Of all the supervillains that give hell to the heroes of the DC comics universe, Captain Cold certainly isn’t the most well-known or well-respected by general audiences. Admittedly, he’s no Lex Luthor or Joker, but he is highly beloved in the hearts of Flash fans, and one of the most iconic and important members of the scarlet speedster’s expansive rogues gallery.
Earlier today, The Flash showrunners Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, and Marc Guggenheim were present at the Television Critics Association’s fall previews, and talked in great detail about the future of the DC TV universe. One of their biggest reveals was that Captain Cold will be heading to Central City, and will be played by Prison Break alum Wentworth Miller.
According to Berlanti, Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold, will be given a proper origin story in the series, and his appearance will help lay the foundations for the rest of the Rogues – Barry Allen’s various enemies, who regularly team-up and plot to take down the Fastest Man Alive.
The card-carrying members of the Rogues have shifted somewhat over the years, but core members are Captain Cold, Mirror Master, the Pied Piper (who is already confirmed to appear on the series), Weather Wizard (the main antagonist in the pilot episode), the Trickster (another confirmed future guest), Captain Boomerang, the Top, Abra Kadabra, Heat Wave, and Captain Cold’s sister, Golden Glider.
Exactly which members of the Rogues that will appear in the series is unknown at this point, but Johns says that the plan is to bring as much of the comic book mythology to the series as possible:
“It’s probably the most faithful DC Comics adaptation ever… We’ll add some things of our own, but we’ll incorporate almost all the mythology of the comic – particularly in the first nine episodes.”
As far as how Captain Cold is brought into the mix, well, that’s still a mystery, though you can probably bet that it has something to do with that S.T.A.R. Labs catastrophe that gave Barry Allen his powers (and is seemingly infecting Central City citizens and giving some of them powers of their own). Though Captain Cold is conventionally shown without powers, and resorts to freeze-rays and guns instead, the New 52 version of the character does have powers, including the ability to “chill” the air around him.
With villains like Reverse-Flash and Killer Frost already slated to appear, as well as heroes like Vibe and Firestorm, it seems like The Flash is taking a page out of Arrow‘s playbook, and including just as many iconic and beloved characters as possible. That’s incredibly exciting for Flash fans, who up until this point have been given a bit of a short shrift in terms of film and television representation.
Tell us, are you excited about this casting news? What other Flash Rogues would you like to see on the show? Let us know in the comment section below!