FLASH #155 (1965)
by John Broome & Carmine Infantino
The Flash villains have teamed up before, but this is often regarded as the “true” first appearance of the Rogues Gallery.
We begin with the original Mirror Master being teleported out of his cell. And for once he’s not the one doing it with questionable mirror science.
Fun fact: the supervillain industry is so vibrant in Central City that there’s a tailor who makes regular appearances as the maker of their costumes!
And he’s not alone, because he finds there Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Pied Piper, Heat Wave and The Top. I’ve already covered the separate first appearances of all these idiots villains.
Notice that everyone introduces himself with a lame reference to their gimmick, except Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang because they’re not the lame ones.
This is such a simple idea it’s AMAZING nobody tried this before. Sure, there have been PLENTY of supervillain team-ups, but for whatever reasons it’s not until the Rogues that a hero’s regular villains decide to form a team to work together.
They are not the FIRST supervillain team of DC… that record goes to the Injustice Society during the Golden Age… and even in the Silver Age they were preceded by the Sinister Six at Marvel.
But they wouldn’t become a regular feature of Spider-Man stories for years… it was typically a big deal when they assembled. And in other cases, such as the Frightful Four, once the team is formed its members transition to mostly show up together instead of separate threats.
The Rogues, on the other hand, will remain as individual villains doing their own thing AND will team-up frequently. That’s pretty unique, and one of the reasons why Flash’s rogues gallery stands out among superheroes.
Heck, they’re one of the main reasons we still call these “rogues galleries” in the first place!
How awesome is that?
My theory that the Flash can dodge lightning AND NOTHING ELSE continues to be proven.
Seriously, I really like Captain Cold as a villain but this has always bothered me… how is he EVER a threat to Flash!?
Not only Flash should be able to take him out before his brain has the time to tell his hand to pull the trigger… but even if he does, so what?
I can’t decide whether this is a brilliant or lame solution.
Now Mirror Master, on the other hand, quite often IS a credible threat to Flash, since his mirror technology never makes any sense whatsoever.
But when he completely relies on illusions, he runs in basically the same problem Mysterio has: once you know he’s involved, you can just ignore any threat because it’s not real.
At least Mysterio has the advantage of being able to nullify the Spider-Sense, but…
…why doesn’t Flash punch out Mirror Master 0.0000000000001 nanoseconds after figuring out he’s dealing with illusions!?
We interrupt this superhero comic for a dance number.
One of the best thing about the Rogues is that they really get along as a team… most of the time.
0.0000000000001 nanoseconds later, the Flash wins.
OR DOES HE?
And that’s how the Flash died. True story.*
(*not a true story)
Just kidding, of course: he just vibrated through the floor.
You think I’m joking about the fact that Flash should be able to take down these guys without any trouble if he used his full speed? IT’S CANON.
But who is behind this? Well the Flash traces the radiation to the gorilla cages at the zoo, so it probably isn’t Weather Wizard.
A big part of the plot is the fact that the gorilla can’t get laid. True story.*
(*yep, this time it is!)
It finally dawns on Flash that Gorilla Grodd might be behind this (YOU DON’T SAY!!!), so he decides to make a trip to Gorilla City.
Even weakened, Flash can still move 1/10th of the speed of light.
Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means the speed of light in the air, which is of course slower than the speed of light in a vacuum.
About 0.03% slower.
So if Flash is able to move at a tenth of the speed of light in the air… that’s still over 180,000 MILES PER SECOND.
STILL NOT ENOUGH TO DODGE CAPTAIN COLD!?!?
Once Flash reaches Gorilla City, he finds that everyone is immobilized… including Gorilla Grodd. Could it be that he’s not the real villain?
Yes of course he is, as Flash is informed telepathically by Gorilla City’s king.
I told you gorilla sex life was crucial to the story!!!
I feel you, buddy.
But wait, Grodd then teleports the entire Rogues Gallery to fight the Flash!
0.0000000000001 nanoseconds later, the Flash wins.
On a splash page, no less! Something VERY rare in DC stories of the time.
This is Grodd’s time to shine: he PLANNED for the Rogues to screw this up, and now Flash can’t use his speed anymore!
However… and you can’t make this stuff up… the female gorilla is so jealous of Grodd that she beats him up!!!
She didn’t get any thought balloons before this scene, by the way.
With the female distracting Grodd, he’s no longer able to fully repress the Flash’s speed and gets defeated pretty quickly.
And so the day is saved thanks to a thirsty gorilla.
The Silver Age, man…
Historical significance: 7/10
All the villains were already introduced, but still, many of the Rogues are more significant as part of the team than as single threates.
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
A JEALOUS GORILLA SAVES THE DAY!!!
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
A fun and enjoyable rump. The only problem I have with it is that the two parts… the Rogues and Gorilla Grodd… don’t really mesh with each other, or even interact.
But I do love the idea that the Rogues basically go “You know what? We actually had some fun, let’s hang out again” after this.
Ridiculous Flash feat of the day
The Flash had the best rogues gallery!
This review reminds me that these stories were fun–even if you had to sacrifice a certain amount of logic to make them work.
The cover copy reminds me of the Stealer’s Wheel song from almost a decade later: “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right . . .” It would have been eerily prophetic if the Joker had appeared on this cover!