Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake / Iceman
Fighting villains and personal demons for years has never stopped him cold.
Notable Aliases: Drake Roberts, Mister Friese, Frosty
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
"My name is Bobby Drake. Iceman. I've been an X-Man, an X...Factor-ian, a Defender, a Champion (don't ask). I've been a superhero since before I was old enough to shave. I've stood side by side with the toughest, most powerful heroes in the known universe and always held my own. But today... today I need to be something more. So go ahead, call me a joke if you want. Label me the X-Man with the lamest power ever. But a man of untapped potential? Don't you dare ever call me that again!"
As the youngest member of the original five X-Men, Bobby's abilities are mainly ice-related, but he can also manipulate temperature and moisture, making him one of very few omega-level mutants. His true power was unknown to him for quite some time, however, thanks in part to being riddled with insecurities — a product of growing up with his abusive father before being taken in by Charles Xavier. In spite of his rough upbringing, Bobby is known for his playfully sarcastic nature, if also being slightly guilty for his sensitive tendencies.
During the All-New, All-Different Marvel era, there were two Bobby Drakes populating the mainstream Marvel Universe: original Bobby, who's since grown into adulthood, and a time-displaced teenage Bobby, who (with his fellow original X-Men) was pulled from the 1960s into the present. Each served on a distinct faction of the X-Men: adult Bobby with the Extraordinary X-Men, teenage Bobby with the All-New X-Men. At the end of Extermination, however, the younger, time-displaced Bobby was returned back to his own time period and had his memories wiped.
Historically, he was also a member of The Defenders, the original X-Factor lineup, and the (much-maligned) Champions of Los Angeles.
Iceman is notable for being one of Marvel's most prominent —if not the most prominent— gay characters. While his sexuality was speculated (and joked about) for decades, he officially came out of the closet in 2015 — it went down about as well as you'd probably expect. Regardless, many were happy to see one of Marvel's oldest characters undergo such a reinvention, helping further the publisher's ongoing efforts to bolster diversity in their comic line.
He was portrayed by Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore in the original trilogy of the X-Men Film Series, as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past. Ashmore would also provide his voice in an episode of The Superhero Squad Show.
No relation to a certain Tom Kazansky.
Iceman provides examples of:
A-H
- Arch-Enemy: Iceman has Oblivion (the Big Bad of his first solo series), Graydon Creed (who he acted as The Mole to and who was responsible for an attack on his father), and, to a lesser extent, Pyro, given their opposing powers.
- Armored Closet Gay: After six hundred issues and years of intentional
subtext, it was finally revealed (during a conversion with his younger self) that Iceman was gay. He said that he just wanted one part of his life in which he wouldn't be persecuted, so he decided to just pretend to be straight and, eventually, tried to be straight. But when Teen Iceman asks him if he thinks Angel is hot, he says, "God yes." - The Baby of the Bunch: Iceman started off at the youngest of the team, and tended to act the most immature. Even after character development, he still acts like this from time to time.
- Badass Longcoat: Iceman sported one for a short time during Chuck Austen's run. It would break away when his powers were activated.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Iceman wishes young Scott could see himself. Beast somehow thinks that jeopardizing the entire time-space continuum is a great idea and brings the original X-Men to the future so they shame adult Scott. What happens instead is the Original Five are originally horrified, but then they discover the modern X-Men twisted and withheld facts to make adult Cyclops look worse. At the end of Battle of the Atom the Original Five decide Wolverine and his X-Men aren't better than adult Cyclops and can't be trusted, and they all join the older Cyclops' side.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Similar to his bros Spider-Man and The Human Torch, he's a pretty easygoing, goofball kind of guy for the most part. Make the mistake of screwing with his friends and teammates though, and you learn just how terrifying taking him on can be.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The blonde to the brunette Spider-Man and red-haired Firestar.
- Bob from Accounting: Subverted. Bobby holds a college degree in accounting but is a main character rather than a throwaway one. He briefly worked in an accounting firm, but quit to become a full-time member of X-Factor.
- Brainwashed: He was brainwashed by Rampage/Stuart Clarke Spectacular Spider-Man #17-18 (April-May, 1978). He put on the Rampage costume and served as a new supervillain.
- California University: Iceman attended UCLA in California with Angel.
- Camp Gay: Not at first, but in the Krakoan Age, absolutely.
