| Iceman | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Men vol. 1 #1 (September 1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Robert "Bobby" Louis Drake |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Men X-Factor Defenders Champions X-Terminators The Twelve Cataclysm Keys Secret Defenders Jean Grey School |
| Notable aliases | Drake Roberts, Mister Friese, Frosty |
| Abilities | Ice manipulation/ cryokinesis Thermal vision Strength and durability beyond human norms (ice form) |
Iceman (Robert "Bobby" Louis Drake) is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men vol. 1 #1, (September 1963).
A mutant, Iceman has the ability of cryokinesis where he can freeze anything around him and can also turn his body into ice. Although he is an Omega-level mutant, Drake has yet to tap his full mutant potential. He has, however, begun to take more interest over the years in developing his abilities. One of the original X-Men, Iceman has had a frequent presence in X-Men (and Spider-Man)-related comics, video games, animated series, and movies.
Shawn Ashmore portrayed Iceman in the X-Men films, and voices the character in The Super Hero Squad Show.
Iceman has been featured in two self-titled limited comic book miniseries, one in the 1980s by J. M. DeMatteis and another in the 2000s by Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett, art by Karl Kerschl.
A mainstay in most X-Men titles, Iceman has been a main character in both Uncanny X-Men and the second volume of X-Men and was also featured in the Champions and New Defenders as a member. He was a main character in the first volume of X-Factor, and a star in flashback stories when he was a teenager in X-Men: The Hidden Years and X-Men: First Class.
Robert Drake was born in Floral Park, Long Island, New York, to William Robert Drake and Madeline Beatrice Bass-Drake. Bobby's powers first manifest when he is on a date with Judy Harmon, and a local bully by the name of Rocky Beasely tries to take Judy away for himself. Knowing Judy cannot put up a good fight, Bobby points his hand at Beasely and encases him in a block of ice. Later, the local townspeople, having heard of the incident, come looking for him in the form of an angry mob. The local sheriff has no choice but to put Bobby in jail for his own "protection". While Bobby sits in his cell at the sheriff station, the outer wall is blown open, and a man named Scott Summers (Cyclops) walks in and offers to take Bobby with him. After Bobby turns him down, the two mutants get into a short battle, which is soon ended by Professor Charles Xavier.
After Xavier has sat down and talked with Bobby and his parents, Bobby's parents suggest that he go with Professor Xavier to his "school for gifted youngsters". Bobby takes the suggestion and leaves with Professor Xavier and Cyclops to become the second member of the X-Men. He is later joined by Henry "Hank" McCoy, Jean Grey, and Warren Worthington III as the founding members of the X-Men. Iceman quickly befriends Hank McCoy (Beast), and the two serve as comic relief for the team. Drake, however, remains self-conscious regarding the fact that he is the youngest member of the group. Appearing in his original snow covered form, he first battles Magneto along with the rest of the team,[1] and later the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[2] Bobby Drake's first girlfriend is Zelda.[3] Not long after, he takes on a new ice-covered form.[4] He then teams with the Human Torch for the first time.[5] The two would become close friends as time went on. With the X-Men, he visits the Savage Land and meets Ka-Zar for the first time.[6] He then battles the Juggernaut,[7] and is badly injured in his first battle against the Sentinels.[8] He next battles Magneto by himself.[9] Later, he visits Subterranea for the first time.[10] Then, he and Beast battle the Maha Yogi.[11] During his original stint with the X-Men, Drake pursues a relationship with Lorna Dane, although the relationship does not last. Iceman is among the original X-Men captured by Krakoa, leading to a new incarnation of X-Men of which he is not a member. With most of the original team, he quits the X-Men.[12]
Iceman moves to the American west coast to attend UCLA and becomes a founding member of The Champions of Los Angeles.[13] However, the Champions soon dissolve.[14]
Iceman is then abducted by Master Mold, and alongside Angel, he encounters the Hulk.[15] Iceman next aids the Thing in battling the Circus of Crime.[16] Drake retires from life as a superhero to earn a college degree in accounting - but apparently at a college on the east coast, not UCLA.[17] While in college, he briefly rejoins the X-Men to rescue the captives of Arcade's henchman, Miss Locke.[18]
Iceman is reunited with Beast, encounters Cloud, and then returns as a full-time superhero in an incarnation of the Defenders alongside his former teammates, Angel and Beast.[19] He also battles Professor Power's Secret Empire while with the Defenders.[20] After the Defenders disband, Drake embarks on his career as an accountant.
