Another incredible issue from Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins that really makes you root for the bad guys. Most of Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #2 is taken up by a savage battle between the Rogues and a younger group of “New Rogues” who first appeared in Gotham Underground. The New Rogues have no idea what they’re getting into, and the book shows just how dangerous characters with names like Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Weather Wizard can be.

Meanwhile, Zoom and Inertia get along about as well as you might expect. Which is to say: not very.

The timeline is starting to fall into place. The first issue takes place during Final Crisis #2, this one takes place during Final Crisis #3, and the whole of it takes place after the stories currently appearing in the monthly series. The Flash Family meeting in Final Crisis #3 actually continues in this issue, though either scene stands on its own.

Several story threads from early in Geoff Johns’ run on The Flash get followed up on here, including his retelling of Captain Cold’s origin. There’s also a nice explanation of why the Rogues kept going back to their tailor, Paul Gambi, which fits well with one of the stories from Grant Morrison’s brief run on the book back in 1998. (In that story, Gambi created “the ultimate super-costume.”)

I’m beginning to wonder just how much this story changed as it became tied into Final Crisis. As originally described, it sounded like the Flash was actually going to be involved. Instead, the whole thing is set when Wally is off on a mission, before Barry really comes back.

I did have a problem with the art. Normally I like Scott Kolins’ work, but it seemed a bit too heavy. I don’t remember thinking that with issue #1, but it may simply have not bothered me as much. I also thought the coloring was too muted, but both could be a function of printing.

Spoilers after the cut: Continue reading →

When Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins took over The Flash in 2001, they set about redefining two things: Keystone City, and the Flash’s Rogues. Johns has a talent for taking a concept, finding the core of what makes it work, and refocusing on that without throwing everything else away. Suddenly, a guy who wears a parka and carries a cold gun, another who dresses in orange and green and carries trick mirrors, and another who wears bright green and controls the weather became credible threats and interesting characters — all without a world-shattering retcon*. Sadly, that aspect has been missing in the treatment of the characters for the last few years.

Johns and Kollins have reunited for Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge, and the book feels like they never left. Originally designed as a stand-alone miniseries that would resolve lingering plot threads from Full Throttle and Salvation Run, it’s been tied into Final Crisis.

The setup is simple: The Rogues are tired. They’ve been through hell, and they’re ready to get out of the game. But there’s one thing they have to do first: Get back at the kid they feel is responsible for their current state: Inertia, who talked them into the caper on which they killed a Flash.

First-time Flash readers should have an easy time getting into the world. The book establishes who the Rogues are, what motivates them, and what their powers are right in the first few pages. Long-time readers will enjoy seeing characters like Iris Allen, or Keystone City’s Department of Metahuman Hostilities (basically, the cops’ Rogue specialists).

The book is dark. (Often literally, since most of it seems to take place either at night or in the rain.) It’s about villains. The only heroes who appear are in flashbacks, except for the Pied Piper, who’s ridden the line between hero and villain for years, and the police. There’s a truly chilling scene when the book picks up Inertia’s story. But it’s different from Secret Six or Villains United in that those were primarily action pieces. This reads more like a crime drama with costumes — say, an episode of The Sopranos with freeze guns instead of swearing.

In some ways this book seems like a course correction. Sort of a “I handed over these characters and you did what with them? Here, let me fix it.” But while most of the first issue is setup, it’s working as a story.

The only drawback is that it’s hard to tell when this takes place. It’s firmly fixed in terms of Final Crisis, with references galore to the events in that series, but it’s less clear how it fits into the monthly Flash book. Presumably the editors have been coordinating, and this simply takes place after the current storyline, though DC hasn’t had a great track record over the last year. It’s only a minor irritant, though, unless you consider continuity to be more important than any other aspect of comic-book storytelling.

*I’m using “retcon” here in the sense of replacing a character’s history, not in the sense of filling it in. Because filling it in is exactly what Johns did on his Flash run.