- Changing Clothes Is a Free Action: All Bobby had to do is ice up and put on his boots at one point. Early on (we're talking really early on) that used to be the extent of his costume. If the ice was melted/broken by a bad guy, Bobby was in his boxers and his big yellow boots.
- Childhood Friends: With the original X-Men — Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. They were between 14-16 when they were all first recruited and have known each other for roughly two decades since, with Cyclops and Jean developing a Childhood Friend Romance before they graduated. The others are often depicted as having an Unlucky Childhood Friend dynamic, with the exception of Iceman (who saw her as a big sister and, in the 2010s, would be revealed as gay).
- Class Clown: Iceman was the original Class Clown of the X-Men, but when he left, Nightcrawler took over that role.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: In regards to Polaris. He has been infatuated with her since they first met. He acts clingy towards her and rather hostile to her actual lover, Havok.
- Deadpan Snarker: His humor has a tendency to fall in this category. An example from X-Men #31:Bernard the Poet: Life is a yo-yo —- and mankind keeps tying knots in the string! Go up... go down... then call it progress!
Zelda Kurtzberg : What a groovy poem! And it's in free verse!
Iceman:It hadda be! Nobody'd be nutty enough to pay'im for it! - Death Is Cheap: In The Infinity Gauntlet #1 (July, 1991), Thanos wipes out of half the population of the Marvel Universe. In issue #2 (August, 1991), a list of "missing" (dead) heroes is read and Iceman was among them. Every casualty of the event was restored to life in issue #6 (December, 1991), Iceman included.
- Depending on the Artist:
- He arguably owes his current status quo to this phenomenon. For his first handful of appearances, he turned into a snowman, but very early on (X-Men #8) he became able to turn into ice. And, indeed, the very first time Jack Kirby drew him as ice, he was obviously solid, transparent ice — Angel even compares his powers to the Invisible Girl. Somewhere down the road, it was decided that he just coated himself in ice during combat. His inclusion in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends led to a generation of kids that knew what he looked like but didn't really know anything else about him and it became the common idea that he actually turned into ice (which is the most logical way to interpret his powers going on appearance alone). Eventually, you started getting artists once again drawing him as transparent when in "iced up" form. Eventually turning into ice was made officially part of his power spread. Now, not only does he turn completely into ice, but no two artists can agree whether he looks the same as he used to, like an average person made of ice, or like some spiky-headed monstrosity.
- Of course, when you can convert your body to a substance that you can manipulate at will, who says you have to maintain a constant shape in your transformed state? The Age of Apocalypse version of Iceman (which is where the "ice body" concept first appeared) embodied this idea. As flighty as the mainstream Iceman is often depicted, it's a testament to his ability to concentrate (or, possibly, his subconscious desire to fit in) that his shape is not in as constant flux as the AoA version.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Every time it looks like he might finally end up with Polaris, she ends up going back to Havok. While serving with the Champions, Iceman fell for fellow member Darkstar... who only viewed him as a friend. While serving with the Defenders, he was in love with Cloud, The latter being a member with both a female and a male form. She/he had some feelings for Bobby but was much more interested in Moondragon, another lady on the team. Most recently, he tried to get it on with Kitty Pryde, first stealing a big kiss from her after she broke up with Colossus and later going out on a date. In the end, both declared that they were better off as friends, with Kitty going back to Colossus despite his outlaw status.
- Another instance is his relationship with Annie Ghazikhanian. In Uncanny X-Men #425 (August, 2003), Havok and Polaris are about to get married. This leaves Iceman and Annie brokenhearted since Iceman still loves Polaris and Annie loves Havok. Iceman and Annie bond over their feelings of loss and kiss each other. This looked like a Pair the Spares situation. In the very next issue, Havok breaks up with Polaris and chooses Annie, who reciprocates his feelings.
- During the X-Factor days, Bobby had a brief romance with a woman named Opal Tanaka, whom he met late into the series. Opal had feelings for the cyber samurai Hiro even while she was dating Bobby, and she often felt that Bobby put her second to his superheroics. This came to a head when Bobby used her as bait to lure in his pursuers, which led to her dumping him early into the 90s Uncanny X-men series.
- This trope is directly acknowledged in Marjorie Liu’s Apocalypse Seed arc, in which it is explained that Bobby never felt honest in his relationships with these women, and felt like he had to wear a mask. Opal confirms this. (This is before he comes out as gay, but Liu has said she was already writing him as closeted.)
