Absolute DC’s version of The Flash has given a new origin story for the Scarlet Speedster, along with bringing quite a few of his classic villains into it. Absolute DC serves as the newest Elseworlds continuity of the DC multiverse, a reality created by the energy of the ruthless New God and ruler of Apokolips, Darkseid, with many DC superheroes shown in new and completely re-invented ways in the Absolute continuity. In The Flash’s case, the story has thus far focused upon a 15-year old version of Wally West, with Barry Allen a government scientist seemingly killed after Wally gains his super-speed.
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While Absolute DC’s version of the Justice League is the most obvious culmination that the new universe is headed towards, the villains associated with each hero have also been re-worked and re-interpreted in their own unique ways. Absolute Flash has done just that by including several Flash villains (mainly from Flash’s collection of adversaries known as the Rogues) as part of a government team sent to track down Wally West, with the title also teasing the debut of other Flash villains. Here is every Flash villain seen so far in Absolute Flash.
1) Captain Cold
The leader of the squad sent to capture Wally West is Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold. A contrast to The Flash’s powers of constant momentum at super speed, Captain Cold stops his enemies right in their tracks with his cold gun, which encases anything its cold beam touches in solid ice. Absolute Flash‘s version of Captain Cold seems to have been re-imagined as a mercenary or U.S. government operative with an extensive military background, but his ice-cold weaponry still freezes his targets with the same efficiency.
2) Captain Boomerang
Another of The Flash’s Rogues Digger Harkness a.k.a. Captain Boomerang is also second-in-command of the team dispatched to capture Wally. While Boomerang typically tosses his signature boomerangs in a traditional manner in the comics and most appearances in other media, Absolute Flash‘s Boomerang fires them like projectile missiles from a set of gauntlets on his wrists while pursuing Wally with a wing suit. Additionally, Harkness also refers to his weaponry as “Boomerang” as it were his mercenary partner, adding a new element to the personality of Absolute DC’s Captain Boomerang.
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3) The Trickster
The Scarlet Speedster’s comedic adversary James Jesse a.k.a. The Trickster is also a member of the team, and he’s given a complete visual redesign for his debut in Absolute DC. While the Trickster traditionally dons a jester-like costume, Absolute DC’s version of Jesse has a more tech-augmented suit with a large, circular orange mask similar to a pumpkin. What the Trickster’s re-design means for the character in Absolute DC still isn’t clear, but his is another case where a major DC character has been re-imagined heavily for the new universe.
4) Golden Glider
Captain Cold’s sister Lisa Snart a.k.a. Golden Glider is also on the team sent to bring Wally in, and like her brother, she’s been re-imagined as an apparent mercenary for hire in Absolute DC. The Golden Glider of Absolute Flash also has an entirely new motif relating to her name in the form of a pair of energized batons that emit a golden glow. While effective weapons on normal targets, Golden Glider’s batons aren’t able to keep up with Wally’s newly discovered super speed, so it will be interesting to see how Lisa adapts her tech to battle the young Scarlet Speedster as Absolute Flash progresses.
5) Reverse-Flash
The Flash’s arch-nemesis Eobard Thawne a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash is the most sinister Speedster in the Speed Force, and the man behind the murder of Barry Allen’s mother and framing of his father for it (which helped form the basis for DC’s pivotal Flashpoint storyline). While Thawne has not make a full appearance in Absolute DC yet, he is nonetheless part of the tech support team trying to track down Wally, with Colonel West explicitly identifying one technician sitting at a computer as “Thawne” as the team tries to locate Wally. While only shown from behind and without displaying any super-speed, Eobard Thawne nonetheless exists in DC’s Absolute Universe, which means he’ll probably zoom into action in the near future.
6) Gorilla Grodd
The Flash’s towering simian villain Gorilla Grodd has also made his debut in Absolute DC, and in just as re-imagined a form as everyone else. Referred to simply as Grodd, he is scaled down to size as a green monkey brought in by the team to track down Wally. However, when Grodd finds the young Speedster, Wally’s accident in the lab creates a telepathic link between the two, with Wally and Grodd bonding over their shared tragedies and how scared they are in their current situation. With Grodd sticking by Wally’s side and becoming an ally of his, it seems he’s gone from foe to friend of The Flash in Absolute DC.
7) Heatwave
On the other side of the temperature spectrum from Captain Cold is The Flash’s enemy Mick Rory a.k.a. Heat Wave, who wields a portable canon of his own to blast flames at his enemies. The New 52 later gave Heat Wave the metahuman power to manipulate fire himself, and Absolute DC seems to have re-invented him even further. When Wally and Grodd run into him, Rory stands as what appears to be a huge, humanoid-like mass of molten lava, ending Absolute Flash #4 on a startling cliffhanger. It seems likely that Rory’s transformation occurred in a similar setting and manner as Wally’s accident that gave his his super-speed, but the new Heat Wave is yet another surprise revamping of a DC character seen in the new Earth that is Absolute DC.
