Absolute Flash Offers First Look at New Continuity's Reimagined Villains

In a new look at DCs Definitely Flash Fresh off New York Comic Con, the series is gaining fans Take a closer look at Wally West's teenage superhero and his completely reinvented villains. DC's Absolute Universe is a new continuity set in an entire reality twisted by Darkseid's evil—a place where heroes are stripped of any advantages they had in mainstream DC and challenged by villains who have never been more powerful.

Definitely Flash Coming March 5, 2025 from DC Comics written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Nick Robles. In a new preview shared by DC, fans get their first look at this world's version of the Rogues — a crew of tech-driven thieves who've battled an entire version of the fastest man. However, in the Absolute Universe, it appears that the Rogues will not be criminals, but rather the enforcers of this world's dark new status quo.

Robles' art shows the villains leaving a large vehicle, with new versions of Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang, as well as wild new looks for the Golden Glider and Trickster. The designs and presentation of these villains make it far from being on the wrong side of the law. The Rogues may be what passes for superheroes in Darkseid's world.

Speaking at DC's All In/Absolute Universes panel, editor Chris Conroy nicknamed this new version of Captain Cold.
“Hot Cold.”

Definitely The Flash reinvents villains

The Teenage Flash Battled the New Version of Captain Cold

While Reverse-Flash is the Flash's most famous foe, the Rogues are arguably the more interesting characters, with numerous run-ins taking the group as supporting characters to Flash's adventures. There have been many versions of the Rogues, usually led by Captain Cold, but the main members are the pyromaniac Heatwave, Suicide Squad mainstay Captain Boomerang, the game-themed psychopath Trickster, the volatile atmospheric manipulator Weather Wizard, and the brutal Ex. the killer Mirror Master, who Cold's sister, the Gold Glider, once performed as a member of.

Rogues are often presented as one of the most unique elements of Flash lore due to their strict rules of behavior. These rules see Rogues kill only in extreme circumstances, and have allowed Wally West's Flash to come to terms with villains where both sides give the other some leeway and even work together against deadly threats. However, in a reality where evil is the main force of nature and heroism, a diminished outsider, the Rogues and Wally West will have a whole new dynamic.

Definitely Flash is telling a story DC has never been able to before

Wally West Removed from Mentor in Crucial Lore Change

Proposing the Rogues as authority figures against the rebellious Flash is a clever new way to conceptualize their rivalry, and is the reshaping of the status quo that the Absolute Universe promised fans. This new reality is a world where DC's heroes are robbed of the resources and allies that helped them survive in the main continuity, and villains are given new prestige and power – for example, this world's Joker is a billionaire raised by expert assassins. League of Shadows.

There is still much to learn Definitely FlashA new version of Wally West, but everything fans have seen so far suggests his lore will be excitingly rewritten. The original hero started life as Barry Allen's sidekick, meaning he lived his entire life around superheroes and with a mentor who could advise him on his powers. It points to this Wally will be overwhelmed by his brand new powers and pursued by rogue government agents is a big reason for Flash fans to be excited, as this new continuity sets the stage for stories that could not be included in DC's original canon.

Definitely Flash #1 Coming March 5, 2025 from DC Comics.