The Rise of Cobalt Blue!

[pyrotwilight]

Waaaay back in 1997 Mark Waid was writing the Flash and had done so for quite a while. One of his most well known story arcs included a villain named Cobalt Blue aka Malcolm Thawne (though his name wasn't revealed until later, who he first introduced in a one shot called the Speed Force Special who was essentially a retcon villain for the Flash. He started laying groundwork for the character in the story.

I previously posted this on SD 2.0 but took it down when I realized I had posted too much so I'll re-post it here. I'm also posting it since it seems the Thawne's will be playing a very big role in the future Flash titles, with yet another being introduced in the future named Mara Thawne according to Geoff Johns.

So here is that story from the Speed Force special, 4.5 ish pages from a 14 page story.



The story opens up with the villain, Cobalt Blue attacking a Zoo who has blue flame powers and a sword that can't cut them when they're intangible but they still feel enormous pain if they get hit by it.

As they run around trying to save the pedestrians they begin to notice they're slowing down as the blue flames seem to steal their speed.

The villain poofs off and Wally and Barry being completely confused at the villain's motives head to Barry's lab.



Interestingly a few folks felt during Flash Rebirth Cobalt Blue would show up since their was some focus on ninhydrin which turns blue during the scene of the killer getting speed powers (who we later find out was actually Zoom)



Barry makes the very astute point that Cobalt Blue didn't attack them in their sleep or such and since he wants their speed it means he can't steal it unless they're using it. Cobalt Blue of course attacks them forcing them to run. He puts the stolen speed energy from the Zoo and puts it into one of Barry's costumes and makes it attack the duo, they escape at first but are forced to get hit when Cobalt has the suit attack some innocent bystanders.

He begins to suck the speed from them after they're cornered and Barry becomes afraid after contemplating something. He tries a last ditch effort to push the energy absorption back onto Cobalt Blue by controlling his molecule's.



And so the villain vanished off presumably dead (though of course he returned later)



Wally has but one reaction to this...



"You have a crew cut Barry! Of course you're human, a dull human, but a human nonetheless!" And the two run off into the sunset with great optimism until Barry died in the Crisis. Hope you all liked it!


Suggested tags.

char: flash/kid flash/wally west
char: flash/barry allen
char: cobalt blue/malcolm thawne
creator: Mark Waid
creator: Jim Aparo
creator: bill sienkiewicz

Comments

[kd_the_movie]

Awww the golden years of the Flash :)

Johns probably will use Cobalt Blue in a major way. He's way too connected to Barry Allen (evil twin and all) to not be ignored. Plus imo it would be a good, respectful way to connect the Wally era to the new Barry Allen era (something that is sorely needed after the way Johns casually killed a major Wally villian).

[icon_uk]

Except that Cobalt Blue is also tied into a future that now doesn't happen, since the future with Impulse and XS isn't the future of the DCU as we know it.

[aaron_bourque]

. . .

And yet, Impulse is back, and I thought XS was too???

[icon_uk]

XS is alive, and rejoined "her" Legion to become the Wanderers, searching for other lost remnants of the previous multiverse.

I'm not saying there aren't anomalous leftovers, but the actual series of events are no longer available.

[pyrotwilight]

Which I guess means we just don't know what happens to the the Cobalt Gem in the future...

[freezer]

"I don't believe in unexplained forces!"

You mean like the one that lets you and Wally run at sub-light speeds without leaving tornado-like wakes of destruction or shearing your own flesh off?

[psychopathicus_rex]

Yeah, that was poorly phrased. A better way of putting it would be that he doesn't believe in unexplainable forces. The Speed Force has yet to be explained scientifically, but it COULD be, if enough time and effort were put into it. Magic, by its very nature, is NOT scientifically explainable, and Barry, as the scientific rationalist he is, doesn't believe in what he can't explain (although, as a resident of the DCu and someone who's fought alongside multiple magic-workers in his time, he SHOULD).