- Dude, Not Funny!: Subverted. Bobby tells Judah there's another him, and warns him not to make any smutty jokes about it, particularly because his younger self is underage.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: In the very first issues of X-Men, Iceman had a rather grotesque appearance analogous to the Thing, like an animated snowman with visible black boots. He dropped the boots starting with X-Men #5, and then gradually shifted to his more familiar ice cube look. This could be explained as him becoming more skilled with his powers, since he uses them to create his "costume".
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In the first few issues of X-Men, Iceman was a loudmouth Jerkass who would attack the rest of the team for fun.
- Elemental Baggage: For Iceman's powers source of ice.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Iceman once defeated the Human Torch despite the apparent weakness, using his ice powers to create steam and water vapors around Torch and extinguish his flames. Obviously, The Torch was struck dumb.
- Elemental Shapeshifter: In his earliest appearances, Iceman covered his body with snow. He then changed to covering his body with ice. He later learned how to convert his body into organic ice.
- Elemental Speed: While speed is not specifically one of Bobby Drake's powers, using his abilities to create slippery platforms that he or others can use to slide around is one of the most recognizable and iconic abilities he possesses.
- Even the Guys Want Him: At least a homosexual guy. One subplot in Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men run was that Northstar had an unrequited crush on Iceman. Which manifested itself as protective behavior towards Iceman, and rescuing his life at least once. The pairing of the two has proved relatively popular with writers of Slash Fics.
- Face–Heel Turn: Subverted. In Astonishing X-Men #62-65 (July-October, 2013). Iceman has been affected by the Apocalypse Seed and his powers manifest in new and more powerful ways. He acts increasingly evil and fights the X-Men and Thor. However, even when acting as a monster, Iceman manages to not kill any of his friends. He is simply having a temper tantrum over being unloved and unappreciated by his father and his past lovers. A talk with a "psychiatrist" calms him down.
- Fantastic Racism: When his powers are first revealed to the public, his girlfriend Judy calls him a freak and a mob gathers outside when he's in police custody.
- After a lifetime of facing anti-mutant racism, Iceman himself displays anti-human prejudice in Chuck Austen's run of Uncanny X-Men.
- Fire/Ice Duo:
- A notorious rivalry is between Iceman and Pyro, a rogue mutant and member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Both naturally can create and control ice and fire respectively and are considered to be Arch-Enemies. This is given a twist with the second Pyro in X-Men: Gold, who turns out to only be a villain due to Mind Control, and later petitioned to join the X-Men. Bobby is unhappy with having a Pyro on the team, but they later sleep together.
- Outside of X-books, he has also teamed up with the Human Torch several times. A memorable occasion had them fight Equinox, a villain with fire and ice powers. When meeting in the Days of Future Present crossover, they lampshade this trope:
- Iceman: Yo! Ice and fire...
Torch: The unbeatable combo!
- In All-New X-Men (2016), the team has the time-displaced versions of Iceman and Angel. The latter got his wings replaced/upgraded by fire-like constructs after the events of The Black Vortex and can use them to unleash fire storm-like attacks. There's also Oya, who got temperature control powers, meaning she can use fire and ice. Iceman tends to be a bit jealous of her abilities.
- Fire/Water Juxtaposition: The rogue mutant Pyro has a notorious rivalry with Bobby and is often considered his Arch-Enemy.
- Fleeting Demographic Rule: Iceman has been subject to countless stories where he finally decides to start acting like an adult and vows to stop being an immature jokester. It never lasts.
- Forced Out of the Closet: When they are teenagers in the future (long story), Jean reads his mind and tells him he's gay, although it's in private. He calls her on it years later, when they are adults, claiming he thought he could get over it, but was proven wrong by a three-hundred-year-old version of himself from the future.
- From a Single Cell: Since M-day he’s demonstrated this ability. If his ice form is destroyed, he can reassemble it from the water or moisture around him and even turn back into his base human form. When Azazel destroyed his form he save his head he pulled himself back together by the end of the battle and was stuck in that form until m-day in which he turned back into flesh. Since then, he’s only gotten more powerful. He was once vaporized by a Brainwashed and Crazy Northstar and Aurora and managed to reconstitute himself, before collapsing from the strain. When Kade Kilgore attacked the Jean Grey School on its opening day. He created multiple moving ice forms and attacked as an army and his initial body was destroyed but he transferred his consciousness to another ice soldier and once again turned back into flesh.
