RR #2 spoilers!
For those who can't get the issue for a while, but want spoilers.
The Rogues go to Paul Gambi's store, and find a mannequin wearing the Golden Glider's costume on fire and Gambi beaten nearly to death. They discover the culprits are the faux-Rogues from the Gotham Underground series, who tell Cold that if the Rogues don't obey Libra, they'll kill his dad. To my utter delight, he tells them what to do to themselves, that he'll kill them, and then kill his dad himself. Faux-Cold is kind of scared but the others are cocky...and then McCulloch traces their location via mirrors, and the Rogues burst into the hideout.
Murder and mayhem ensue! Mick kills his counterpart (and starts getting a little creepy with the fire lust again). Mark kills his counterpart after she flirts badly with him and is apparently not smart enough for him. Evan and Axel kill faux-MM. Mark kills faux-Abra Kadabra with the often-threatened tornado in the gut (but faux-Abra almost gets Axel first...oooh, so close ^_^). Len kills his counterpart, and reminds the corpses not to mess with them or their families. Axel says he wouldn't care if someone went after his family, and Mark tells him that family does matter, because you either love them or hate them. And Cold learns that his dad is imprisoned in the next room.
Meanwhile, after kicking Inertia around earlier and bullying him into putting on the Kid Flash uniform, Zoom is continuing to forcibly train him. And Piper is tracking them all...Zoom and Inertia and the Rogues. Hartley says Cold will have to deal with Inertia, Zoom, AND him.
Iris and the Garricks and the Wests moon over Barry as the Flashes run elsewhere.
Cold goes to confront his dad, and we see flashbacks familiar to anyone who's read the Cold spotlight issue. Len tells Old Man Snart (henceforth called OMS, because we don't know his first name) that he's been looking for him, and OMS says that Lisa has been too. Len tells his dad that she's dead, which surprises him, and he says he's sorry. Len is not convinced and snarks at him, but OMS says she'd still be alive "if you hadn't chased her off". OMS blames Len for her becoming a criminal and causing her death, saying she'd gone after her brother. OMS says it isn't his fault how Len turned out and how Lisa died (and frankly I would have fragged the guy myself at this point). When Len points his cold gun at him, OMS snarks about getting Lisa killed and killing him, and then starts dissing Mrs Snart and talks about beating the kids. Len punches him, and the guy continues pushing his buttons, so Len walks out and tells *Mick* to kill him. Which Mick does, and Mark asks if it made Len feel better. He says no, and even Axel looks kind of unhappy.
Len asks Mark if they can go back to the observatory (Clyde's, natch) so they can track Inertia and end this. Mark agrees after some thought, and Mick gets told to burn the creepy hideout. As they depart, Axel and Evan discuss being a newbie to the Rogues and how to get accepted into the group.
Meanwhile, Libra and Grodd talk about why they want the Rogues on their side so much; Libra says he suspects the Flashes will play a big role in the Crisis as they always do, so they need guys with experience fighting Flashes. Libra says he's having Zoom train Inertia to be Kid Flash because he wants the Rogues to kill a Kid Flash again to prep for the war against the speedsters. He indicates that Abra Kadabra and Dr Alchemy are already on his side, as is Grodd, obviously. And Libra says there's one Rogue they can control... "He's smarter than the others. And much more powerful." He means Mark! Libra plans to force Mark to convince the Rogues to join him...or he'll kill Josh! :O
Holy shit, guys, this issue made me squee like a fangirl. Old Man Snart? (who I just wrote into a fic, BTW) Josh? Glider flashback? Mention of Top, Scudder, and Raider? It's like hitting all my buttons!
A little too much killing for my liking, but eh, they pretty much all had it coming.
I'm a bit surprised nobody in the story blamed Top for Lisa becoming a supervillain (because Top is kind of Johns' whipping boy), but then again if you read Cold's solo issue, Roscoe's influence on her life is severely downplayed. So maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. That said, I'm curious about what Piper means in this issue when he says "But I focused on Cold. Once he put Heat Wave in his place and turned us against the Top, he always called the shots." What is he referring to?
Axel knows who Gambi is, despite his comments in this issue (and Johns' apparent brain-fart). He talked to him at Digger's funeral.
My few minor nitpicks aside, I loved this issue. Great stuff! What'd you guys think?
