Superhero Smash Season II—Audio Issue #36: Captain Cold Returns!

Original Air Date

January 2, 2025

Part 1 Begins

Hero Song (4:00)

“Winter Wonder Woman Land” by Superhero Second Line

Show ID 1: Superhero Smash (0:30)

Because fans demanded it, Superhero Smash has returned!
Featuring the best in “Superhero Music and Comic Book Lore”
Focusing on current superhero movies and popular culture events
I’m your host, Dr. Gian Pagnucci, a.k.a. The New Professor X
Playing great music about superheroes as well as music that is featured in superhero movies and shows
Also talking about comic book history and heroism
All on WIUP FM 90.1
And you can rest assured that no matter how much super cool stuff I talk about on the show, you don’t have to worry because this is a NO SPOILERS show!

Audio Episode Theme: Captain Cold (3:00)

The weather outside is getting cold again, so I figured this is the perfect time to talk about one of the all time great winter characters: Captain Cold
Yes, Captain Cold has returned!
- I did an episode about Captain Cold last winter, but he’s such a great character, I just couldn’t pass up featuring him again
I’m from Wisconsin, a cold weather state, so I’ve always loved Captain Cold
Captain Cold is a supervillain from the Flash’s Rogues Gallery
When The Flash became a series on the CW, Captain Cold was one of the series’ best villains
As loyal Superhero Smash listeners will remember, I met Flash star Grant Gustin this past summer and he said Superhero Smash sounded cool!
On The Flash, Captain Cold was played by the spectacular actor Wentworth Earl Miller III
Miller also stared in the show Prison Break where he was also excellent
On the Flash, Miller gave Cold both a sense of menace but also a sense of honor and dignity
He was so popular that he was brought back for multiple episodes of The Flash and then joined the spinoff CW show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow for its first season
Captain Cold was “kind of” a hero on Legends, although he never totally gave up his crooked ways
That show featured a cast of time traveling superheroes including the Atom and the White Canary
Here’s Captain Cold’s theme song from The Flash

Heroic Instrumental Theme Song (1:42)

“Captain Cold” theme song by Blake Neely

Collector’s Item Classic Comic Book (3:00)

Captain Cold
First Appearance: Showcase #8
Publication Date: June 1957
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: John Broome
Artist: Carmine Infantino
Infantino had a very distinct art style with often using sharp, angular lines
I once met Infantino at Pittsburgh’s Steel City Con
He also did art for the Marvel comic book The Invaders about the World War II exploits of Captain America, Submariner, and the original Human Torch
Value on eBay today: $1,730 for a CGC’d 2.5 on a 10.0 scale
In his first appearance, Captain Cold, the Coldest Man on Earth, used his cold ray gun not to freeze the Flash, but to make the ground too icy for the Flash to run on it with his super speed

Cold Song #1 (3:33)

“Cold” by Maroon 5

Part 1 Ends (@15 minutes)

Part 2 Begins (@15 minutes)

Show ID 2: Superhero Smash (0:30)

WIUP FM 90.1
Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the DC Cinematic Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and our U-niverse too!
Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans

Secret Origin Story (4:00)

Captain Cold was born as Leonard Snart
Captain Cold’s origin story appeared in The Flash #182 (Volume 2)
As retold on the DC Fandom Database, “Leonard Snart grew up with an abusive, hard-drinking father. Through his beatings, Leonard’s father taught him that emotion was a weakness, and that a cold heart would take him further in life. Leonard’s grandfather protected him and whisked him away to his ice cream truck. It was cold, but one of the only places Leonard felt safe. Only when he was older did he eventually run away from home. Through a life of crime, he was eventually caught and placed in jail by the Flash. Seeking to counter the Flash, Snart researched an article that theorized that the emissions of a cyclotron could interfere with the Flash’s speed. Using a stolen cyclotron, Snart constructed a gun which shot ice that reduced temperatures to absolute zero, and began calling himself Captain Cold.”

