Bobby Drake aka Iceman is more than just an original member of the X-Men – he’s the coolest original member of the X-Men (literally). Iceman joined the team as a teenager, immediately proving himself an integral member of the mutant militant squad with the many missions he helped them accomplish, as well as the displays of immense power Iceman exhibited along the way.
Over the years, Iceman has grown as both an incredibly powerful superhero, and as a person. From adventures where he was the only one who could defeat any given villain the X-Men were faced against, to moments of personal growth that further developed his character, here are 10 Iceman moments that prove he’s the ‘coolest’ original X-Men member (and in more ways than just the obvious).
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10 Iceman is Too Cool for School (In Every Sense)
X-Men #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
At the start of the very first X-Men issue, every member of the original five was training, not necessarily for combat, but just to learn how to use and control their mutant powers. However, Bobby Drake was clearly ‘too cool for school’, as he didn’t outwardly participate in the training, and instead Iceman opted to joke around by turning himself into a snowman.
This is the earliest and most literal example of Iceman being the coolest original X-Men member. Nothing to do with his power level or significant character development, just unadulterated coolness that clearly stood out among his rule-following classmates.
9 Iceman Saved a Crowd of People From a Deadly Sentinel
Ultimate X-Men #1 by Mark Millar and Adam Kubert
During Iceman’s first mission with the X-Men in the Ultimate Universe, the Sentinels are attacking a city looking for mutants during their beta trial for extreme mutant policing. With little to no control over his powers at this time, Bobby Drake mostly stayed among the crowd, trying to keep everyone back from the action while the more established X-Men handled the Sentinels. However, when a decapitated Sentinel was about to crush the crowd of people Bobby was responsible for, Iceman suddenly tapped into his powers and froze the Sentinel in place, saving everyone.
This moment was more than cool, it was absolutely epic, as it was a heroic first moment for Iceman as a member of the X-Men.
8 Iceman Took a Villainous Turn in the Age of Apocalypse (& Paid the Price)
Uncanny X-Force #24 by Rick Remender and Phil Noto
There’s nothing cooler than taking a shot at being a heinous villain, so naturally, Iceman had to take a turn at playing that particular role in Marvel Comics canon. In the Age of Apocalypse timeline of Earth-295, it’s revealed that Iceman actually sold out other mutant heroes to Apocalypse for a better life. Every earthly pleasure imaginable was at Iceman’s disposal, and all he had to do was give up those who thought they were his friends – and Nightcrawler didn’t let him get away with it.
The only thing cooler than a hero-turned-villain (especially when it’s just temporary) is seeing them get their comeuppance – and AoA Iceman’s fate was especially brutal. After a rage-filled fist fight between Nightcrawler and Iceman, Kurt gets the upper hand and pushes Iceman into a furnace, melting him slowly. Iceman’s turn to villainy was incredibly cool to see, as was his ultimate downfall.
7 Iceman was a Founding Member of ANOTHER Cool Superhero Team: Champions of Los Angeles
Champions #1 by Tony Isabella and Don Heck
Not only was Drake an original X-Man, but Iceman was also a founding member of another team of superheroes called the Champions of Los Angeles. While not as widely known, the Champions consisted of some real heavy-hitters including the likes of Ghost Rider, Hercules, Black Widow, Angel, and – of course – Iceman.
Two Avengers, two X-Men, and arguably the most powerful antihero on the face of the planet made up this epic team, which only elevates Iceman’s already well-established coolness as one of its founding members.
6 Bobby Drake Coming Out was Iceman’s Most Inspirational Moment
All-New X-Men #40 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mahmud Asrar
While fans argue that Jean Grey forced Bobby into coming out as gay by reading his mind and outing him in private (and they’d be right, that’s exactly what she did), Bobby Drake’s bravery cannot be overshadowed by Jean’s invasion of his privacy. This is the moment that Drake finds the courage to say, for the first time aloud, that he’s gay, both to his fellow X-Men member and to readers – overcoming his fears of being ostracized for the way he was born, both in terms of his mutation and his sexuality.
Then, Bobby even spoke with his adult self (as this was a time-displaced version of Iceman from the past), and the version of Iceman from the future admitted that he couldn’t do what his younger self did, but that now he felt like he finally could. Bobby Drake’s development was incredibly significant for LGBTQ+ representation in comic book fiction, and the moment he fully accepted himself on-panel was easily Iceman’s most inspirational moment.
