It's no secret that The Flash has some of DC's best villains with the Rogues Gallery, and part of their strength is their intelligence. When most people think of Flash villains they jump to the Reverse Flash as the Scarlet Speedster's main rival, but any discussion of his villains isn't complete without mentioning Central City's most well-organized group of criminals, the Rogues Gallery. Originally formed in The Flash #130, this team of baddies was originally a loose alliance of costumed criminals who decided that strength in numbers was the key to defeating Flash. But over time the Rogues would develop into a coherent unit of professional thieves-and eventually, the smartest team of supervillains in DC comics history.
The Rogues Gallery doesn't have an "official" lineup but there are a few veterans who appear in most versions of the team. Some of the most frequent members of the Rogues are Heatwave, Mirror Master, Pied Piper, and the group's leader, Captain Cold. As the head, Cold isn't just the most powerful Rogue-his strict leadership and no-nonsense attitude towards crime is what drives the Rogues to succeed. What makes Cold and the Rogues so much smarter than other villains is their pragmatic attitude towards crime. Rather than try and take over the world like some villains, the Rogues stick to smaller crimes like bank robberies since it involves significantly less risk that a more violent anti-hero will kill them.
In fact, the Rogues have made it a point to only antagonize the Flash because they recognize that he will, at worst, drop them off at the police station and call it a day. Unlike other villains who genuinely hate their heroic counterparts The Rogues treat their rivalry with the Flash like a business relationship where each side is just doing their job. When the Rogues aren't committing crimes the Rouges are willing to team up with the good guys if it's in their interest to do so. Their relationship with the Flash is so casual that in The Flash Vol 2 #19 The Rogues actually invite Wally West to Captain Cold's retirement party!
The second secret behind the Rogues' success as villains is that the team considers themselves to be professional thieves above everything else. That means that they will avoid seeking revenge or killing bystanders unless it's unavoidable. This attitude is what lets the Rogues focus on completing robberies instead of getting distracted by personal grievances. But the Rogues don't avoid murder because they're pacifists. Just like everything Leonard Snart does it's actually a calculated risk to keep the team afloat. When the Rogues are tricked by the Speedster villain Intertia into killing Barry Allen's grandson the team goes into hiding because they understand that murdering one superhero can lead to an army of Justice League members hunting them down. Once again the Rogues prioritize staying out of trouble so they can commit more robberies in the future.
From an outsider's perspective, the Rouges' tendency to focus on low-level crimes like Bank robbery makes them appear weak and non-threatening compared to other villains but this is far from the truth. In Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge by Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, and Dave McCraig the team faces off against a group of new villains who stole the Rogues' technology and their identities. Unlike with the Flash, this time the Rogues actually are out for revenge, so naturally they destroy the imposter Rogues and kill them all without much effort. Time and again people will underestimate the Rogues Gallery because they aren't as flashy or ambitious as other villains, but people like The Flash understand just how dangerous the Rogues Gallery can be when they put their impressive minds to it.
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