| Blue Snowman | |
|---|---|
 The Blue Snowman in Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (2022); illustration by Paul Pelletier, inks by Norm Rapmund, colors by Adriano Lucas. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Sensation Comics #59 (November 1946) |
| Created by | William Moulton Marston, Harry G. Peter |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Byrna Brilyant |
| Team affiliations |
|
| Abilities | Uses cryogenic weapons capable of generating extreme cold, ice and snow Exo-suit provides enhanced strength and invulnerability |
The Blue Snowman is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. Created by writer William Moulton Marston and artist Harry G. Peter, the character debuted in 1946 in Sensation Comics #59 as a high-tech extortionist named Byrna Brilyant who used a fearsome costumed persona (known then only as the Snow Man) to coerce money out of innocent victims.
Brilyant's Golden Age gender identity was presented as that of a woman who disguised herself as an ostensibly male supervillain to deflect criminal suspicion – a genderplay trope Marston incorporated into several other foes he created to battle Wonder Woman,[1] including Doctor Poison and Hypnota. The 2021 relaunch Infinite Frontier portrays the Modern Age Byrna Brilyant as Genderfluid, their Blue Snowman stylings part of their flexible gender-presentation.[2]
In her first appearance in 1946, Brilyant's alter ego dressed in a bulky blue robe, complete with jowlish blue head mask and blue derby. A later appearance in 1948 (in Wonder Woman #28) changed her name from the Snow Man to the Blue Snowman, keeping the head mask and hat, but replacing the robe with a bulbous metallic bodysuit, similar in silhouette to that of the advertising mascot the Michelin Man. The Golden Age Blue Snowman's primary weapon was a giant cannon which could fire a "snow ray" producing "blue snow," a form of precipitation freezing anything it touches. The Modern Age Blue Snowman not only continues to sport a derby, but also wears an advanced exo-suit of blue mecha-style armor fashioned to look like the round features of a children's snowman. This armor is outfitted with weaponry capable of firing a cryogenic blast that can freeze anything in its path, similar to the ice guns wielded by fellow DC Comics rogues Mr. Freeze and Captain Cold.
- ^ Daniels, Les (2000). Wonder Woman: The Complete History. Chronicle Books LLC. p. 34.
- ^ DeLuca, Jude. "History of Violence: WONDER WOMAN, The Blue Snowman, and "Gender Issues"". Comicosity, 15 February 2021, https://www.comicosity.com/history-of-violence-wonder-woman-the-blue-snowman-and-gender-issues/. Accessed 19 August 2022.