- Fun Personified: In an early issue of X-Men: First Class, calls himself "The Bringer of Fun", and throughout the series generally acts like a lovable dork.
- Gaydar: Averted. In Chuck Austen's run of Uncanny X-Men, Iceman fails to realize that his teammate Northstar is gay. In issue #425 (August, 2003), Annie Ghazikhanian finally tells him. His jaw drops, his eyes widen, and he asks: "Northstar is gay?" He then nervously states: “Well I-...how should I know? It’s not like we’re….I mean....Oh my god that’s so funny.”
- He's had quite a lot of
Ho Yay moments, like having Northstar hit on him. Even appeared as a one-off gag on Family Guy.
- He's had quite a lot of
- Grand Theft Me: At one point, he had his body possessed by Emma Frost after the mansion was attacked by Sentinels. She used his powers in ways he never had before, such as traveling quickly through bodies of water and even adding the water to his body mass. Later on, he would ask Emma for help improving his powers.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: When he was younger. Including some infighting with his fellow X-Men, particularly Angel.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Beast. In the 1960s, they spend most of their free time together. Iceman was dating Zelda Kurtzberg, and Beast was dating Vera Cantor. All four typically went on double dates at Coffee A-Go-Go, a Greenwich Village coffee shop. Later they served together in The Defenders and X-Factor, continuing to be close friends. Some fans have interpreted their relationship as too close to be heterosexual, and they tend to be paired in Slash Fics.
- Also with Spider-Man and the Human Torch. Spider-Man and Iceman were best friends and housemates in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. In regular continuity, Spider-Man and Iceman have had their share of fights over the years. But grew closer when Spidey helped rescue a brainwashed Iceman in Spectacular Spider-Man #17-18 (April-May, 1978). His friendship with the Human Torch goes back to their teenage years, at least according to X-Men: First Class (vol. 2) #16 (November, 2008). Though they did break up a temporary partnership when the Torch dared to hit on Zelda Kurtzberg, Iceman's main love interest.
- Hilarious in Hindsight: The revelation in All-New X-Men that Iceman was gay retroactively cast some older stories in a much different light:
- Fans like to joke that a Cutaway Gag in an episode of Family Guy actually predicted this years in advance, as it depicted Iceman as a closeted gay man in a loveless marriage with a woman.
- The very first issue of X-Men back in 1963 had a scene where all of the other male X-Men were practically drooling over the newly-arrived Jean Grey, while Iceman made it clear he didn't get what all the fuss was about.Iceman: A girl...big deal!
- Bizarre Adventures #27 had a black-and-white short story that opened with Bobby lovingly admiring an ice sculpture of Angel, noting how handsome and impressive it looked. Decades later in All-New X-Men, the time-displaced teenage Bobby would admit to Jean that he found Angel quite attractive. It also included a scene where Bobby, while modifying one of the sculptures, compared himself to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti, both of whom are widely contended to have been gay by modern scholars. The Bizarre Adventures story was so heavy on unintentional Foreshadowing that it was later reprinted in X-Men #600, the issue where the adult Iceman came out of the closet.
- In New Defenders #131, Bobby pranked a female college student by convincing her that he and Beast were dating.
- During the 90s, Bobby got dumped by his girlfriend Opal after she got sick of being neglected. While lamenting the breakup, Bobby noted that most guys his age already had wives or girlfriends, and found his own lack of interest in Opal to be odd.
- In Uncanny X-Men #319, Bobby brought Rogue home to meet his parents, which ended badly due to his dad's anti-mutant bigotry. The issue read a lot like a gay man having his female friend act as a beard in order to fool his family, an undercurrent that was possibly intentional given the way mutants are often treated as a metaphor for oppressed minority groups.
- In another issue, Emma Frost sarcastically suggested that Iceman was not cut out to be a superhero, and would be much more comfortable pursuing his true passion: interior decorating. note In the same encounter, Emma taunted him by creating a psychic image of his ex-girlfriend, who had this to say:
I was never really your girlfriend. You never loved me. You just needed me there to make you look good. - Holy Water: During an encounter with an army of vampires, Cyclops arranges for a priest to bless Iceman, reasoning that any ice constructs he manufactures would then be made of frozen holy water.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Bobby freezes himself into a swimming pool when his powers first manifest. He masters the basics quickly after that, but there's still some subtle Power Incontinence going on.
