Iceman (Robert Drake)

== History ==
: My name is Robert Drake. Iceman. I've been an X-Man, an X...Factor-ian, a Defender, a Champion (don't ask). I've been a super hero 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! 
: -- Iceman 
: 
=== Early Life ===
Robert "Bobby" Louis Drake was born in Floral Park, Long Island, New York to Louis Robert Drake and Madeline Beatrice Bass-Drake. Bobby is Jewish on his mother's side and Irish Catholic on his father's. Bobby first discovered his mutant abilities at a young age when he found himself unable to stop feeling cold and shivering.
A school bully named Rocky Beasely had convinced his gang to attack Bobby and Judy Harmon, his girlfriend at the time. Bobby panicked and encased Rocky in ice, saving Judy, but revealing his abilities to his peers. Believing Bobby to be a dangerous mutant, the people of his town, Fort Washington, organized a lynch mob. The mob broke into the Drake household and overpowered them. The local sheriff noticed that things were getting out of hand and took Bobby into custody for his own protection. The story made its way to Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men.[11]
=== X-Men ===
Xavier sent Scott Summers (Cyclops) to recruit Bobby. After Bobby turned him down, the two mutants got into a brief scuffle before the mob caught up with them. The mob was stringing Scott and Bobby up to be hanged when Professor X used his telepathic abilities to erase their memories. Grateful for saving his life and yearning to be like Scott,[12] Bobby enrolled in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and become the second member of the X-Men.[13] There, the X-Men were tutored by Professor X and trained in the use of their powers in the Danger Room. As 'Iceman', Bobby learned to control his abilities in order to protect a world that feared and hated him for being different alongside Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl.
ceman quickly befriended Beast, however, he remained self-conscious about being the youngest member of the group. Still, his lighthearted approach to disaster often eased tension among his teammates. Bobby's rudimentary control of his abilities caused his appearance to be snowman-like, rather than the almost transparent ice version of his later years. Alongside the X-Men, he battled many foes including Magneto[1] and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[14][15] In time, Bobby learned to cover himself in ice instead of his original snowman appearance.[16] During this time, Bobby teamed up with the Human Torch to defeat the modern-day pirate Captain Barracuda.[17]
Bobby started dating the waitress Zelda, often going on double dates with Beast and his girlfriend, Vera Cantor. Bobby and Iceman did not reveal their superhero identities to their dates. During one date, Iceman and the Beast got into a brawl with the Maha Yogi.
When the X-Men joined together against Mesmero and a robot Magneto,[18] Bobby developed a brief romantic relationship with the mutant Lorna Dane which turned into a love triangle when Scott's brother, Alex Summers joined the team as 'Havok'.[19] The triangle ended badly for Bobby when Lorna eventually decided that her heart belonged to Havok.[20]
After it was revealed that Professor Xavier lied to his students, having faked his death, Bobby angrily quit the team. After hearing his former teammates were in trouble, Bobby traveled to the Savage Land where he stumbled into a conflict between Sauron and Magneto. Sauron erased Bobby's memories of the encounter. Bobby returned to the X-Men shortly after.
After witnessing the kidnapping of Gwen Stacy, Bobby briefly battled Spider-Man until they realized it was a misunderstanding. The duo rescued Robbie Robertson from corrupt politician, Sam Bullit.[21]
Later, Bobby was attacked by the Human Torch who was convinced he had been attacked earlier by Bobby. After the other X-Men verified Bobby's innocence, the duo decided to track-down the villain responsible and battled Equinox.
Bobby was among the original X-Men captured by Krakoa, which led to the formation of a new incarnation of X-Men[22]. Bobby decided not to remain on the second generation of the team and left along with all of the original members except for Cyclops[23].
=== Champions of Los Angeles ===
Bobby went-off to college at UCLA, where he eventually earned his CPA accreditation. Bobby and Warren Worthington III were attacked by harpies who were trying to locate Venus. The two young heroes were joined by Ghost Rider, Black Widow, and Hercules. After defeating Pluto, they decided to stick together as a team: self-styled "Champions of Los Angeles"[24].
Warren's wealth bankrolled the group and they bought a surplus of Avengers' Quinjets, the "Champjet", for team usage. The Champions battled Edward Lansing and his mutates[25], Rampage[26], Griffin, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo[27], Stilt-Man, Warlord Kaa, the Stranger, Kamo Tharnn, and Swarm. Bobby developed strong feelings for Darkstar. Unfortunately, Darkstar didn't share those feelings.
The group was volatile and disbanded after a brief stint. After the team disbanded, Bobby visited his former opponent Rampage in the hospital and was brought under his mental control. Bobby began wearing the armor of Rampage and helped him to escape. Spider-Man arrived to cover the story of the Champions disbanding, and Bobby battled both him and Angel. Spider-Man was able to bring Bobby to his senses.[2]
Later, Bobby took his girlfriend, Terri Sue Bottoms, to Warren's cabin style mansion and was attacked by Master Mold. After Bobby was captured, Master Mold awoke the Hulk. The Hulk and Angel were also captured and taken to the Sentinel Space Station, where the Hulk broke free and tore Master Mold into pieces.
