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As we move into the wintriest part of the year, the weather naturally turns colder. Or … does it?
Yes, January is always a chilly time in much of the world. But lowering temperatures and raising havoc have been part of the villain playbook for a long time. Mr. Freeze and Captain Cold are some of the best-known ice villains, squaring off against Batman and the Flash respectively. But there are others lurking that you probably had no idea existed. We examine the careers of a few.
#1 Snowman
The first thing to know about ice-powered villains: their names are usually super-literal. In the Himalayas, a lost explorer met an Abominable Snowman after a climbing expedition went wrong, and the result was Snowman. He likes cold climates, travel, and freezing entire cities. He once tried to freeze Gotham to make it more to his taste.
Powers: Ability to radiate cold and freeze people and objects around him.
Snowstorm danger: Moderate. He does have the power to cause really bad weather. And while he was thought to be dead after a fight in Tibet, he’s been sighted since.
#2 Cryonic Man
Cryonic Man was born when he and his wife cryogenically froze themselves with two friends, fearing nuclear war. While waking up to check on the others, he discovered that the cryogenics were failing and a degenerative disease was slowly killing them all. Hoping to save his wife, he began raiding hospitals periodically for human organs, which is where he got himself into trouble.
Powers: Flying, knockout gas, liquid nitrogen.
Snowstorm danger: Very low. Mostly interested in human organs.
#3 Blue Snowman
The deception of Blue Snowman starts with the name. Byrna Brilyant—a.k.a. Blue Snowman—isn’t actually a man, let alone a snowman: her costume is an elaborate disguise which (spoiler alert) Wonder Woman unmasks. Blue Snowman has been pretty obscure since then, despite having some pretty cool robot minions back in 1946.
Powers: She’s armed with a snow ray that produces blue snow, freezing everything it touches.
Snowstorm danger: Low. But deserves credit for the immortal line: “Robots—fill the vat!”
#4 Icicle
Originally a scourge of the Green Lantern, Icicle is the villain name of European physicist Joar Mahkent, who turned up in Gotham on an ocean liner one day, faked his own death, and hit town armed with a freeze gun.
Powers: Freeze gun. Has an insulating suit to protect himself from its effects.
Snowstorm danger: Very low. He was killed during DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 and replaced as Icicle by his son, Icicle Jr. But ‘dead’ is always relative in comics.
#5 Icicle Jr.
Despite his name, Icicle Jr. doesn’t deserve to be in his father’s shadow. Unlike his father, Cameron Mahkent doesn’t need a gun to freeze anything: he’s an albino with an altered genetic structure and a determination to avenge his father’s death.
Powers: Can freeze objects and people and lower the temperature of a room.
Snowstorm danger: Moderate. It’s dangerous to be in his neighborhood, but he mostly seems to freeze the things immediately around him.
#6 Minister Blizzard
An obscure DC character with just 13 issues to his name, he is the former Prime Minister of the kingdom of Iceberg Land. However, he ends up focusing on foreign policy: his main achievement in office is trying to freeze Gotham City with a stolen climate-changing machine, a plot which has to be foiled by Wonder Woman (again!).
Powers: Skilled at operating stolen climate-changing machines.
Snowstorm danger: Moderate. He has the tools, but probably not the ability to overcome superheroes.
#7 Chill
Not to be confused with Joe Chill, who orphaned Bruce Wayne, Chill was an ambitious villain but not a very good one. One of the New Rogues, his career lasted about eight months back in 2008. He made the mistake of taking on Captain Cold in a fight, and got his own hand snapped off trying to punch him. That was more or less the end of Chill.
Powers: Cold gun. Not that it did him much good.
Snowstorm danger: Is there anything lower than very low?
In short: if there’s danger from villains, it’s probably not these guys. Keep warm, stay indoors if you can, and catch up on Biowars!