I-Z
- Ice Palace: After the events of the Hellfire Gala, Bobby can't leave the south pole without slowly dying. Therefor, Bobby has made an Ice Palace to live in with Romeo.
- An Ice Person: Bobby can transform into an organic ice form, generate subzero energy to freeze his surroundings, and cool and condense moisture in the atmosphere into ice, shaping it into various forms such as snowballs, battering rams, shields, solid blocks, columns, and ice slides. That's just how he started out — turns out, he's an Omega-level mutant (that means his full potential is Phoenix-class!) with complete control over moisture. When Emma Frost (who is a telepath and normally has nothing to do with ice despite what her name and white outfit imply) took his body over, she did things with his powers that he could never do on his own... but he's learning bit by bit.
- One X-Men: First Class comic suggests that he could basically become the next Ymir.
- In the Draco story arc, Bobby Drake gets his head cut off (in Ice form). He later reforms it using the water coming from a demon opponent. Later, Beast issues a research paper regarding this unique mutation for Iceman.
- He once cured himself of poisoning by replacing his entire body with new ice little by little this way.
- An Ice Suit: Technically he's wearing clothes under his ice body, but when he's iced up, he looks like he's pretty much in the buff.
- In the old days, he wasn't. Getting his ice coating broken or melted left him in his boxers. He doesn't get a proper costume until well into his stint with the Champions. As is common for X-characters suffering Clothing Damage, he doesn't get too embarrassed by it.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: In Astonishing X-Men, Iceman waits for Mystique to run a bath, then gets into the water system, so that he IS the bathwater, then when Mystique gets in, he holds her down and "does it"; she doesn't tell anyone for some time afterward, so her subsequent betrayal of the X-Men to the Marauders and attempt to abduct the baby "Mutant Messiah" Hope Summers is seen as just another example of her innate treachery.
- Informed Judaism: In Iceman (vol. 1) #1 (December, 1984), Bobby mentions that he's attended Hebrew school, the Jewish equivalent of Sunday school. This is largely ignored however as the character is normally featured as irreligious.Bobby Drake: My dad's Irish-Catholic, my mom's Jewish. I was the only kid in Hebrew school who got off for St. Patrick's Day!Bobby Drake: Anyway... the Catholic kids used to ride me for being Jewish... the Jewish kids used to ride me for being Catholic... and that wasn't even my big problem!
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Wolverine who was born in the 19th century and is old enough to be Iceman's ancestor.
- Jerkass: On occasion. Including the odd remark that the X-Men were better when there were just five of them.
- Kid-Appeal Character: In the original team, Iceman was the jokester, the funnyman, and the surrogate kid-brother to his teammates. He was naturally the youngest member.
- Kid Hero All Grown-Up: He started his career as a teenager, and he is currently an adult.
- The Lancer: In the earliest days, Bobby was loudmouthed, egotistical, and irreverent, and had a constant problem with Cyclops' leadership. He was still one of the best fighters in the team. In his first appearance, Iceman single-handedly took down most of Magneto's missiles.
- LGBT Fanbase: After Brian Michael Bendis outed teen Iceman, adult/regular timeline Iceman had two limited series focusing on his coming out, making him the oldest gay character in the X-Men, being one of the original five.
- Love Triangle: Iceman, Havok, and Lorna Dane, which eventually seemed to conclude with Havok ending up with Lorna.
- Making a Splash: A story arc where his body was possessed by Emma Frost in the early 90s revealed that Bobby is capable of incredible feats of power involving bodies of water, such as traveling quickly through a river and utilizing the water to increase his body mass. After this event, Bobby would actually start converting his body into organic ice, rather than simply encasing himself in it.
- May–December Romance: His brief relationship with Mystique fits this trope. She was born in the 19th century and is old enough to be his ancestor.
- Merchandise-Driven: During the 90s, Scott Lobdell had wanted to redesign Iceman in order to give him a spikier, more Animesque look. At the time, he was shot down by his editor and told that ToyBiz would be pissed if the character no longer resembled the Iceman action figure that was currently in stores. Ironically, after learning of the proposed new design, Marvel's marketing department later wound up okaying the idea, as they realized Iceman's new look was more toyetic, and thus would be more appealing to merchandisers.
- Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: He had a tumultuous relationship with Japanese expatriate Opal Tanaka. He served as her protector against the plans of her villainous grandfather. His father William, who was bigoted against the Japanese, disapproved of the relationship.
