The Flash: New Look at Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost
By
Molly Freeman
In its first season, and so far in its second season as well, The Flash has adapted a number of iconic villains to the small screen, including Reverse-Flash, Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd and now Zoom. Plenty of others from the comic mythos have appeared on the series, some acting as one-off villains like the recent Sand Demon, while certain characters like Mark Hamill’s The Trickster are set to return.
However, one villain that some viewers are eagerly awaiting the appearance of is Killer Frost, who fans suspected would eventually appear when Danielle Panabaker was cast as her alter-ego, Caitlin Snow. Although viewers got a glimpse of Killer Frost in the season 1 finale, it remains to be seen when she’ll make a second appearance. Now, a clearer photo of Panabaker suited up as the villain has been released.
While appearing on CBS’ The Talk (h/t to CBM), Panabaker spoke about her role as Caitlin on The Flash, struggling with the pronunciation of technical terms for her character’s more difficult lines and the development of the Killer Frost outfit:
“I’m such a girl and I love getting dressed up in that look. We changed; we started working on the look a couple months before it actually shot, so our first suit was a one piece, kind of like Catwoman’s. Very sexy. But it didn’t feel quite right, so then we changed it to be like a top and these really cool leather pants. The hair was awesome. It started actually as a short little pixie wig and we just kept adding more and more hair, as you do. It’s great. I’m really excited.”
The suit and wig that Panabaker describes sound similar to the design of the character from DC’s New 52, specifically the character’s appearance in Justice League of America. Many of the character designs on The Flash have come from the New 52, so this falls in line with the show’s past adaptations of characters. Still, the final costume seems to have plenty of references to the comic character. Take a look:
The photo appears to be a clearer still from the scene Panabaker shot for The Flash season 1 finale, rather than a confirmation that Killer Frost will soon be returning for season 2. On the topic of when the villain will return, Panabaker has remained vague in the past, saying she wants it to happen but it’s up to the writers.
On The Talk, the actress was asked if she enjoyed playing the “bad girl” Killer Frost, but managed to avoid specifying when or if she’d be suiting up again soon: “I can’t wait! I get so jealous; all the boys get to go out there and duke it out. I want to suit up with those boys.” While Panabaker’s comments don’t indicate when Caitlin’s turn to villainy will appear on The Flash – whether in season 2 or further down the line – they do confirm that it’s a character arc the writers have committed to eventually pursuing.
Of course, with the Killer Frost tease in the season 1 finale, it was already suggested that The Flash would delve into how Caitlin becomes a villain. However, given the introduction of the multiverse and Earth 2, it’s possible the writers could find a way to introduce the character’s evil alter-ego sooner.
The first few episodes of season 2 have started diving into Cisco’s (Carlos Valdes) newly realized powers, but the route the show is taking to develop the character into DC Comics hero Vibe indicate it will be a slower process. As such, it stands to reason The Flash will take a similarly slow and careful character progression from Caitlin Snow to Killer Frost – at least, the fans can hope so.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