Later, Professor X called on Iceman to help in the rescue of the friends and family of the X-Men from Arcade's henchman Miss Locke.[28] Bobby was reunited with Polaris and it was during this mission that Iceman was able to finally accept her decision, though the wound would seem to always remain sore. Bobby teamed-up with the Thing and Giant-Man to defeat the Circus of Crime and save Alicia Masters. Later, Bobby was reunited with Angel and Beast after he and a group of heroes were manipulated to join the Avengers. Bobby felt compelled to display his skill by battling Moon Knight. When it was revealed that Moondragon was manipulating them to strengthen the Avengers, Bobby returned to college.
=== Defenders ===
On another summer break, Bobby visited his former teammate and best friend, Hank, and briefly became associated with the Defenders. After the founding Defenders (Dr. Strange, Prince Namor, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer) were convinced to leave the team, Iceman played a pivotal role alongside Hank and Angel in the organization and cohesion of the team.
While visiting his parents, Bobby was attracted to Marge Smith and, while attempting to talk to her, was attacked by Idiot and White Light. After finding a small box in Marge's destroyed home, Bobby returned to his parent's home where they berated him for bringing shame to the family. While holding the box, Bobby was sent into the past where his parents, William Drake and Madeline Bass, were his age. When they were attacked by Kali Marge saved Bobby but his father died, causing Bobby to fade away. Bobby was sent to Oblivion, who explained that Marge was his daughter, created out of a fragment of himself, and if Bobby returned her he would recreate Bobby's father. Bobby was sent to a dreamworld, created by Marge, and convinced Marge to return to Oblivion. This adventure helped him to understand his parents more upon his return.
Later, Moondragon, who was possessed by Dragon of the Moon, seemingly killed most of the members of the Defenders in a climactic battle, and the team disbanded.
=== X-Factor ===
After his completion of college and a short life of an accountant for Harras, Anderson and Brown, it was discovered that Jean Grey was still alive after having believed dead for years. Believing that the X-Men were no longer following the Xavier's dream, Bobby joined his former teammates and founding members of the X-Men in the formation of X-Factor, an organization that intended to seek out and aid mutants under the pretense of hunting down mutants as menaces to society. The public assumed they were humans hunting mutants when in fact they were training young mutants in the use of their powers at the X-Factor Complex.[29] They also worked as mutants in a team the media referred to as X-Terminators.
The team went on to battle Apocalypse and his Alliance of Evil. Bobby was also the object of a crush from the young mutant, Boom-Boom. Later, Bobby was captured[30] by Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief.[31] Loki hoped to enhance Iceman's powers to the point that he could be used to restore the Frost Giants of Loki's realm. After being rescued and returned by Thor, Bobby's powers spiraled completely out of control.
After defeating of Apocalypse, his sentient Ship crash landed on their Complex and X-Factor began living on it. X-Factor was approached by the media and finally revealed the truth of X-Factor's mutant origins.
Iceman began dating a young mutant named Infectia. Infectia kidnapped Bobby and tried to use her powers kiss him and make him her slave. Beast jumped in the way and took the kiss instead, plunging him into a coma for several days. Later, Bobby began dating Opal Tanaka.[32] Bobby helped Opal with her forced marriage arranged by her crime lord grandfather, Tatsu'o, and her cousin, Hiro, to one of his Cyburai.[33]
=== Returning to the X-Men ===
After the X-Factor and the X-Men defeated the Shadow King on Muir Island, the members of X-Factor rejoined the X-Men.[34][35] Iceman became a member of Storm's Gold Team. After taking Opal to meet his parents, Bobby was again attacked by her cousin, Hiro.[36]
In a confrontation with Mikhail,[37] Iceman's body was forced to turn into living ice instead of just the external casing he had always used before. Iceman began to realize that there were more aspects to his powers than he had formerly thought. Bobby began experimenting, adding ice to his body to bulk himself up and using ice columns to lift things into the air rather than his typical ice slide.
Opal became fed-up with the weirdness her lover’s life brought with it and dumped Bobby.[38]Later, Bobby and Hank visited a dying Infectia in a hospital in San Francisco.
