Silver Age Flash Enemies
The enemies of the Flash started to use the name Rogues during the Silver Age of comics. Originally, the Rogues were just the Flash's enemies teaming together after they were all broken out of jail by another Flash foe, the super-intelligent Gorilla Grodd to distract the Flash during his attempt at world conquest, but though they were all defeated by the Flash making their weapons hit each other, since then they have formed a lasting group, and usually a Rogue will never commit a crime by himself. The Silver Age Flash enemies who became Rogues were Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, the Trickster, Pied Piper, the Top, and Captain Boomerang. These villains battled the second Flash (Barry Allen), and the third and fourth Flashes after Allen's death.
In chronological order (with issue and date of first appearance):
| Villain | First appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Cold | Showcase #8 (June 1957) | Leonard "Len" Snart was a criminal who wanted a chance to get rid of the Flash. Seeing an article about a weapon that might disrupt the Flash's speed, Snart made a gun and exposed it to the radiation. However, instead of slowing the Flash down, the gun could freeze anything to absolute zero, which was discovered when Snart accidentally fired at a watchman. Calling himself Captain Cold, Snart started out on a criminal career. He is considered to be the arch-nemesis of both Barry Allen and Wally West, and the leader of the Rogues. Known for being a sympathetic villain, Cold has a sense of honor. Cold has strict rules on how the Rogues should act, such as no drugs and to not kill unless they have to. Also has a sense of loyalty to his team and watches out for them. During Flashpoint (comics) he is Citizen Cold, the main hero of Central City, and the Rogues are his foes. |
| Mirror Master | The Flash #105 (March 1959) | While working in a prison workshop, Sam Scudder accidentally created a mirror that could hold an image for a period of time. When he escaped, he made more mirror gadgets, and became the Mirror Master. He has created many different mirrors that can do various things like travel into other dimensions. He was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, though other villains have taken his title. |
| The Pied Piper | The Flash #106 (May 1959) | Hartley Rathaway was born deaf, but was cured after his rich parents sought a way to make him hear. Once he could hear, he became obsessed with music and sound, and made many sound-based weapons. Originally a criminal, he reformed and came out as gay at the same time. He became a friend of Wally West, even when the Top revealed he had changed the personality of some of the Rogues (Piper included) to make them reform; Piper was able to fight off the Top's influence and stay good. However, he has since returned to being a Rogue, although whether he wanted to or is working undercover is unknown. |
| Weather Wizard | The Flash #110 (December 1959/January 1960) | Mark Mardon escaped from prison to his brother's house. His brother had just made a wand that could control the weather. Mark wanted the weapon and he and his brother got into a fight, and his brother was killed (although Mardon originally said he was dead when he got there, he has apparently told the truth to Captain Cold). Has an infant son, Josh, who was adopted by Iris West and has some of his father's powers, but only when his father is near him. Josh was later kidnapped by Libra and killed by Inertia during the events of the Final Crisis. |
| The Trickster | The Flash #113 (June/July 1960) | James Jesse, a circus performer coming from a family of trapeze walkers, invented shoes that used compressed air to "walk" on air, enabling him to become a successful aerolist. Inspired by Jesse James, James made other weapons and became the Trickster. He was once reformed, but it was revealed that it was because the Top made it so, and he went back with the Rogues. He was killed by Deadshot during the events of Countdown. |
| Captain Boomerang | The Flash #117 (December 1960) | Digger Harkness was a master of boomerangs which he learned how to use in the Outback. When a mascot was needed for a boomerang company, Harkness was hired, but used the costume and boomerangs to commit crimes. Had many trick boomerangs. He became the second Mirror Master after the death of the first. During the Identity Crisis limited series, he was sent to murder Jack Drake (father of Tim Drake, the third Robin). But Drake retaliated in self-defense, and the two men simultaneously killed each other. Harkness has a son, Owen Mercer, who took up his father's title and became a hero after a brief stint with the Rogues. Harkness was resurrected following the events of the Blackest Night. |
| The Top | The Flash #122 (August 1961) | Roscoe Dillon used many top-themed weapons to commit crimes, eventually learning how to spin himself at great speeds, which increased his intelligence and enabled him to dodge bullets. He died, but his mind was so powerful that it took over the minds of many people to keep living, including Henry Allen and Senator Thomas O'Neill, whose body was reformed by Dillon to look like the original Top. He was later killed again by Captain Cold when Dillon tried to take over the Rogues during the "Rogue War". During this time, it was revealed that Dillon had made some of the Rogues reform with his mental influence, and during the war, he undid it, making them criminals again. He had originally influenced them after becoming a victim of the JLA mind wipes, which made him a good person until he was driven mad and changed back. |
| Abra Kadabra | The Flash #128 (February 1962) | Abra Kadabra is from the 64th century, at a time when science has made stage magic obsolete. However, he wants a career as a performing magician, so after he was exiled back in time he finds an audience to entertain and soon clashes with the Flash (Barry Allen). His "magic" is actually based on advanced technology, disguised with supernatural trappings. he later sold his soul to the demon Neron in exchange for true magical powers. He later joined Inertia's Rogues in killing Bart Allen. |
| Heat Wave | The Flash #140 (November 1963) | Mick Rory is obsessed with fire and at a young age burned down his house, killing his family. He then made a heat gun and used fire to rob and kill. He was one of the Rogues that the Top made reform, and when that was undone, Rory became a Rogue again. Even during his reform, his mind was already starting to turn to crime. |
| Golden Glider | The Flash #250 (June 1977) | Lisa Snart, the sister of Len Snart (Captain Cold), did not want to be a villain, but when her lover, the Top died, she swore revenge on the Flash. Using sharp ice skates that made ice, she battled the Flash and got the approval of her brother. She was killed by Chillblaine, a villain to whom she had given one of Captain Cold's weapons. Captain Cold has since gotten revenge by killing Chillblaine. |
Read more about this topic: Rogues (comics)
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