Villain Profile: Captain Cold

Graphic. At least he knows what he wants.

One of the biggest difficulties with writing a villain is the question, should I try to make him sympathetic or not? Some bad guys need to be just total monsters, just the worst of the worst, it’s what makes them interesting. While others, like the Captain Cold here, do have a backstory and overall vibe that makes it hard to just outright hate them. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get started with Captain Cold.

Leonard Snart had your pretty typical bad guy origin. His main caregiver was his father, who was an abusive SOB. His one refuge from being smacked around was working in his Grandfather’s ice truck. That particular respite from his parental problems only lasted until his dear old Grandpa died. The loss of the only father figure that actually cared about him was a wakeup call to Snart. He told his Dad to stuff it, and set out on his criminal career. He joined a local band of hooligans and they tried to rob a bank. This first little outing worked well, until Barry Allen super-speeded through the area. Snart and his crew were arrested, spent a bit of time in prison, and upon his release Snart decided to go solo. But, rather than moving to a different city, decided that he personally had to do something about the Flash.

For a short time, Cold was given Magic Ice Powers
This was later dropped for being stupid.

Snart, after reading an article that theorized that particles charged from a cyclotron could be used to interfere with the Flash’s speed, decided to weaponize this idea. A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator, so considering that charged particles gave the Flash his powers, this isn’t a completely stupid idea. Snart developed a handgun that he believed could be used to harness the cyclotron’s energy, then broke into a lab to charge the weapon and test it out. After a security guard caught him in the act, Snart tested the weapon on him. To his surprise his experimental weapon froze the moisture in the air, freezing it and the guard solid. Snart, smiling evilly the whole time I believe, got himself a parka and a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the emissions of his Cold Gun, and started calling himself Captain Cold.

Now, the main question you’re probably thinking is, why the heck do people like this guy? Sure, he’s got a somewhat sympathetic backstory, but so do a lot of other characters. What about him makes him a fan favorite? I believe it has something to do with the fact that he’s a very ethical villain. I know, that sounds like an oxymoron, just hear me out. While Cold is a supervillain, which almost by definition makes him largely amoral, he does have a pretty staunch code of conduct and ethics that make him more interesting than your generic bank robber types. Let me explain. Captain Cold is the leader of the Rogues, think Flash’s version of the Sinister Six. As a boss, Cold really cracks a whip. He has a zero tolerance drug policy, by which I mean if he catches one of his men (like fellow Rogue, Mirror Master, who has a cocaine problem) with drugs or while high, he beats the heck out of them. Furthermore, he docks pay for anyone that performs any senseless act of violence. The example that Wikipedia gave was a new member by the name of the Trickster used a combination of stray dogs and some sort of Improvised Explosive Device, which lead to the Trickster losing 90% of what he was going to be paid for the job. Also, he tries to avoid killing whenever possible and has strict rule against directly harming women and children. Cold is a stern taskmaster for a bunch of Psychos.

The parka may look silly, but it sure is effective.

Despite some of the better qualities that Cold has shown, he is by no means a good person. He has fought against three generations of Flashes, and personally helped kill the youngest Flash, Bart Allen. He and a few of his teammates did show remorse after this, but seriously dude, that really doesn’t make up for the dead superhero.

Captain Cold doesn't have any superpowers. He relies on his Cold Gun, which is totally not a rip off of Mr. Freeze's own weapon, to do most of the work for him. He uses it for a variety of effects, such a freezing opponents, freezing the ground, and most sadistic of all, a cold blast that is strong enough to stop an opponent but not so strong that it numbs them to the pain. Apparently he used this particular function to torture a fellow criminal that had murdered Cold's sister. Don't screw with someone's family, it never ends well.

Cold has appeared a few times in the greater DC-verse. He had a cameo appearance in Smallville, he really didn’t do anything or say anything in the episode, but it’s implied that if the villain team-up they proposed had gone through he’d have targeted the show’s Flash, Bart Allen. Probably best that didn’t happen, dead kids aren’t great for ratings.

He appeared on the fourth episode of The Flash, portrayed by Prison Breaks Wentworth Miller. Miller has a very powerful presence, and an air about him that just screams "I'm ten steps ahead and there is nothing you can do about it." I'm not sure how I feel about retooling him as just a guy that has a stolen Cold Gun instead of the inventor. He keeps all of the semi-morals that the villain has, and also just looks so cool when he's plotting. He even does cold puns, and they all aren't teeth screechingly  bad. Most of the time. He even takes time to set up the Rogues. Good on ya writers at The Flash.

If I can see your eyes, I don't think the glasses will help much
against bright lights.

Cold has appeared in most of the animated DC shows, specifically episodes of Justice League: Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Young Justice. Most of these versions of the character aren’t as flushed out as they could be, but in their defense, these were team-up shows, not Flash centric. One of my favorite moments of his was in Young Justice. In the episode, he was robbing a bank, directly across from a café where several Justice League and Young Justice Members were having a Bachelorette party. They somehow get into their costumes despite being frozen, break out and stand in an imposing line. Cold’s smile, upon seeing this, fades, he sighs and just says, “I’m completely doomed, aren’t I?” before the ladies nod and proceed to beat the snot out of him. He wasn’t seen after this encounter, which I attribute to him being in the hospital after perhaps the most savage beating of a life time. You don’t screw with Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties. It’s a good way to get killed.

He had a brief appearance in his position as the leader of the Rogues, and as his heroic persona Citizen Cold in the DC animated movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. Apparently if the Flash was never a thing, Cold would have eventually become a superhero in his own right. Though it’s implied that he’s a little too brutal on some of his own Rogues than the Flash had ever been.

I haven’t seen too much of Cold to definitively say that I like or dislike him. But, of the few things I’ve seen and read I can definitely see why people like him. He’s a little more complex than a traditional black-and-white bad guy, but not so like able that a part of you wants to see him succeed at being evil. And while he isn’t as big a name as Mister Freeze, I guess Cold really hates being confused with him, he’s growing in popularity, and I can’t imagine that Miller’s performance will hurt him. Next time, a little editorial about DC/Warner Bros. thoughts on their TV and movie franchises.   

This design is a total ripoff of Mr. Freeze, you can't tell me otherwise.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cold

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Leonard_Snart_%28Prime_Earth%29

 http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/captain-cold-vs-747567/

 http://warner-bros-characters.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Cold

 http://warner-bros-characters.wikia.com/wiki/File:Captain_Cold_Trapped_in_Time_001.jpg