5 Iceman Can Reconstitute His Body After Getting Utterly Obliterated
X-Men Vol. 2 #190 by Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo
When Iceman fought Aurora and Northstar, he was vaporized, reduced to nothing more than puddles of water and a room full of steam. However, that was more than enough for Iceman to heal from this seemingly fatal attack, as his powers allowed him to pull the steam from the air and the water from the floor back into his ice-form, at which point he was then able to revert to his human appearance.
While he was on the verge of passing out, this was still a successful reconstitution of his entire body after he was reduced to almost nothing, which is made even cooler and more impressive by the fact that this was Iceman’s first attempt at healing his body to that extent.
4 Arguably the Coolest Iceman Wasn’t Even Bobby Drake, but Emma Frost
Uncanny X-Men #313 by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira
This issue showed a version of Iceman readers had never seen before. His normally sleek ice form was jagged, with long sharp claws of frozen water extending from his fingers. Then, moments after this startling sight first appeared on-panel, it’s revealed that this awesomely designed Iceman wasn’t even Bobby Drake, it was Emma Frost. After being in a coma for some time, Emma awoke inside Iceman’s body – and she did a bit more than just make him look cooler.
Frost was able to tap into Iceman’s powers in ways that Drake had never been able to before. In fact, when Bobby got control of his body back, he asked Emma to train him further in the usage of his powers, which is arguably how he would eventually be able to pull off incredible feats like his aforementioned god-tier healing factor.
3 Iceman Might Be a Descendant of Frost Giants (& Maybe Related to Loki)
Savage Avengers #18 by Gerry Duggan and Kev Walker
How cool would it be if Iceman wasn’t just a founding member of the X-Men, or a mutant with a healing factor better than Wolverine, but was actually a descendant of Frost Giants? That’s the idea that was teased in this issue, when Iceman is battling a time-displaced Conan the Barbarian during the King In Black event. Conan and Deadpool were taking shelter in the original Hellfire Club clubhouse, and Iceman (along with a few other mutants) were tasked with kicking them out – and Conan didn’t take too kindly to that aggression.
Using the symbiote he temporarily bonded with, Conan manifested a hammer in his hand, and used it to smash Iceman to pieces, saying as he did so, “It warms my heart that in this weak and pathetic world, there are still warriors descended from Ymir. Tell the Frost Giant – I’ll see him in hell!”. While this was more than likely Conan mislabeling Iceman’s mutation, it’s an interesting thing to consider that Iceman could actually be more than just a mutant, but also part-Frost Giant, which – on an even cooler level – would make him related to Loki!
2 X-Men’s Krakoan Era Saw Iceman Become a Pirate (& Then a Spaceman)
Marauders #1 by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli
When the mutant nation of Krakoa was first founded, Iceman decided to join Kate Pryde on The Marauder, effectively joining the crew of mutant pirates. While their missions were always heroic (at least, generally), the Marauders did operate outside the laws of Krakoa as they related to the outside world. The Marauders smuggled mutants to the island, they shipped Krakoan pharmaceuticals to nations that didn’t allow them, and basically did whatever the official X-Men team couldn’t (minus full-on assault missions, that’s what the X-Force was for).
Becoming a pirate – and being the only founding X-Man to do so – is decidedly cool on a level few could even hope to attain, and Iceman didn’t stop there. Bobby was also chosen to help establish the mutant settlement on Mars called Arakko, meaning the Krakoan Era saw Iceman become a pirate and then a spaceman. So cool.
1 The Moment Fans First Knew Iceman was an Omega-Level Mutant was His Coolest Ever
Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 #64 by Marjorie Liu and Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Iceman’s Omega-Level designation became official with the updated list released during X-Men’s Dawn of X era, but fans knew this to be true some time beforehand with the slow progression of his immense power – which arguably reached its peak in Astonishing X-Men. With the help of a Death Seed fragment (which wasn’t so much a power boost as it was a way for Iceman to open his mind and use his powers without restraint), Iceman proved he could freeze the entire planet.
Those with the power to impact an entire world are automatically Omega-Level, and this story arc proved that applied to Iceman. However, that wasn’t the only time Iceman exhibited extreme strength. God-tier healing, the ability to make duplicates of himself, and the power to control his mutation at the molecular level also confirms Iceman’s Omega-Level status. But more than that, this designation is just one of the 10 reasons why Iceman is the coolest original member of the X-Men!
