Villain Profile: Mirror Master

Mirrors are rather fascinating, aren’t they? A surface that perfectly captures and reflects back whatever thing is put in front of them. Put an infant or an animal in front of one, and they’ll react as if there is another infant/animal across from them. Now, imagine if there was an actual dimension hidden behind the reflective surface. That’s the thought that crossed the mind of convict Samuel Scudder. Before I get started, I know that technically Mirror Master isn’t really in the same league of villain as say Lex Luthor or Ra’s al Ghul, but I’ve already done Reverse-Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and Captain Cold, so I’m forced to go with some of the B-listers. Let’s get to it.

A really cool design, not going to lie.

Sam was a convict working at a mirror factory on one of those work release programs. One day, while mixing the chemicals necessary to give modern mirrors their shiny surface, he got a few vials mix up. Despite being told to throw out the bizarre mirror that he’d manufactured by his foreman, Sam smuggled the mirror out of the factory and began to study it. He discovered that this mirror had a number of strange powers, one of which being the ability to create reverse copies of people. Sam threw together a costume and named himself Mirror Master. He used his cloning mirror to make copies of people and having them help him create crimes. His weird robberies finally got the attention of the Scarlet Speedster, the Flash, and was defeated.

Sam continued his research, somehow, in prison and discovered his own extra dimensional space. Apparently by setting several mirrors at the absolute perfect angle he could access this space, which he dubs Mirror World. Why the guards let the “MIRROR MASTER” have lots of reflective surfaces in his cell, I’ll never know. He slid into the alternate realm, but got stuck. He met and was waited upon by a telepathic species called the Orinocas. These little creatures worshipped as an extradimensional deity for his ability to make and manipulate mirrors. Sam grew very bored with his new life of luxury, they gave him everything he wanted, so he decided to escape. He used his Mirror sliding powers to lure the Flash into Mirror World, in the hope that the Flash’s speed could be used to get him out of his new prison. The Flash did get them both out, but Flash slammed Sam back into his old prison again.

Smug looking SOB, isn't he?

When on trial for one of his crime sprees, Sam uses his super mirrors to hypnotize his layer, Paul Barrett. Damn, magic mirrors are so useful. Sam ordered Barrett to don his Mirror Master costume, as well as spare costumes of his teammates on the Rogues, and cause trouble all around Central City. Seeing his supposedly imprisoned enemies around town piqued the Flash’s curiosity, and he traveled to Paul Barrett’s house to get some answers. He was ambushed by the mind controlled lawyer, who then stole his costume and went to “interrogate” Mirror Master in prison. Once inside the prison, Barrett and Sam switched clothes, and Mirror Master walked out in Flash’s costume. Why the guards didn’t question the Flash walking out of prison, I’ll never know. This bit of freedom lasted until Flash got out of Barrett’s bindings, where the Flash promptly re-imprisoned Mirror Master. Mirror Master proved to be one Flash’s most persistent foes. He never quiet really reached the same level of notoriety as Reverse-Flash or Captain Cold, but he did keep trying. He was eventually killed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths story, where his name, costume, and gear were passed on to Scottish mercenary, Evan McCulloch, but I’ll get to that another day.

Mirror Master utilizes several specialized mirrors to produce weird and quasi-magic effects. With his special mirrors he can become invisible, create holograms, alter his appearance, communicate long distance, and travel to the parallel Mirror World. Later versions also incorporated a laser pistol as well. Every villain needs a cool gun of some sort. Like many of the other Rogues, Mirror Master’s biggest weakness is that he’s completely reliant on his tech for his powers. Take away his special mirrors and he’s just a normal dude. Which makes it really, really easy for someone with superspeed to beat up.

I wonder if he can only fire from one
mirror, or from all of them.

Mirror Master has appeared in several different DC series. Again, of the various Flash villains, he’s a B-lister. As such, he is usually more of a background character than say Grodd or Captain Cold.

A version of Mirror Master appeared in Justice League Unlimited. His real name isn’t revealed, but this version seems to be a mix of the two major Mirror Master’s anyway. He doesn’t have a Scottish accent, which is part of McCulloch’s shtick, but he does have some of McCulloch’s more enhanced abilities and the laser pistol. He works with the Rogues and later the Secret Society in several episodes.

In the final season of The Batman, where Batman starts dealing with other heroes and their villains, there is another Mirror Master. This version is an optical physicist that has lost his marbles. He uses his powers to create Hard Light Hologram Clones of the Flash and later Batman and Robin. These duplicates steal components for a specialized portal ray that he uses to trap the citizens of Gotham into any reflective surface. He’s eventually defeated by Batman and the Flash.

The Mirror Master, while not the mastermind behind, is instrumental in attack on the Justice League in Justice League: Doom. Supervillain immortal Vandal Savage hires him to sneak into the Batcave, using the Batmobile’s rearview mirror to do it, and steal information from the Batcomputer. He initially wanted to try and discover Batman’s secret identity, but Savage dismisses that idea as he already knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. Instead, Mirror Master downloads Batman’s emergency contingency plans and escapes. After giving Savage the data, he’s chosen to kill the Flash. Mirror Master robs a train and holds the occupants hostage. The Flash runs in to stop him, destroying several Mirror-Holograms, but his caught off guard by the last one. The real Mirror Master nails a bomb to the Flash’s wrist. The bomb is designed to go off in the Flash remains still for 60 seconds, try to take it off, or if he decelerates once he starts moving. Flash races around the world, pushing his body to the limit until Batman is able to get in contact with him. Flash removes the bomb by phasing through an iceberg. Flash gets payback at the Hall of Doom, knocking Mirror Master out with one punch.

Huh, Mirror Master and Heat Wave are looking unusually buff.

He appears in a non-speaking role in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox alongside the rest of the Rogues. He and the team attack the Flash Museum to lure the Flash out. They had some sort of plan to beat the Flash, but that is tossed out the window when the Rogue’s client Reverse-Flash arrives. He sticks bombs on each of the Rogues and the Flash. He’s saved by Green Lantern and Batman. GL takes them to the upper atmosphere in a bubble while Batman removes the bomb with a laser cutter.

Mirror Master didn’t appear in the first season of the Flash, but there’s always season 2.

Like so many minor villains, Mirror Master is one of those guys that I really don’t know well enough to say whether or not that I like the character. I can say, that his powers are rather unique. I can safely say that I’ve never seen a villain with this exact gimmick or power set. While he’s been a background character for most of his career, I can see him having a larger role in newer series. Not “major villain of the season” big, but definitely more than a background character or one time baddy. Just have to wait and see I guess. He’s the reflective rogue, the maniacal menacing Mirror Master. Next time, J’onn J’onzz’s evil twin, Ma’alefa’ak.

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mirror_Master_Doom_001.png
 http://de.batman.wikia.com/wiki/Datei:Mirror1.jpg
 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/Flash_v1_105.jpg
 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Rogues_JLFP_Original_001.jpg

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