Warning: SPOILERS for The Flash #85

With The Flash #85 bringing the penultimate issue of the "Rogues Reign" storyline, Barry Allen and the rest of the Flash family are joining forces with the powered-up Rogues to take on their common enemy: Captain Cold.

After accepting Apex-Lex Luthor’s dark upgrade (like so many others in the Year of the Villain) Snart promoted himself from Captain Cold to King Cold, took out The Flash, and took over Central City, reshaping it in his image using Mirror Master's dimensional mirror technology. As the storyline progressed, writer Joshua Williamson has portrayed Snart as a man bent on revenge against anyone who would dare hurt or break up his family. And that threat reaches new heights in this issue's cliffhanger, when the extent of Snart’s new cold powers is finally revealed.

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When the Year of the Villain began, Leonard Snart, the leader of the Rogues and one-time bodyguard of Lex Luthor was approached by Apex-Lex and offered the necessary powers to beat The Flash. Snart willingly accepted the offer, as long as the other Rogues were also given the same power boost. With those powers, beating their longtime Flash foes was an easy challenge. But when Snart's sister Golden Glider revealed Barry Allen wasn't actually killed, only trapped, she made a request of her own: help the rest of the Rogues convince Cold he has gone too far.

Flash Rogues Fighting King Cold Comic

After Golden Glider helps Barry escape, the two meet up with Kid Flash and Avery Ho, recovering the shards of Mirror Master's dimensional tech to restore Central City. The Flashes also learn that Golden Glider is not the only Rogue who thinks that Cold has gone too far. The group approaches Weather Wizard and Heat Wave, who both agree that their new powers came with too heavy of a cost -- and that King Cold must be stopped.

Their mission to collect Mirror Master's shard goes wrong when they're confronted by the supervillain, aware of their betrayal and plan to revolt against King Cold. Mirror Master transports them to King Cold's fortress, where Snart and his army confront the Flashes and the other Rogues. Golden Glider appeals to her brother, confessing that she was the one who broke the mirror and freed Flash... out of love for her brother, recognizing he has gone too far over the edge. Snart's response is excessive, unleashing his new power and freezing everyone except Flash. Claiming that The Flash took his family from him, he prepares for round two of their man-to-man slugfest (the first of which took place in Flash #38). In the final page, revealing how Apex-Lex changed his power forever.

The Flash vs Captain Cold Upgrade Fight

At first glance, it seems that King Cold's new powers are an amped-up version of the cryokinesis powers he possessed for a while during the New 52 reboot, after Dr. Darwin Elias used a genome recording device to fuse the Rogues' DNA with their specific weapons. This assumption would make sense as Golden Glider, who is wrapped in bandages that are able to help the Flashes negate the Speed Force, mentions this event when she is helping Barry to remaster the Speed Force before confronting King Cold.

Williamson, who has been writing The Flash since the Rebirth relaunch back in 2016, continues to dig deep into the Flash facts and history to make Barry Allen a more well-rounded and fleshed out character. Williamson also expertly and seamlessly weaves this storyline into the overall Year of the Villain story while providing another exciting installment of The Flash.

The "Rogues Reign" story will conclude in The Flash #86 arriving on January 15th, 2020

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