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention that Cold appears on one page of Last Will and Testament, also out today.
The Rogues go to Paul Gambi's store, and find a mannequin wearing the Golden Glider's costume on fire and Gambi beaten nearly to death. They discover the culprits are the faux-Rogues from the Gotham Underground series, who tell Cold that if the Rogues don't obey Libra, they'll kill his dad. To my utter delight, he tells them what to do to themselves, that he'll kill them, and then kill his dad himself. Faux-Cold is kind of scared but the others are cocky...and then McCulloch traces their location via mirrors, and the Rogues burst into the hideout.
Murder and mayhem ensue! Mick kills his counterpart (and starts getting a little creepy with the fire lust again). Mark kills his counterpart after she flirts badly with him and is apparently not smart enough for him. Evan and Axel kill faux-MM. Mark kills faux-Abra Kadabra with the often-threatened tornado in the gut (but faux-Abra almost gets Axel first...oooh, so close ^_^). Len kills his counterpart, and reminds the corpses not to mess with them or their families. Axel says he wouldn't care if someone went after his family, and Mark tells him that family does matter, because you either love them or hate them. And Cold learns that his dad is imprisoned in the next room.
Meanwhile, after kicking Inertia around earlier and bullying him into putting on the Kid Flash uniform, Zoom is continuing to forcibly train him. And Piper is tracking them all...Zoom and Inertia and the Rogues. Hartley says Cold will have to deal with Inertia, Zoom, AND him.
Iris and the Garricks and the Wests moon over Barry as the Flashes run elsewhere.
Cold goes to confront his dad, and we see flashbacks familiar to anyone who's read the Cold spotlight issue. Len tells Old Man Snart (henceforth called OMS, because we don't know his first name) that he's been looking for him, and OMS says that Lisa has been too. Len tells his dad that she's dead, which surprises him, and he says he's sorry. Len is not convinced and snarks at him, but OMS says she'd still be alive "if you hadn't chased her off". OMS blames Len for her becoming a criminal and causing her death, saying she'd gone after her brother. OMS says it isn't his fault how Len turned out and how Lisa died (and frankly I would have fragged the guy myself at this point). When Len points his cold gun at him, OMS snarks about getting Lisa killed and killing him, and then starts dissing Mrs Snart and talks about beating the kids. Len punches him, and the guy continues pushing his buttons, so Len walks out and tells *Mick* to kill him. Which Mick does, and Mark asks if it made Len feel better. He says no, and even Axel looks kind of unhappy.
Len asks Mark if they can go back to the observatory (Clyde's, natch) so they can track Inertia and end this. Mark agrees after some thought, and Mick gets told to burn the creepy hideout. As they depart, Axel and Evan discuss being a newbie to the Rogues and how to get accepted into the group.
Meanwhile, Libra and Grodd talk about why they want the Rogues on their side so much; Libra says he suspects the Flashes will play a big role in the Crisis as they always do, so they need guys with experience fighting Flashes. Libra says he's having Zoom train Inertia to be Kid Flash because he wants the Rogues to kill a Kid Flash again to prep for the war against the speedsters. He indicates that Abra Kadabra and Dr Alchemy are already on his side, as is Grodd, obviously. And Libra says there's one Rogue they can control... "He's smarter than the others. And much more powerful." He means Mark! Libra plans to force Mark to convince the Rogues to join him...or he'll kill Josh! :O
Holy shit, guys, this issue made me squee like a fangirl. Old Man Snart? (who I just wrote into a fic, BTW) Josh? Glider flashback? Mention of Top, Scudder, and Raider? It's like hitting all my buttons!
A little too much killing for my liking, but eh, they pretty much all had it coming.
I'm a bit surprised nobody in the story blamed Top for Lisa becoming a supervillain (because Top is kind of Johns' whipping boy), but then again if you read Cold's solo issue, Roscoe's influence on her life is severely downplayed. So maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. That said, I'm curious about what Piper means in this issue when he says "But I focused on Cold. Once he put Heat Wave in his place and turned us against the Top, he always called the shots." What is he referring to?
Axel knows who Gambi is, despite his comments in this issue (and Johns' apparent brain-fart). He talked to him at Digger's funeral.
My few minor nitpicks aside, I loved this issue. Great stuff! What'd you guys think?
Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention that Cold appears on one page of Last Will and Testament, also out today.