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The Rogues Gallery, or the Rogues for short, were a subset of Flash-villains who formed an informal union and alliance.

History

Origin

The second Flash had a wide array of colorful villains who frequently matched wits with the Scarlet Speedster individually. However, it wasn't until Captain Cold and the Trickster escaped prison on the same day to commit the same crime, the robbery of a charity function sponsored by the Picture News, that any of them ever worked together. Although they initially had no intention of combining forces, they then found out that they actually made a good team, especially since they were facing not only one, but two Flashes, as Jay Garrick had briefly come out of retirement. Although the two were able to elude capture initially, they were eventually lured into a trap by the two speedsters, who played on their desire for wealth.[1] Thus began a series of frequent partnerships among the Flash's foes, who would come to be known as the Rogues Gallery or the Rogues for short. Even Barry Allen has admitted that the Rogues are formidable.[2] Wally West has also confirmed that the Rogues are organized and not idiotic, revealing that Batman's villains work on a different cerebral level than they do.[3] Throughout their battles with the Flash over the years they always improved, thus becoming smarter, better and more clever villains.[4]

Underworld Unleashed

 Main article: Underworld Unleashed

Neron greatly enhances the powers and abilities of several villains in exchange for their souls or for performing a task for him.

Rogue War

 Main article: The Flash: Rogue War


Full Throttle

 Main article: The Flash: Full Throttle

Inertia brought together Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Abra Kadabra, the Mirror Master, the Weather Wizard, the Pied Piper, and the Trickster, claiming that he was building a device that would allow them to stop time and wreak havoc on the world. In actuality, he was using them as bait for the new Flash, and the machine was designed to transfer the Speed Force from the Flash to Inertia.[5] When the Scarlet Speedster showed up to stop them, his powers were stripped from him and the Rogues killed him.[6]

Final Crisis

 Main article: Final Crisis

See also: Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge

During the Final Crisis, the Rogues were one of an extremely select few groups of people who had chosen not to enlist with Libra in his Secret Society of Super-Villains. They cited as their reason that the villain community didn't help them out during the events of Full Throttle and so, accordingly, they weren't going to help out the villain community. They had announced plans to retire, although beforehand they wished to murder Inertia for betraying them and making them seem to be a disgrace to the world at large.

To counter the Rogues, Libra formed a new group of Rogues, whom the original Rogues subsequently eliminated. They finally had their meeting with Inertia, who killed the Weather Wizard's infant son and proclaimed himself "Kid Zoom". The Rogues then murdered Kid Zoom by attacking him all at once. Libra then revealed why he needed the Rogues in the Society in the first place: Barry Allen had returned from the dead. Shocked that Allen was alive, the Rogues decided not to disband, not only because they didn't want to appear like quitters to Allen, but also because they knew that Allen wouldn't just let them walk away.

Brightest Day

 Main article: Brightest Day

After Blackest Night, the Mirror Master's body was dumped in a public area by a shadowy figure in a Flash suit. Barry Allen arrived in his civilian attire and confirmed that the dead man was not the real Mirror Master. The Flash arrived on the top of a building, where he was confronted by the Renegades, futuristic versions of the current Rogues, but on the other side of the law. He was charged with the murder of the Mirror Monarch by their leader, Commander Cold. The Renegades members included futuristic versions of Captain Cold, Heat Wave, the Mirror Master, the Weather Wizard, the Trickster, and the Top. It was revealed over the course of the investigation that the Top had actually framed the Flash to prevent him from opening up a cold case that would reveal that the Top's ancestor had committed a murder that an innocent man had been locked up for, as having a criminal in his family would prevent the Top from becoming a member of the Renegades.



See Also

Links and References

Footnotes


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Flash Villain(s)
This character, team, or organization, is or was primarily an enemy of any or all of the various incarnations of the Flash. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Flash Villains."

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