Leonard Snart

"The same reason you keep running after guys like me. The adrenaline, the thrill of the chase. I love this game and I'm very good at it."

- Leonard Snart to Barry Allen

Leonard "Lenny" Snart, nicknamed Captain Cold by Cisco Ramon (or simply, Cold), is a world-class thief from Central City. He is also the older brother of Lisa Snart.

Early life
Leonard's father was a corrupt police officer who took his anger out on him and his sister Lisa, until he was sent to prison. When he was a kid, his grandfather took him and his sister to a diner right across from Central City Precinct named the Motorcar. Snart kept going there in his later life to listen to police radios and learn their response times. He dropped out of high school and eventually became a bank robber, putting together a crew. Every six months or so, he arrived in Central City to case a job for a few weeks, and disappeared after stealing his target. He became one of Central City's Most Wanted. He worked on a job with Mick Rory, which ended badly for the latter, and Snart ended the partnership between the two.

Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond heist
In 2014, Snart, along with his crew, attempted to hijack an armored car in order to steal the Kahndaq Dynasty Diamond it was carrying to an exhibition in the Central City Museum. They stopped the armored car by hooking it to the tow truck they brought to the robbery via steel cables. After taking the security guards as hostages, Snart opened the door of the armored car by using liquid nitrogen on it, just before the Flash arrived at the scene. The Flash quickly took down the robbers, making Snart lower his mask and expose his face to the meta-human. One of the security guards was shot in the shoulder by one of Snart's men, forcing the Flash to take him to a hospital as Snart and his crew escaped.

Back at their base of operations, Snart looked at the camera footage of the robbery he stole from the armored car as his men argued about what the Flash was, with one of them stating maybe it was a top secret drone. Snart explained that they attacked moving targets because the police response time was a hundred eighty two seconds once the armored car reported the robbery, as opposed to sixty seconds with banks. He berated his man who shot the security guard for "losing his cool" when the Flash had arrived. When the man said he was quitting, Snart killed him by shooting him in the back. He claimed that the Flash was a man, and they needed to "up their game."

Snart later met with the arms dealer Basil Nurblin. Nurblin first offered Snart a fire-based weapon but he refused, saying "he did not need to heat things up, but slow them down." Next, Snart looked at a weapon stolen from the S.T.A.R. Labs that emitted a cold substance and glasses meant to protect against the glare the weapon caused. Snart asked Nurblin who else knew he had taken the weapon, and when Nurblin answered they were the only two, Snart shot and killed him with his newly acquired weapon.

After obtaining his cold gun, Snart went to the Central City Museum to observe the security around the diamond he had tried to steal earlier. By taking the exhibit tour twice, he alerted the museum owner Dexter Myles, who contacted Detective Joe West, who followed Snart after leaving the museum. When the detective caught up to him, Snart used the cold gun to freeze the road underneath a newly arriving police car, and escaped into a nearby theater as the car crashed. Inside, Snart shot at Detective West, but the Flash managed to get there in time to throw the detective out of the way, instead being hit by the weapon himself. Snart then started shooting at the nearby civilians, forcing the Flash to save them, as a test run. The Flash managed to save all but one of the civilians, but was unable to get to the theater's security guard in time as he was slowed down by the cold gun. Snart left the scene when the Flash was distracted by the deceased security guard.

Returning again to his base, Snart told his remaining two men they would be back to the museum to steal the diamond that night. When his men protested, saying the museum would be crawling with the police and the Flash, Snart answered his cold gun could stop the Flash and he knew the Flash's real weakness. His men mutinied and pulled a gun to his head. They left, saying the Central City was no longer Snart's playground now that the Flash was there. Disagreeing with them, Snart went to the museum by himself and broke in using the cold gun. He successfully stole the diamond and made his way to the Central City Train Station where he was engaged in a gunfight with Detectives West and Eddie Thawne. Snart escaped the two men by getting on a train, but this time he was challenged by the Flash who had followed him using a signal the cold gun emitted. He told the Flash that he had seen his real weakness during the armored car robbery and at the theater. Saying he would save himself while the Flash saved everyone else, he shot the floor of the train with the cold gun and jumped from the train before it was derailed. The Flash managed to get everyone out of the train, but was ambushed by Snart who shot him in the back with the cold gun. He thanked the Flash for forcing him to up his game, before he was threatened by Cisco Ramon with the prototype of the cold gun which was actually just a vacuum cleaner with LED lights. When Ramon called him Captain Cold, he smiled and left, taking the diamond with him.

Leonard discovered and disabled the signal his gun emitted with which the Flash had tracked him. He met with his former accomplice Mick Rory and told him even though their previous partnership had not worked out well, things had changed and that he needed a new kind of crew. He offered Mick the fire weapon he had taken from Nurblin, and asked if Mick wanted to join with him, which he accepted.

