The Rogues of The Flash are one of the most unique supervillain teams in all of comics. It is unsurprising that they would make their way into the new Absolute Universe. However, a preview of Absolute Flash #2 reveals something of how Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang have been changed for this brave new world.
Written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Nick Robles, Absolute Flash #2 continues the twisted tale of one Wally West. An army brat without much to hold his interest, Wally is on the run after developing strange super-speed powers. Unfortunately, his absence from Fort Fox has been noted. This leads a group of figures familiar to Flash fans to chase after him.
Three pages from Absolute Flash #2 may be viewed below.
Absolute Flash Rogues are career soldiers
The big twist on the Absolute Rogue’s Gallery is that all of them are career soldiers. Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang are apparently actual Captains in the US Army. Digger Harkness now uses hard-light, boomerang-shaped drones, but is still a threat with them. Conversely, Len Snart appears much the same as Captain Cold, save for his sporting a military mustache.
The Absolute Flash Rogues also include Golden Glider and Trickster. Interestingly, Trickster appears to be a woman, though it is unclear what her mask is meant to do. Glider also doesn’t seem to be related to Captain Cold, when the two were brother and sister in the original universe.
Making the Rogues into a military unit is a contradictory and yet oddly fitting twist. The original Captain Cold enforced a strong code of conduct for the Rogues, with rules against drug use and killing innocents. While not as strict as traditional military honor codes, it is more than is found in most supervillain teams. However, the Rogues were also rogues among the supervillain community, just as likely to help the heroes take down psychotic killers as they were to rob banks. It will be interesting to see how the team is developed in Absolute Flash.
Absolute Flash #2 arrives in comic shops everywhere on April 16, 2025.
