The synthesis of 1-(4-cyanophenyl)-1H-imidazol (1) has been carried out by an improved method. Then its corresponding imidazolium iodide salt, 2, has been used to prepare the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) cycloplatinated compound [{Pt(μ-Cl)(C^{^}C*)}₂] (4) (HC^{^}C*-κC* = 1-(4-cyanophenyl)-3-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-ylidene) following a step-by-step protocol. The intermediate complex [PtCl(κ³-2-Me-C₃H₄) (HC^{^}C*-κC*)] (3) has also been isolated and characterized. Using 4 as precursor, several heteroleptic complexes of stoicheometry [PtCl(C^{^}C*)L] (L = PPh₃ (5), pyridine (py, 6), 2,6-dimethylphenyl isocyanide (CNXyl, 7), and 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (MMI, 8)) and [Pt(C^{^}C*)LLκ]PF₆ (L = PPh₃, Lκ = py (9), CNXyl (10), and MMI (11)) have been synthesized. Complexes 6-8 were obtained as a mixture of cis- and trans-(C*,L) isomers, while trans-(C*,L) isomer was the only one observed for complexes 5 and 9-11. Their geometries have been discussed in terms of the degree of transphobia (T) of pairs of trans ligands and supported by theoretical calculations. The trans influence of the two κ Pt-C bonds present in these molecules, Pt-C_Ar and Pt-C*_(NHC), has been compared from the J_Pt-P values observed in the new complex [Pt(C^{^}C*)(dppe)]PF₆ (dppe = 1, 2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, 12)