Arrowverse: Mick Rory / Characters

Mick Rory

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"We’re misfits, outcasts, and we’re proud of it."

Species: Human^noteBriefly empowered via Fire Totem

Known Aliases: Heat Wave, Chronos, Rebecca Silver (author pseudonym)

Affiliations: The Rogues, The Legends, The Time Masters, The Legion of Doom (alternate reality)

Played By: Dominic Purcell, Michael Kummen (young)

Appearances: The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion!^note(The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Crisis on Earth-X ^note | Crisis on Infinite Earths

"Being an outsider is a good thing, a great thing. I've been an outsider my whole life. You get to tell people to go shove it."

— To Ray Palmer, "Abominations"

A deranged criminal with a fixation with fire and Leonard Snart's long-time partner in crime. After having a falling out with Leonard and the rest of The Team, the former takes him to an unspecified year and exiles him (claiming that he was executed).

Around this time, he was recruited by the Time Masters and is transformed as "Chronos", the same villain that was chasing them since the start of their journey. After being recaptured, he rejoins The Team since the Time Masters considers failed agents as "expendables".

Even though he doesn't like to admit it, he has grown into a genuine hero and would gladly risk his life for all of his teammates. He's also taken an interest in writing romance novels that have become quite successful.

In the fifth season, he unwittingly procreates a child with his old flame Ali in the past, which he meets as a teenager in the present, now having to bear the responsibility of being a good father, next to his duties as a Legend.

In the sixth season, he learns that his daughter is pregnant and he becomes pregnant himself with the alien offspring of Kayla. At the end of season six, he chooses to leave the Legends to travel with Kayla and raise his alien offspring.

