We’ve already enjoyed four seasons of The Flash, and each of those seasons has contained a “big bad,” the main antagonist of the season, as well as various lesser villains. The point is, there are a lot of villains to sift through to determine who is simply the best. Luckily, we’ve done it for you. The best villain on The Flash is Leonard “Captain Cold” Snart. There, you’re welcome.
WHO IS LEONARD SNART?
We get to meet Snart in Season 1, Episode 4, “Going Rogue.” He’s played by the amazing Wentworth Miller, and he’s baaaaad. He’s the leader of a tough gang of jewel thieves. In the episode, the sudden appearance of The Flash is really foiling his plans. The Flash halts a big heist but then saves an innocent person, enabling the bad guys to get away. However, he does manage to unmask their leader, one Mr. Leonard Snart.
Through Joe, we learn that Leonard Snart is the son of a deceased corrupt cop named Lewis Snart. Leonard vows to his crew to discover The Flash’s weakness, and a gorgeous new rivalry is born. Once he manages to steal the cold gun that the wonderful and amazing Cisco had created without Harrison Wells’ knowledge or approval, Snart really begins to do damage. Already responsible for his weaponry, Cisco also establishes Snart’s new villainous moniker: Captain Cold.
HE’S EVERYWHERE
Snart has appeared in four seasons of The Flash, one season of Arrow, and also joined the cast of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as a full-timer. It’s clear that Captain Cold has a huge following.
HE BECOMES A FRENEMY
In staying true to his more recent comic origins, Leonard Snart adopts a code to never kill, and thus becomes more of a frenemy of Team Flash than a true villain. Sometimes he helps, sometimes he double-crosses, and sometimes it’s a little bit of both. That’s part of the thrill of watching Cold’s story unfold. You never quite know what you’re going to get.
HE REUNITES WITH DOMINIC PURCELL
In the final scene of his introductory episode, Snart meets up with Mick Rory, an old friend who worked with him on some previous jobs. He needs Mick’s special skill and outfits him with the heat gun that he had stolen from S.T.A.R. Labs along with the cold gun. This is the birth of Heatwave, wonderfully portrayed by Dominic Purcell. Purcell and Miller played brothers Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows on Prison Break, so fans were excited to see the actors reunited.
HE’S BEEN RESURRECTED
In early 2016, Cold and Heatwave were recruited into Legends, and an immediate fanbase for the newest part of the Arrowverse was generated. At one point, when the Legends were in danger of being killed by the Time Masters in the Vanishing Point, Snart sacrificed himself in order to save his crew and destroy the Time Masters. However, a year after his heroic death, a younger version of Leonard Snart from the year 2014 was yanked from the timeline by Reverse Flash and recruited into the Legion of Doom. Snart was back, and better yet, he was a baddie again.
HE’S GOT A HUSBAND
Actually, Snart’s Earth-X counterpart, Leo, does. And not only are the two men not evil, they’re actually both members of the Freedom Fighters. Leo’s lucky husband is named Ray Terrill, also known as The Ray, a rebel with photokinetic powers. Ray also originated from Earth One, but obvi he absorbed powers from his dying Earth-X doppelgänger and then relocated to Earth-X to continue the good fight. And did I mention he’s portrayed by the adorable Russell Tovey? Swoon. They’re both so cute, and so cute together.
But after meeting the superheroes from Earth One, Leo decided to stay on with the Legends for a bit, using his psychotherapy skills to help them deal with the loss of their beloved team member Martin Stein, which also helped him work through some grief of his own. I volunteer to keep The Ray company while you do your thing, Snart! No worries!
HE SPEAKS LIKE A CARTOON VILLAIN
Last but not least, Snart is the best talker. Seriously, you just have to love the way this character speaks. He’s got a delightfully smarmy and sarcastic drawl that is just so comical, it’s perfect. In fact, it’s cool as ice.
We’ve offered plenty of reasons why Captain Cold is the best villain on The Flash, but head to Twitter and let us know if there’s another baddie that you’d nominate for the honorable title.