Some time later, Iceman encounters Mirage, the "daughter" of Oblivion. Iceman journeys back in time and meets his parents before he was born, and battles Oblivion and Mirage. He then achieves reconciliation with his parents.[21]
The original X-Men, including Iceman, reunite to form the superhero team X-Factor.[22] With this new team, he encounters Apocalypse for the first time.[23]
During his time with the team, the Asgardian trickster god Loki captures Bobby, hoping to use him to gain control over the Frost Giants. Loki enhances Bobby's powers and then extracts them to restore the size of the Frost Giants. Iceman is rescued by Thor.[24] Loki's tampering increases Bobby's powers to such an extent that he begins to lose control of his abilities. During a later battle with the Right, he is fitted with a power-dampening belt which actually helps him control his abilities. Once able only to sheathe his own body in a protective coating of ice, Bobby finds he can encase the entirety of the Empire State Building. With time, Bobby gains sufficient control over his augmented powers that he is able to stop using the inhibitor belt. Believing he has achieved his full potential, Bobby does not attempt to develop his abilities further.
With X-Factor, Bobby then defeats Apocalypse's Horsemen.[25] Iceman helps watch over many of the younger superheroes, something he once was. Most notably, he and Beast help Boom Boom gain a more normal life. For a brief while, he also helps supervise the New Mutants and their sister team, the X-Terminators. They, in turn, save him from the deadly kiss of Infectia.[26]
Bobby also develops a romantic relationship with Opal Tanaka. After a session of ice sledding, she discovers threatening mail in her mailbox, a precursor to harassment by her cybernetically-enhanced relatives of the Tatsu Clan of the Yakuza, something Bobby helps her out with.[27]
After the Muir Island Saga, Iceman rejoins the X-Men along with the rest of X-Factor.[28]
When he rejoined the X-Men it seemed that he learned to control his powers and no longer needed the inhibitor belt, this made him believed he reached the limit of his powers.[29] The X-Men were separated into two groups, Iceman was placed in the gold team, led by Storm, along with fellow original X-Men Jean Grey (now sans codename) and Archangel.[30]
One day he took Opal to eat with his parents, however his dad began humiliating her because of her Japanese heritage. As things were not bad enough, they are attacked by the Cyber-Samurai once again, which only added to William Drake’s prejudices about the girl.[31] The fight eventually ends when Hiro sacrificed himself in order to save Opal and Bobby, but their relationship was never the same again after this.[32] When Bobby came across Mikhail Rasputin he used his mutant abilities on him. Bobby discovered that his potential was still far from being reached as he converted his body into ice, not just covered by it.[33] By turning his entire body to ice, instead of just wearing an icy exterior, Bobby now was capable of using his power in new, aggressive ways, adding spikes and padding to his ice structure.[34]
Too busy with the many threats that the X-Men faced every day, Bobby let his relationship with Opal deteriorate and, when they finally saw each other again after weeks, it was only to save her from an attack by mutant haters. Annoyed that she could only gain his attention by nearly getting killed, Opal broke off their relationship.[35]
Later, as he was checking on Emma Frost who was in a comatose state after the mutant Trevor Fitzroy unleashed the mutant-hunting Sentinels on Emma Frost and her students known as the Hellions, the mansion was hit by a electricity breakdown.[36] Emma woke up disoriented, possesses Bobby's mind and used his powers in ways Bobby never had; she froze an entire river and traveled through water. She was looking for her pupils but after finding out they were dead, she left Bobby's body.[37]
Bobby invites Rogue to tag along on a visit to his parents. Wrongly assuming a romantic relation, his father disapproves of Rogue, verbally attacking them with the same prejudices he expressed with Opal. This time, Bobby had enough and left after telling his father that he should just accept the fact that he is a mutant and he would never fit the definition he has of normal. He was upset that Emma exhibited greater control of his powers than he had. Since Rogue was having problems with Gambit, the two of them go on a road trip to ease their minds.[38]
During the Legion Quest, Iceman was one of the X-Men who goes back in time to stop Legion from killing Magneto. They succeed, but only partially. Legion does not kill Magneto, but instead accidentally murdered Xavier, his own father, years before Legion had been conceived much less born. This paradox caused the events of the Age of Apocalypse. At the last moment before the original reality ended, Iceman's fellow X-Men, Rogue and Gambit shared a kiss. When reality resumed, Rogue's mind-absorbing touch renders Gambit comatose. Having absorbed some secret haunting memories, she needs to get away from the X-Men and Iceman volunteers to join her on a road trip, though at the same time he was starting to see visions of Emma Frost. When Gambit awoke from his coma, he tracked them down and confronted Rogue about what she saw in his mind. She broke off their relationship officially and left for good. Iceman and Gambit returned to the X-Men.[39]
When the entity known as Onslaught first appeared, Iceman was chosen as one of his test subjects, along with Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine. They were pitted against a servant of Onslaught named Post, in a specific battle area of harsh environment to test the extent of their abilities. They won and were returned to the mansion. However, Iceman's chest had been shattered in his iceform during battle, making it impossible to change back to human form.[40] He confronted Emma Frost and demanded to know what she did to his powers in his body and how to save himself. She refused to help since she knew that Bobby would have to do it himself. When he captured her with his ice powers, she telepathically showed him his insecurities. By confronting Opal and his father in her simulation, Iceman realized that Emma was right and managed to transform back to his human body with his chest fully intact.[41]