see the Arrowverse: Other Earths page for his Earth-74 counterpart

see the Arrowverse: Earth-X page for his Earth-X counterpart

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A-D

Abhorrent Admirer: A downplayed example of this, but he becomes one to Supergirl after their team-up in the Invasion! crossover. Then becomes one to Killer Frost after seeing her in action in Crisis on Earth-X.
Abusive Parent: According to Mick, his father spent most of his time sitting down drinking and smoking, and would only get up to beat him; Mick flats out state he does not regret killing his old man... until an adventure in Vietnam, where he learns that his father was a good man broken by the war.
Adaptational Badass: Unlike his comics counterpart, this Heat Wave isn't dependent on his flamethrower and is more than capable of holding his own with his fists or ordinary guns. This is especially the case after his time as Chronos, where he received extensive training and conditioning to become their top operative, making him one of the top hand-to-hand combatants on Earth-1.
Adaptational Comic Relief: Ever since moving onto the Legends, this Heatwave is largely Played for Laughs and used for comic relief, especially given his Butt-Monkey status and portrayal as Dumb Muscle.
Adaptational Dumbass: The comic Heat Wave invented a powerful flamethrower himself, but in the show Cisco was the one who built it. There's also the fact that this Mick Rory is mainly Dumb Muscle when put alongside Leonard Snart and frequently the target of jokes about his low intelligence. It's later revealed that Mick has Hidden Depths, being shown to be secretly an acclaimed novelist.
Adaptational Heroism: Played with. This is the first known Story Arc where (the main) Heat Wave is portrayed as one of the main characters, but is a Token Evil Teammate. He ultimately subverts this by betraying the team, and it's Double Subverted when he rejoins them and redeems himself.
Adaptational Villainy: In the comics, Rory dabbled in the Heel–Face Revolving Door, and his mental issues were portrayed sympathetically. In the Arrowverse, not so much...until Legends, when said characteristics finally begin to show up; a Season 3 episode pretty much confirms that he's an alcoholic, with a friend attempting (and failing) with an intervention.
Affably Evil: Not as much as Snart, but Rory can be a lot of fun to hang out with, and things like gratitude and loyalty aren't as lost on him as one might think.
The Alcoholic: He is pretty much always seen with a bottle in his hand when he isn't fighting.
Aloof Ally: To the other heroes besides his fellow Legends when they all team up against the Dominators, objecting to Oliver initially taking charge, telling Kara he's not going to address her as Supergirl because "it's stupid," and flat-out telling Barry that he doesn't like him. That being said, he stands with everyone in refusing to allow Barry to hand himself over to the Dominators and develops a...fondness for Kara by the end.
Amazon Chaser: Seems to have a thing for superpowered heroines, particularly Supergirl and Killer Frost. He's also had some bonding moments with Amaya and Zari.
And Starring: His appearances on The Flash (2014) is credited with "Special Guest Star" citation. Played more straight upon his Transplant to Legends of Tomorrow.
Anti-Hero: While he’d never admit it, over his time spent with the Legends he has grown into a genuine hero, albeit not a nice one.
Apologetic Attacker: Mick apologizes to Sara before joining the Legion of Doom noting that he wished things had turned out better.
Artistic License – Physics:
- In reality, the Heat Gun would have destroyed the universe from the moment the trigger is pulled due to the sheer volume of energy it releases. For reference, if that kind of heat were emitted in an area one planck volume in size (or 4*10^-105 cubic meters, which is seventy magnitudes smaller than the smallest atom), it would still have more than enough raw heat energy to wipe out a solar system.
- It seems the writers picked up on this as Cisco himself later retcons his earlier statement by stating the Heat Gun's top temperature was actually 600 degrees Fahrenheit^note
Ascended Fanboy: In Legends 2x03, he fulfills his dream of meeting real life ninjas.
Mick: I don't want to shoot you guys. I love ninjas.
Ax-Crazy: With his unhealthy obsession with fire and his volatile emotional state, Mick is not a stable person to say the least.
Badass Bookworm: Though he had to be told to learn it by Snart, Mick has taken to learning exactly how his gun works so that he can repair it if necessary.
- He spends most of one Season 3 episode reading Dracula. He even sports reading glasses for the occasion.
Badass Normal: He has no powers other than his beloved Heat Gun and being a formidable hand-to-hand combat spent from years as a career criminal and later conditioning by the Time Masters. He later becomes an Empowered Badass Normal in Season 3 when given the Fire Totem.
Bald of Evil: Similar to Snart's crew cut, but he has stubble as well, making him look rougher.
Bash Brothers: With Captain Cold, the two of them being an Evil Duo of criminals.
Being Evil Sucks: Ironically despite Mick often flaunting that he is a criminal there are numerous hints throughout Legends that Mick isn't quite as happy as he initially appears (which does make sense when you consider his Start of Darkness was accidentally setting his family's home on fire and killing them). Amaya even points out that, despite his insistence that bad guys have more fun, that he "doesn't look that happy". This is especially highlighted after he betrays the team and takes the Spear of Destiny to The Legion of Doom as he apologizes to Sara and it seems like he's only holding on to his friendship with Snart at that point. Doomworld overall hammers this home, as he gets everything that he previously wanted, only to discover that not only is it no fun to be a criminal when the bad guys are in charge and you can do anything you want, but that the Snart he's working with is from a point in the timeline before his character development and is an asshole who treats Mick as little more than an attack dog.
Beneath the Mask: He's covering up a lot of guilt over accidentally killing his parents, particularly his mother, and hides a lot of self-loathing.
Berserk Button: Mick really hates puppets. He'll attack them on sight, where he's seen punching a Martin Stein puppet in, as well as incinerating a Beebo toy because he thought it was a puppet.
Beware the Silly Ones: He may be the show's primary source of comic relief, but is still a force to be reckoned with.
Big Eater: To a realistic degree, but it is a bit of a Running Gag how Mick is constantly eating every episode, especially sweets.
The Big Guy: He's one of his teams' go-to guys when it comes to fighting, and loves that role.
Birds of a Feather: In "Outlaw Country", despite being instructed to start a fight with Turnball to bring him down, Mick and Turnball end up getting along and even enjoy a drink together.
- Develops this with Charlie in season four.
Blood Knight: He really enjoys getting into action.
Boisterous Bruiser: He doesn't hide the fact that he really enjoys getting into action.
Book Dumb: He is not the brightest of the team, but he is far from incompetent.
Brains and Brawn: Brawn to Cold's Brains. Snart explicitly describes them as this in "Star City 2046".
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Mick Rory does the opening monologue for the opening of "Turncoat", showing uncanny awareness he's in a fictional show.