[theanswer]

But that's what he said. O_o

[psychopathicus_rex]

No, he said he didn't believe in 'unexplained' forces, which is a ridiculous thing for a scientist to say, as there are huge amounts of things that are verifiably, tangibly real, but not as yet thoroughly explained. Hell, have we figured out just how the bumblebee flies yet, despite all the bigwigs saying it shouldn't be able to? The main purpose of science is to explain the various rules and functions of the universe, analyze them, and use them to our advantage - a scientist saying that he doesn't believe in the unexplained is like a mathematician saying that he doesn't believe in Pi, simply because the end of it hasn't been reached yet. The unexplainable, on the other hand, is a thing or things that you cannot rationally explain, no matter how hard you try, which is magic's basic nature - it's unexplainable, it's miraculous and mysterious and completely unscientific. It makes sense for a scientific rationalist to not believe in the unexplainable - to their way of thinking, there IS nothing unexplainable. The unexplained, on the other hand, is a scientist's bread and butter - it would be preposterous for him not to believe in it. If he doesn't believe in the unexplained, then what the hell is he doing as a scientist?

[theanswer]

But you said the same thing he did.

"A better way of putting it would be that he doesn't believe in unexplainable forces."

[psychopathicus_rex]

He said he didn't believe in 'unexplained forces'. Unexplained is NOT the same as unexplainable. He SHOULD have said unexplainable, but he didn't.

[theanswer]

Oh, my mistake. :) I misread your post.

[psychopathicus_rex]

No problem - I've certainly had more dramatic misunderstandings in my day.

[theanswer]

...You callin me fat?

[psychopathicus_rex]

Uh... no?

[theanswer]

I was joking. :P

[psychopathicus_rex]

I know you were - I just wasn't sure how to react.

[raygunjill]

He should go drinking with Dr. Thirteen to commiserate about the headache of magic users.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I think Barry might actually find Dr. 13 somewhat annoying - he may be a rationalist himself, but he's a reasonable enough person overall, whereas Dr. 13 is like an insane caricature of a rationalist. He is constantly surrounded by every variety of magic, mysticism and supernatural phenomena, and yet he vehemently refuses to believe in it and keeps insisting that no no no no no, there IS, there MUST be, a rational, scientific explanation for it SOMEWHERE. Magic DOES NOT EXIST, DAMMIT! It doesn't matter that clear evidence for it is staring him right in the face, he will keep on denying its existence until it goes away, even if it never does. Confronted by someone like Zatanna, Barry would think 'Ah. She draws on forces of science as yet unexplained. She believes that it's magic, though, so I'll humor her.' 13, on the other hand, would furiously deny that Zatanna was doing ANYTHING out of the ordinary, run around looking for the hidden equipment that was creating the light show, and be genuinely insulted when he didn't find it. He feels that anything which doesn't fit into his ultra-rationalist worldview is a personal affront to him, whereas Barry is more philosophical about it. I've met people like Dr. 13, and believe you me, you DON'T want to argue philosophy with them.

[pyrotwilight]

True, it's one of the reasons its so hilarious his daughter is a sorceress.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Family get-togethers must be rather awkward.

Cousin Fred: Oh, man, it's great to see you, Terrence! We haven't spoken in a dog's age! What have you been up to?

Dr. 13: Eh, heh-heh, well, I debunked six charlatan mediums, uncovered a new form of bioluminescence which, I may say, CONCLUSIVELY proves to be the REAL cause of UFO sightings, and finally had my book published. Perhaps you've read it? It's called 'Enough of this Superstitious Nonsense'.

Cousin Fred: I'll see if I can find a copy. Oh, and hey, Tracy! You been keepin' your old man out of trouble?

Dr. 13: *twitches*

Tracy 13: Pretty much, I guess.

Cousin Fred: So what have YOU been up to, then?

Tracy 13: Oh, uh, well, I got a new boyfriend - he's cute, hispanic, and dresses in blue - saved Milwaukee from a dragon, and helped dispell an elder god back to th...

Dr. 13: No no no no no NONONO SHUT UP! DON'T LISTEN TO HER, SHE'S LYING! LIES! LIES! FABRICATIONS, HALLUCINATIONS, AND HOLOGRAMS! SOPHISTICATED PUPPETS, THAT'S ALL! AUDIO-ANIMATRONICS WITH MIND-CONTROLLING GASSES! YES! YES! THAT'S IT! PERFECTLY RATIONAL! EXPLANATION FOR EVERYTHING! IT'S ALLLLLLLL LIIIEEEEEEES!

*dead silence*

Tracy 13: And, uh, I tried to teach Dad how to ride a griffin, but it didn't go too well.

Dr. 13: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[gamerguy]

That's been explained for decades, now.

[freezer]

No, the Speed Force has been identified, not explained. And wasn't even a concept, when this story took place.