When Graydon Creed was running for President (with a heavy anti mutant campaign) Bobby was chosen to infiltrate in the campaign, his father stand out in a crowd and spoke in favor of the mutants, this came as a surprise to Bobby. His father connection with Bobby was discovered, so the people that worked for Graydon captured him and almost beat him up to death. Bobby decided to stay away from the X-Men for a while to be with his dad.[42]
Zero Tolerance came across and Bobby found and helped Cecilia Reyes who was trying to keep a secret that she was a mutant, they also joined with Charlotte Jones and the morlock Marrow, after Bastion was defeated he took Cecilia and Marrow to the mansion, and soon left the X-Men again for a while to be with his parents.[43]
Much later, the X-Men found evidence in one of Destiny's journals of a group known as the Twelve, including Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, Phoenix, Iceman, Polaris, Storm, Cable, Bishop, Sunfire, Mikhail Rasputin and the Living Monolith. They also learned that the Apocalypse’s Horsemen had been kidnapping these mutants from around the globe. Iceman was captured in the woods near his home by Deathbird, who had become the Horseman War.[44] Gathering the remaining Twelve, the X-Men traveled to Egypt and confronted Apocalypse and the Skrulls. Apocalypse and his forces captured all of the Twelve during the battle, using them in a ritual to give the Chaos-Bringer a new body and incredible power. Magneto and Polaris created opposite magnetic polarities, Iceman, Storm, and Sunfire provided elemental extremes, Cyclops, Phoenix, and Cable gave the sheer power of family, Xavier represented the power of mind and Bishop and Mikhail stood for time and space, while the Monolith linked all their energies together. Nate Grey was to be Apocalypse's new host, a powerhouse to store his massive lifeforce. The Twelve managed to free themselves and Cyclops sacrificed his own body and lifeforce to keep Apocalypse from getting Nate. Though the new Apocalypse was defeated, Cyclops seemed lost forever.[45]
Following that incident, Iceman helped the Beast to secretly enter Genosha, as he wanted to study the legacy-infected mutates. However, when the High Evolutionary released his anti-mutation wave, they were trapped in the war-ravaged country. With the aid of Magneto, they escaped and joined forces with the rest of the scattered X-Men. They raided the Evolutionary's satellite, disabled the mutation field and defeated Sinister, who had been manipulating the Evolutionary.[46][47][48]
Iceman was recruited by the living ship Prosh, along with other mutants, like Jean Grey, Mystique, Toad and Juggernaut, their mission was to preserve evolution and save it, in this journey Iceman developed his powers even further, this made him to not be afraid anymore of the natural course of his powers and returned to the X-Men.[49] He joined a new team of X-Men, consisting of Angel, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Chamber, he was using his powers in a whole new way now, he was just channeling it and not turning his body into ice.[50]
During a heated battle with a recently evolved Black Tom, he received a chest wound. After returning to normal his chest did not fully recover and some parts of it remained icy, he was unable to return them to normal, he became afraid of it and it made him gain a new attitude in life, even rude at some times.[51]
Nobody seemed to realize it at the time, but evidently this was an early sign of Iceman undergoing a secondary mutation of his own. When he repeatedly tried to evade his regular medical check-ups, school nurse Annie Ghazikhanian recognized that something odd was going on with him and pressured him to show her the wound. Bobby made her promise not to tell anyone and showed her that parts of his chest are now made of ice and he is unable to change them back to flesh and blood. Iceman wonders if he will entirely turn into ice on a permanent basis.[52]
He developed an attitude that, to some of the newer addition to the X-Men, like Stacy X, Juggernaut and Northstar, he comes across as rather arrogant, denouncing their status as team members, as they have not been around as long as he. Iceman even went as far as offending Nightcrawler by claiming that only the original five, and no one else, has the right to call themselves an X-Man.[53]
Bobby was further frustrated when Havok and Polaris announced their imminent wedding, him having carried a torch for Lorna for quite some time. In his frustration he turned to Annie, who had problems with the wedding too, as she was secretly in love with Havok. The nurse surprised him with the accusation of him being a racist - feeling comfortable as a mutant who could pass like a human when needed, opposed to being a fully obvious mutant or a “mere” human. His secondary mutation kicking in, though, Iceman was in danger of losing this status. Shocked by the truth of her words, Bobby fully opened up about his fears, that as a man fully made of ice he could never feel the warmth of a physical relationship again. Touched, Annie allowed him to kiss her, but when Havok called off the wedding, wanting to be with Annie instead, she quickly dumped Bobby.[54]
Upon encountering Azazel and his followers, Iceman's body is shattered from the neck down. Afterward, he regains his entire ice form, but cannot change back to his human appearance. As a result, Bobby becomes both bitter and despondent because of this drastic change.[55]
Later as Havok decided to break the marriage and started a relation with nurse Annie, she immediately left Bobby, and him and Lorna began a relation that did not last.