Mick: Seriously, you idiots haven't figured this out by now? It all started when we blew up the time pigs - The Time Masters. Now history's all screwed up and it's up to us to unscrew it up, but half the time we screw things up even worse. So don't call us heroes, we're something else. We're legends. (Beat) Who writes this crap, anyway?
Breakout Character: Unlike Snart, whose appearances are limited after Legends of Tomorrow Season 1 due to his death, Mick is still an active Legend in the Arrowverse come Season 5. Alongside Sara, he is one of the two last members of the original Legends. Not bad for someone who was introduced as a Villain of the Week.
Brilliant, but Lazy: He is able to draw on his knowledge from his time as Chronos (such as when the team needs to get inside Rip's mind), is surprisingly good at noticing when something is bothering another member of the team, and he even shows some impressive leadership abilities. Unfortunately for the others, he rarely has any interest in doing any of those things.
Brutal Honesty: Speaks bluntly without any tact whatsoever. Highlights include telling Stein's daughter flat-out that she's a time aberration, and this exchange with Supergirl, whom he's only known for less than a day, leading to a Face Palm from Sara afterwards.
Kara: How did you get the nickname "Heat Wave"?
Mick: Well, I burned my family alive, and I like to light things on fire.
Kara: Aah. Well, that's a colorful backstory.
Mick: Well, my shrink thinks so.
Burn Scars, Burning Powers: Mick is an arsonist and pyromaniac who specializes in the use of a flamethrower, and has a number of self-inflicted burn scars. Additionally during season 3 of Legends of Tomorrow he acquires the Fire Totem and gains actual fire superpowers.
Butt-Monkey: From time to time, he is mocked due to his love for the flame. This gets worse in Legends, where he's constantly held back from literally blowing things up. He also tends to get hit with the majority of the physical humour and tends to get insulted a lot by the other members of the team.
Can't Hold His Liquor: He used to be a heavy drinker, but years or longer at the Vanishing Point without any alcohol means that Sara easily drinks him under the table.
Card-Carrying Villain: He makes no bones about being a psychotic crook.
Snart: "Hero" ain't on my resume.
Rory: Or mine.
Cast as a Mask: As Chronos he's voiced by Steve Blum to disguise his real identity.
Casting Gag: This isn't the first time Steve Blum voiced a version of Mick Rory.
Celebrity Paradox: The Flash (2014) tie-in called "The Chronicles of Cisco" mentions the existence of the Mission: Impossible film series to the Arrowverse. Dominic Purcell was on Mission: Impossible II. The film franchise was then acknowledged on-screen during Season Two.
Character Development:
- Initially averted; even though he takes a liking to Stein and Sara, he's still a criminal at heart and he's more interested in stealing stuff and setting things on fire than stopping Savage. His failure to change causes his friendship with Snart to crumble and him to betray the team.
- He finally gets some real development after he returns from being Chronos. He's much calmer and takes orders well, to the point that in the Wild West episode, when everyone insists on seeing the town, he promises Hunter that he'll keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, he passes out during a drinking contest with Sara, and the team immediately starts a bar fight.
- The Season One finale of Legends of Tomorrow shows that he's grown fond of the crew, even calling Rip his friend despite everything that has happened. Come Season Two, in the third episode he's willing to go rescue Ray and Nate when they get stranded on Feudal Japan on his own volition "'cause they'd do the same for [him]", despite calling them morons.
- Ironically, he was originally the one of the duo who was a lot more unrepentant and prone to slipping back into his criminal ways; after Snart's death, he becomes a lot more thoughtful and caring, and ends up growing into an even better man than Snart ever was. So much so that he (after some struggle and Conflicting Loyalty) is now willing to pull a gun on his former partner for killing his friend Amaya. At the end of season 2, he sets Snart back on his original path, noting that not only does his partner become a better man as a result of joining the Legends, but Mick himself does as well.
Characterization Marches On: On the The Flash he was a hammy Hot-Blooded pyromaniac. Upon moving over to Legends of Tomorrow, he's become more of a lazy Blood Knight with a who-cares attitude and a heavy drinking problem. This is especially prominent in Season Two after Snart dies, where Mick seems to have taken up the Deadpan Snarker role.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: In his first two seasons alone, he has betrayed the Legends thrice and betrayed the group that he betrayed them for twice. Specifically, he sold them out to the Time Pirates, then Snart pretended to kill him and left him in an unspecified era which led to him being recruited by the Time Masters and become Chronos. After being defeated by the Legends, he rejoins them. In Season Two, he betrays the team yet again to join the Legion of Doom. Then he betrays the Legion after a Heel Realization, then briefly joins them again until ultimately rejoining the Legends.
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Cisco seems to be the only one to call him "Heat Wave"; everyone else calls him Rory or Mr. Rory, aside from Snart who calls him by his first name. Though he's seen referring to himself as this by the time of Invasion! when he introduces himself to Kara.
Composite Character: He's heavily burned like his Prime Earth Metahuman incarnation, but still uses a flamethrower ala pre-Flashpoint Mick.
Cop Hater: Believes that the police are "pigs". Even after pulling a Heel–Face Turn, he still refuses to help the police.
Crazy-Prepared: Played for Laughs in "Return of the Mack." He's carried around a wooden stake all his life just in case he has to fight vampires.
Dark and Troubled Past: He accidentally set fire to his own home when he was a teen.
Deadpan Snarker: Once Leonard Snart departs from the Legends following his Heroic Sacrifice, Mick has taken up being the team's resident snarker with an attitude problem. He has a habit of taking snide jabs at everything, especially towards Ray.
Ray: I designed it so an idiot could use it.
Mick: An idiot does.
Demoted to Comic Relief: After being a major character in Legends with his own arc in Seasons 1 and 2, Season 3 onward has his Book Dumb tendencies becoming far more pronounced, with him only really sticking around for comedy purposes.
Determinator: Mick has very strong willpower when the time comes.
- He was damn near unstoppable in pursuing the Legends as Chronos, endlessly chasing them through history.
- He's able to resist the Time Master's second conditioning and managed to hold onto his goals and his allegiance to the Legends.
- This comes about in "Camelot/3000" where Stein and Jax are trying to override the mind control device the Legion are using. They use Mick as a test subject and Stein as the controller, believing a superior intellect was what was required to take charge. Turns out it's Mick's willpower that is able to override Stein's mind and he begins following Mick's orders.
Dumb Muscle: After going back to the '70s, he gets irritated that there's "nothing but reruns" on TV. Jackson apparently already tried to explain it and tells Sara not to bother. Rip later tells him he was only recruited because he and Cold were a "package deal". After his stint as Chronos he sheds it somewhat by becoming smarter, if not to a Genius Bruiser level. Later episodes imply that Mick is not as stupid as he allows the other members of the team to believe he is.

