Ice-Man (comics)

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Ice-Man


Ice-Man by Tom Raney

Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Mutant X #1
Created by Howard Mackie
Tom Raney
Characteristics
Alter ego Robert "Bob" Drake
Affiliations The Six, X-Men
Abilities Body composed of organic ice, can manipulate temperature so as to project intense blasts of cold from his body, freezing items or creating myriad objects from ice, including ice slides for transportation or shields for defensive purposes

Ice-Man (Robert Drake) is a comic book superhero created by Marvel Comics. He is an alternate reality version of the X-Men's Iceman. In his reality he leaves the X-Men with fellow teammates to form their own team known as The Six, led by Havok.

[edit] Fictional character biography

In the main Marvel Universe the X-Man Havok attempted to stop his friend Greystone from using a faulty time machine to return to his native timeline. However, the device exploded, killing both men...or so it seemed. Havok found himself transported to an alternate reality where he was the leader of a hero group called the Six, where he met alternate versions of his friends and family. One of his teammates was a differently mutated Robert Drake, who called himself Ice-Man in this reality.

The happy-go-lucky Bobby Drake that Havok once knew does not exist in this reality. After the machinations of the villainous Asgardian god Loki, Ice-Man's powers went spiraling out of control, making him unable to touch any organic thing without killing it instantaneously. Unfortunately Tony Stark did not invent the power dampening device that was invented in the main Marvel Universe, so Ice-Man's powers remained permanently affected.

When Havok had a disagreement with Magneto and decided to leave the X-Men, Ice-Man was one of those who followed him, being a founding member of the Six. Not much is known of the early years of the team, but when Havok began to have an affair with Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four, Havok's wife Madelyne came running to Ice-Man. Because of his inability to have human contact, nothing physical happened between the two, however a strong friendship developed. Consumed with jealousy at their intimate friendship, Havok sabotaged the Brute's experiment to cure Ice-Man, permanently damaging his brain and reducing Brute to a child-like state. When the mental degeneration occurred, Ice-Man made it his duty to protect Brute, especially from the insensitive actions of Fallen.

Later, when the Goblyn Queen first ascended to power, she manipulated all the members of the Six (with the exception of Fallen who joined willingly) into serving her purpose. However, the team broke free of her influence and was able to defeat her, choosing to remain at Havok's side.

In a freak accident where Brute jumped in front of a psychic blast from a deranged Charles Xavier to protect Havok, Brute regained his intellect as a bizarre side-effect. As he felt his intelligence fading away, he wanted to finish the experiment he had begun several years before: to find a cure for Ice-Man's condition. His attempts were successful, allowing Bob to switch from his icy form to his flesh form at will. Brute endeavored to help his friends instead of attempting to stabilize his own condition, leaving Ice-Man to once more feel responsible for his friend's well-being when he reverted to his former mental state.

In the final epic showdown between all the heroes of Earth and the combined might of the resurrected Goblyn Force, Dracula, and the Beyonder, Ice-Man was one of the lucky few to survive. It is unknown what became of him after Havok left that reality.

[edit] Powers

Panel where Havok first discovers Ice-Man can't be touched from Mutant X #1
Enlarge
Panel where Havok first discovers Ice-Man can't be touched from Mutant X #1

Ice-Man was both blessed and cursed with the ability to manipulate temperatures to sub-zero degrees. With this, he can project intense blasts of cold, freezing the moisture in the air to encase objects in ice, drop the internal temperature of a target so that it will freeze, or create objects from ice such as ice slides used for transportation or ice shields for defense. Due to the evil machinations of Loki, he was unable to have contact with any organic item for fear of freezing it instantaneously, however this was fixed at the end of the series.

[edit] External links