Forcing The Flash to reveal himself
Even with sources like Iris West's blog reporting multiple sightings of the Flash, the speedster was still somewhat considered as an urban legend. Knowing the Flash would make his more or less criminal activity harder to pull off, Snart started scheming for ways to make the citizens of Central City aware of the Flash's existence. Teaming up, he first broke into a facility that held expensive foreign cars, with Rory initially under the false pretense that they were there to steal the vehicles. They left without stealing after it became clear that the Flash wasn't going to show up.

The duo's second attempt on luring the Flash was robbing the modern painting Fire & Ice, recently bought by Osgood and Rachel Rathaway at the cost of twenty-five million dollars. The CCPD showed up quickly and with Cisco Ramon and Harrison Wells modifying their shields, they were able to hold off the effects of the Cold Gun; they, however, were not prepared for Rory's attack. Seeing that the Flash was still a no-show, Snart and Rory left the crime scene along with the art piece.

Snart finally got the Flash's attention when he and Rory successfully kidnapped one of the speedster's partners: Caitlin Snow. She was eventually rescued by Cisco and Joe West while the Flash confronted Captain Cold and Heatwave. With the help of Eddie Thawne, the Flash was able to defeat the duo by tricking them into crossing the streams of their respective weapons which cancelled both guns out and knocked the two backwards. The two were then sent to jail, but were rescued by Snart's sister, Lisa, which was all part of Leonard's plan. She was his failsafe.

Leonard and Mick returned to Central City with Lisa. The pair was captured by Mafia Boss, Vincent Santini, but they were able to escape and killed the boss's bodyguards. Snart told Santini that he was the one in charge before leaving. He later got his sister to lure Cisco to their base. Revealing that they had captured Cisco's brother, Dante Ramon, Snart forced Cisco to remake his and Rory's guns and make a third one for his sister. Later, he and Lisa attacked a casino and encounter the Flash, Leonard's primary objective. Snart convinced the Flash to back off by telling him that he had Cisco captive. Back at the hideout, Leonard made Cisco reveal The Flash's identity by threatening Dante's life. He re-encountered the Flash after an attempted heist and threatened to reveal his identity to Central City. Barry, however, convinced Snart to keep the identity a secret (and stop killing innocent people) and agreed to not place Snart in the particle accelerator prison in S.T.A.R. Labs.

Moving the Metas
After knowing that the meta-humans would die because of the particle accelerator that Eobard Thawne reactivated, Barry contacted Leonard to meet at Saints and Sinners and made a deal with him; If Leonard agreed to help him, Barry had to destroy every single piece of evidence on Leonard at the CCPD. Leonard also got his sister Lisa to help out with the job. When the got to Coast City airfield, Leonard double crossed the deal by getting Mark Mardon/Weather Wizard to destroy the plane that would transport them to Lian Yu, then getting all the meta-humans to try to destroy the Flash. When Jake Simmons/Deathbolt was about to kill the Flash, Leonard used his cold gun to kill Jake, claiming he owed him money. Leonard let Mark and Roy Bivolo/Rainbow Raider go and told the Flash that the meta-humans now owed him, by joining his "Rogues" and then road off with Lisa on their motorcycle.

Forcibly working for his father and incarceration
During a robbery, Leonard was kidnapped by his father while his sister was injected with a specially-designed thermite micro-bomb. When the Flash came to rescue him, Leonard told him he doesn't need saving. The Flash told Leonard his sister said he needed help but Leonard fired his cold gun at Barry. Leonard then introduced his father to Barry as the two left. Later, Leonard was approached by Barry who offered help once again. Leonard was told that he may be a criminal with a code-of-honor, his father doesn't seem to live under a code. Leonard was then told he would be taken down and Leonard reminded Barry that he could reveal his secret. While planning for a heist, Leonard argued that Lewis' timing may be off. When David Rutenberg told Leonard to shut up, the former was killed by Lewis. Barry then volunteered to be their new tech guy as "Sam" and Leonard vouched for him. When they arrive, Leonard realized he was right that his father's timing was off. The two briefly argued while the Flash subdued the guards. After "Sam" cracked the security code, Lewis shot Barry and Leonard showed remorse for Barry. When they arrived at the vault, Leonard froze the lasers. Leonard told his father they only have 125 seconds before the alarms go off. When the two leave, they are intervened by the Flash. Leonard was told to shoot the Flash but Leonard hesitated. After he learned Lisa was safe, Leonard killed his father. Leonard was then taken into Iron Heights. Leonard had a visit from Barry, who told him that he may be a criminal, but he still has a light in him.

Future
In a possible future, Leonard can be seen fighting alongside the Flash, Ray Palmer/The Atom, and a seemingly alive Sara Lance against an unknown metallic adversary. Barry caught a glimpse of this when travelling through the Speed Force.

Personality
Leonard is a ruthless man who has a calm, composed and level-headed demeanour, rarely ever losing his temper or giving into emotions. Although he never finished high school, he is intelligent and patient, staking out a job for months before making his move, emphasizing timing, precision, and minimizing possible leads on him and his activities by refusing to kill unless necessary. He was also clever enough to deduce that what stopped his job at the armored car was in fact a man, and that he would need a weapon to halt Barry, choosing the cold gun for this very reason. Leonard has, however, begun to revel in his new-found weapon's power, and his battles with the Flash have begun to alter his perceptions of how the job works.