After the events of the House of M, Iceman finds himself to be flesh and blood again and believes himself to have lost his powers. Shortly after, while being held at gunpoint by the Leper Queen, Emma Frost "pushes" something in Bobby's mind that forces him to turn to ice. Further examination reveals that Drake had not lost his powers, but rather had unconsciously repressed them on his own. After this, Bobby is once again able to revert from ice to flesh.
Iceman joins Rogue's team after she tells him that she wants him as a member. Their first mission as a team is to fight a new threat, a powerful group known as the Children of the Vault.[56] The team is successful and during this time, Bobby learns that he can be completely destroyed but then pull himself back together again. It was shown several times during the arc.
The next mission for the team was to locate a man called Pandemic and defeat him. The team was again successful, but Rogue was infected with a virus called Strain 88. Cable took the team, including Bobby, to his island so Rogue could get treatment.
While on Cable's island, the team and Iceman began working to defeat the Shi'ar weapon known as the Hecatomb. During the chaos, he shared a passionate kiss with Mystique.[57] Even as he did so, he saved many lives by containing the explosion of the Conquistador, and, later, the Hecatomb itself.[58]
As the team recovers from Hecatomb attack in Rogue's childhood home, it appears that Mystique and Iceman begin a romantic relationship.[59] This was a front, however, as Mystique was using Iceman and the X-Men as a Marauder spy for Mister Sinister.[60] Marauders soon infiltrated the house; they attempt to gain access to Destiny's Diaries on the order of Mr. Sinister (who has been gathering information about the future from anybody and anything that could foretell the future). Bobby and Cannonball escape from the Marauders in the X-Jet, with help from Emma Frost. They are pursued by Sunfire; they manage to get the better of him and take him prisoner, but not before he manages to cripple the jet. While Sunfire is unconscious, Iceman and Sam discuss the Mauraders' plan to eliminate all precognitive mutants and anyone with knowledge of the future as well as retrieving Destiny's Diaries before the Marauders can. During this time, Bobby displayed sub-atomic control of energy transfers when he prevented Sunfire from using his fire-based powers.[61]
Cannonball and Bobby, telepathically prompted by Emma Frost, attempt to recover the diaries which are hidden in a dilapidated brewery. Mr. Sinister uses the reverse-engineered version of Xavier's Cerebro to track the pair of X-Men to the brewery. The Marauders attack Cannonball and Iceman and overtake them. Bobby, while in his ice form, suffers a gunshot wound from Mystique, which severs one of his arms above the elbow. Mister Sinister, who takes Cannonball prisoner, attempts to telepathically erase his mind so that the X-Men will find him as an empty shell. Iceman attacks Sinister, distracting him, which allows both of the X-Men to escape.[62]
The New X-Men team decided to raid the headquarters of the Purifiers in Washington, D.C., but were forced to retreat. Pixie teleported them back to the mansion in a rush, but the entire team was scattered between D.C. and Westchester. Iceman, after recovering from his injuries, volunteered to go look for them and was given telepathic directions by Emma Frost.[63]
Iceman was successful in finding the New X-Men, most of them injured. On the way back, they found that the O*N*E* Sentinels guarding the Xavier Institute had become infected by nano-Sentinels and attacked the school. Iceman and New X-Man X-23 helped out in the battle with the O*N*E* Sentinels. With the help of Dust and X-23, the X-Men were able to survive this battle but the nano-Sentinel infected human escaped.[64]
Soon, Iceman participated in the final battle against the Marauders, the Acolytes, and Predator X. He was one of the X-Men who came running in to fight Predator X after it swallowed Wolverine whole. Unfortunately, he also witnessed his mentor, Professor Xavier, "killed" by Bishop's bullet that was not meant for him.[65]
According to writer Mike Carey, "the events leading up to Messiah Complex, [when Iceman] got blindsided by Mystique" are "still preying on [Iceman] to a large extent" and "some of those events [will be revisited]. Bobby is questioning his role as a member of the X-Men and contemplating his trip west to San Francisco, but he's not entirely sure what his next move is going to be."[66] "Carey's Iceman story in Manifest Destiny takes place before the recent "Uncanny X-Men" arc that saw Iceman arrive in San Francisco, and follows Iceman as he travels west on a cross-country trip to the X-Men's new home."[66] Bobby was having problems controling his powers once again, so he decided to visit Opal Tanaka, his ex-girlfriend. Opal adviced him to call Beast and ask him about it, Beast said that it may be the neural inhibitor toxins that Mystique used on him months ago, but only by running tests on Bobby, Beast could have a straight answer. When he entered a plane with Opal a bomb detonates, and Opal reveals herself as Mystique. Iceman subsequently asked if she did so to mess with his head and she replies "No lover, your melting point." She shoots him out of the plane.[67]
Mystique followed him to the hospital and injected him with more neural inhibitor, this time enough to kill him, Bobby managed to find a way to use his powers to counter the effect of the toxins and he rose "good as new". When he confronted her again, they exchanged a passionate conversation. Mystique cried and realized she actually did cared about Bobby and threw herself off a bridge seemingly killing herself, Bobby realized what she meant with "kill or cure" and was grateful.
