| “ | I am Snowflame! Every cell of my being burns with white-hot ecstasy. Cocaine is my God -- and I am the human instrument of its will! | „ |
| ~ Snowflame during his drug-induced battle with the New Guardians. |
Snowflame is a drug-powered supervillain from the DC Comics universe. First appearing in New Guardians, he was presumably killed during a confrontation with the titular team in Columbia. However, years later, he would appear in Catwoman Vol. 5, where it was revealed he faked his death and moved his operations to the private island of Isla Nevada.
Biography[]
Little is known of Snowflame's past. Before the events of New Guardians, he had an apparent business and romantic partnership with Catwoman, which at some point ended on mutual terms. presumably born in America, Snowflame (real name Stefan) discovered or developed superpowers when ingesting cocaine. Using his literally drug-fueled superpowers, he muscled his way to the top of a major drug ring in Columbia.
In New Guardians #2, the titular team is sent on a mission to stop Snowflame. The villain rambles and raves about his love of cocaine and the incredible power he feels while on it. He easily defeats the team during their first battle, and forces the New Guardians to retreat. Later, the Guardians regroup and fight with Snowflame once again. Now with a better understanding of Snowflame's tactics and teamwork, the Guardians defeat Snowflame by tossing him into a shed, which quickly explodes. Snowflame's followers attempt to attack the Guardians the issue after, but are unsuccessful. Snowflame was missing and presumed dead after the incident.
However, years later, Catwoman would meet a recovered Stefan on the private island of Isla Nevada. A much more calm and rational Snowflame was happy to see Selina again, and took her for a ride in his expensive sports car as they discussed the events going on around the island and a major criminal conspiracy. Snowflame reveals that he has since stopped using drugs himself, but still sells them, and lives a lavish lifestyle as a criminal kingpin. Snowflame helped Selina during her time on Isla Nevada, and the two initially parted on good terms.
However, Selina and Stefan eventually come into conflict due to the latter's drug trafficking causing an accident that sends a cat creature on a violent rampage. With most of Snowflame's men dead or incapacitated, he elects to indulge in his vice once again, becoming Snowflame and fighting Selina. However, Selina shoots him with an arrow covered in Ibogaine, a cocaine-antidote that leaves him powerless, and she leaves the villain at the mercy of the cat monster.
Snowflame, however, survived the encounter, and is currently active.
In Other Media[]
Snowflame appears in season four of Harley Quinn, an adult animated comedy. He is a member of the Legion of Doom and works directly with Lex Luthor. This is in contrast to his depiction in the mainline DCU, where he is an independent and obscure villain.
Personality[]
Snowflame in New Guardians.
Snowflame is bombastic, theatrical and raving. He has an undying love for and obsession with cocaine, his drug of choice and source of his superpowers. Even while fighting heroes, he monologues about his love for cocaine and how precious it is to him, even declaring that he worships it. His rants are grandiose, verbose and unhinged. He is violent, irrational and psychotic and refuses to listen to reason. However, he also displays poor judgement and critical thinking, and is able to be easily outsmarted and defeated once the New Guardians learn to coordinate better.
However, in his "civilian" form, Stefan is almost the polar opposite of all this. He is calm, cool, collected and reasonable. He has a pleasant, peaceful conversation with Selina when she arrives, helps her stop another villain by giving her critical information and displays no signs of psychotic violence. He also has a good sense of humor, joking and smiling even as he and Selina discuss serious subjects. Though his personality is starkly different here, the strong contrast is easily explained by drug use. Stefan may also be putting on an act when in his supervillain persona, but drug use cannot be ruled out as a factor.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Unique Physiology: Snowflame gains superpowers upon snorting cocaine. As long as he is sufficiently high, his powers work. When sober, his powers fade away.
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Durability: Immunity to Pain.
- Pyrokinesis: Stefan gains control over white flames that even glow out of his eyes.
- Cocaine Touch: Touching Snowflame was sufficient to give the Floronic Man a contact high. This may be due to the inhumanly high levels of cocaine in his body.
Weaknesses[]
- Drug Addiction: In his first appearance, Snowflame is highly addicted to cocaine and needs a constant supply of it to keep his powers. Though his tolerance is inhumanly high, it is likely he still suffers from all the possible negative effects of cocaine as well.
- Drug-Induced Psychosis: Snowflame is extremely irrational, delusional and violent while on drugs, and will often ramble absurd monologues at a constant pace while high.
Trivia[]
- Snowflame was originally created as a part of DC's plan to make New Guardians deal with more mature, real-world issues. However, the over-the-top way Snowflame was presented came off as tasteless to readers.
- Years after his initial appearance, Snowflame became slightly popular on the internet due to how absurd and fun he was.[1]
- In his rebooted appearance, Snowflame's wardrobe and style is made to resemble 1980s movies and television shows such as Miami Vice and Scarface. This is a comical nod to the character's connection to drugs, as well as the fact that he originally appeared in a 1980s comic book.
References[]
- ↑ Youtuber "Huggbees" has increased this popularity quite a bit with his video about Snowflame currently sitting at 967k views.