Despite his unapologetic criminal lifestyle, Leonard sees and declares himself as a man of his word. This is demonstrated further, when he promises to release Cisco if he tells him who the Flash is. Although he does torture Dante to get this information from him, he keeps his word afterwards and lets both Cisco and his brother go. However he doesn't always keep his word when he betrays his alliance with Barry by setting the meta humans free. Leonard simply defends his actions by claiming that he is a criminal that saw an opportunity and used it for his own benefit because that's who he is.

Despite Leonard's ruthless nature, the only thing he does care about is his younger sister Lisa, who he has a close relationship with, her despite her immaturity. He sseverely despises his father Lewis, for what he did to him and his sister; for physically abusing them as children for no apparent reason, he became disgusted when Lewis planted a bomb inside Lisa's head in order to manipulate him into helping him with one of his heists, however, after Barry told him that the bomb was removed from Lisa, without hesitation he killed his father for what he did to his sister.

Despite being enemies most of the time, Leonard and Barry seem to possess a mutual respect for each other; although he betrayed him, Leonard saved Barry from certain death at the hands of Jake Simmons. A few months afterwards, his liking of Barry increased to the point he felt genuine remorse after his father shot him. Barry also visited Leonard upon the latter's arrest. Leonard deeply cares about his sister, going as far as working with a man he immensely hates in order to keep her safe. All of these qualities have led Barry to believe Leonard has good inside of him and that he'll eventually change his ways (although Leonard jokingly remarks that heroes don't get paid enough).

Abilities

 * High-level intellect/Expert tactician: Leonard's most noticeable and dangerous trait is high intellect, making him a threat even to metahumans like the Flash. Very calculating and methodical in every action he takes, Leonard is infamous for analyzing and preparing for events well in advance. He is able to plan for every plausible detail several steps ahead and even when new variables come into play, he can calmly change tactics to escape unscathed. Likewise, he is highly adept in misdirections and subtle manipulations of his targets/enemies to suite his plans. Despite dropping out of high school, Leonard has repeatedly shown an advanced knowledge of various subjects, including biology and engineering, able to at least understand the nature to which they operate.
 * Eidetic memory: In his nature for preparation, Leonard has repeatedly displayed an unusually adept memory, being capable of memorizing the details of every job before mobilizing simply by analyzing the information. For more regular use, Leonard is able to memorize every last meticulous detail of the highly technologically advanced Cold Gun to personally perform regular maintenance and repairs without the need of instructions or schematics. He did this to have a better control and usage of his signature Cold Gun by learning all of its parts and inner workings after disassembling and reassembling his weapon and having Mick Rory do the same with his Heat Gun.
 * Expert thief: Over the years of criminal experience, Leonard has mastered the art of thieving, from armored car heists, jewel theft and bank robbery, he displays the utmost skill.
 * Expert marksman/Firearms: While normally preferring to avoid killing when not necessary as to not sully his plans, Leonard is more than proficient with a gun. After making the cold gun his signature weapon, Leonard showed considerable aim and tactical usage of the gun, even against the Flash, able to hit his enemy, despite the former moving at superhuman speed.
 * Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Despite his composed demeanour, Leonard is a very capable unarmed fighter. When seemingly taken captive by a mafia boss, he and Rory quickly broke free and killed the mafia boss and most of his men with ease while his hands were still bound.

Equipment

 * Cold Gun: Generating a beam of absolute zero temperature, the weapon freezes whatever it touches and creating solid ice. It can also slow down the motion of fast moving molecules, specifically those of the Flash, retarding his accelerated healing and vastly reducing his speed. It also gives off bright white and blue flashes that the user protects their eyes from with goggles.
 * Goggles: Leonard also wears a pair of blue wraparound goggles, which are designed to protect his eyes from the flashes given off by his cold gun.

Behind the scenes

 * Although he's called Captain Cold by Cisco, he refers to himself as simply "Cold".
 * In comparison with some of his DC comic book portrayals, this version of Leonard Snart is more serious, and a genuine threat to Barry Allen's life.
 * Leonard wears a blue parka along with the Cold Gun's complementary goggles when taking on the flash and derailing the train and when recruiting Rory, a reference to his costume in the DC comics. He continues to wear the outfit when in action after first seen in that getup.
 * In the DC comics, Leonard is called "Len", a shortening for his full name.
 * On the show, Lisa Snart calls him "Lenny".
 * Leonard only appeared in episodes that have the word "rogue" in their titles, except for and "the man who saved central city"
 * In the DC comics, Leonard is the founder and leader of the Rogues, a team of super criminals/supervillains led against the Flash.
 * His emphasis on timing is a trait that comes from Batman's enemy the Clock King.
 * He is the first non-Metahuman to be the main antagonist of an episode of The Flash, in addition to being the enemy Flash faces to escape custody.
 * In season 2 after being arrested, he is the only known non-Metahuman in Iron Heights Prison's metahuman wing.