Iceman arrives in San Francisco, where he was set to meet Hepzibah, Warpath, and Angel. All four are caught in the effects of a city-wide illusion created by Martinique Jason, who used her powers to transform the city into a hippie paradise. Now calling himself "Frosty", he and the others are sent by Martinique to confront Scott Summers and Emma Frost. Emma Frost is able to break up the illusion and free everyone. They eventually set up their base of operations in San Francisco as X-Men.[68]
Iceman is one of the X-Men that assists in fighting the Skrull invasion in San Francisco.[69]
Iceman rescues Colossus from Venom[70] and is later made a part of a team to battle Emma Frost's Dark X-Men.[71] During the final battle on Utopia, Iceman teams up with the X-Students to take on Mimic.[72] Iceman had the labor of providing water to the population. He attempted to use humor to keep everyone's spirits up even though he believed that the situation was helpless and that the X-Men were living in the last days of mutantkind. Bobby then helped defeat Predator X and also helped stop Selene's resurrected army's invasion of Utopia.
During the battle with Bastion's Nimrod Sentinels, Iceman is severely injured following an attack from one of them that reversed his ice form and left him with burns on his body.[73] However, he is only there for a short time because his mutant powers help him minimize the injuries he suffered and he is seen back in battle alongside Psylocke and the other X-Men.[74]
When Cerebro picked up the new mutant signatures, Cyclops sent X-Men to watch them until Hope could reach them. Iceman and Angel were sent to watch over the Light in Canada, Laurie. The transformation into a mutant was a painful experience and Bobby could not stand to listen to the girl in such agony. It was when the girl was about to kill herself that Hope arrived and was able to fully activate her powers.
Bobby was sent to talk to a super hero public relations official. During the meeting she told him that she needed full disclosure of any of the X-Men secrets. Bobby hesitantly told her that Magneto was back and staying with the X-Men. The woman than asked if Worthington was funding them still, Bobby told her yes and asked why she wanted to know, she said because she was going to have a lot of overtime.
During Curse of the Mutants an all out war of mutants against vampires, Bobby was blessed by a priest so his powers can function as holy water. This was a plan thought by Cyclops when he was thinking about Nightcrawler.
Early solicitations show that after Wolverine and Cyclops have a major falling out, Wolverine decides to branch off and open "The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning" back in New York. Iceman is the first person Wolverine approaches and recruits to his new X-Men squad as both a professor and teammate. Iceman is chosen because Wolverine feels he has the kind of spirit his the new school needs.[75][76][77]
Iceman possesses the power to radically decrease the temperature of ambient water vapor in his immediate environment, thereby freezing it into ice. In this manner he is able to quickly form a great variety of ice structures, including projectiles, shields, ladders, baseball bats, etc. He often makes ice slides which form rapidly beneath and behind his feet, moving him along the slick surface at high speeds. He is also able to form exceedingly complicated structures within relative short time like, for example, miniature cities.[38] Originally, Iceman's own body temperature would lower dramatically when his powers were active, reaching −105 °F (−76 °C) within a few tenths of a second (now his body usually converts to organic ice; see below). Iceman is immune to sub-zero temperatures; he is also able to perceive the thermal energy level of objects around him. Because cold is the absence of heat, Iceman does not actually 'emanate' cold; rather, he decreases thermal energy. As mentioned by writer Mike Carey, Iceman is "an Omega level mutant...[and] has powers that can influence the ecosystem of the entire world."[66]
In his early appearances, Iceman generally covered his body in a thick layer of what appeared to be snow; hence he looked more like a traditional snowman than an ice-man. Upon further training in the use of his powers, he was able to fashion an armor of solid ice around his body when using his powers, which afforded him some degree of protection against concussive force and projectiles. Later on, he manifested the ability to convert the tissue of his body into organic ice. He sometimes augments his organic ice form with razor sharp adornments to his shoulders, elbows, knees, and fists. Iceman has also been able to move rapidly to another distant location while in his organic ice form, being able to deposit his bodily mass into a river and reconstitute his entire mass a great distance away in a matter of minutes (by temporarily merging his molecules with those of the river). On one occasion, Iceman suffered a severe chest injury while in his ice form and was able to heal himself by converting back into his normal human form.
