Captain Cold

Origin

Despite being a super-villain, Cold has his own moral code. He also only kills for two reasons: when it is a kill or be killed situation or when he is out for revenge.

Leonard Snart grew up in a "trailer trash" home outside of Central City. His father was a drunken ex-cop who beat his wife and two children. Snart's mother often left his father due to the beatings but always came back.

As a child, the only good influence in Snart and his sister Lisa 's life was their grandfather, who was an ice deliveryman. He would take the children with him to restaurants, ball parks, etc and give them ice cream.

Captain Cold

Snart's grandfather died before he turned twelve. At that point, he and his sister had learned to never cry, to be emotionally cold.

Eventually, Snart left home. Lisa wanted to go with him but he told her to stay since she was a talented ice skater and he didn't want to ruin her chance to be a professional skater or let her get involved with the kind of people he planned to work for.

Snart worked with a small gang of thieves that had designed special glasses to protect their eyes from flare guns. While breaking into a building to rob it, the gang was captured by Barry Allen, the Flash. Snart swore revenge. In prison, Snart studied kinetic energy and thermal motion, realizing that absolute zero temperature would stop even the Flash. When he finally got out on parole, he broke into a lab and stole blueprints and a cyclotron to power his new weapon: the cold gun. Taking the glasses from his former gang, he changed his name to Cold, adding the title "Captain" to give the illusion of authority.

Creation

Captain Cold was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. Captain Cold made his first comic book appearance in June 1957 in the pages of Showcase #8.

Major Story Arcs

Early Years

He battled the Flash throughout the silver age, often teaming up with other Rogues especially Captain Boomerang, the Trickster, the original Mirror Master, Sam Scudder and his own sister: the Golden Glider. He, The Top, Mirror Master (Scudder), Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave and Pied Piper were the original members of The Rogues. Moreover, Cold was one of the original members of Secret Society of Super Villains. After Barry Allen died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Captain Cold reformed and was a member of Suicide Squad. (This was later retconned as the work of the Top, who hypnotized several Rogues into reforming. The Top's own mind had been altered by Zatanna.) He and his sister opened up a bounty hunter business, occasionally working with the new Flash, Wally West.

Underworld Unleashed

For further information: Underworld Unleashed

During the events of Underworld Unleashed, Cold was one of the Rogues that was tricked into selling his soul to Neron. He was saved by the Flash.

Relationship With His Sister

Captain Cold using his freeze gun

By this time, Lisa had stopped working with Cold. Instead, she took on a series of partners, usually large and stupid. She outfitted them with her brother's weaponry, naming them " Chillbane" and finding a new partner for each one that was arrested. Eventually, she came across a smarter Chillbane who realized that he was being used. He killed Lisa and then faked his own death. Years later, Cold would hunt Chillbane down and kill him.

Instead of celebrating his victory, he turned away his usual hooker and spent the night alone. He shed his first tears since he was twelve, thinking to himself "As much as I hate it, my heart's not always cold."

Reformation of His Rogues

After Blacksmith's Network was disbanded, Cold decided to reform the Rogues. He teamed up with the new Mirror Master, the Weather Wizard and the new Trickster. He enforced a strict "no drug" policy, beating Mirror Master severely when he broke it, telling him "If you want to make your nose bleed, we can do it the old fashioned way." Cold also lowered the Trickster's pay by 90% for tying bombs to stray dogs.

Identity Crisis

For further information: Identity Crisis

During Identity Crisis, Cold and the other Rogues were robbing a bank when they were informed by Mirror Master of the death of Sue Dibny. Cold walked out of the vault, telling Mirror Master to send Mr. Dibny flowers with no card. When Weather Wizard protested leaving in the middle of a job, Cold said that he had lost the stomach for it.

Shortly after, Captain Boomerang died and the Rogues took his son, Owen Mercer, in, allowing him to become the new Captain Boomerang. At the time, Cold believed that Owen might have been his nephew (as his father had dated Lisa) though it was later revealed that he was actually the son of Meloni Thawne.

