Cobalt Blue
Cobalt Blue is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Malcolm Thawne was a male human born over 17 years ago where he was the son of Nora Allen and her husband with him being the twin brother of Barry Allen. His mother was pregnant with him when she went to the hospital and was tended to by Dr. Gilmore. At the same time, Charlene Thawne was similarly pregnant when the two women had arrived at the doctor's practice. Unknown to anyone, Dr. Gilmore was drunk at that moment and had moments ago sent his nurse home when the two pregnant women arrived for the delivery when lightning caused a power cut. In these conditions, Gilmore performed the delivery where he was successful in the case of the Allen's but for the Thawne's he caused an accidental strangling of the newborn on the umbilical cord. Thus, he infant Thawne was killed as a result of the drunken doctor's condition and in a panic he looked for a solution. He decided to substitute one of the Allen twin's for the Thawne's child so that both families would emerge with an offspring. Gilmore convinced the Allen's that the twin was born stillborn and gave the real infant to the Thawne's who named him Malcolm Thawne. (The Flash v2 #144)
Malcolm's "parents" were con artists, passing off a healing salve that was actually used to cover the Thawnes' natural super abilities. Because of his clean-cut looks and demeanor, Malcolm was most often used to lure the unsuspecting victims. As an adult, he was in Central City, and stumbled onto his twin brother, Barry Allen, by chance. Curious why there was another man with his face, he demanded the truth from his parents. They admitted everything, having been aware of the infant switch from the beginning. Malcolm refused to believe that his parents could be so heartless, and he tracked down the doctor that had delivered him. The doctor confirmed the Thawnes' story and, in a rage, Malcolm murdered the doctor[2].
The matriarch of the Thawne family, Malcolm's grandmother, who also possessed the ability to control the "blue flame" (which was revealed to be a mystical ability passed down through the Thawne family) was disgusted at her son's pathetic use of the gift to con people. Malcolm, on the other hand, possessed the passion required to make full use of the ability. His grandmother trained him in the secret of the flame. Fueled by Malcolm's rage and jealousy at his twin for 'stealing his life', Malcolm fashioned a blue gem to contain the flame, which was capable of stealing Barry Allen's superspeed[1][2].
His first attempt ended in failure[4], and Malcolm was absorbed into the gem, only to re-emerge years later. By this time, Wally West had assumed the mantle of the Flash. Barry's death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths appeared to have cheated Malcolm out of his dreams of revenge on his brother. Instead, Malcolm focused on Allen's descendants traveling through time in a bid to exterminate them, starting with Wally West. Under the identity of Cobalt Blue, Malcolm ignited a family feud that endured for a millennium.
The feud came to a head in the late 30th century, where Barry Allen was living with his wife Iris. Wally West arrived to try to protect his uncle. Flashes of all eras between the 20th and 30th centuries arrived soon after, all under the control of Thawne's spirit because they all were carrying a shard of the original Cobalt Blue gem[3]. After defeating all the other Flashes[5], in the end, Wally West ended the menace of Cobalt Blue by running so fast that he skirted the edge of the Speed Force. Its power poured into the gem, and Thawne's spirit (and the gem itself) overloaded from the excess energy[6].
Despite the fact that there are supposed to be many Cobalt Blues between now and the 30th century, neither Malcolm or Cobalt Blue have appeared since the "Chain Lightning" arc. It is unknown if these timelines even exist following the events of Infinite Crisis.
Numerous others in the future have become Cobalt Blue. There would be one almost every century that would take over the mantle.[1]
21st Century
The Cobalt Blue of the 21st century wore a glass armor. Not much was seen of him, as he was defeated in about 30 seconds by a time travelling Jay Garrick and Iris West II[7].
23rd Century
The Cobalt Blue of this time had brutally murdered the Flash of that era's wife and had crippled his daughter, Sela[8]. Eight months after this, the Flash killed Cobalt Blue. But his victory was short-lived as a child picked up the gem and, being consumed by its rage, killed the Flash. However, a time-travelling Max Mercury and Sela Allen, who was now healed, returned the boy to normal[7].
25th Century
In the 25th century, the roles of the Flash and Cobalt Blue were reversed. Now Chardaq Allen had taken the role of Cobalt Blue. Professor Zoom and Wally West defeated Chardaq and returned him to normal[8].
28th Century
This Cobalt Blue almost ended the Allen bloodline when she infected Jace Allen with a virus. However, Jace's father Blaine, the then current Flash, sacrificed himself to save his son[4]. Ten years later, Jace was now the Flash[9] and he and a time-travelling Jesse Quick defeated Cobalt Blue[7].
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Malcolm Thawne was a male human who had blonde hair and was the identical twin brother of Barry Allen where the two shared similar features. (The Flash v2 #144)
He felt that the power of the Flash should have belonged to him and that he had been cheated of this power due to random chance. (The Flash v2 #144)
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Cobalt Blue was created by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn where he made his first appearance in Speed Force #1 (November, 1997).
Alternate Versions
- In Future State: Justice League v1 #1 (2021), a new version of Cobalt Blue was shown in the alternate timeline of Future State. This figure operated by the mid-21st century where he came to be a member of the Legion of Doom that was assembled by T.O. Morrow. They gathered in order to defeat the new Justice League but were all murdered by the White Martians of the Hyperclan as part of their own plot to take over the Earth.
Appearances
- Speed Force v1: (1997)
- Flash v2:
External Links
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