E-H

Early-Installment Weirdness: He's nowhere near as unstable as he was in his appearances on The Flash, even in the episodes where Mick is at his most dangerous. He also sounds very different, having become more guttural sounding between The Flash and Legends.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Mick had a rough childhood to say the least, being abused by his father and ending up in juvenile detention for criminal behavior. He also ended up accidentally setting his own house on fire and killing his parents. He would also get burned later on while doing a job with Leonard Snart. And after a short run alongside Snart being super-criminals who fought the Flash, Mick would end up joining the Legends and later on, have to live with the fact that his friend Snart sacrificed himself to defeat the Time Masters. In the season after that, he would have to sorrowfully return a time-displaced Snart to the past to set him on the right path again all the way up to his death. After several more adventures and some drama with his own teenage daughter, Mick would enter into a relationship with the alien Kayla and give birth to multiple alien babies, ending with Mick having one final drink with Sara, reminiscing about their adventures as Legends before walking off into the sunset to raise his new family with Kayla.
Easily Forgiven: Big time. The team apparently forgets that he turned on them before the Time Masters got their hands on him. See also Welcome Back, Traitor below.
Empowered Badass Normal:
- During his time as Chronos, Mick states he was experimented on where he states he spent lifetimes there serving them.
- He's given the Fire Totem late in Season 3, which is a perfect fit given his affinity for fire. In the season finale, he returns it with the rest of the totems for safekeeping.
Everyone Has Standards:
- He may be the closest thing to a villain that the team has, but he will not leave Ray behind after he takes a beating for him, even if it makes his escape more difficult. He also doesn't approve of killing children either.
- There is also the episode where he teaches another character how to use his heat gun and confirms that it's possible to use the weapon without actually killing the target.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He can't come to terms with the idea that Snart may actually be trying to do a good thing for its own sake, or call the Legends his team when Rory says they were a team. Snart has to flat-out say "people change", and it still doesn't seem to kick in any more than for him to assume it a betrayal by Snart.
Evil Is Hammy: Purcell is clearly having a ball with the role, and it makes him stand out compared to Miller's stoic performance.
Evil Parents Want Good Kids: What he wants for his daughter Lita.
Evil Sounds Deep: As part of his contrast to Snart, Mick has a very rough, gravelly deep voice in comparison to Snart's smoother baritone. Possibly due to smoke inhalation.
Face–Heel Turn:
- He betrays the team in "Marooned", siding with the Time Pirates. Taken even further when he becomes Chronos. He pulls a Heel–Face Turn after being captured and shaking off the Time Masters' brainwashing.
- In Season Two, he pulls one again, joining the Legion after Snart's return.
Fire-Breathing Weapon: Snart gives him a high-tech flamethrower stolen from S.T.A.R. Labs. It superheats the air (hence Cisco calling him "Heat Wave"), and can do the inverse of Snart's Freeze Ray, instead heating up objects to Planck temperature, or as Cisco calls it, "absolute hot". Despite this, it is later revealed that Mick can control the level of heat emitted by his weapon, suggesting not everyone hit by it burns to death.
Fire/Ice Duo:
- With Leonard Snart. Much like the comics, the two of them are once again criminal buddies, brandishing their Cold Gun and Heat Gun respectively. Their personalities are complete opposites, with Snart being The Stoic and snarky, while Rory is Hot-Blooded and reckless. To make it even better, if the beams of their guns cross they will end up cancelling each other out. This carries on into Legends of Tomorrow where both serve as the Token Evil Teammates.
- With Killer Frost. The two of them team-up in Crisis on Earth-X with both filling in for their late fire/ice partners and prove to be quite an effective team. They do so again in Crisis On Infinite Earths.
First-Name Basis: Snart calls him Mick.
The Friend No One Likes: Tends to get this a lot with the Legends as the team constantly mocks him and sometimes treats him as an afterthought when they go on missions. The other Legends frequently eyeroll or ignore the outlandish things he says. This eventually gets deconstructed in "The Fellowship Of The Spear" when Mick finally has enough of the Team constantly distrusting him and treating him like a thug and decides to join the Legion Of Doom in order to use the Spear of Destiny to rewrite his tragic past. This part of his character fades away, and while some new team members still treat him this way, those who spend enough time with him realise that for all his drinking, insubordination, and lazing around, he's a dedicated and competent hero.
Gadgeteer Genius: He's smart enough to repair his flamethrower after it gets damaged in a shootout.
Genius Ditz: He's typically the butt of Dumb Muscle jokes, but he is smart enough to memorize the architecture of his Heat Gun and regularly repair it. Season 3 also reveals he has Hidden Depths and is secretly an acclaimed author of an erotic novel.
Glass Cannon: He's not a metahuman, so he's just as vulnerable as a typical human being. However, his extremely high offensive powers thanks to his Heat Gun and his hand-to-hand combat experience from his criminal career, more than make up for this.
Goggles Do Something Unusual: Less unusual than Snart's, as they are meant to protect him from the glare of actual fire, rather than an absolute zero gun.
Good Is Not Nice: Post-Heel–Face Turn, Mick's still the same gruff, pyro- and kleptomaniac he was before. It's just that he's developed stronger moral standards and a sense of genuine honour and loyalty.
Good Old Fisticuffs: Savage has had thousands of years to study every martial art under the sun. By contrast, Mick has only had his fighting experience from when he was a crook and possibly from his time as Chronos. Nonetheless Mick is still able to go toe to toe with Savage in the season finale of Legends of Tomorrow.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has severe burn scars all over his arms.
Handicapped Badass: Subverted. He suffered third-degree burns that left him with disfiguring scars, but there's been no indication as yet that the damage is anything more than cosmetic, although it's implied that he has little or no feeling on the most scarred areas, as he fails to notice that a zombie managed to bite him.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Mick has a habit of going through this. Upon being introduced on The Flash, he is a straight-out criminal and proud to show it. When he gets recruited to join the Legends, he is a Nominal Hero with shades of Noble Demon. Then he turns full-out evil again after betraying the team and becoming Chronos. The Legends manage to capture and reform him, where he has evidently matured and becomes a much better person. Then when Snart joins the Legion of Doom, Mick reluctantly betrays the Legends and switches to the villains' side with his partner, but soon comes to regret it and helps the Legends undo the Legion's damage to reality.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Leonard have been friends for a long time. He spends all of Season Two in mourning of his fallen friend and looking for somebody to fill that void; indeed part of the reason he joined the Legion of Doom was to be with Snart again. By Season Three he seems to have given up on that as he spends most of time by himself, withdrawn from his teammates than actually going on missions.
- In one of the bad timelines of "Legends of To-Meow-Meow", the Fairy Godmother latches on to him and he goes back to being a criminal, while she becomes a Replacement Gold Fish for Snart complete with goggles, parka, and the cold gun.
Hidden Depths:
- Contrary to his gruff, unapologetic exterior, he's spent most of his life hating himself for accidentally killing his own family. He even claims that the thing he hears when the Spear of Destiny calls to him is his parents telling him not to play with fire.
- He's more aware of what the rest of the team is thinking than anyone would expect, from realising that Ray desperately wants to belong somewhere and giving him the cold gun and trying to train him as a new partner, and being very aware that the team doesn't quite trust him.
- Recognizes spoken Aramaic from having watched The Passion of the Christ. Keep in mind that Aramaic is a dead language.
- He's also a huge fan of Fiddler on the Roof, believing it to be superior to "Singing in the Rain".
- He's seen reading Bram Stoker's Dracula in "Return of the Mack".
- He has spent most of season 2 and 3 grieving the loss of his best friend, Snart.
- It's even implied that he may be relying on Obfuscating Stupidity at times, such as when he informs Amaya that he knows what a metaphor is (asking him not to tell the others) and even points the team towards a way of getting inside people's heads that the Time Masters previously used on him.
- "Here I Go Again" reveals he's an aspiring author. Of trashy sci-fi romance, that Zari thinks has great potential, and Ava Sharpe agrees. In The Flash Season 5's "The Flash and the Furious," Barry Allen seems to agree as well when given his second novel, "Uncaged Desire".
Hot-Blooded: Puns aside, Mick is extremely hammy in his villainy, calling out like a madman as he shoots flames about.
Hypocritical Humor: For someone who serves as the team's Dumb Muscle and often having trouble pronouncing words right, he has no hesitation with calling others idiots including Ray Palmer.