[freezer]

And I'd momentarily forgotten this was a flashback, not a Silver Age comic. Disregard that last bit.

[gamerguy]

Their ability to rocket through the city without destroying it comes from their ability to vibrate their molecules slightly out of phase. An aura that is an outgrowth of their speed power keeps them from burning up. Both of those have been in place decades before the 'speed force' thing.

[icon_uk]

I thought the introduction of Cobalt Blue, Barry's evil identical twin was one of the most corny, wince-inducting, bad soap opera moments of the whole series. Mark Waid did some great stuff, the whole family line of Thawnes was not one of them IMHO.

[khaosworks]

Waid at least had the grace to look embarrassed when I ribbed him about it. He said it made sense at the time and yeah, given the Tornado Twins and all, sure, it did. Doesn't mean that it wasn't a dramatic cliché, though.

It's one of those things where comic geek logic overrides good literary sense.

[icon_uk]

Ummm... he thought because Barry had fraternal twins, it made sense he himself was an identical twin? Really?

[khaosworks]

Well, I'm making it sound silly, but it was a bit more complicated than that, and also more about explaining Thawne and his connection to Barry. But to be honest, I was enjoying giving him grief about it to listen properly to the rationale. And then we moved on in the conversation.

[raygunjill]

Upon rereading his run, Waid's plots were very weak at points. Killing off all the traditional villains for 90s extreme ones was a big mistake since Waid cannot write a convincing foe to save his life. The one exception was the Return of Barry Allen the rest of the time it was like Wally was fighting worthless cliches. Of course, my opinion is slightly skewed by his refusal to apologize for fridging Golden Glider.

[theanswer]

I loved the Golden Glider. :(

Yeah, Waid's Rogues were terrible, which is probably why we haven't seen most of them in ages.

[icon_uk]

Who did he actually create?

[theanswer]

Chillblaine, Cobalt Blue, The Combine, The Folded Man, Mr. Frost, Razer, Replicant, Savitar, Team Turmoil, White Thunder (I actually adore her and wish they would bring her back).

I may be missing some, but most of those Flash villains you've probably never heard of or wouldn't care to ever see again.

I'd love to see Waid and Johns write the Wally West Flash together.

[box_in_the_box]

Because Waid wrote what remains one of my favorite versions of Wally (him and Morrison really shined on the character) and was terrible with the Rogues, whereas Johns was AWESOME with the Rogues (except for Mirror Master, whom he completely FUBARed) and ... well, his version of Wally wasn't OMG I HAET IT, but it just wasn't very good.

I actually LIKED that Wally was all, "Yeah, you know what? FUCK this secret identity bullshit. Here I am, living out loud."

Re: I'd love to see Waid and Johns write the Wally West Flash together.

[raygunjill]

I'm curious as to why you singled Mirror Master out. I felt his new background as an orphan gave him depth and a compassionate side that made him a more real character than the heartless assassin he was before. Of the Rogues, I'd say Heat Wave was the one whose new storyline was most problematic.

[box_in_the_box]

It's not Mirror Master's origin so much as his subsequent characterization that I found tough to take. His behavior as a sloppy drug addict was unrecognizable to me as a fan of who the character was when writtten by Grant Morrison (who had created the McCullough version of Mirror Master and already established him as an orphan) in JLA and Animal Man.

I actually really liked Heat Wave's POV, because it was clear that Johns had researched real-life pyromaniac psychology.

[raygunjill]

Really? He was more incompetent in his Animal Man appearance than anytime during Johns' run. And even during his JLA tenure and Morrison's writing on Flash he barely had a personality worth speaking of besides "Scottish stalker".

[box_in_the_box]

FUCKING THANK YOU.

And by and large, I liked Waid's run more often than not.

[halloweenjack]

It's really weird to see Sienkiewicz inking Aparo--they both got their start as Neal Adams clones, and the combination is so close to Adams that I half-expected to see his name in the tags.

[yaseen101]

Though, I have to say, Sienkiewicz inking doesn't really go with Aparo art.

[icon_uk]

It does end up as something of a Klaus Janson look to it...

[yaseen101]

My main problem with the colouring here and heck most coloured pieces of Aparo art is that it looks as if the colour's are about to jump off the page, as in the colour's themselves seem to be more vivid and a separate entity from the art rather than the colours high lighting and meshing together with the art to bring the story to life.

Hope that made sense.