WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Dark #29 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Amancay Nahuelpan, June Chung, Rob Leigh, Marco Santucci, Arif Prianto, and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.
The "Endless Winter" crossover has unleashed the Frost King on the DC Universe. The villain has covered the world in a giant blizzard, and his army of ice monsters has scattered the Justice League. The superheroes are stretched thin as it is and so far, it looks like the Frost King is simply too powerful to be stopped. But he was defeated once before -- back in the 10th century.
Indeed, over the course of the event, flashback segments have chronicled the Frost King's first attack in the 900s, and the efforts of the Justice League Viking to stop him. Now, in Justice League Dark #29, we finally learn how DC's first superhero team was able to defeat the villain: their victory came at the cost of the Viking Prince's life.
The Justice League Viking was a team originally put together in the 10th century by Swamp Thing. After the Frost King first attacked, his blizzard began to affect the Green, which prompted the elemental creature to seek out powerful heroes to help in his quest to defeat the villain. Swamp Thing recruited the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, the ancient hero known as the Viking Prince, and the former champion of the wizard Shazam, Black Adam.
These four heroes took on the Frost King and his army of ice monsters, and they too found that the villain was incredibly powerful. In fact, his abilities were so dangerous that he was even successful in killing Swamp Thing during their fight.
Thankfully, there was one hero who laid his life on the line to stop the villain: the Viking Prince.
In Justice League Dark #29, the flashback segment of the "Endless Winter" crossover shows how the fight between the Frost King and the Justice League Viking finally came to an end. On top of a crumbling glacier, the superheroes face the villain and his army. While Black Adam and Hippolyta deal with the ice monsters, the Viking Prince engages the Frost King in battle. The two fight with their swords and the villain eventually gains the upper hand: he stabs the Viking Prince through the chest -- but the hero valiantly keeps fighting.
He takes hold of the Frost King, and he sends both of them falling down into the glacier's crevasse. As they fall, the Frost King's humanity pierces through, and the two men end up buried deep in the ice. The Viking Prince was cursed with immortality: only a heroic death would finally grant him access to Valhalla, the resting place of Norse warriors. With this sacrifice, the hero finally gets his rest, and the world is finally saved.
The original fight against the Frost King was a brutal battle that cost the lives of two heroes. Now, the villain is back, and he's more powerful than ever. Will another hero have to sacrifice themselves to stop him this time?