Warning! Spoilers for Catwoman #23 below.
After the New 52 reboot wiped the slate clean, Catwoman #23 features a revival of a villain that many readers might have preferred to stay in the ground: Snowflame, the self-proclaimed "God of Cocaine".
Snowflame was created for the 1988 series New Guardians, which cast a diverse group of regular people in the role of protecting the world from the topical issues of the 80s--AIDS, racism, and even drug abuse--in the form of fighting supervillains who represent them. Snowflame is a South America drug cartel boss who is only ever appeared once, dying in an explosion at his cartel and relegating himself to the dustbin of DC Universe history.
In Catwoman #23, Vampirella writer Blake Northcott makes her DC debut, ed in plotting by Batman: White Knight's Sean Murphy, and with art from Cian Tormey (Batgirl) and Batman color artist FCO Plascencia. Selina hops a plane to the South American crime hotspot Isla Nevada (that means "snowy island", just to hammer in what this place is about) in order to take part in a villainous gala which will auction off black-market treasures to the criminal underworld. When she arrives, her pickup is none other than Snowflame, tweaked out with a new Miami Vice-style look.
In the ride out of town, Snowflame (or Stefan, as his friends know him) explains his situation: he faked his death-by-explosion in order to escape, then came to Isla Nevada and turned the entire island into the seat of his coke empire, where he's been partying hard ever since. It's hard to say what is more unbelievable here: the idea that the powder-packed villain has been revamped at all, or the intimation that he and Selina have some sort of pre-existing relationship. When did a Gotham thief have time to become good friends -- or more -- with a meth worshipper from the fictional end of Columbia?
Now that Snowflame has an ittedly much more workable look and a place in the DC Universe again, is there a chance of him becoming a recurring player beyond this arc? As much as the coked-out crime lord might enjoy taking risks, the odds are not looking good. Despite the Americanized, vaporwave-adjacent style, Snowflame is still rooted in dated stereotypes that the criminal urchins, corrupt officials, and mystical jungle cats of Isla Nevada have no interest in defying. The cult favorite is set up to get more character development in future issues, including a possible exploration of how he and Catwoman know each other. That said, any fans of Snowflame should enjoy the excitement of the new storyline while it lasts... it'll be a temporary high.
DC Comics' Catwoman #23 is available now.
