The Flash (Volume 4) #32 is an issue of the series The Flash (Volume 4) with a cover date of August, 2014. It was published on June 25, 2014.
Synopsis for "Cold Call"
Twelve years from now, Leonard Snart has been diagnosed with stage four bone cancer after merging his physiology with a Cold Gun. Soon, he will die. The Flash pays him a visit, long after hours.
Now, Barry is busy working on the case of the stolen baddies' weapons, which are now being used to murder four men who belonged to the same gang, and place blame on the criminals who once used those weapons. Two more of the members of the gang are still alive, and Barry may have an address on one of them. He expects it will be an easy investigation, as the man lives in the suburbs, but what he finds surprises him.
Merge - who was thought to have retured - is turning the neighbourhood into a reality-warped Dali painting in his attempt to kill the very man that Barry was looking for. Barry notices, though, that the man using Merge's special gloves is leading with the wrong hand, and therefore must be the thief, who stole them from the CCPD's evidence locker during the Crime Syndicate's attack. When he realizes he's been outed as an impostor, the thief drops pretenses and tries using another stolen weapon against the Flash: a gravity gun. While Barry can outrun its increased force of gravity, it's decreased force causes him to fly uncontrollably.
Twelve years from now, Barry confesses the truth that he's been losing time. As a result, he caused several problems merely by not being there fast enough. Since realizing this, though, he has begun using the Speed Force to go back in time to fix those situations. His most recent effort in that respect saw him murdering Mirror Master in order to save several lives. It had been Daniel West's first time travelling that had caused the problem - and then Barry, and then Grodd. They all had broken the Speed Force. He confesses his plan to go back in time and kill his former self, in the hopes that someone more worthy can take his place. As the hour of Leonard's death approaches, Barry holds his hand, and watches the life leave his eyes.
As Barry floats high above Central City, he struggles to gain some momentum and force himself back toward the Earth. Fortunately, the only person who sees him crashing into a pond is Patty, who was tracking him via GPS. Barry confirms that his theory that someone is picking off his old robbery crew one by one using the stolen weapons. Patty suggests that he's done enough work on the case for today, and they should spend the evening together, for once. Barry remembers, then, that he already has plans to take Wally West to the Central City Diamonds game. When Patty realizes that Iris will be going too, she becomes jealous and annoyed that he bothered to make time for someone else, ditching him.
At the game, Barry tries to make conversation with Wally, but the boy is not receptive, preferring instead a basketball game. Barry tries to explain that baseball is a different kind of game, commenting that everything worth anything takes time - and if Wally is only concerned about going fast, he'll miss out on the finer things of life. Just then, the crack of a pop fly ball wins the Diamonds a home run, and both Wally and Barry get into cheering excitedly. By the time Iris returns from the canteen with a drink, the are gleefully shouting the hitter's name in unison.
Appearing in "Cold Call"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Leonard Snart (Future) (Single appearance; dies)
- Patty Spivot
- Wally West
Antagonists:
- Merge (Imposter)
- Gravitor (Prime Earth) (Mentioned Only)
Other Characters:
- Iris West
- Rick
- Central City Diamonds
- Central City Miners (Mentioned only)
- Coast City Angels (Mentioned only)
- Crime Syndicate (Mentioned only)
- Justice League (Mentioned only)
- Gorilla Grodd (Future) (Mentioned only)
- Mirror Master (Future) (Mentioned only)
- Trickster (Future) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Central City
- Diamonds Stadium
Concepts:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in The Flash: Out of Time.