I-N

I Hate Past Me: He meets his teenage self from just after he burnt his house down and killed his family. Mick absolutely resents his younger self and blames him for the accident, falling in love with his father's lighter fluid. However he does eventually make peace with him, acknowledging that it isn't his fault. "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Necromancing the Stone" reveal that he isn't very fond of himself overall.
I Just Want to Have Friends: More specifically his best friend Leonard Snart. After Snart's Heroic Sacrifice in Season One, it's made abundantly clear that all Mick wants is to have Snart back. Sadly none of the other Snarts — Legion!Snart or Leo Snart from Earth-X are able to fill the void for Mick; in an alternate timeline the Fairy Godmother became his Replacement Gold Fish for Snart, complete with parka and the cold gun.
I Thought You Were Dead: The Legends thought Snart had killed him; turns out Snart only made them think that.
Iconic Sequel Character: While he's introduced midway during The Flash (2014) Season One, he does not appear in the Arrowverse until its third year.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even though he hates to admit it, he slowly transitions into one of these during the course of the series.
Kidnapped by the Call: When he tries to quit the Legends in "Star City 2046", Snart knocks him out and dras him back to the Waverider. He doesn't take it well.
Kill It with Fire: He's a criminal that possesses a flamethrower.
Knight in Sour Armor: He clearly doesn't think highly of the team's Chronic Hero Syndrome but he gets involved anyway because as he admits they'd do it for him.
Knight of Cerebus: After the events of "Star City 2046", his betrayal of the team, and The Reveal he was Chronos, whenever he is around, Mick puts the series into a new and darker light.
Large Ham: He loves being the center of attention and has absolutely no clue as to the meaning of the word "subtle". He and Captain Cold are opposites in more than just the weapons they possess. Considering the fact that Dominic Purcell's character in Prison Break was a stoic, extremely watchful inmate who had to keep his mind intact while suffering under a death sentence, you get the feeling that he's relishing playing a role that lets him cut loose. He takes it up a notch in Legends, if that's possible.
Mick: I LOVE The '70s!
Last-Name Basis: Rip and the rest of his team sans Snart address him by his last name in the first season, although this is eventually phased out.
Laughing Mad: At one point, he's shooting flames all over the place and cackling like a maniac.
Lazy Bum: If he's not impulsively trying to burn everything, the other most likely complaint the Legends have for him is that he's lounging around and goofing off rather than helping out with the mission.
Leitmotif: Has two themes, both for Mick Rory/Heat Wave and as Chronos.
Living Legend: The team's trip to the Battle of Trenton causes him to become a renowned hero of the American Revolution, complete with a statue in Washington DC.
The Load: During Legends Season 3 and 4. Not all the time, but there are quite a few episodes where he does essentially nothing but sitting around, eating and drinking, often even while the rest of the team is in danger. It's mostly Played for Laughs.
Locked Out of the Loop: Snart kept his sister a secret so she could break them out of jail. He stops being upset with Snart after that.
Lovable Sex Maniac: Displays this quite a few times;
- His teenage year old self hits on Sara's past self, telling her that "he likes how she smells". Mick shows his approval.
- Refuses to call Supergirl by either her codename or real name, instead calling her "Skirt", strongly implying what Mick remembers her for. Although a minute later, he's in danger and calling her Supergirl.
- According to the Time Bureau in the Season 3 opener, he's racked up a substantial room service bill and a number of STDs while on vacation in Aruba.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: While Past!Snart's prompting helped a combination of the Legends continued distrust and disrespect of him, as well as the temptation of the Spear, leads to Mick joining up with the Legion in order to change his past.
- The Time Masters probably shouldn't have essentially tortured him to turn him into Chronos, let alone let him know that failure would be met with him and the Legends being killed. Despite him hating them, it only took a short time as their prisoner with them repeatedly letting him know that they intended to save him for Mick to decide where his loyalties lay.
- His biggest problem, and the reason he initially wanted Snart to be tortured instead of simply killed, was that Snart didn't kill him, and instead left Mick to almost lose his mind and starve before the Time Masters picked him up and tortured him.
Mood-Swinger: Swings pretty violently between somewhat jovial and mean as all hell.
Mr. Vice Guy: He loves to drink and gleefully asks Prof. Stein for some drugs.
My Future Self and Me
- As Chronos he had run-ins with The Team, with a younger version of himself present.
- He also confronts his teenaged self around the time he burned his house down.
The Nicknamer: He rarely refers to people by their real name. The only exceptions are Snart, Jax, Gideon, The Professor, and Amaya.
- Has called Ray "Boyscout" and later "Haircut".
- Calls Supergirl "Skirt".
- Calls Oliver is "Robin Hood".
- Calls Barry "Red".
- Felicity is "Ponytail".
- Nate is "Pretty".
- Sara is "Blondie" and later "Boss".
- Zari is "New Girl."
- Rip Hunter is "Englishman."
- John Constantine is "Trenchcoat".
- Carter Hall was "Bird Man."
- Kuasa is "water bitch" and Vandal Savage was "Mullet Head".
- The Time Masters as "Time Pigs."
- Black Lightning is "Sparkles".
Never Got to Say Goodbye: His main issue in Season 2. He never got to have a final farewell to Snart when he took his place in pulling the trigger that will blow up the Vanishing Point because he knocked him out and left Sara to carry him back to the Waverider. Him visiting Snart three years prior to his death doesn’t make things easier as this was a Snart that wasn’t aware of his impending death. It gets resolved when he meets and returns a 2014 Snart who was made aware of his death by the Legion, telling him how much of a better man he will become before wiping his memories and setting him off the path to his noble sacrifice.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: Roguish male to Ray's noble.
Noble Demon: Even after his Heel–Face Turn, he's a self-proclaimed criminal, but one the team can usually count on. Even before that, he refused to leave Ray behind when the latter took a beating for him.
Nominal Hero: He's aligned with the good guys. That's about as heroic as Mick gets.
Not in This for Your Revolution: He and Cold stay on the team just for the opportunity to kill people and steal stuff. After taking a liking to the hellish state of Star City in 2046, Rory is perfectly willing to abandon the team and the mission to live out his days in the Bad Future.
"Not So Different" Remark: With Charlie in season four. He recognises their similarities just as much as she does, tells her that she has to trust someone sooner or later, and releases her from her prison when she tells them about the fugitive they're looking for.

