Cobalt Blue

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caption=Cobalt Blue, Barry Allen's twin brother. Art by Pop Mhan and Chris Ivy.
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Cobalt Blue
real_name=Malcolm Thawne
publisher=DC Comics
debut=(As Cobalt Blue) "Speed Force" #1, (November 1997)
creators=Mark Waid
Brian Augustyn
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
alliances=
aliases=Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Ira West(adoptive parents)
powers=A blue flame which could steal anything his heart desired.

Cobalt Blue is a DC Comics supervillain and an enemy to the Flash.Citation | last = Beatty | first = Scott | author-link = Scott Beatty | contribution = Cobalt Blue | editor-last = Dougall | editor-first = Alastair | title = The DC Comics Encyclopedia | pages = 86 | publisher = Dorling Kindersley | place = New York | year = 2008 | ISBN = 0-7566-4119-5 | oclc = 213309017]

Fictional character biography

Malcolm Thawne was the twin brother of Barry Allen. The doctor that delivered the twins had already accidentally killed a separate child that belonged to Charlene Thawne. To cover the mistake, he gave Malcolm to the Thawnes and told the Allens that one of the twins had been stillborn.

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.

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.

His first attempt ended in failure, 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 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. This story-arc was told in "The Flash" (2nd series) as "Chain Lightning".

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 the 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. 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.

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.

Legacy

Numerous others in the future have become Cobalt Blue. There would be one almost every century that would take over the mantle.

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.

23rd Cenutury

The Cobalt Blue of this time had brutally murdered the Flash of that era's wife and had crippled his daughter, Sela. Eight months after this, the Flash killed Cobalt Blue. But his victory was shortlived 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.

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.

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. Ten years later, Jace was now the Flash and he and a time-travelling Jesse Quick defeated Cobalt Blue.

References