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The villains associated with The Flash may be the only villains arrayed against a single hero that have ever taken on a group identity The Rogues Gallery. I must confess to not being entirely sure why either. I have theory, but it is mine alone. Villain groups are common against hero groups, but it's rare against a single hero.

Like Superman, the Flash was a pretty tough to beat character. They kept trying to come up with a worthy opponents and the Flash just was able to handle them too easily. They had to team up for a fighting chance.

Things started to get really interesting with the Rogues when Barry Allen died. For those not in the know, Barry Allen was the Flash from the early '60's until the mid to late '80's when he died, eventually to be replaced by Wally West, who was Kid Flash when Barry was around.

The Rogues genuinely mourned the loss of Barry. He may have been the enemy, but he was their enemy and they actually resented that they were not the ones to bring him down. They actually helped Wally get going as the Flash. They figured "the game" was no fun without a worthy opponent so they nursed the kid along for a while.

As time has gone on, real ying/yang thing has developed between the Flash and the Rogues. There are very serious rules that should not be broken and the Rogues have been known to fight by Wally's side when a bad guy violates those rules.

It's important to remember that not every bad guy the Flash faces is a Rogue. Officially Captain Cold, the guy in the hood with the frosty shoulders, is the leader of the gang. The Rogues are, in large part the second string villains that face the Flash. The top picture shown here are of guys that are really a little too formidable to qualify as rogues. Oh sure, they have teamed up with the Rogues from time-to-time, but they aren't hanging out with them.

And yes, the Rogues have a hide out and they hang around a lot there, mostly boozing and playing cards. It's more clubhouse that hide out really, except for the fact that its extradimensional and therefore impossible for the Flash to find.

The Flash is one of those heroes made far, far more interesting by his villains. Wally has far better character development than Barry ever did, but that is still, in large part because of the villains he has worked off of. Some have, as is inevitable in situations like this, "left the dark side" and are practically members of Wally's family.

There is another reason the Rogues have organized -- because the Flashes have. Barry may be dead (well sorta, you know how these things go in comics) but Jay Garrick is still around and Bart Allen has come from the future to be the new Kid Flash, and then there are all the other speedsters in the world. There's pretty much an army of people that run really, really fast.

I like Flash's Rogues Gallery. They may not be the most worthy opponents, or the worst villains, but they are some of the most entertaining ones out there.

Related Tags: comic books, comic art, comics, Flash, Rogues Gallery, DC Comcis