Bobby Drake: Iceman Appreciation 2022

[Krakoa]

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It's 2022, and here's hoping it'll be a big year for Bobby! He had a great showing in his own New Years Infinity comic by Luciano Vecchio, and we're waiting on news on where we'll see him during Destiny of X, but X-Men Red is looking likely.

[AJpyro]

He was on the Destiny of X poster so hopefully that means something.

He should def be in Xmen Red and make a Frozen castle/Mansion on Mars.

I would like him on Xmen but thats Duggan.

[ZuLuLu]

Happy 2022 Iceman fans may it be a prosperous year for everyone.

I am hoping he is on X-Men Red because he might get better development with Ewing writing him.

[Frontier]

Happy New Year to Bobby and fans .

[MechaJeanix]

I also hope to see Bobby in X-men Red. I just want to see him on a regular book and with a writer who will use him well. Did anyone read the Infinity comic that was released the other day. Was it good?

[BobbysWorld]

I did, it was pretty cute though nothing truly momentous or earth-shattering. Just kinda a Bobby slice of life introspective moment while taking on a Dr. Strange demon ice villain figure. I like that it gave more acknowledgment to Bobby's sorta relationship with Christian as he wonders "Christian, what even are we to each other?" which is more than Duggan's bothered to do despite introducing the pairing via two pages twenty plus issues ago with no follow-up whatsoever, lol.

And yeah, it does look like Bobby's going to be in X-Men Red going forward, which has me excited as I do think Ewing's one of the better writers out there at the moment. He actually pays attention to both character history and tries to give characters moments to shine and highlight what makes them unique. Also, I have ALWAYS loved Bobby and Storm's dynamic when they're paired together for one on one or small team interactions....they offset each other very well. Two extremely powerful characters whose personalities evolved around that fact in dramatically different ways.....with Storm embracing an imperious, regal gravitas that highlighted what she's capable of and conveys her awareness and understanding of the responsibilities such power brings, while Bobby doesn't actually run away from all that unlike how that's sometimes claimed, (a claim I hate, because the reality is Bobby has never run from a fight or failed to step up to the plate when more responsibility is asked of him....which makes the constant talk of him being irresponsible annoying as hell. Like, he makes stupid jokes and plays pranks sometimes, but when has he EVER let the X-Men down by being irresponsible on the job or failing to carry whatever weight is given to him? ANYWAY).

My point about how his personality differs from hers however is just about how Bobby's response to his power has always been to kinda downplay just how powerful he is or what he's capable of. He's actually very aware of how intimidating he can be, and he shies away from that deliberately, because that's never been something he's been comfortable with - he wants to be respected by people yeah, but he doesn't want to be someone that people FEAR....and I think it gets forgotten that like, he's not just this middle-class kid from a suburban neighborhood....his origin story is literally that he was run out of town leaving with Scott and Xavier for his own safety because almost everyone he knew turned on him in fear the second he showed his powers in public. His formative experiences as a mutant were being someone people reacted to with fear and violence.....that's done a lot to shape who he is, I think. He makes constant jokes, tries to be the funny, likable guy, because HE'S hyperconscious of just how powerful he is and he's subconsciously always working to put people at ease around him, or at least not view him as a threat. He spends enough time himself being anxious about just how dangerous he can be when his control slips like during Liu's Dark Iceman arc.....remember, he went through a LOT of angst and self-doubt after that, even though like....that never would have happened if he hadn't been actively influenced by an extremely potent external influence - the Apocalypse Death Seed which has drastically affected EVERYONE it touches. That arc didn't just come out of nowhere, he didn't just have a breakdown, it was 100% born of external forces, but we saw him berate himself for it and angst about it to a degree most X-Men never bother in the aftermath of some of their more messed up stories, even when acting completely of their own free will.

Because Bobby wasn't just reacting to what he'd done under the Seed's influence, he was reacting to the stark, physical reminder that he COULD do those things, that it was even within his capabilities. Also I've never been sure how much Parker's two First Class series are considered canon, but Liu was definitely referring back to them with that arc. For those who haven't read, First Class was a retroactive series about the 05 written in the early 2000s, set between the time their original run in the 60s ended and when the Giant Size lineup restarted the X-Men book in the 70s. Anyway, in the first of those two series, Bobby is kidnapped by a group of Vanir, rivals to the Norse Aesir who use his ice powers to fuel a spell to revive Ymir, the father of all frost giants and one of the most deadly foes of the Norse gods. Thor teams up with the X-Men to defeat him and rescue Bobby....and at the end of it, he warns Bobby to be careful of his power and that he'll be watching him because of his potential to grow into another Ymir himself. And then in Parker's followup First Class series, the 05 reality hop via exposure to the Nexus of Realities, and see a lot of their possible futures, including Jean's as Dark Phoenix. They ALSO see this future.....

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With this being a huge part of what Liu was referencing with her arc and why she made Thor a fairly big part of it. Bobby's own 'dark future' has always been more connected to Norse mythology as opposed to mythologies about the Phoenix. Notably, when he was part of X-Factor with the 05, he was also kidnapped by Loki, who wanted to use his powers to create an army of frost giants capable of destroying the Norse gods. Anyway.

Point is, historically, despite his desire to be respected and appreciated, Bobby's invested a lot of time and effort in not giving people a reason to turn their thoughts and attention to just how dangerous and deadly a power like his can be when its not just being used to create simple slides, pretty sculptures and silly pranks.

And that more than anything is what I'm hoping to see X-Men Red explore by putting him on Arakko and surrounded by characters like Storm who have never been among those who doubt his power OR those who fear him because of it, because they're just as powerful and have no reason to. Like yeah, I'm hoping Ewing does some cool new things with Bobby's powers, but its changes to his character I'd like him to tackle most of all.....what it opens up for Bobby to place him in an environment where power like his is actively CELEBRATED instead of feared or shied away from. Like I said, Bobby does like to be respected and appreciated, and his normal balancing act of walking a line between that and staying actively non-intimidating and approachable is just not going to cut it the same way around the Arakki.....but also, he doesn't NEED it around them, and I want him to have that revelation. This is the ideal environment for him to learn to not just step up to his potential, but to CUT LOOSE....to lessen the stranglehold he's used to keeping on his image and the perception of him as he adapts to being around people who just flat out are not going to be scared of him no matter HOW much more powerful than most of them he is.....as its basically part of the Arakkii culture to laugh in the face of enemies even more dangerous than them.

Bobby's biggest fear has always been himself, his fear that he's not cut out for the responsibility that comes with the sheer level of his powers. Its that very thing that's kept him from shying away from his potential every time he gets close to it too....his fear that they're bigger than he is, that he's not up to the challenge of keeping them under control instead of losing himself to them. So more than specific new feats or whatever, this is what I'm hoping for from X-Men Red.....Bobby's immersion in or around Arakkii culture (and on a planet he himself helped terraform, no less) giving him a different perspective on his powers and threat level, and finally achieving a true comfortability with the potential GOOD of his immense power rather than just hyperfocusing on the potential bad of it.