Cold Song #2 (5:35)

“Snow (Hey Oh)” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Captain Cold and the Secret Society of Super Villains (3:00)

After many years of being foiled by The Flash and the other members of the Justice League, Captain Cold and the other DC villains finally decided to band together and form their own super team, The Secret Society of Super Villains
This was a fun series that debuted in 1976, and I collected it as a kid
I’ll give you a quick summary of the issue as retold on Wikipedia:
- “In the original story, Darkseid (demanding to be called the Director) founds the group under the title of the Brotherhood of Crime in a bid to hold the world ransom by stealing the world’s deadliest nerve gas. The group, made up of Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, Clayface, Star Sapphire, and a clone of the Manhunter, turns on their benefactor when the Manhunter raises the issue of Darkseid’s history of trying to enslave humanity. Darkseid is revealed to be an android. The Manhunter suspects Darkseid controls it from afar and suggests forming the Secret Society of Super Villains to combat Darkseid while pursuing their own goals.”

Cold Song #3 (3:49)

“Bad Boys (Theme from Cops)” by Inner Circle

PSA: Visit the IUP Kathleen Jones White Writing Center (1:00)

Another heroic team using the power of peer review: The hard fighting tutors of the…
IUP Kathleen Jones White Writing Center
- Shout-out to Dr. Dan Weinstein, the Director of the Writing Center and LLW Associate Professor

Cold Song #4 (4:19)

“Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson

Part 2 Ends (@35 minutes)

Part 3 Begins (@35 minutes)

Show ID 3: Superhero Smash (0:30)

WIUP FM 90.1
Featuring the best superhero music and comic book lore in the DCU, the MCU, and our U too!
Check out pagnucci.org and click the big Superhero Smash button
Or email Professor X using the address SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
I love to hear from the Legion of Superhero Smash Fans

Long Lost Hero: Citizen Cold (2:00)

I’ve talked about The Flash movie on Superhero Smash several times
- The film was disappointing and a box office bomb
But the film is based on an excellent comic book series called Flashpoint written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert
- There’s a 10th Anniversary Omnibus graphic novel available to read the full story
- In this alternate timeline, Barry Allen has lost his flash powers and he must team up with an alternate Batman, not Bruce Wayne, but Bruce’s father Thomas, to get his powers back
- This is the Batman character played so well in The Flash movie by Michael Keaton
- In this alternate reality, Leonard Snart has become a superhero called Citizen Cold
- He has the same costume, a blue winter parka with white trim, and a cold gun and he has become the main hero of Central City which is home to the Flash in the regular DC comic book stories
- Unlike the Flash, however, Citizen Cold sometimes kills his opponents
Citizen Cold got his own 3 episode comic book mini series

Cold Song #5 (5:43)

“Winter” by Tori Amos

The New Mr. Freeze Miser and Mr. Heat Miser: Captain Cold & Heath Wave (2:00)

On the CW show, Captain Cold was often evil and self serving
But Leonard Snart was more than just a criminal
In the episode “Family of Rogues” from Season 2 of The Flash, Captain Cold’s father blackmails him into helping him commit crimes by threatening to kill Cold’s sister, Lisa Snart a.k.a. the Golden Glider, who had a gun that could turn things into gold
On the CW, Lisa explained how bad it was to be a child of the cruel Lewis Snart: “The first time my father came after me, I was seven. The second time, I was eight. That’s when I learned a bottle hurts more than a fist. He used to say he was teaching us lessons. I must have been a slow learner because… the lessons never stopped.“
Cold and the Flash have to team up to save Lisa from her father
This revealed Cold’s good side, a side the Flash was always trying to help encourage
Eventually, the Time Master Rip Hunter asked Captain Cold to join a group of superheroes to help him fight Vandal Savage who had conquered earth in the future
The team was called the Legends (For official purposes DC’s Legends of Tomorrow)
They had to travel through time preventing Savage from changing time
If you have ever watched the claymation version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, then you will remember Rudolph runs into two squabbling brothers named Freeze Miser and Heat Miser
The CW’s The Flash had it’s own version of these two: Captain Cold and Heat Wave
When Rip Hunter recruited people for the DC Legends team, he recruited mostly heroes, but also recruited both Captain Cold and his partner Mick Rory a.k.a. Heat Wave
Interestingly Heat Wave was played by Dominic Purcell who also starred with Miller in Prison Break
The pair did some good on the team, though they also kept scheming to steal ancient treasures as they traveled through time
While they could be good, they also were often bad
You might say, they were both hot and cold about heroism