O-Y

Odd Friendship:
- With Snart. Mick's Hot-Blooded nature and pyromania is often a Spanner in the Works for Snart's carefully planned heists. Snart in turn, often keeps him Locked Out of the Loop and there's not a lot of respect on both sides. It's surprising that they work together and haven't killed each other for one reason or another. The one thing that they seem to share in common is that (after just a little convincing from Snart) they both seem to agree that being supervillains is in itself worth more than the money they can make from pulling heists.
- He and Snart hit it off with Sara pretty quick.
- He's quite impressed with Stein's darker actions like drugging Jax to get him on the team, and is disappointed when Stein later insults him, thinking they had a real friendship starting. He later swings back to impressed after Stein manages to get the team into an auction for a nuclear warhead by intimidating one of the guards.
- Mick and Ray form a surprisingly strong bond despite being complete opposites in terms of personality and moral standing, to the point that he invited Ray to become his new partner when he realised that Ray needed to belong somewhere and feel like he was still a hero after losing his suit.
- He picks up Nate after Nate and Oliver track him down, and shows absolutely no interest in putting him back in the correct time, even considering Nate to be a late addition to the team in the next episode.
- He got on quite well with Albert Einstein of all people.
- Becomes friends with George Washington, they even Bro Hug it out before they part ways.
- Mick's oddest friendship is with Amaya. While they were initially quite frosty to one another (since Amaya is a tried and true hero and Mick is an Anti-Hero at best) the two actually form a strong bond with one another and Amaya will often try to convince Mick that there is good inside of him. This is especially highlighted in Doomworld where she is the only one of the Legends that still believes in Mick and that he can make the right choice despite his Face–Heel Turn in the previous episode. Snart killing her in Doomworld pushes him firmly to the side of the Legends.
Odd Name Out: Compare his name and codename with the Snart siblings. Their given names follow a specific Theme Naming, while both their codenames are alliterate. Of course if you consider his second codename Chronos, then Lisa falls with this trope.
Only Friend: He openly states that Amaya is his only friend once Snart dies.
Only in It for the Money: Literally. He and Snart only joined the team because of all the treasures they can steal from their Time Travel adventures.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Abomination", he calls Ray by his real name, rather than "Haircut", upon discovering he's been infected by a zombie virus.
Other Me Annoys Me: He's pissed as fuck at his heroic Earth-X counterpart, who was burned to death while saving cops.
Out of Focus:
- Once Lisa joins the Rogues, Mick noticeably falls to the wayside, while Lisa becomes Cold's preferred partner, since she's much more sane and stable than Mick is. Hell, Mick didn't even appear in Season Two of The Flash, before he was Transplanted to Legends of Tomorrow.
- He had the least screen time in the trailers as well as Character Development going into Legends of Tomorrow. However, come the midpoint of the series, it's revealed that he was Chronos the entire time, after he felt he was betrayed by Snart's change of heart, and he gets more focus from there in.
- He also has reduced screen time come season 3, only having a few B-stories and bit scenes.
Papa Wolf: Do not mess with his family unless you are asking for third-degree burns.
Pet the Dog: He insists on bringing Ray when Snart comes to break him out of prison, thanks to Ray taking a vicious beating for him. He extends an offer to Amaya for him to come to the Legion of Doom with him, allowing her to use the spear to rewrite her own destiny.
Playing with Fire: His Heat gun is one of the most devastating weapons in the Arrowverse.
The Power of Love: The second time the Time Masters try to turn him into Chronos, he admits to Ray (in a rather embarrassed way) that he thought of the team. Then threatens to shave Ray's head if he tells anyone.
Psycho Party Member: The only unhinged member of the group. Of all the team, he loved the ruined Star City of 2046 as being just what he dreamed and couldn't understand why Snart didn't feel the same.
Psychotic Smirk: Sometimes has one when he's firing a weapon like a madman.
Pyromaniac: As his name suggests.
Rory: I want to see this world burn!
Red Oni, Blue Oni: He and Leonard as their elements and Color Motif suggest. He's the more (literally) Hot-Blooded of the two (Red).
Reformed, but Not Tamed: After his Heel–Face Turn, he still has absolutely no qualms about roasting people.
Refusal of the Call: Inverted when he's reluctant to stick with the supervillain shtick on The Flash until Cold convinces him that it's their true calling. Pops up again in Legends Of Tomorrow until Snart tells him it's a perfect opportunity for thieves like them.
Replacement Goldfish: After Snart sacrifices himself, Mick tries to get back to normal thieving with a random punk wielding the cold gun. Onscreen, it lasts about 20 seconds before he burns the kid. Averted when he takes Ray on as his new partner; while he initially wants Ray to be more like Snart, he soon realises that it works better for both of them if Ray just acts like himself.
- He seems to grow out of this after his team-up with LoD!Snart showed him what their friendship was really like before joining the Legends and when Leo joined the team he inverted this with the two not forming a friendship until Leo stopped using him as a stand in for his dead friend, of course there's still his instant obsession with Ki ll er Fro st.
Revenge: His motivation for going after Savage, after Cold sacrifices himself to blow up the Oculus.
Running Gag: In each of the crossover events, he develops a one-sided attraction to the newcomer superheroine; first Supergirl, then Killer Frost, much to their horror and annoyance respectively.
- Also, trying to think of a big word to describe something, but never getting it right the first time (ie. "mechanism", leading to "anachronism" in "Aruba-Con").
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After noticing his relationship with his longtime friend drifting apart, coupled with Rip's untimely "The Reason You Suck" Speech, he finally got fed up with everything and decides to betray everyone.
Self-Harm: In a season 3 episode of Legends Of Tomorrow, Mick reacts to intense emotional pain by deliberately burning himself with a lighter.
