Superhero Origins: Captain Cold

Supervillain Origins: Captain Cold

Nobody gives this bad guy the cold shoulder. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origins of Captain Cold.

As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1957's Showcase #8 and was expanded upon in 2002's Flash Vol. 2 #182

Considered the first supervillain to challenge the Silver Age Flash, Captain Cold is a worthy adversary for the Fastest Man Alive. His super-powered cold gun is capable of obtaining temperatures at absolute zero and slowing things down on a molecular level. As such, it has given the Flash a run for his money on many occasions.

Born Leonard Snart, Captain Cold first appeared in Central City to commit a brazen daytime bank robbery. After freezing the tellers solid, Cold turned his gun on the bank vault, using his icy power to easily shatter it. Of course, Flash turned up almost immediately and foiled the bank robbery, but Captain Cold himself escaped.

In a flashback, readers see how Leonard Snart became Captain Cold. A few weeks earlier, Snart had been a run-of-the-mill Central City crook looking for a way to make his mark. His main obstacle, of course, was the Flash. Seizing on a theory that a cyclotron might disrupt the speedster's power, Snart broke into a laboratory and exposed his gun to cyclotron radiation. Afterward, he found that his gun now had the ability to generate massive amounts of ice at subzero temperatures. It could even create mirages. Donning a polar-themed outfit, Snart dubbed himself Captain Cold and a career was launched.

Cold's mirage creating abilities gave Flash trouble – but only for a few pages. By the end of the story, Cold was captured and put on ice.

Captain Cold became the leader of Flash's Rogues Gallery, appearing in dozens of tales. In 2002, he received an expanded origin story which gave more background on Snart.

Readers had already learned that Snart had a sister, Lisa, who became the villain known as the Golden Glider. In this revised story, Len and Lisa were the children of a brutally abusive father. An ex-cop and a drunk, he beat his wife and children mercilessly. He also taught his son that emotions were for the weak. The only safeguard the children had was their grandfather. After he died, their lives became nothing but hell.

When he became old enough, Len left home and joined up with a gang of thugs. After being capture by Flash, he became obsessed with finding a way to beat his new enemy. Stealing some blueprints, he created his cold gun and, as before, used a cyclotron to power it.
DC gave its entire lineup a reboot with its New 52 project. In the new version, Captain Cold was still Leonard Snart. However, thanks to an electromagnetic explosion, Snart no longer relied on his cold gun. He had gained the ability to control ice and cold with his own body, making him an even more dangerous threat to the Flash.

Captain Cold is one of the most recognizable and popular members of the Flash's Rogues Gallery. A fan favorite, he's inextricably linked with the adventures of the Fastest Man Alive. Snart has had multiple appearances outside of the pages of DC Comics, most notably played by Wentworth Miller in Warner Bros. television series “The Flash”.

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