- Mugging the Monster: Bobby's backstory involved him and his girlfriend Judy being harassed the local bully Rocky Beasley and his gang. When Rocky tried to assault Judy, Bobby simply froze him in a block of ice, and the others fled. Unfortunately, revealing his powers had consequences for Bobby's life and family.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Bobby lashed out at Thunderbird on the guy's first day, which didn't help with his already-present anger issues.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Iceman in his living ice form. In that state, you can blow a hole through his chest, shatter him into a million pieces, melt him, evaporate him... it doesn't matter. His body will always re-form itself. The only way to harm him is via psychic attack or catching him in his normal form.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In Iceman's origin, young Bobby Drake is out on a date with a girl called Judy Harmon, when a local bully attacks and tries to drag her away. Bobby saves her by encasing the bully in ice, which leads Judy to reject Bobby as a monster. Also, soon afterward a group of locals forms a lynch mob and attack the Drakes' home.
- No One Could Survive That!: Of all the X-Men, Iceman, even more so than Wolverine, is the king of this trope. Every major X-Men event (at least after the full extent of his ice powers were revealed) has him at some point being crushed, melted, or destroyed but due to being one of the 10 or so most powerful mutants always comes back. He once exploded in his human form, came back as gas, from gas turned to steam, from steam water vapor, from vapor to melted ice, until he finally solidified as flesh.
- Not Quite Dead: Although he melted at the Hellfire Gala and seemed quite dead, Bobby’s mind was actually scattered and Bobby even says he felt dead.
- Not Quite Flight: Iceman can make a trail of ice in the air which he surfs on. The thing is that his "Ice Slides" as he calls him still need to be anchored to the ground somewhere. Some more realistic depictions show this as a strictly short-range transportation option.
- Out of Focus: Of the original five X-Men, he gets the least focus and character development. Cyclops, being the leader and all, is one of the more focused characters. Jean, when she's alive, gets a lot of focus. Beast is very focused on as the team's main scientist, and later as a member of the Avengers and Illuminati, and Angel has the whole Superpowered Evil Side Archangel stuff going for him. Iceman is... Comic relief... Which the X-Men have in abundance... Hell, he's not even the MAIN comic relief X-character. However, this has changed in recent times with his 2 solo series.
- Physical God: It's been revealed he has the potential to be this, as his powers have over the years been redefined from "shoots ice" to "ability to do literally anything so long as it involves water." This is rarely actually seen, however, a notable exception is the first arc in Wolverine and the X-Men where he creates an army of clones to defend the school from villains... from the school's sprinkler system.
- Power Incontinence: Bobby learns how to use his powers quickly, but even after his initial learning curve, the temperature around him drops noticeably when he’s feeling threatened.
- Sad Clown: Bobby has had a difficult life since childhood; his parents smothered him initially but also had strict ideals of the "proper" son he was supposed to be, particularly his dad who would neglect him and belittle any "unmanly" interests he had. This caused Bobby to repress a lot of his feelings and cover up his insecurities with a joke. Consequently, this impacted many of his personal dynamics; whether it be his identity, his relationships, or his powers, but over the years he was able to embrace all of the things that made him different.
- Self-Duplication: In recent years, Iceman has gained the ability to produce duplicates of himself. They usually do not demonstrate much intelligence or combat ability. Subverted in Astonishing X-Men #62-65 (July-October, 2013). Iceman has been affected by the Apocalypse Seed and his powers act out in erratic ways. Several Iceman duplicates are running around, acting independently of the original. A few attempt to kidnap Opal Tanaka and her son. Another allies himself with Mystique, and kidnaps Polaris and Annie Ghazikhanian. Another takes care of "their" father William Drake who has suffered a heart attack. Another takes a “psychiatrist” role and gives the original Iceman a much-needed therapy session. The "psychiatrist" saves the day, since Iceman regains control of himself and his powers. Ending the madness.
- Later, in All-New X-Men, it's revealed that one future version of The Brotherhood has one of the Iceman duplicates, who is a mindless raging snow giant controlled by Xavier's son.
- Neither Iceman nor anyone else seems overly concerned when the duplicate Icemen get destroyed in combat or otherwise terminated.