Self-Made Orphan: Albeit, not by choice. He was playing with his dad's lighter which caused a fire to grow out control and he freaked out so much that he ran out of the house without waking his family. It turns out that he doesn't regret killing his abusive father.
Sleeps in the Nude: He likes to sleep in this manner, which is played for laughs and denotes him as eccentric. In "Necromancing the Stone" when Wally is shocked to discover this the hard way when he gets Mick out of bed for a briefing.
Sticky Fingers: Mick has a severe case of kleptomania and will steal anything throughout history that takes his fancy. It got to the point that the Legends no longer bothered to stop him and allowed light-to-moderate theft by passing it off as 'souvenirs'.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Underneath his abrasive personality, it turns out that Mick doesn't particularly like himself, even urging his younger self not to be like him and to be better, telling Nate that he believes that he's a worse person than his abusive father was, and initially refusing to try to use the fire totem because he doesn't view himself as a hero and fears that it will tap into his true nature and make him do something even worse than what the demonically possessed Sara has been doing.
STD Immunity: Averted. He apparently picked up quite a collection during his sabbatical in "Arubacon".
Nate: That's our Mick...
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He stands 6'2 and has a gruff demeanor.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He loathes John Constantine, always picking fights with him. It got so bad that at one point he upset John so much that the latter went to a crappy bar in the 1970s all so he could erase himself from existence.
Then Let Me Be Evil: After Rip tells him that he was only recruited because he and Cold were a "package deal", he betrays the team in an attempt to stop Snart and himself from joining the Legends by making a deal with some time pirates.
Token Evil Teammate: His role in the team, along with Captain Cold. Unlike Cold, however, he didn't receive any Anti-Villain Character Development before the announcement of the series. He joins the team simply for the chance to steal some valuable items from the past, and upon Rip revealing the truth, elects to stay on because "I like killing people." It eventually turns out that literally the only reason Rip invited him was because he knew Snart wouldn't come without him; he is not pleased to learn this. He grows out of this and by season three, he's a bona fide hero.
Took a Level in Badass: He's become more skilled and physically stronger after his stint as Chronos. This allows him to fight the likes of Vandal Savage on his own and even manages to kill the tyrant. While he was brought more back in line with his old characterisation, his fighting ability still occasionally crops up like how Mick is able to overpower Julius Caesar.
Took a Level in Kindness: He's still a rather gruff fellow, but after his time as Chronos, he's more calm and patient. This is best shown with the Time Masters' second attempt to brainwash him. The first time, Mick kept his identity by holding on to his hatred for the team. The second time, he held on to his true self by focusing on his need to save the team.
Transplant: He was a major recurring antagonist in The Flash (2014).
Two First Names: Mick and Rory, per the DC Comics norm.
Uncertain Doom: Rory is last seen facing the business end of Snart's cold gun. Whether or not Snart actually killed him is unclear, but at least some of the team seem to believe that he did. It turns out that he didn't die; the Time Masters made him Chronos.
Villainous Friendship: With Captain Cold. This becomes a key plot in their respective Character Development during Legends Season One, as Snart starts embracing his heroic side while Mick refuses to change.
Villain Protagonist: He is part of the main Ensemble Cast of Legends of Tomorrow and is their very proud Token Evil Teammate. Over time he mellows out.
Villain Respect: In Phone Home, watching Ray's younger self shoplift from a newsstand actually impresses him and tells his present self that he had balls and is proud of him.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Snart, a creepier example than most since they are willing to point guns at or kidnap each other, still it's established they'd never actually hurt each other.
- With Ray to the point of giving him Leonard's old Cold Gun.
Vocal Evolution: Started out with Dominic Purcell’s natural voice, then he became a Fake American and finally started to sound more drunk after he was transplanted to Legends.
Walking Spoiler: Mick joining the Legion of Doom (albeit temporarily) really came as a surprise, as it was originally advertised that they were a four-man team with Snart being the last member to join.
Wave-Motion Gun: Both his flamethrower and Chronos' BFG sometimes charges up before firing.
Welcome Back, Traitor: He rejoins the Team partly because he finds out that he can't bring himself to kill Snart no matter how badly he wants to, and partly out of good old self-preservation. This happens again in Season Two after he betrays them for the Legion only to realize his mistake.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's terrified and utterly paranoid of vampires. He even always carries a wooden stake with him, at all times. When the team go to Victorian England to deal with a case of resurrection, he immediately assumes it's vampires and the first thing he does when he sees a corpse is stake it through the heart.
With Friends Like These...: While he and Snart are longtime friends, they're perfectly willing to point guns at each other if one of them screws up a job. And with regards to the Legends, they very quickly show willingness to conduct heists and follow personal vendettas at the most inopportune times for the team.
Would Hit a Girl: He tries to kill Sara in "Marooned". Snart also considers that he might harm his sister if they dump him in 2016, and brings up the same possibility regarding Sara's sister and Stein's wife. Ironically, Snart's solution, to leave Mick KO'ed and, yes, marooned, in the middle of nowhere, led to the pickup and transformation that resulted in Mick getting to even think of such a plan.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: He's on the receiving end of this from various other characters a lot.
You Can't Go Home Again: Not in a literal way, but his character development means that he discovers that Being Evil Sucks when he technically gets everything he wanted - working with Snart again, back to being a criminal, and being away from the team - and ends up saving Nate and switching back to being a Legend in Doomworld.

