it would be much more likely that if Barry was to travel anywhere in time it would be forwards to chase Wells (who is successful). This allows even more storylines to be set up for future seasons such as Bart Allen's birth in the future or even a suit upgrade from the future (although I'm sure Cisco will end up having a hand in that)
Also you can give Barry a lot to speak of in a short amount of time, he could disappear into the future and be gone to Cisco and Caitlin for 5 minutes but return after a years worth of time in the future.
Mind you they could always introduce a younger (not Eddie) version of Eobard this season OR they could introduce Eobard's ability to shift shapes (see image #2) and make that the cause for age difference, but overall it would just convolute the storyline.
My own issue with Barry and Wells traveling back to "save" Nora...which again I feel like Barry may wise up and realize he would be killing himself (literally) as this is the time paradox it would create. (See image to above)
When the show begins it seems as if (again it SEEMS)-We are given an older Barry, who travels while fighting with a younger Eobard. Older Barry then saves himself...and younger Eobard loses most of his speed.
If Barry travels back at the end of the season to the same night-We are given a Mid-20's Barry, who travels while fighting with an older Eobard who has already experienced this fight. Mid-20's Barry then saves himself...and older Eobard...disappears into the future?
They could theoretically travel back in time and meet themselves...and Barry theoretically could save his mother that way. So the scene would include: Older Barry, Mid 20's Barry, and Young Barry AND Young Eobard and Older Eobard.
OR Barry won't pursue Eobard once he leaves this timeline.
Despite Barry actually snapping Eobard's neck (he later returned) in the comics...I don't see the show going that route.... at least not this season. The version of Barry that snaps Eobard's neck is also a version of Barry who has been tormented for YEARS by Eobard Thawne...the Barry on the show still doesn't know how much of an effect Thawne/Wells has had on his life...heck he doesn't even know they are the same person yet. I see Eobard returning in later seasons and becoming a reoccurring large scale villain who pops up from time to time. Best part is...although I LOVE Tom Cavnaugh's performance thus far...and despite Eobard typically being drawn as much older then Barry...if he we not to return (Cavanugh) there is an EASY fix to that issue...a failsafe written directly into Eobard Thawne's power set already....he can change his appearance.