Prior to discovering the time capsule containing the Flash's costume, the Post- Crisis extended origin storyline "The Return of Barry Allen" revealed that Thawne was once a scientist obsessed with his idol, even undergoing cosmetic surgery to resemble his hero. Obtaining the Cosmic Treadmill from an antique shop, Thawne gained all of the Flash's powers after replicating the electrochemical accident behind the Flash. Seeking to use the Cosmic Treadmill to travel back in time and meet his idol, Thawne arrived at the Flash Museum several years after Barry's death, discovering that he was destined to be "Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash" and die at his idol's hands. As a result, the unstable Thawne convinced himself that he was Barry Allen (based on his intimate knowledge of his idol's life from his reading of an as-yet-unpublished biography) and subsequently attacked Central City for "forgetting him". Wally West ultimately tricked Thawne into returning to the 25th century with no memory of the incident. Despite this, Thawne still managed to bring the remains of his older self's costume with him, cluing him further into his destiny.