Tropes specific to Chronos

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chronos_5.jpg

Adaptational Badass: In the comics, Chronos was a petty thief who utilized time travel technology, while here he's the most feared Bounty Hunter the Time Masters have at their disposal.
Adaptational Heroism: In the comics, Chronos is a common thief who happens to have Time Travel technology. Here, he's a Knight Templar working for the Time Masters to prevent Hunter from altering the timeline. This gets subverted after The Reveal that he's a vengeful Mick out for a payback. But eventually redeems himself unlike in the comics.
Badass Cape: As Chronos, he has a black cape attached to his black armor.
BFG: As Chronos, he is equipped with a futuristic and laser-blasting assault rifle.
Bounty Hunter: Explicitly described as such as Chronos, although he is usually in the employ of the Time Masters. Some of the Legends have remarked on his resemblance to Boba Fett.
Composite Character: Mick ends up becoming the Arrowverse version of Chronos.
Diabolus ex Machina: As Chronos, he loves showing up at the worst possible time for the Legends. Justified since he knows from experience exactly when and where to go.
The Dragon: He does the Time Masters dirty work, being their main enforcer to hunt the Legends down.
Evil Former Friend: As Chronos, he becomes this to the Legends, especially Snart. Rip is the one he addresses as "old friend", though.
Evil Sounds Deep: Much more so as Chronos, as his mask disguises and deepens his voice akin to Darth Vader.
Fake Defector: After the Time Masters reprogrammed him as Chronos, he pretends that it succeeded unlike last time in order to catch them off-guard.
Flat Character: In his initial appearances as Chronos, he had little in the way of personality. Though once the helmet comes off, he gets a lot of Character Development since his days as Heat Wave.
From Nobody to Nightmare: From a burnt criminal to a super-villain. Then from a supervillain to one of the Time Masters' most feared hunters.
Future Badass: The Mick who rejoins The Team is actually Chronos, who is a more articulate and strategic thanks to the Time Masters' training. Mick even tells Sara that the Mick she is speaking to is not the one exiled by Snart, as it was years for him since that happened.
Heavily Armored Mook: They build things to last in the future, seeing as Chronos can withstand a standard fireball from Firestorm with only slight injury at worst. His timeship is no less tough and soaked four air-to-air missiles from a Mig.
The Heavy: Of all the agents sent by the Time Masters, Chronos is the one who causes most of the setbacks for The Legends.
Implacable Man: As Chronos, he simply won't give up in his hunt for Rip and the Legends, chasing them throughout history, with their best efforts only managing to slow him down or give them time to escape.
In Name Only: Has almost nothing in common with the comics Chronos, who was a thief who utilized time travelling technology and was an enemy of the Atom. This Chronos is a bounty hunter working for the Time Masters to hunt down time criminals. Not to mention his real identity is Mick Rory.
Kick the Dog:
- When a pair of guys see Rip's ship taking off, he as Chronos verifies that they aren't significant to the timeline and murders them.
- When he reveals his face to Snart, he vows to murder Lisa in front of him over and over again.
Let's Get Dangerous!: The laidback Mick Rory becomes very disciplined and serious as Chronos.
Malevolent Masked Man: As Chronos, his face is always covered by a menacing helmet. Naturally, this is to hide his true identity.
Meaningful Name: He's a time traveler whose Time masters codename is the Greek god of time.
Moral Myopia: As Chronos, he fully blames the other Legends for being left stranded, seeking revenge and planning to kill Snart's sister over and over again while forcing Snart to watch. Rory seems to forget that he was abandoned after he betrayed the team to a gang of pirates and tried to kill Sara, and that the only reason he was alive at all is because Snart showed him mercy. Although his main problem is that Snart chickened out of killing him, instead leaving him to almost lose his mind and almost starve to death before being picked up and tortured by the Time Masters.
More than Mind Control: Mick implies the Time Masters barely had to condition him as he was so hungry for revenge against his old team that he was more than willing.
Movie Superheroes Wear Black: Downplayed; while he wears a green, gold, and silver costume in the comics, the mostly black one he wears here as Chronos still has dark green armored parts, particularly his mask.
My Future Self and Me: Chronos hunts the Legends throughout Season 1, including when Mick was still on the team.
Mysterious Mercenary Pursuer: Before The Reveal of Chronos' identity, the audience knows almost nothing about him, other than the fact that he is determined to capture Rip for his bounty. After The Reveal, he openly says that his true motive is revenge on his former team.
Never Trust a Trailer: The teaser trailer suggests that his Chronos persona is Vandal Savage.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: No negotiation, no gloating. Chronos just walks in guns blazing.
Older and Wiser: His training to become Chronos turned him from a pyromaniac Dumb Muscle to an expert on time travel.
One-Man Army: As Chronos, he is formidable enough to fight all of the Legends to a standstill, by himself, at the same time.
The Power of Hate: Says it was this that allowed him to keep his mind after being made into Chronos the first time.
The Quiet One: As Chronos, he very rarely speaks, and when he does, it's almost all direct, matter of fact statements.
The Reveal: That his real identity was actually Mick Rory all along.
Revenge: His motive for hunting the Legends, blaming them for his being marooned after he betrayed them to Jon Valor.
Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Played with as Chronos. In the comics, Chronos is an enemy of the Atom, who is a part of the series, but his main beef is with Rip Hunter, or at least that was what everyone thought. Also, he and Ray formed a some sort of Odd Friendship.
Same Character, But Different: Played with. Chronos acts so differently to Mick that he might very well be a different individual, which could be chalked up to the process to condition him. However it appears subverted when Mick reveals the Time Masters barely had a hold over him and the fact he later reverts back to his old self (albeit more noble and mature).
Stable Time Loop: As Chronos, he's basically been ensuring his own Face–Heel Turn during his run-ins with the Legends.
Took a Level in Badass: In his time as Chronos he becomes more strategic and articulate, and even functions as The Lancer to Rip from time to time once he rejoins the team. He also becomes a much better and physically stronger fighter, capable of punching out armored mooks with his bare hands and even defeated an incarnation of Savage in melee when previously Savage curbstomped him.
Two Aliases, One Character: He and Chronos are one and the same, and have been since the start.
Walking Spoiler: Chronos' Secret Identity reveals significant plot points for Season One of Legends of Tomorrow.

Characters / Arrowverse: Mick Rory

Mick Rory

Species: Human^noteBriefly empowered via Fire Totem

Known Aliases: Heat Wave, Chronos, Rebecca Silver (author pseudonym)

Affiliations: The Rogues, The Legends, The Time Masters, The Legion of Doom (alternate reality)

Played By: Dominic Purcell, Michael Kummen (young)

Appearances: The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion!^note(The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Crisis on Earth-X ^note | Crisis on Infinite Earths

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Characters / Arrowverse: Mick Rory

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Mick Rory

Species: Humannote Briefly empowered via Fire Totem

Known Aliases: Heat Wave, Chronos, Rebecca Silver (author pseudonym)

Affiliations: The Rogues, The Legends, The Time Masters, The Legion of Doom (alternate reality)

Played By: Dominic Purcell, Michael Kummen (young)

Appearances: The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion!note (The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Crisis on Earth-X note (Supergirl | Arrow | Legends of Tomorrow) | Crisis on Infinite Earths

Previous

Index

Next

Species: Human^noteBriefly empowered via Fire Totem

Appearances: The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow | Invasion!^note(The Flash | Legends of Tomorrow) | Crisis on Earth-X ^note | Crisis on Infinite Earths