The Flash: Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Wes Abbott

Wow, is it so cool to see all the Rogues back together. Well, almost all back together. This issue does a great job of setting up something huge and making the Flash look even worse in the public eye. We find out why Elias turned on Flash, and we see what Glider, Cap Cold’s sister, is up to.

Elias, apparently, has no beef with Flash…so he says. It’s just an experiment to him…to see how easily he can turn the public’s opinion on a big figure like Flash. Well…I don’t believe him for a second, I honestly think there’s something more going on. Glider seems to have a personal vendetta against him as well. We see her attack him and make it look like Flash did it.

Glider, now, is the new leader of the Rogues. Gotta admit, too, she does have a handle on things and she does make a good strategist. She’s able to utilize the various abilities of Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, and Mirror Master to hijack the brand new monorail in Central City. Two things she apparently didn’t count on are Pied Piper and Trickster helping her brother, Captain Cold.

This was a really fun book…but I’m finding myself missing those moments from earlier issues where we saw Barry running in multiple positions, and performing amazing feats with his super speed. Sure, he runs and moves fast in this issue…but he doesn’t do much. I definitely understand that this issue is more about the Rogues, and that’s fine, but I’m just mentioning that I miss seeing that kind of stuff. The last two issues were drawn by To, and he didn’t do that Manapul style of progressive images.

Mirror Master! Trickster! Pied Piper! How awesome that we get to see these guys! Better late than never, right? Before this issue, we hadn’t seen them yet - save for the unmasked Trickster who talked with Elias in the desert. It’s awesome to see them back in action. I love Trickster’s “YO” cushion. What’s even better is that these guys - all the Rogues - look very modernized and not so cliche supervillain…except Mirror Master. He looks simplified from the previous bulky-masked design, but he’s still in orange tights.

Glider also refers to Mirror Master as “my love.” What’s going on there, eh?

The Flash #12, the verdict: It’s finally happening. The New 52 reunion of the Rogues. I can’t wait to see how this all goes down in the Annual, next. I’m more excited than I probably should be, given that it’s just a comic book, to see how Manapul and Buccellato handle this New 52 Flash taking on all these Rogues. So much can happen, and the tease at the end of this ish says that things are going to get a lot worse for Barry. Is Iris going to make it back? Is Turbine going to show up? Grodd? How about any hints into the Speedster family? The team on this book always gets me really pumped for what’s next.

(Photo Source: SpeedForce.org)