The Source has posted the first complete look at Captain Cold, as he appears in the New 52.
Of the redesigned Rogue, the Flash creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato had this to say in a recent interview with IGN:
IGN: What plans do you have for Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues?
Manapul:Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues are currently broken up. In fact, they hate each other. In our second arc we catch up with Captain Cold and learn more about this dysfunctional family called The Rogues. Thematically, they take a similar journey as the Flash, and it will all come to a head in that arc.
Buccellato: They are going to TRY and kick The Flash’s butt all over Central City.
Manapul also had this to say, in an interview with CBR, about the new take on Cold and the Rogues:
Manapul: I love Captain Cold. To me, he is a real badass! And I think you’re going to see that, once we start our second arc. I also like characters like the Pied Piper, but our take on him is going to be different, he’s — well, I don’t want to reveal anything! But it’s going to be fun, because what you are going to see is, rather than a reintroduction of the Rogues, you’re going to see an evolution of them.
The “evolution” has been revealed to be an internalization of their powers, which is evident as well in the new image.
What do you think of the new look for The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero?
Sleeveless hoodie? I don’t think so…. :/
I mostly like the look except for the missing sleeves.
I’m still not sold on the internalized powers. One of the things that always set villains like Captain Cold & Trickster apart from Grodd and Professor Zoom was that they were, when you came down to it, ordinary people with extraordinary gadgets.* It makes them underdogs to some extent, which I think is part of their appeal: Yeah, you want the Flash to win, but you also want to see these guys rise to the challenge and put up a good fight against overwhelming odds.
Boosting their powers may make them more credible threats, but it also runs the risk of losing what makes them Rogues instead of simply villains.
(*Technically you could say that of Abra Kadabra as well, but both his technology and his background were so removed from the present day that he might as well have had “real” powers.)
I was thinking the same thing — the very essence of the Rogues is that they’re not metahumans, but rather inventors or inheritors-of-inventions. Granted the Flash has internalized powers, but at least in the Johns/Wally West days, that Cold picked himself up by his bootstraps was a nice parallel to Wally and the general working class identity of Keystone City. I wonder, as you said, what makes Captain Cold different from Killer Frost with this new power set. We’ll see.
I like the look, but I agree with Kelson that the lack of sleeves doesn’t make sense.
The Top arguably became a metahuman in the Bronze Age right before he died (he developed telekinesis), but I’ve always liked that he was unusual amongst the mostly-ordinary Rogues.
It seems strange that DC’s messing with Johns’ very successful blue-collar ordinary joes. That was what made them the most popular they’ve ever been, and now DC’s throwing it away.
There does seem to be a lot of baby-with-the-bathwater going on in the new 52, doesn’t there?
The baby-with-the-bathwater approach is particularly serious with the Flash. They basically chucked the entire history of the Flash during the relaunch.
There was something cool about the Rogues mostly using weapons (instead of having powers). It made them more bad ass, having to compete with the Flash.
Well, I may be the outlier here but I like the sleeveless look. It shows that Cold is not concerned about the sub-zero temperatures he controls.
Having his powers internalized, well, at first blush I think it’s a silly change but I am awaiting a verdict until I see him in action. But he can still be an underdog character — maybe his powers are a result of Technology Gone Wrong, or some other less than ideal situation?
I’m trying to be polite, so I’ll just say I don’t like it. Don’t like the innate powers, don’t like the redesign, and as time goes by I’m feeling even more negative about the relaunch.
Exactly.
OMG what is this crap. First off, he’s like 50+ yrs old, he should not be on sexy display with thuggish cut-sleeved shoulders. Why would Gambi design him for the ladies? Illogical. Rogue costumes are designed to suit their abilities, and a guy who creates a tundra should be wearing a parka and boots. I dislike much about his costume. (I had mixed feelings at first. I thought it looked, dare I say, “cool”, but as a nerd, this is bothering me a LOT.) I wish that Manapul had saved Commander Cold’s design for this reboot of Captain Cold, because I LOVED that.
