Allow me to break the ice; this week Scoop is featuring a couple of cool customers, with a frosty disposition. They love to wreak havoc on superheroes and humanity through the use of ice. Whether freezing a person, a building, or a city, these villains know how to start a cold war with some heavy artillery.

Through perseverance and diabolical motivation, Captain Cold wanted to slow the Flash to a crawl. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Captain Cold started out as Leonard Snart in Showcase #8 (June 1957). Raised by an abusive father, his sense of morality was somewhat lacking. Harboring sociopathic tendencies, he left his father to join a group of small time thieves.

While trying to execute a robbery, he and a few others were captured by the Flash. Not one who liked being told what to do, Snart held a grudge against the quick-footed hero. He learned about a cyclotron particle accelerator and deemed it likely to interfere with the Flash’s speed.

While working a gun in a cyclotron lab, he used it on a security guard, and was surprised when the cyclotron gun froze the moisture in the air around the guard. Intrigued by the twist, he adapted to his gun, donning a parka and visor, declaring himself Captain Cold. He went on to use the gun to commit a series of crimes, driven by the desire to beat Barry Allen and greed for cold hard cash.

While Captain Cold uses his freeze gun to score some loot, Mr. Freeze uses his to save his frigid wife. Victor Fries was created by Bob Kane, Sheldon Moldoff, Dave Wood, and Max Hodge, and made his first appearance in Batman #121 (February 1959). Before becoming a Gotham City villain, he was a doctor experienced in cryogenics.

Through his vast intellect, he hoped to find a cure for his dying wife. To preserve her while researching, Victor froze her in a protected capsule. Unfortunately, his body was affected by a table of cryogenics, during an experiment. Now needing a suit to keep his body cool, Mr. Freeze was born, and the methods of saving his wife became far less ethical.

He used his cryonic technology to create a gun that freezes any target within its range, and while trying to use it on Batman, he accidentally destroyed his wife’s protective capsule. Blaming Batman, Mr. Freeze sought revenge on the caped crusader, hoping to destroy everything he cares about, using his freeze gun to ice the cake on Gotham City.

While jolly old Saint Nick may be a welcoming presence at the North Pole, Minister Blizzard will surely give the cold shoulder. Minister Blizzard, created by Robert Kanigher and debuting in Wonder Woman #29 (May 1948), is one northern dweller who is not concerned with being green. When Professor Chemico of Holliday College created a machine that can change the climate, he hoped to make the North Pole a warm and fertile place. However, Queen Snowina of Iceberg Land learned of the plan and informed Minister Blizzard.

He convinced Snowina to steal the machine, then trapped Chemico and his workers in a block of ice. Not satisfied punishing only a few, Minister Blizzard traveled south and threatened to use the machine to create a glacier on New York City. Though he was stopped by Wonder Woman, Minister Blizzard created a new freeze weapon covering New York with ice. Later he worked with Icicle and Captain Cold, to create an Ice Age in Ecuador to distract the Justice League and go on a crime spree in Gotham City.