Rogue War

For further information: Rogue War

Cold lead the Rogues during the Rogue War. He battled Heat Wave, eventually bringing him out of the Top's mind control and convincing him to join the Rogues. When he learned that the Top had been responsible for the reformed Rogues' behavior, Cold froze him with his cold gun and shattered him. Cold explained that the Top had broken the rules and that Rogues shouldn't fight each other. Afterward, he consoled Captain Boomerang, telling him that the Rogues were his new family and that nothing was more important than family...except maybe revenge.

After the Rogue War, he and the rest of the Rogues (with the new Trickster being replaced by the old Trickster, who had also been freed from the Top's mind control) joined Luthor's Society. During a battle against the Outsiders, the Rogues left Owen behind and he and Cold are no longer on speaking terms.

Death of the Flash

For further information: One Year Later

One Year Later, Cold is one of the Rogues that, following Inertia's plan, manages to sever the Flash's ( Bart Allen) tie to the speed force. Upon realizing that this was not the Flash they knew, the Rogues considered letting Bart go. Bart insisted that he was the Flash and broke free, intending to kill Inertia. The Rogues caught him and Cold, along with Weather Wizard and Heat Wave delivered the killing blast to the Flash.

Salvation Run

For further information: Salvation Run

Realizing what they had done, Cold and the rest of the Rogues flee the scene of Bart's death. Later, the group is captured by the Suicide Squad and are the first villains sent to the plant " Salvation" during Salvation Run. Cold and the rest of the Rogues side with Luthor and end up back on Earth in one piece.

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge

For further information: Final Crisis

Back on Earth, Cold rejects Libra's offer to join the new Secret Society. After all, they helped Alexander Luthor's Society and were given no help in return when they killed Kid Flash. Cold plans to murder Inertia for his betrayal and then go into hiding to avoid the Flash's wrath. Libra knows it is important to get the Rogues on his side as the Flashes hold the key to the Crisis. He gives the Penguin orders to outfit several Gotham thugs with Rogue equipment, and to have Captain Cold's father kidnapped and Cold's friend Gambi brutally beaten. At the same time, Libra has Zoom free Inertia.

After finding Gambi, the Rogues are contacted by Libra's new group of Rogues, who threaten to kill Cold's father if they don't join the Society. Cold tells the group that they're in over their heads and that he's going to find them, kill them and then he'll kill his father himself. Mirror Master traces the signal back and the Cold leads his team in a massacre, brutally killing the would be usurpers. Cold then confronts his father but finds he can't kill the man himself. He orders Heat Wave to burn him alive, though he admits afterward that it doesn't make him feel any better.

The Rogues proceed to the Observatory where they track Inertia. Mirror Master's surveillance reveals that Zoom is with him. Though the other Rogues are hesitant about confronting Zoom (and with good reason. Zoom mopped the floor with the whole group during the Rogue War), Cold fearlessly insists that they go anyways. In the ensuing confrontation, Zoom loses his powers and the Rogues face off against Inertia. With the help of the Pied Piper, the Rogues beat down the young speedster. The villains assure Inertia that this isn't for Kid Flash or for the Weather Wizard's son, Josh, who Inertia had killed. The Rogues sum it up nicely. "This is for one ******-up year. (This is a reference to Mark Guggenheim's run on the Flash. Following John's run, Guggenheim took over the book and ignored all the previously established characterization of the Rogues, making them do drugs, murder young heroes and generally making a mess of the book) In an action that parallels their murder of Kid Flash, the Rogues all fire at Inertia at once, killing him.

Cold tells Libra that the Rogues still aren't going to join his gang and for Darkseid to stay the hell away from Earth. Later, the group drops off Inertia's body at police headquarters with a note "Tell the Flash we're even. -The Rogues." However with the return of Barry Allen, Cold decides that the Rogues won't be going anywhere and as soon as the Final Crisis is over, they'll be back.

Blackest Night

For further information: Blackest Night

Blackest Night

During the events of Blackest Night, Captain Cold and the other Rogues prepare to fight against the Black Lanterns after seeing that the bodies of the previously killed Rogues were missing. Among the resurrected Rogues was his sister, Lisa. However, Cold swiftly froze her in a block of ice. After the Black Lanterns were defeated, Cold froze the entire building containing said Lanterns and in the process inadvertently froze an incarcerated Professor Zoom, who had just been taken over by a Black Lantern ring. Unknown to him, this also froze the Black Lantern Zoom who was encased in ice right when he tried to bite Barry Allen's hand. After this, Cold and the other Rogues confronted Captain Boomerang and tried to convince him that the Black Lantern George Harkness was not really in control of his actions. However, on finding out that Owen sacrificed the lives of women and children, an angered Cold claimed that Rogues "don't kill women and children". He knocked him down into the pit containing the corpses and after he was killed by his father, before encasing them both in ice.

