Captain Cold

Leonard Snart became Captain Cold in a mid-20th-century American comic-book origin: after reading about cyclotron emissions he constructed an experimental cold ray and broke into a cyclotron laboratory to charge the device. When first fired during a robbery the device unexpectedly froze moisture in the air around a surprised security guard; thereafter Snart adopted the Captain Cold identity and used the engineered "cold gun" as his signature weapon. He declared himself to be "Captain Cold — the man who mastered absolute zero" as part of his self-styled persona in early stories. Over decades of publication Snart's biography expanded to include family trauma (an abusive father, time with an ice-truck-driving grandfather) and the presence of a sister (the Golden Glider), elements that inform later motivations and plotlines.

As Captain Cold, Snart wears a distinctive parka and a visor as trademark costume elements. The visor design originated from protective visors issued during an earlier robbery and Snart later modified it by incorporating a radio receiver to pick up police bands for monitoring local law enforcement. Beyond costume and gear he is portrayed as an ordinary human male; sources do not ascribe inherent supernatural physical traits to him.

Captain Cold's primary ability is technological: he wields a manufactured "cold gun" capable in fiction of freezing moisture in the air and producing extreme-cold effects. His tactical strengths include planning, leadership (notably as leader of the Rogues), and criminal skill. Continuity-dependent narratives show a range of behaviors: traditionally committing non-lethal crimes and heists, adhering in some reboots (e.g., The New 52) to a Rogues code forbidding killing, but in other storylines committing lethal acts (including a vengeance killing described as freezing a victim's skin and causing a fatal fall). He is sometimes affected by supernatural plot elements (e.g., his soul being captured in crossover stories) but his core capabilities remain technological rather than innate supernatural powers.