Warning: contains a preview for Batman: Urban Legends #17!
The longtime fan debate over whether Flash's Captain Cold is the superior frost-themed villain is about to be settled. A preview for Batman: Urban Legends #17 shows the Dark Knight tangling with Captain Cold, offering up what may be a definitive point of comparison between the iconic bad guys.
They may appear to be radically different, but the Flash and Batman have quite a number of similarities. Both heroes have tragic origins that resulted in the loss of their parents and spurred them on to become skilled detectives. In fact, Batman and the Flash often consult with one another solving cases, and Bruce has itted to iring the Scarlet Speedster in the past. Another thing the two heroes have in common are enemies with a penchant for the frigid. Batman has the tragic Mr. Freeze, while Flash has the leader of the Rogues, Captain Cold.
Like any two similar characters, the question must be asked: which cold-themed villain is better? Readers may finally discover the answer in Batman: Urban Legends #17 in the short story "Cold Shoulders" by Ryan Cady and Gleb Melnikov. The opening pages see Captain Cold, aka Leonard Snart, going head-to-head with Batman. Fans have seen the Dark Knight clash with Mr. Freeze endless times before, often triumphing thanks to his ingenuity and advanced tech. If Batman ends up needing Flash's help to take down Captain Cold, it will go a long way to proving he's the superior villain. Check out a preview of the story from DC Comics:
What's interesting is that while Mr. Freeze and Captain Cold might seem like they utilize similar weaponry, there's actually a big difference in how the villains operate. Freeze's cryotechnology allows him to freeze things almost instantaneously, but Captain Cold's cold gun can prevent movement altogether, stopping atoms in their place. Snart's gone so far as to call himself the "Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero," which may spell trouble for Batman, whose usual defenses against Freeze's ice are unlikely to work against Captain Cold's physics-based tech.
In his history protecting Gotham, Batman has gone up against Mr. Freeze so much it’s practically routine. Bruce may know how to handle his specific enemies, but Flash’s rogues gallery aren’t like Batman’s coterie of supervillains. Every member of the Rogues' specializes in a technology designed to take down the Fastest Man Alive, and no one knows their weaponry inside and out like Snart. If Captain Cold can hold out against Batman - or even defeat him outright - then Flash's villain will have proved he's Mr. Freeze's better and DC's ice-based villain supreme.
Batman: Urban Legends #17 is available from DC Comics now.