The New 52

During a conversation between reporter Iris West and Barry Allen (the current Flash), she mentions how she has scored an interview with "the most dangerous inmate at Iron Heights Prison". When she visits the prison, there is a blackout (caused by Mob Rule) and she is grabbed from behind and dragged away by a prisoner, who turns out to be Leonard Snart.

DCnU Captain Cold(Imprisoned)

She demands he stays away from her but still wants that exclusive interview. Despite Leonard respecting her wish ("Relax, Miss West. I won't hurt you") he rejects the interview and claims "this little blackout is nothing compared to the devastation I have in store for Central City." He goes to say how he has improved his powers as have the rest of the Rogues. He finishes by thanking the Flash, "The Rogues intend to pay him back in kind".

Captain Cold and the Rogues are set to fully return in #7 of the current Flash series.

Powers and Abilities

Captain Cold's cold gun

Captain Cold has a cold gun able to create blasts of cold, and degrees as low as zero degrees Kelvin, also known as absolute zero. The gun is also able to create a 'cold field', slowing everything down, or a wide beam to create an area of cold to freeze opponents.

During the Silver Age, Captain Cold's gun could create the illusions, that he used to distract Flash and ran away.

In the New 52, it appears that Captain Cold has gained ice-manipulation powers as he no longer requires the use of his cold gun (though this has yet to be explained).

Alternate Versions

Citizen Cold

For further information: Flashpoint

Citizen Cold

In an alternate timeline orchestrated by Reverse Flash, Leonard Snart became the hero of Central City in the absence of any heroes calling themselves the Flash. He was known as Citizen Cold and went to great lengths to hide his criminal past, even resorting to murder when necessary. His heroism was not altruistic. It was good business. These was a lot he could get away with while having the trust and respect of Central City.

Citizen Cold was asked to be a part of a team being put together by Cyborg to put an end to the war between Wonder Woman and Emperor Aquaman, but he backed out along with everyone else when Batman would not agree to join. Instead, he went to work on his own retirement plan, intending to run off to Dubai with a lot of cash and Iris West, a reporter he developed in interest in. He murdered her nephew, Wally West, when Wally discovered his identity and killed the Rogues when they joined forces to try to take him out. Finally, he fought his nemesis Pied Piper and was ready to kill this last person before taking off to Dubai. However, Iris turned against him, having learned what he did to Wally, and froze him with one of his own cold guns.

Teen Titans

In an issue 53 #of Teen Titans Go! Captain Cold appears as Kid Kole as Jinx's ex-boyfriend.

Other Media

Challenge of the Superfriends

Captain Cold appears as a member of the Legion of Doom. He was voiced by either Dick Ryal or Michael Bell.

Challenge of the Superfriends

The Flash (Live-Action)

Live-Action

He made an appearance but he was very different in several ways, instead of being a blue collar costumed criminal in a parka here he was an albino hit-man with a overcoat and snow-globes that double as freeze bombs.

Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited

Captain Cold also made an appearance along side several other Flash rogues in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance". In this series he is more like his comic book equivalent aside from having a wife and an ulcer. He was voiced by Lex Lang.

Batman: The Brave and The Bold

Batman: The Brave and The Bold

He appears in the episode "Requiem of a Scarlett Speedster" along with fellow rogues Heat Wave and Weather Wizard. He is shown admonishing Batman for not being an effective crime-fighter like The Flash.

Both he and Mirror Master were mentioned in "Golden Age of Justice".

Young Justice

Young Justice

Captain Cold appears in the opening teaser of the pilot episode "Independence Day," as one of the many "cold" based villains (like Mr. Freeze or Killer Frost) shown attacking super-heroes across the globe. He is defeated by The Flash and Kid Flash.

Smallville

Captain Cold is seen sitting around a circular table with established Smallville villains Metallo and Roulette with Solomon Grundy, Black Manta, and Dark Archer.