- Sexy Shirt Switch: In Marauders, Iceman is taking a cruise on Christian Frost's private submarine and wearing Christian's monogrammed bathrobe, subtly indicating that they slept together. Reinforced by the flirting. They are explicitly shown to be a couple in a later issue.
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: In Chuck Austen's run of Uncanny X-Men, Iceman starts losing the ability to Voluntary Shapeshift. A wounded part of his body is stuck in ice form. In issue #415 (January, 2003), the ice covers part of his chest and stomach. It is his new secondary mutation. He is actually becoming ice and can’t change back. In issue #425 (August, 2003), Annie Ghazikhanian figures out why Iceman is so miserable with the change. He is used to passing as a regular human whenever he wants. If he turns to ice permanently, he will have to be a mutant 24/7.
- Shout-Out:
- In the 2017-18 solo series.
- Vol. 2 (2018-)
- Issue #1 has a poster referencing ABBA's One Of Us.One of us is dying
None of us are trying
- Issue #1 has a poster referencing ABBA's One Of Us.
- Signature Move: Iceman's Ice-Ramps are his means of fast travel.
- Sixth Ranger: In Fantastic Four Vol 5. #24, it's revealed that Bobby joined the Fantastic Four after a humiliating experience in the Danger Room and Johnny Storm raced off in a hot-headed huff over his popularity. Johnny refuses to believe Bobby was a member at all. It takes a few years and Bobby suddenly appearing to drop Franklin off for Johnny to admit he was scared of being replaced by the family.
- Sizeshifter: In Astonishing X-Men #63 (August, 2013), Iceman's powers manifest in new ways due to his exposure to the Apocalypse Seed. At the finale of the issue, he increases his mass, towering over the skyscrapers of New York City.
- Status Quo Is God: Frequently undergoes minor power-ups or character switches where he decides to take himself (and his work) more seriously. Generally, he's back to being an immature jokester with his standard powers in no time.
- Strangled by the Red String: Bobby Drake/Iceman and Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. As of the seventh issue of the Wolverine and the X-Men (Marvel Comics) comic, Bobby and Kitty have shared two kisses, despite how they've spent years as distant acquaintances at best. They had a decent relationship arc in the Ultimate Marvel universe, and writers have been known to mix the two up before. It comes completely out of nowhere in the main Marvel Universe. However, this, too, was crashed into the ground, this time by the events of Battle of the Atom after Kitty gets fed up with Wolverine's Holier Than Thou attitude and, after chewing out Iceman for not trying to stand up for himself and leaning towards Wolverine's way of thinking, breaks it off and goes to join Cyclops' team.
- Iceman gets it again in his solo series, which began shortly after he came out as gay. This was already contentious among some fans who felt like it came out of nowhere, and many complained that the series seemed far more interested in being a Coming-Out Story than a superhero book. While in L.A. Bobby goes out with a guy whom he found on a dating app, winds up sleeping with him, and immediately decides to move in with him, which of course means relocating across the country and leaving the X-Men. Must have been some really good sex, huh?
- Stripperiffic: Much like Beast, he rarely ever wears a shirt with his uniforms. More recently he has taken to wearing bikini briefs and flip-flops.
- Superpower Lottery: Iceman at his full potential is not just An Ice Person, but has full control over moisture itself. This includes absorbing bodies of water to increase his size, teleportation (not quite, but close enough) by traveling through water vapor, physical immortality since he can reconstitute his body from any source of moisture, and he even killed a villain by drawing the water from her body.
- Super Sliding: Bobby often gets around by creating slides and platforms made of ice that he generates under his feet, enabling him to slide around at speeds far faster than he can run and even maneuver himself through the air.
- Tele-Frag: In one post-Decimation storyline, Iceman is teleported into the middle of a wall. Luckily, having ice in place of flesh makes this non-lethal.
- Took a Level in Badass: He's come a long way since his appearances and is now the second most powerful of the original five X-Men after Jean.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Chuck Austen's run of Uncanny X-Men, Iceman exhibits anti-human prejudice towards Annie Ghazikhanian and antagonizes several of his teammates. In issue #416 (February, 2003), he gives a little speech about him being a real X-Man and the others are not. "I mean, who is Stacy and why’s she hanging around us so much? All right, so she’s a mutant, but she’s not an X-Man. The X-Men are a group - a set group - a family even - not a club anyone can join just because they’ve got the right chromosome" He continues saying that nowadays "anyone who hangs out in the lobby for an hour thinks they’re an X-Man." He proclaims that the X-Men are Scott, Warren, himself, Hank and Jean - and that everyone else is just a Johnny-come-lately. He is saying all this to Nightcrawler who takes offense, since Iceman does not think of him as a real X-Man.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Since (and most likely due to) coming out of the closet, Bobby has 95% fewer asshole moments, which is noticeable post Secret Wars (2015) when he’s a lot more helpful to the students at the Jean Grey School. He’s kinder to his teammates, his allies and generally just more pleasant to be around.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Ice cream, in the earliest days. Yes, it's an awful attempt at punning.