Iceman is also able to reconstitute his organic ice form if any part of it is damaged, or even if it is completely shattered, without permanently harming himself. He can temporarily add the mass of a body of water to his own, increasing his mass, size, and strength. He can survive not only as ice, but as liquid water and water vapor. He can also transform his body from a gaseous state back to a solid, although it is physically and mentally taxing.[57][78] Iceman can also freeze sea water, as seen during the "Operation Zero Tolerance" story arc. While he usually does not use his powers in lethal ways his powers are so vast that it extends to the molecular level, to the point that he can freeze all of the molecules of an object/being with a thought; he once froze every single molecule of water within the body of David Haller.[79]
Iceman is also able to dissolve his own icy constructs.[38]
Iceman's powers were pushed to their limit while possessed by Emma Frost, who used Iceman to discover the fate of her Hellions. During this time Iceman was able to control all forms of moisture, freeze fluids inside people's bodies, travel as a liquid, solid or gas. Not even the combined might of the X-Men Gold team was able to stop Emma Frost in Iceman's body.[80] Following this Bobby confronted Emma about how she was able to use his powers so effectively and while together they make some initial progress but she refuses to train him.[41] Instead he turns to Storm because they share similar elemental powers and she agrees to tutor him.[81]
Aside from his superhuman powers, Iceman is also a fair hand-to-hand combatant, and received combat training at Xavier's School as well as coaching from the Black Widow and Hercules while serving with the Champions of Los Angeles. Iceman has as much combat training as Cyclops or Beast.[66]
According to writer Mike Carey "one of Iceman's best personality traits is that emotionally Bobby Drake is like the ice he manipulates -- not cold but transparent. 'He's devastatingly honest. He is very up-front with his emotions and his thoughts all the time.'"[66] "Also, he's obviously incredibly brave both in terms of facing external, physical danger as well as facing up to unpleasant situations and admitting his own mistakes."[66]
This emotional honesty can often complicate matters for Bobby, especially in matters of love. Bobby is sometimes looked at as being immature by his teammates, as well as outsiders.
Iceman is often the center point in dealing with the non-romantic friendships among the X-Men. While Bobby is often well liked by his teammates, his moodiness and occasional insecurities sometimes push them away. Currently, Bobby's best friends among the X-Men include Angel, Cannonball, and Rogue. Outside of the X-Men, he is good friends with Spider-Man for their shared sense of humor. He is also close friends with the Human Torch as their personalities complement each other and their respective powers are polar opposites. Originally, the Iceman/Beast friendship was one of the cornerstones of the X-Universe, but has recently been ignored by writers. With the other two original X-Men, Cyclops and Phoenix, Bobby has a little brother-big brother/sister relationship, with the latter being much more pleasant. Bobby is fiercely protective of those he considers friends, going as far as to threaten to kill his teammate Northstar for leaving Angel in a potentially dangerous situation, keeping constant vigil by Cannonball's bedside while Sam recovered from his injury from Sinister, and engaging in physical confrontation with Cyclops for questioning Rogue's judgment as a team leader.
Despite Iceman's often well-liked personality, he has always seemed unable to maintain any sort of long-time relationships, with one exception being Opal, although that too ended. Iceman also had strong feelings for his fellow X-Man Polaris, but she did not return those feelings, due to her feelings towards Havok instead. Northstar formed an unrequited crush for Iceman during their time on the same team, though Iceman never did find out about Northstar's feelings.[52] Iceman also began a brief relationship with the Xavier School's nurse, Annie, however she ended up leaving him for Havok, who had just left Polaris at the altar.[54] When Iceman attempted to rekindle his relationship with Polaris, that too ended abruptly and Polaris returned to Havok.[55] Iceman's latest attempt at romance was with the X-Men's enemy Mystique, who later betrayed him. Oddly enough however, she still seemed fixated on him, stating that she will either kill him or cure him of his personal uncertainty.[82]
Iceman's appearance while in ice form has changed significantly over the years. In the early X-Men stories, his appearance is more reminiscent of a snowman. The explanation given is that frost formed on his skin when he used his abilities. At the prompting of team leader Cyclops, Drake learns to cover his body with hardened-but-flexible ice and adopts the hard crystalline appearance familiar to modern readers.[4] After being kidnapped by the Norse God Loki and used as a pawn against Loki's half brother Thor, Iceman's powers are augmented to uncontrollable levels, through a cryo-condenser. The process nearly kills him; however Loki is defeated, and Iceman is teleported back to his place of origin.[83][84] With his powers greatly increased, Iceman temporarily loses control of his powers and is required to wear a bulky, metallic belt designed to keep his powers in control. Iceman later learns to control his augmented powers without the aid of his power dampening belt. Eventually, Iceman develops the ability to actually become organic ice, appearing almost translucent. He is virtually indestructible in this form, as he can reform his shattered body even if part of him is completely destroyed. For a time, Iceman became stuck in this ice form, due to a secondary mutation. However, after the events of M-Day, Bobby feared losing his powers and reverts back to his human appearance. In an attempt on his life by the Leper Queen, believing him to be a mutant, Bobby is seconds away from death. Mentally alerting Scott and the others to come to Bobby's aid, Emma reaches out to Bobby through Cerebro to try and help him as quickly as she can. By reaching into his mind, Emma reactivates Bobby's powers through opening a series of mental blocks he has placed on himself, and saves him from near death. As a result of Emma "hacking" into Bobby's mind, Iceman donned a more grotesque transparent appearance, with organic bubbles, large veins, and spiky hair. Since this experience, Iceman has regained control over his powers and refined his appearance with jagged spikes on his limbs, back, and hair.
