Warning: contains spoilers for Justice League Dark #29!
DC's Endless Winter has led to the creation of a new ultimately killed by the Frost King.
In the present, the Green is likewise without its greatest champion, since Swamp Thing sacrificed himself to defeat the Upside-Down Man. His death couldn't have come at a worse time for the Green, as the return of the Frost King plunged Earth into an Endless Winter, and the Green was forced to go into hibernation. In Justice League Dark #29 - from Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Marco Santucci - Wonder Woman attempts to bring Swamp Thing back into play again by traveling into the Dead Realm - and is surprised to learn the spirit of the classic Swamp Thing has survived there, transforming it into a place of abundant life. He can't return, but he does give her what she needs to create the next iteration of the Swamp Thing legacy.
Wonder Woman returns with a fragment of Swamp Thing, an empty vessel to be bonded with someone else in order to transform them into the new Swamp Thing. Her arrival is well-timed, as her mother Hippolyta has summoned the spirit of ancient Norse warrior the Viking Prince from Valhalla to give guidance and counsel. The fragment bonds with the Viking Prince, an old friend of Hippolyta who died preventing the Frost King's original attack, and the result is dramatic to say the least. It seems the Green has a new champion.
This new Swamp Thing will certainly be formidable; not only does he possess all the power of the Green, but he is actually an ancient Norse warrior - DC's powered-down equivalent of Marvel's godlike hero Thor. He is brave and true, bold and forthright, confident in his heroism. He could be just what the Justice League need in order to take on the threat of the Frost King - especially with the Green currently quiescent because of the Endless Winter. Having rested for centuries following his noble warrior's death - the condition Odin put on him being allowed to finally die - it's going to be exciting to see whether the Viking Prince sticks around once Endless Winter is over, especially if serving the Green interferes with the deal he made with the Norse gods.
It's possible there will be not one, but two, Swamp Things in the future of the DC universe. DC has recently teased the introduction of Levi Kamei, the next Swamp Thing, who will be the first Indian lead in a DC Comics. Little has been revealed about Kamei to date, beyond hinting he is unable to control his transformations. It's possible the Viking Prince's Swamp Thing will serve as a mentor to Kamei, but only time will tell.
