Flashpoint: Citizen Cold

Scott Kollins

"Cold Hearted:" Leornard Snart, Captain Cold, is known as the archenemy of the Flash and the leader of the Rogues, but in the world of Flashpoint, Snart is a hero. Calling himself Citizen Cold, Snart is a hyper violent crimefighter, who also abuses his status as a hero. Last time, after discovering who Cold really was, photographer Wally West was murdered by Cold to keep his secret.

Summary: We open to Iron Heights prison where former Rogues Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Trixter, Tarpit, Fallout, and Black Mass (whose dies because his explosion is the escape) are escaping to go kill Cold. Cold's sister, Lisa, is also being held in the prison for murdering her abusive father. On the way out of the prison, the rogues grab Lisa and head into the forest. We catch up with the Pied Piper who gets a text from Wally to meet him at a warehouse. Arriving at the adress, Piper finds the warehouse burned to the ground and Wally's burned body inside. Cutting to Cold the next day, he is having lunch with Iris West who is doing an interview with him, but her nephew Wally has gone missing. Cold cranks up the creepiness in the interview nearly kissing her when he gets a text from an InsideMan who informs him of his sister's kidnapping and the location of the rogues. At a nearby observatory the rogues are gathering their strength, when Cold shows up and the fight ensues. Fallout blasts him with radiation, chastising him for murdering Mr. Freeze/ Weather Wizard attacks next, wanting to know what happened to his brother, Tarpit wants a lot of money that Cold took, Trixter is upset because his hero, the first Trickster was murdered by Cold. And Mirror Master is pissed because Cold didn't finish him and just trapped him in a mirror forever. Cold attacks Trixter and although Tarpit tries to block the attack, being knocked backwards he ends up killing Trixter by falling on him. Weather Wizard starts to fight Cold again while Fallout goes after his sister. Wizard gets his arms frozen, and assumably broken, while Fallout burns the skin off of Lisa, and she dies just as Cold gets to her. The remaining villains surround Cold, and the "hero" sets off a bomb blowing the Observatory up with them all in there. Piper gets the evidence of who Cold is and gets the recording of his murder of Wally, but as he gets back to his hideout, he finds Cold has left a bomb in there, and it blows up. Back with Iris, she is nearly hit by a car as she waits by the docks for an informant. The car's door opens and the driver, Cold, falls out of it, covered in blood.
Highs: I'm a huge fan of Captain Cold and I think he's, and all the rogues, are really fun characters. Its nice to see some changes.
Lows: However, Cold is even more unlikable and is even more of a horrible douchebag than he is when he is a villain. Also the art is sketchy and really rough.
Verdict: B-. I had high hopes for this book, but honestly it feels like wasted potential in the long run. I suppose we shall see what the last issue brings. Anyone care to heat up this Cold blog?