On several more recent occasions, Iceman has also undergone another transformation due to his defeat in battle, or by extreme circumstances involving heat. While under attack by his fellow comrades Northstar and Aurora - under mind control, Bobby was essentially blown up in his human form. Unbeknownst to him, his body reacted by instantly disintegrating into snow, which in turn melted and he existed in a gaseous state for a short period of time. In an attempt gone wrong by his teammate Mystique to prevent Aurora from killing the others, Iceman was able to stop Aurora by putting her into a cryo sleep while still in his gaseous state. Iceman was then able to reconstitute his solid form by coalescing from steam to ice to flesh. This transformation left him weak, but he survived the experience to fight another day.
Iceman is Roberto Trefusis in the miniseries Marvel 1602, a member of the group of "witchbreeds" founded by Carlos Javier and led by Scotius Summerisle. He is the nephew of naval commander Sir Francis Drake. As in the Marvel Universe, he generates ice and can assume a physical ice form.
In the Age of Apocalypse crossover event, Bobby, along with the rest of the X-Men, is trained by Magneto. Because Magneto is harder on his students than Professor X, Bobby lacks his 616-counterpart's sense of humor. Instead, Bobby becomes very cold and inhuman, making his teammates feel uncomfortable. In addition to his normal abilities, Bobby is capable of breaking down his body and merging it with another body of water to travel great distances in a matter of seconds. He can bring others along through a process that he calls "moisture molecular inversion", though it is a painful process for the passengers. Bobby is also able to reconstitute his body from broken pieces. Just before Apocalypse's defeat, Colossus stormed right through Iceman, causing him to fall into pieces in an attempt to reach his sister. A couple of months later, Iceman, Exodus, Wild Child, and Morph were sent on a secret mission by Magneto; only Wild Child's fate was revealed.
He returns in the Uncanny X-Force arc set in the AoA timeline[85], where it is revealed that he had actually defected from the X-Men and was acting as a mole for Weapon X. His defection was later revealed to be due to Iceman having lost faith on his world as he was tired of seeing the people he cared about being murdered. He later travels to Earth-616 where he joins forces with Archangel on his quest to erradicate all live on Earth so he could create a new evolution process.
During the series Earth X, Bobby had become trapped in his ice form, making him vulnerable to melting. He moves to the Arctic regions of Earth, and made an ice city for himself and the Inuit. Due to a series of events where Earth's orbital path moves, Bobby is able to return to the United States to aid in the battle against the demon Mephisto.
In the House of M reality, Iceman was seen in Magneto's army during his rise to power.[86] Bobby later appears as one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse because Apocalypse rescued Bobby from a mutant internment camp that his parents had sent him to. Magneto sends Apocalypse to dispose of his rival Black Panther; when Apocalypse is attacked en route by Black Panther's allies, Iceman aids him by freezing Namor solid and attempting to attack Storm, but he is severely injured by Sunfire.[87]
When Havok was transported to the Mutant X universe, he found Robert Drake the victim of misfortune. The Asgardian god Loki amplified Bobby's powers to a dangerous level, leaving him unable to make contact with any organic thing for fear of killing it. 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. Now going by Bob and calling himself Ice-Man, he becomes very bitter from his circumstances.
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. 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 The Fallen.
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. 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 few to survive.
After the New Exiles land on the world of warring empires, they encounter Dame Emma Frost, head of Britain's Department X and founder of Force-X. This team includes Roberta "Bobby" Drake, a female version of Bobby who is codenamed Aurion and displays ice-based abilities.[88]
In the alternate reality of X-Men: Ronin Iceman is a murderous ninja in the employ of the Hellfire Club. He works with Pyro and Avalanche as part of the 'Shadowcat Clan' and battles the X-Men.
New Excalibur battles an evil counterpart of Iceman, who is a member of the Shadow-X, the X-Men of an alternate reality in which Professor X was possessed by the Shadow King. They are brought to Earth-616 as a result of M-Day. He appeared to be mute and died during the final battle against Albion.
Iceman appears in X-Men Noir as one of the X Men, a crew of talented criminals. He is depicted as being very short-tempered and paranoid. He is dubbed "Iceman", and angrily insists others to refer to him that way, due to his custom of using an icepick as a weapon.
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Bobby Drake is the youngest founding member of the X-Men. He ran away from his family at the peak of government-supported Sentinel attacks, fearing his family would be killed in such an attack.