Cold Song #6 (3:40)

“Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry

Captain Cold’s Heart Thaws–Super Romantic Interlude: Captain Cold & White Cannary (2:00)

Over time, Captain Cold tried to leave his criminal ways behind
His heart thawed a little, or, as you might say, he was both hot and cold like Perry’s song
This was especially true when he met another member of the Legends team, the White Canary

The White Canary is Sarah Lance, played by Caity Lotz
She was the sister of Diana Lance who is the Black Canary, played by Katie Cassidy
At different times, both of the Canaries were lovers of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow
These heroes were all part of DC’s CW Arrowverse
It began with the CW’s Arrow show, which for some reason DC was afraid to call Green Arrow after the title character, even though he had been around in the comics for decades
The superheroes in the Arrowverse were slightly different from the comic book and movie superheroes
Unlike Marvel, DC kept its TV heroes separate from its movie heroes, yet another poor decision by DC which ultimately led to the end of both the Arrowverse and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)
But on the plus side, the Arrowverse did give us a great Captain Cold and White Canary
Both the White Canary and Captain Cold had suffered a lot in their pasts, and so they were naturally drawn to each other and, over time, a romance slowly blossomed between the two of them

Hot (or Maybe Cold?) Romance Song #1 (3:32)

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Leon Redbone & Zooey Deschanel
This song gets a great comedic moment in the wonderful holiday film Elf
That film was directed by Jon Favereua who also directed the first Iron Man movie in which he appears as Tony Stark’s assistant Happy
There is controversy that surrounds the song, and I encourage listeners to read the excellent article from Rolling Stone writer Amelia McDonell-Parry:
- “‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’: A Brief History of the Holiday Song Controversy”
From some perspectives, the song’s lyrics can be troubling
But, try grabbing your partner and singing the lyric as a duet with them, and I think you’ll find the song is actually quite fun
Or just watch Will Ferrell sing it with Zooey Deschanel in Elf if you really want a good laugh

Show ID 4: Superhero Smash To Be Continued Next Issue (2:00)

Not quite the Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
Next week I’ll be out of town visiting family
I’m afraid that means no Superhero Smash next week, but be back here in 2 weeks on January 16 for more excitement!
When I return, Superhero Smash will be back on WIUP FM 90.1
You can also check my website, pagnucci.org, and click the big Superhero Smash button to learn more about the show
Listeners are also always welcome to contact me, the new Professor X, via email: SuperheroSmash2024@gmail.com
And remember, while Superhero Smash is about the exploits of uncanny individuals,
- “You don’t need superpowers to be a hero. The only thing it takes to be a hero is the courage to do what’s right when someone needs your help.”–Gian Pagnucci

Cold Song #8 (3:45)

“Let It Go” by Idina Menzel from Frozen
Elsa has snow powers that make her a supeheroine, and Captain Cold would have loved her bad girl persona!

Romantic Interlude (4:00)

Christmas may be over, but here’s a great Christmas song you probably haven’t ever heard
I’ll play it now to conclude today’s show
That way you can Shazam it to get it on your Christmas playlist for next year

Cold Song #9 (3:33)

“His Favorite Christmas Story” by Capital Lights

Part 3 Ends (@60 minutes)