The second chapter of Endless Winter finally reveals which surprise DC hero united the Justice League Viking to take on the Frost King.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Flash #767 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo, Steve Wands, Marco Santucci, Arif Prianto, and ALW’s Troy Peteri, on sale now.
Justice League: Endless Winter Special #1 awakened an ancient, Norse supervillain from the past of the DC Universe. The Frost King plunged the world into a planet-wide blizzard, but it turns out this actually wasn’t the first time this had happened. The villain first attacked the world in the 10th century. But while there was no Superman or Batman to save the world then, there was another superhero team, the so-called Justice League Viking.
This team was comprised of the Amazon Hippolyta, the elemental Swamp Thing, and the Viking Prince. Eventually, they persuaded the wizard Shazam to free Black Adam from his tomb so that he could join their cause. And as “Endless Winter” continues in The Flash #767, it’s revealed that an ancient Swamp Thing brought this team together in the first place.
When Swamp Thing, Hippolyta, and Viking Prince first met Black Adam at the end of Justice League: Endless Winter Special #1, it was Hippolyta who addressed Teth-Adam first, asking for his help in taking on a threat that could potentially destroy the world. Because of this, and because the Amazon seemingly embodied the role of Wonder Woman in this version of the Justice League, it seemed like Hippolyta assembled this team, and served as its leader. But that is actually not the case.
The second most likely candidate was Viking Prince, an obscure character in DC’s pantheon whose return appeared to be deliberate. Since the Frost King was tied to Norse mythology, the Viking Prince could have been the one who first learned of his menace and the one who reached out to the others to get help in stopping him.
However, The Flash #767 opens with another flashback that picks up shortly after Black Adam was freed from his tomb. The trio of superheroes finds Teth-Adam in a tavern, enjoying food and drink after a battle with local patrons. Black Adam doesn’t appear too eager to join the team, and Viking Prince’s confrontational nature nearly leads to a fight between the two. Adam advises Hippolyta to rein the Viking Prince in, lest a battle erupts. Seemingly, even Black Adam mistakes the Amazon warrior for this team’s leader but she’s not the one who steps in between the two men — it’s actually Swamp Thing, who grows to full size from a fissure in the ground.