- The Trickster: On occasion, Iceman uses his powers for pranks.
- Underwear of Power: Since he converts his body into organic ice, he has little need for clothing. His outfit usually consists of a pair of briefs and some boots.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Beast. They are best friends, but that does not prevent them from taking shots at each other. Beast pointing that Iceman is not the brightest guy around: "Meet my blundering associate – who's not such a bad idiot when you get to know him!"
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He controls his transformation from his human form to that of organic ice. His powers get a temporary upgrade in Astonishing X-Men #64 (September, 2013). He shapeshifts into a massive ice dragon and swallows The Mighty Thor.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He wants the approval of his father William Drake, who is prejudiced against mutants. He was touched in X-Men (vol. 2) #58 (November, 1996) when his father had a change of heart and stood up for mutant rights. At the time his father was really pissed with the racist rhetoric of Graydon Creed. They attempted a reconciliation.
- Their relationship simply returned to being adversarial. An angry Iceman almost killed his father in Astonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #64 (September, 2013), by giving him a heart attack. William was being his usually loveable self, upon starting the conversation with: "What... the big superhero making time in his busy schedule to lend his old man a hand shoveling snow?"
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: His parents aren't wild about Mutants. They also don't like the idea of their son being a superhero, dreading the phone call telling them their son had been killed in battle. Now his sexuality has taken the top spot on their list. To the extent that they are unperturbed by him fighting Juggernaut — so long as it buys them time to catch a train back to Long Island after he comes out to them. His mother in particular wants to know why he can't just keep dating women.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: In Astonishing X-Men #62-65 (July-October, 2013), Iceman has temporary upgrades to his powers which make him a global threat. He is at his most powerful phase but goes mentally unstable.
- You Fight Like a Cow: Regularly uses Witty Banter in combat situations.
Time-Displaced Iceman
Iceman/Robert "Bobby" Drake
The youngest of the O5, and also the one who takes his presence in the future the most in stride and has the easiest time adjusting. His childishness and the fact that of all the O5 he actually has a much less traumatizing future in store/by far the best adjusted future counterpart certainly helps.
- Angst? What Angst?: Of all the O5, Bobby has the least trouble adjusting to the new time period.
- Armored Closet Gay: Revealed as such when Jean confronts him. His frequent catcalling and childish attitude towards women is revealed to be a way for him to repress his sexuality as much as he can. Given his future self has had a terrible dating history, it's pointed out that this is likely because of his actual orientation.
- The Brute: He learned how to take on the Ice Thing form that his evil Brotherhood counterpart used.
- Fire/Ice Duo: With Angel after his Vortex wings power-up, and especially with Oya, who seems to control temperatures better than him. Bobby gets a bit jealous of her abilities.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Bobby forgets how to "refine his ice crystals" as soon as he arrives in the present, resulting in him retaining his snowman look until the end of the Black Vortex event.
- Me's a Crowd: Learns how to do this from watching his older self.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Bobby and Romeo do this during Inhumans vs. X-Men, not wanting to be in this fight one way or another.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: During Inhumans vs. X-Men, Bobby is caught between the fight for survival and being with his Inhuman boyfriend. His name is Romeo, to make it completely on the nose.
- Straight Gay: Ultimately revealed as such.
- Snowlems: Unlike his icy future self, but just like his earliest appearances, he looks like he's made of snow.
- When he winds up in the Ultimate Universe, he manages to copy his present self's Me's a Crowd trick.
- Touched by Vorlons: He submitted the Black Vortex, then gave up the power after the crisis, but was left with the organic ice form he wouldn't have developed for years. It's implied that he simply didn't know how before but picked it up once he knew how, as he did with the Me's a Crowd and Ice Thing tricks.
- The Watson: He's the one who just blurts out his astonishment at all the changes in the X-Men's universe, generally in the form of a question.
