Legends of Tomorrow: Matt Letscher Returning as Thawne — Here's Why

The Legends of Tomorrow will get a Flash from their past when Arrowverse alum Matt Letscher reprises his role as Eobard Thawne later this month.

Having first played Thawne on The Flash, Letscher last appeared on Legends at the end of Season 2, capping a season that pit Sara & Co. against the Legion of Doom (which came in the form of Thawne, Neal McDonough’s Damien Darhk and John Barrowman’s Malcolm Merlyn).

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Letscher next will appear as Thawne in the Wednesday, Jan. 26 episode of Legends, titled “The Fixed Point,” in which the titular heroes find themselves in a bar that is popular with time-travelers.

The reason for Thawne’s involvement becomes a bit more clear in the synopsis for the following episode, airing Feb. 2 and titled “Rage Against the Machines,” in which the Legends — with the help of said speedster — break a fixed point and thus create an aberration that will attract the Evil Waverider. The Legends in turn are shocked to realize who has been hunting them, after which and Sara attempts to broker a negotiation… which doesn’t go as planned.

Letscher’s role in the Arrowverse is… complicated, and quite fluid/mushy. Eobard Thawne looks like Letscher, but back in 2020 — before the events of The Flash began — the sinister speedster killed Harrison Wells (played by Tom Cavanagh) and stole the scientist’s face using a transmogrifier.

Once the version of Reverse-Flash who stole Wells’ identity was erased from the timeline on The Flash, any future iterations should look like Letscher. But as hand-waved when the villain resurfaced during the “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover event, The Flash‘s version of Thawne continues to look like Cavanagh. (It’s all actually even messier than that, but it’s late now. Someone else surely can fill in the blanks in comments!)

Whatever the case, who’s jazzed to see Letscher back as Thawne?

Want scoop on Legends, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

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