Manapul! You’re my favorite comic artist! WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME?! TT.TT
He’s probably been de-aged just like everybody else.
I really don’t like the costume design, and the direction they’re taking with giving everyone metahuman powers. I liked the human ingenuity and let’s admit it, mad science, of the Rogues like Cold having a freeze ray he invented instead of cryrokinesis.
Yeah, like everyone else has said, the superpowers just aren’t doing it for me. The Rogues, they’re just these guys, y’know? They’re average joes who steal things and use wacky weapons to do it. They’re a joke, and they know they’re a joke, so they take that and turn it around and own it.
Some of them as metas, yeah, it seemed okay to me. Piper and Top were actually pretty meta even in the Silver Age. Weather Wizard’s wand getting to him gradually, sure, okay, I guess. But all of them at once?
And Captain Cold specifically?
No. Cold of all people I can’t see having superpowers. I can see him being offered superpowers and turning them down, I can see him laughing at the idea. But I can’t see him with superpowers. It almost goes against something intrinsic to his personality.
Sleeveless hoodie at the very height of dudebro-ish fashion? Yeah, can’t see that either. (Not a fan of the skin-tight, either and I miss the fluffy bits, but that’s just me.)
I don’t know who this guy is, but he looks more like the tool that tried to replace Captain Cold in the Rogues Revenge storyline. This ain’t the pragmatic curmudgeon with grit and iron in him that I’ve known and loved. Maybe the writing will change my mind, but even if his dialogue is the same…there’s something a little too fundamental changed.
I think that’s my problem with the DCnU: they keep changing things to make it seem “cooler” to new readers (stuck firmly in the nineties), but between the JLI and now the Rogues, all the changes really seem to do is make them more generic. Oh no, a supervillain with ice powers, run…
Look, just…just give him some sleeves or something, okay?
First DC gets rid of Wally West, my favorite hero.
Now they have redesigned the greatest villain ever too look like an utter and complete tool.
Fuck this shit.
I dislike the Rogues becoming Metahumans. However, if it falls on its face, hopefull a writer will have the guts to write a story of them losing their powers and then needing technology to keep up what they started.
I wouldn’t even mind if that is the greater arc going here. Give them powers, they lose powers, then they seek out technology to replicate said powers. Wishful thinking I guess? The tech is part of what made them Rogues in my mind.
Anyhow, if you look closely at the black and white images, it appears to be a hooded vest, or a sleeveless zip-up hoodie. Either way it seems rather… odd. Not really a fan of the look over all. We’ll see how I feel once I actually start reading it.
I’m still not 100% sold on them becoming Metahumans, but I’ll wait and see before I jump to anger. I think it’s an interesting idea, but they have to find a way to do it right or it could feel like an insult to the history.
As for the costume, I like it. I’m excited to see how everyone changes and what they look like as a group. That might change my like to love if the Rogues look bad ass together.
I don’t get it. With other reboots, there’s at least something that makes the characters recognizable, something reminiscent of the old DCU. But these new Rogues have nothing in common with their previous incarnations except for their names? What’s the point of that? Why not just create new villains and leave the Rogues alone?
Ugh. DC has no clue as to how to handle the Flash. I’m so glad I bailed on this book.
Not a fan of the internalized powers, either. But Snart still looks like Captain Cold. Just a hipster-fied Captain Cold. (Again, good thing? Not for me…)
But given the high quality of the new Flash series, I’ll try to approach this with an open mind.
Making the Rogues meta-humans is wrong. The crazy tech, their obsession with the Flash that keeps them from fully exploiting that tech, it all added up to one of the most unique Rogues Gallery in all of DC.
This version, this isn’t Capt. Cold. Manapul is gonna have to work double overtime to even begin to convince me otherwise.
Based on the above art it looks like the sleeveless look is to show the powers are clearly innate. The “cold vein” running up his arm is his version of “speedforce” energy discharge. Not too keen on it but I wouldn’t jump off the wagon for something like that.