Ultimate Iceman never had the snowman look of his counterpart, instead generating a flexible ice armor from the beginning. Bobby establishes himself as a valuable asset, singlehandedly taking out the Ultimates once with a gigantic ice wall (see Ultimate War), as well as singlehandedly halting an invasion by Colonel Wraith and Weapon X. He was only able to be stopped by Rogue, who was in temporary possession of Marvel Girl's telepathy. Professor X has stated that Bobby is one of the three most powerful X-Men. During the World Tour arc, after enlarging his armor to form a gigantic ice troll, Bobby is greatly injured by Proteus, which resulted in a lawsuit issued by his parents against Xavier. Bobby eventually rebels against his parents, and later returns to the X-Men. While Bobby was away from the X-Men on a vacation, he had a girlfriend, but Professor Xavier erased all memories of her from Bobby's mind when he told her too much about the X-Men (he presumably also erased the girl's memories). Upon her acceptance into the X-Men, Bobby begins to date Rogue. The pair date for a considerable amount of time, but eventually break up due to Bobby's growing feelings for Shadowcat and Rogue's feelings for Gambit. Eventually Rogue leaves, and Bobby starts to date Kitty until she dumps him after finding Bobby was still emailing Rogue. When Rogue returned to the X-Men, her original powers had been replaced with those of Gambit's. During the Date Night arc, Bobby and Rogue have sex with one another (the first time for both of them), due to her being able to touch him now. After this, the two rekindle their relationship, but recently problems have erupted due to the return of Rogue's old powers.
Though Ultimate Iceman is still somewhat clumsy at present, the Ultimate version of Hammer, who hailed from the future, exclaimed upon meeting and subsequently battling him: "Bobby Drake, huh? The Legend! I can't believe you're so inept at this point in your life! It's been an honor to kick your..." only for Wolverine to interrupt him. Bishop also hinted to Bobby that he has a lot of potential, but Iceman shrugs off the acknowledgment.
In Ultimate X-Men #80, Bishop talks to Bobby about his potential and comments "With minimal effort, you are taking moisture out of the air and slowing water molecules down to make them cold. What else can you slow down?" While this description is different in wording than that of his 616 counterpart, thermal energy is fundamentally the vibration speed of molecules. Faster vibrations equate to higher temperatures, so Bishop's explanation is essentially no different from the classic Iceman's mutant abilities. He also asks Bobby about exploring the possibilities with his powers, but Bobby merely shrugs him off and continues to play his video game.
Cyclops disbanded the X-Men in Ultimate X-Men #81 and Bishop and Storm created a new team. Iceman stayed at the Institute as a student only until Xavier returned and reformed his X-Men.
Professor X is later revealed to be alive and the X-Men return to the Xavier Institute, which is also when Iceman rejoins the X-Men line up. Jean Grey soon discovers that fellow X-Man, Colossus, is using a drug called Banshee to enhance his mutant abilities. The X-Men are highly against this, but Colossus manages to convince Rogue, Dazzler, Angel, Nightcrawler, and Cyclops to join him on his own X-Men team. Iceman remains on Professor X's drug-free X-Men and fights the Banshee enhanced X-Men. Xavier's X-Men win and the two teams combine again with nobody using drugs.
The Ultimatum Wave hits the X-Men next killing several of the X-Men (Beast, Dazzler, and Nightcrawler). Magneto and the Brotherhood attack the world and Iceman helps the world's heroes fight them off. Most of the X-Men die, but Iceman (alongside Rogue, Storm, Colossus, and Jean Grey) is able to survive Magneto's attack. He is last seen demolishing the X-Mansion alongside Rogue and Jean Grey and burying the deceased X-Men in its place. He finds it hard to destroy their home, but he feels it to be the right thing to do now that Professor Xavier is dead.
In the first story arc of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, the Post-Ultimatum version of Ultimate Spider-Man, Bobby Drake is kicked out of his home for being a mutant. With nowhere else to go, Kitty suggests to Peter Parkers' Aunt May that he move in with her, Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Johnny Storm (who also recently moved in their household). Aunt May agrees and enrolls Bobby at Midtown High under the guise of Bobby Parker, one of Peters' cousins and shaves his hair off to help keep his, Peter's and Johnny's secret identities safe.
In X-Men Fairy Tales (issue #1), Iceman appears as a white wolf with icy breath named Kori (Japanese for ice). Before he is reached by Cyclops, he appears to have lost faith in friendship.
In X-Men: The End, Iceman appears as one of the instrumental characters in the defeat of Cassandra Nova and Khan and one of the few surviving X-Men.
In the movies X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand he is played by Shawn Ashmore. Bobby is one of the first students to reach out to Rogue and begins a romantic relationship with her. In X2, he has an uneasy friendship/rivalry with Pyro. His relationship with his family is also strained, and his brother actually turns Bobby in to the police out of jealousy. In X3, his relationship with Rogue appears to be deteriorating, strained by their inability to have physical contact and by his close friendship with Kitty Pryde. Seeing them both almost kiss prompts Rogue to seek out "the cure" so she can finally touch Bobby without fear of hurting him. He takes part in the X-Men's final confrontation with Magneto's army and shows his true power by fighting Pyro one-on-one. During this battle, Iceman's ability to transform his body into ice is finally shown, giving him the form of Iceman from the comics, being first implied in a previous confrontation between the two former best friends in which Bobby's fist ices over. After the battle, he finds Rogue in her room, having taken the cure.
In the novelization for X-Men: The Last Stand, Iceman saves Pyro from the destruction of Dark Phoenix.
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