Wentworth Miller depiction of Captain Cold in the Arrow-verse has left such a mark on the character, taking him from C-list villain to DC icon, that, before he leaves, it is time to look back and appreciate how much of an impact he has left.

Let’s talk about Captain Cold. Before The Flash debuted in 2014, a general audience wouldn’t know who he is. Even comic book fans would have a hard time thinking of anything to say about the character. No real, major storylines in the comics to draw from. He was not a fan favorite. Yet in recent years, Captain Cold has joined the ranks of the DC villains pantheon to fans, and a lot of that is due to Wentworth Miller’s fantastic performance on the CW’s The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. With the sad news of Miller’s departure from the Arrow-verse and his welcome return to the screens as the heroic doppelgänger Leo Snart AKA Citizen Cold, I think it is time to look back and appreciate the major contribution Wentworth Miller left on the character.

From Page to Screen

DC villains have a long history of getting a major boost to stardom due to their appearance in popular television shows. While Catwoman, Penguin, and Riddler are now considered iconic Batman villains in the 1950’s, they were rarely seen any more or just thrown in with the plethora of other villains. Yet in the 1960’s due to their appearance in the popular Adam West series, they became a more prominent role in the comics to their now legendary status. Same for Mr. Freeze who owes his pop culture status to the popular Batman: the Animated Series. The concept of Darkseid as not just a major DC villain but so closely tied to the Superman mythos comes from the writers of the 90’s animated series mining the New Gods material for that series. Since television and film reach a wider general audience than the comics do it makes sense that the adaptation of these characters that click will soon begin to influence not just the comics but the popular cultures general perception of that character.

In the comics, Captain Cold was pretty much a low-level DC villain. He was obviously a major player in the Flash comics, but in the larger scale of the DC Universe, he wouldn’t be a major force to be reckoned with or a fan favorite. While the comics certainly established Cold as a character with a code of honor and the leader of the Rogues he still at times came off as an old curmudgeon of a villain. Wentworth Miller and the writers imbued Captain Cold with a chilling voice and sardonic wit. He was a villain with a heart of gold, a rebel without a cause. He was a bad guy, but he was never evil. He was confident and stayed focus by sticking to his plans (but was always prepared for it to go wrong). Crafty like a fox this Captain Cold was a working-class version Danny Ocean. Miller took Captain Cold from a comic book villain to a charming rogue.

Cold’s backstory was fleshed out in the comics to help create a more sympathetic portrayal. Leonard’s past serves as a mirror for Barry to help highlight their dual nature as foes. Barry came from a loving family that was tragically taken away from him. Snart grew up in an abusive emotionally distant household and wanted to leave. This helps shapes Leonard’s sense of right and wrong when it comes to his crimes. He doesn’t needlessly kill or harm others, and is protective of his sister, Lisa, and loyal to his friend, Mick. The writers incorporated the code of honor that is in the rogues from the comics and made it part of Cold’s character personality.

With news of a Flash movie in development at Warner Bros., it is only a matter of time till Captain Cold makes his big-screen debut, yet I get the feeling it will be harder to shake the impact Miller has left on the character. Yes, Ezra Miller has shinned as the Flash in ways nobody could have imagined given how fans love Grant Gustin, yet there had been Flashs long before Gustin, so there was room to grow. Wentworth Miller is as tied to how audiences perceive Captain Cold as Billy Bixby was to the Hulk or Lynda Carter to Wonder Woman (characters so iconic it took them 40 years to properly find replacements). Wentworth Miller has given the part such a voice, it’s hard to imagine another depiction of the character.

Journey On-Screen

In July 2014, it was announced Wentworth Miller, the star of the hit Fox series Prison Break, was making his return to television playing one of the Flash’s arch enemies: Leonard Snart, or more popularly known as Captain Cold on The Flash. From his introductory episode, Miller’s depiction of the character who mastered absolute zero was a hit with audiences. Appearing a few more times throughout the season, Miller became so popular that he joined the spinoff: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Captain Cold and Heatwave (played by Miller’s Prison Break co-star Dominic Purcell) seemed like odd choices since they were the only villains on a team of heroes. Yet the two proved their place by providing a slight edge to the team of heroes.

In a dramatic twist for the first season, Miller’s Cold was killed off. Yet given the state of the DC Universe with time travel, alternate dimensions, and flashbacks, Cold kept popping up in the second season of Legends of Tomorrow as well as The Flash Season 3.

Captain Cold’s presence has certainly been missed on both The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. In the case of The Flash, Leonard Snart gave a great villain to inject into the series to take a much-needed break from the main plot. While some see these as filler episodes, it gave the sense of Central City feeling like a real city. That some conflicts would just pop up without being manipulated by the main villain and could give Barry a chance to cut loose and be the classic hero. Ever since Snart joined the Legends, Barry’s only regulary returning antagonist has been Gorilla Grodd.

Since it is an ensemble show, Legends of Tomorrow lives or dies on its character interactions. While Season 1 is certainly the weakest and the show was still trying to find its legs, what makes it worth watching is Miller’s performance as Captain Cold. As his name implies he brought a cold yet sharp wit to the proceedings. His nature as a bad guy (or bad boy if you will) made him a great foil for Ray’s do-gooding nature, his close dynamic with White Canary, and of course, his friendship with Mick came to a real blow here. Now Snart’s death has hung over Mick and forced him down the path of the hero, but one can’t help but miss his presence on the Waverider.

Now we have gotten Citizen Cold on the Waverider, but it isn’t quite the same. He doesn’t have the same background or history with our heroes. Same face, but a different personality. Yet it speaks to how great Miller is a screen presence that he immediately feels right at home even with a new character. His contrast to the original Captain Cold does make for some great comedy and it actually makes the upcoming news of Wentworth Miller’s departure all the sadder. We know this new creative energy won’t last forever. For three years, Wentworth Miller has delighted fans with his depiction of Captain Cold. Without his portrayal, it is unlikely this minor character in the vast array of DC villains would be anything more. Thanks to him, he is one of the most iconic villains in their catalog. He left an impact on the character, and on fans they surely will never forget. Wentworth Miller made Captain Cold cool.

What do you think? Were you a fan of Captain Cold? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Follow The TV Type on Twitter!

Share this: Share

Twitter

Facebook



Tumblr

Reddit



Pinterest

