One of the Flash's many Rogues helped reveal a mystery that the Fastest Man Alive is apparently unable to solve. The death of Captain Boomerang exposed how his villains have finally managed to beat their most hated enemy.
Despite being one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe, the Flash has found himself repeatedly flummoxed by the actions of his longtime group of villains, the Rogues. Armed with nothing but specialized technology, the Rogues have been able to go toe-to-toe with the Scarlet Speedster, and even eke out a few wins over the years. That said, the Rogues can't beat Flash permanently, and the hero has helped put them in jail more often than not. But the team of outlaws is resilient, and they learn from their mistakes. Over the years, they've refined their operation and have managed to slip some things right under the Flash's nose.
Case in point, when George "Digger" Harkness died, it revealed how the Flash's foes can work together to stump the hero. In The Flash #217 by Geoff Johns and Howard Porter, Captain Boomerang, one of the oldest and most iconic of the Rogues, has died after the botched murder of Tim Drake’s father, Jack. Though the superhero community reviles Captain Boomerang, the Flash's villains gather en masse to the life of their brother-in-arms. Obviously, they can't put on a such a service in public, so the Rogues hold the funeral in Avernus, a private ground. In order for maximum privacy, as well as to stay of the Flash's radar, the Rogues' consulted several other villains to make Avernus. They used the Folding Man to create a graveyard in 4D space and got technology from Gorilla Grodd to hide the location.
Avernus: The One Mystery Flash Has Yet To Solve
Interestingly enough, though Flash became aware of Avernus during the Blackest Night event, he never followed up on this mystery. Granted, that was partly due continuity being reset as a result of Flashpoint, but with the fixes to DC’s continuity, this means Avernus is still out there. Somewhere in time and space, there’s a pocket dimension dedicated for the Rogues to bury their dead. And yet, the Flash has never discovered the Rogues’ most secret location.
Flashes are, above anything else, science junkies and they love putting their minds to the test when it comes to solving crimes (especially those that defy the laws of physics). But neither Barry Allen nor Wally West have been able to track down the secret gravesite of the Rogues. Granted, there may be more pressing matters to the speedsters than finding the final resting place of villains. But if the Rogues can construct Avernus, there’s a chance they could make another hidden location, one used for more nefarious purposes. If the Flash never solves the mystery of Avernus, he may be keying his enemies on a way to workaround his powers.
