Sometimes revenge is a dish best served hot.
What They Say:
FLASH FACT! They have to kill the president!
The Review:
The focus on some of the villains of the DC Universe has been interesting in the Flashpoint series so far and the Legion of Doom is one that has some potential as well since it’s spending time building up the villain side. Sometimes they’re just so one-dimensional that you can’t get into it, but the more you know them, and the more clear it is that they are villains rather than just people with different views, the more fun it can be. With this book, the opening issue focuses heavily on Heatwave, a relatively two-bit villain that has aims to be something bigger. And he does think big, just not realistically as he ambushes the pair that makes up the hero known as Firestorm and ends up torching Jason Rusch, killing him in the process. His plan to be the other half of Firestorm fits in with his goal of really using fire and heat to its fullest, but it’s not exactly how the whole process works and is one big gaping hole in his plan.
Naturally, even though there’s a large war going on between the Amazons and Atlanteans, there are still heroes out there trying to do the right thing. Heatwave ends up getting taken down by Cyborg in a pretty easy series of moves overall, but not ones without some danger to it. Where Heatwave’s story really gets going is when he ends up in Queen’s Penitentiary Row with an execution date coming up. He’s the classic outsider criminal on the inside and does his best to stay out of everyone’s way. It’s interesting to see him taking on the really hardened criminal role as it gives him more of an edge than it’s felt like he’s had from my distant memories of him and he narrates it well as he goes through the motions waiting for events to unfold in a way that will let him burn the whole place down.
There is some exploration on the prison they’re in, which definitely is amusing as it’s the old dome piece we’ve seen since the 70’s, except now it’s owned and operated by Oliver Queen. There isn’t a lot of background on the whole piece overall through as the focus is mostly on Heatwave and what he has to go through prior to the perfect tool arriving in a mule for him to escape with. The prison side of it takes up most of the issue and it does work well as Heatwave has the whole thing figured out, which of course means that he’s going to have some real problems along the way as things never go according to plan. Still, it’s an interesting start and the book definitely makes him an interesting character to watch from a psychological standpoint.
Digital Notes:
This digital edition of the Legion of Doom from Comixology features just the first printing cover of the issue with no additional extras included in the book.