(Still fighting with her new PC, but had to check the link back to here when ran across it on Google.)
Guys, please don’t make me rescind my endorsement of your work. Despite my loathing of DC Ed for what they did to this franchise, I’ve been praising your stuff since before the first preview came out and this….this is making me rethink that.
For the first time I’m disappointed in the new book’s direction. Never was a fan of sleeveless fashions (no, not even on the original Superboy). Could live with the rest of the redesign, but that… no. He looks like a biker. Yes, I get the reason for it, but even there it could have been shown ‘offstage’ in a scene when he’s in his apartment or something…maybe checking on a wound after a battle. We don’t have to see the change all the time via sleevless.
Speaking of said reason for that lamentable fashion:
Internalized powers: no, no, no! What does the new DC have against blue collar workers slugging through life without powers? One of my favorite scenes was amnesiac Wally West taking a break from his mechanics work talking over coffee with regular (bad morals) joe Snerd. It was just…a great scene for all that the art work was so-so. Making the Rogues not only metas but also at each others throats? Oh, how far the family has fallen since the Messner-Loeb days.
Well….this is just another nail in the coffin for me. I was hoping to come back to the book should DC ever bring back a recognizable Wally West, but not only does this show that Wally being back is unlikely…if they do bring him back I’ll probably only recognize the name and not the personality.
Majorly bummed. Now there is not a single DCnU book that holds my interest beyond maybe Kyle Rayner’s….and that’s do for a crossover with the mess that they’ve done with the other GL books, so….I’m afraid of whats going to go on there.
Superman….I’ve given up even bothering to look. He’s just not the same without Ma and Krypto, and that Boy Scout altruism.
Aquaman…Johns should really take up The Turtle as his next comic book. Honestly…he’s that slow in his plots. Not good for what is an action medium.
Again…bummed.
I realise I’m probably alone in thinking this, but I actually quite like the update – and I’m waiting to see what Manapul and Buccelato do with the internalised powers. If it gives them a springboard into doing some new interesting stories then I’m all for it. Yes, I loved Johns’ blue collar joes, but he’s not writing it now. Over to the new guys to make the Flash their own, and I’m all for that.
BMF, I completely agree with you. As a more recent Flash fan, I could never understand the appeal of Cold’s costume. I’m all for the update, and making the rogues more of a credible threat. I like them borrowing the “escalation” idea from Batman and his villains.
Thanks Joshua. Thought I was alone then! I am really enjoying Francis and Brian’s run so far, can’t wait to see how it pans out.
I agree, I love the new Captain Cold!! Different? Yes. But then again, everything is new in the “New 52”, so why not?
I’ve really enjoyed the “new” Flash so far, and am looking forward to what Manapul & Buccellato do with the “new” Rogues.
What? I hope this doesn’t turn out to be the final design… I mean, I know some of ya will find it badass…but let’s be honest we don’t need a gansta Captain Cold, just invent a new gansta ice-based villain instead! Oh wait, there’s one, the 2nd Icycle! (and he even uses his hands to freeze things like this Cold above)
Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
I just keep thinking “if it ain’t broke…”
The Rogues are NOT metas!!! They’re a collection of whackjobs who either designed or stumbled upon awesome weaponary and decided it would be a great way to make a few bucks….. and screw with the Flash.
It’d be more accurate to say they *were* not metas. Because that’s what this storyline is about – they get powers, whether they want them or not.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked them as they were, particularly under Johns’ pen.
But there’s always room for reinterpretation, change and evolution too. If the new take doesn’t work out, I’m sure someone will come back around and fix ’em.
If it’s not broken don’t fix it. Almost everything about the flash is being thrown out the window. Other speedsters. Gone. Barry’s marriage. Gone. The rogues having powers. No thanks.
I really like this book. Huge flash fan but can’t help but feel a little shocked and slightly disappointed.