DC Recategorizes a Powerful Justice League Member from Hero to Villain, And This Is No Misunderstanding
The Justice League has redefined its remit, with the age of 'Justice League Unlimited' making every hero and hero-team part of a larger and more ambitious League. With a gigantic new base and inter-hero support, the League are more prepared and capable than ever. However, with new scope comes new challenges, and one recruit is crumbling under the added pressure, leading them to turn to outright villainy.
Killer Frost Can't Take the Justice League Heat
DC Announces "Killer Frost Breaks Bad"
In a preview for Titans #19 (from John Layman, Serg Acuña, Matt Herms and Wes Abbott), former villain Killer Frost tries to adjust to life as a member of the Justice League Unlimited. The team's new satellite base is meant to act as a combination clubhouse, mess hall, and individual base for every superhero the team could possibly need. And yet as Killer Frost tries to adjust to her new home, she constantly senses hostility from her teammates, with comments that seem to express their disapproval at her presence on the roster.
Caitlin Snow's Killer Frost started life as a villain, serving time for her crimes alongside the Suicide Squad. However, an encounter with Batman gave her a sincere chance at redemption, and she was quickly recruited onto the Justice League. With the new Justice League Unlimited movement turning the League into way more than a single field team, Killer Frost has been invited back, and yet being around so many heroes is actually pushing her back into villainy. The issue's summary reads:
KILLER FROST BREAKS BAD! Revenge is a dish best served cold. Killers have ice in their veins, and villains are cold-hearted. See where we're going with this? This month's weather forecast predicts freezing overnight lows, ice storms, snow flurries, and a high chance of dead Titans. Brrrr!
Killer Frost Is Taking on the Titans
...But Is Her Turn to Evil Actually Her Fault?
It's clear from DC's preview that Killer Frost is misreading her teammates, taking innocent comments as jibes and insults. But is this because of her past and paranoia, or is it being done to her? In the opening of DC's preview, someone bumps into Killer Frost on the street, right before she heads up to the Watchtower base. Given the range of powers in the DC Universe, it's more than possible that this bump was used to dial up Killer Frost's paranoia.
One of the big problems that the Justice League is facing right now is the threat of scale. With so many heroes working together and accessing the Watchtower, security has taken a hit. Indeed, over in The Question: All Along the Watchtower, the League's new head of security is investigating a murder aboard their very base. It's impossible for the League to monitor or safeguard every member out in the world. Where once teammates would instantly pick up on developing issues, now a week can go by with no-one noticing Killer Frost's growing anger.
Killer Frost is an incredibly powerful metahuman, meaning the Titans are in for a dangerous fight. However, more serious is the possibility that an unknown enemy just managed to peel such a heavy hitter off from the Justice League with a covert, essentially imperceptible attack on where Frost is most vulnerable. If Justice League heroes are not just being targeted but turned into threats, it could soon turn out that a bigger team just makes for a bigger target.
Titans #19 is coming January 15 from DC Comics.