After months in a coma, Emma Frost awoke and possessed Iceman's body.[40] Frost accessed the full extent of his powers and used them in ways Bobby had previously never dreamed. Bobby demanded she tell him how she accessed his powers. Emma responded that she owed him nothing and went as far as to call him a pathetic loser for not pushing himself.[41] Bobby, still upset about the lack of control over his powers after years at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, went on a road trip with Rogue, who was dealing with her own demons after sharing a kiss with Gambit. During the trip, Bobby began seeing visions of Emma Frost.[42][43]
Later, Bobby, Scott, Ororo, and Logan were mysteriously awakened in an area unfamiliar to them. They all seemed to have suffered in a battle they had no memory of. Bobby awoke in his ice form with a gaping hole in his chest. Amazed he was still alive, Bobby and the other X-Men found that they were being tested by Onslaught. After finally defeating Onslaught's herald, Post, they were teleported back to the mansion.[44] Bobby again confronted Emma Frost, who helped Bobby learn how to convert to his full ice form and back, healing the hole in his chest.[45]
The X-Men sent Iceman and Cannonball to infiltrate presidential candidate Graydon Creed's[3] mutant hating political campaign. Bobby found evidence that Creed was associated with the Friends of Humanity. After his father spoke out against Creed, Graydon's thugs nearly killed Mr. Drake, and Bobby left the team to be at his father's side.[46] Bobby briefly returned to rescue Cecilia Reyes during Bastion's government-sponsored anti-mutant Operation: Zero Tolerance went into effect. During this mission, Bobby brought Marrow into the X-Men.[47]
Bobby learned that he didn't need to fear the evolution of his abilities and returned to the X-Men to explore his untapped potential to the fullest. It was during this time that Bobby suffered a chest injury from Black Tom that triggered his Secondary Mutation,[48] slowly encasing his body in ice and preventing him from reverting into his human form. During a mission to rescue Nightcrawler, Iceman's entire body was shattered in his ice-form, leaving only his head. Bobby later reformed himself using the moisture from the body of an enemy.[49] Bobby was unable to return to his human form at all, which caused him to become bitter towards everyone.
After Havok left Lorna at the altar for a human woman[50] Bobby had previously kissed, Lorna was left open for Iceman to admit that he still had feelings for her and a relationship between them developed. Things were further complicated when Bobby expressed disapproval over Cyclops reassigning him to a team under his brother Havok. As he was one of the original X-Men, Bobby felt he held a higher rank. Bobby also wasn't happy having the Juggernaut on any X-Men team, let alone his.[51] Bobby's attitude toward leaving the team was evident daily. He wrote many letters of resignation only to leave them in a desk drawer.[12]
The events of M-Day seemed to remove his powers altogether, until Emma discovered that Bobby had been instinctively suppressing his powers out of fear.[52] Lorna left the team with Havok after losing her powers. Bobby tried to follow, but Cyclops insisted that he was needed.
=== Mystique ===
Iceman was recruited by Rogue to serve on her new team of X-Men.[54] During their first confrontation with the Children of the Vault, Bobby was seemingly killed when he was completely destroyed by Northstar and Aurora. However, Bobby was able to pull himself back together from steam to ice and eventually his human form, marking the first time he was able to re-manifest a body after it had been vaporized.[55] Mystique gave him mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate him.[55]
When Mystique came to the team as a seemingly reformed enemy seeking asylum,[56] she and Iceman developed a brief romantic relationship. The entire personality Mystique portrayed turned-out to be a front for her goals of spying on the X-Men for Mister Sinister and locating Destiny's diaries. Bobby and Mystique kissed while fighting the Hecatomb,[57] and had a very intimate moment in Rogue and Mystique's old home, in Caldecott County, Mississippi.[58]
At this time, Bobby also showed a molecular level control of his power by blocking Sunfire from use of his powers.[59]Mystique revealed that she did not have feelings for Bobby after all, shooting off one of his arms below the elbow while he was in ice-form. Still, Mystique allowed Bobby to escape when no one was watching, warning him to stay away.[60]Bobby survived, but was tricked by Mystique again when she posed as his ex-girlfriend, Opal. Mystique was playing games with him.[61]
=== San Francisco ===
When the X-Men moved to San Francisco, Bobby soon followed. Iceman was responsible for creating drinkable water on the island sanctuary, Utopia. Bobby attempted to keep spirits up, but believed that they were living in the last days of mutant kind.[62] Scott sent Bobby to San Fransisco to recruit a new Public Relations agent for the X-Men and the mutant race, similar to Cameron Hodge and X-Factor years earlier. With Warren's funding, Bobby hired Kate Kildare of Hestia Public Relations. Later, when the vampire army of Xarus attacked Utopia, Scott had Bobby blessed by a priest as holy water and used him to burn them away with his ice powers.
=== Jean Grey School for Higher Learning ===
After the disagreement between Cyclops and Wolverine over the direction of the mutant race, Wolverine decided to relocate the majority of the students back to the Xavier grounds and Bobby was the first person he asked to help him. Bobby agreed and the two began to recruit staff members for the "Jean Grey School for Higher Learning". Bobby served as the school's bookkeeper.
He and Logan tried to rescue the kids after the earthquake hits the school. When the X-Men defend the school from the Hellfire Club's forces, Logan orders him to leave with the kids. Bobby unleashes his ice cloning power, which he uses the to protect the children and defeat the enemies. One of the ice clones also kisses Kitty, which Lockheed melt. He later tried to talk to her about it, but she dismissed him.[63][64]
He later watched over Angel, who flies to a household and resurrected a dead dog, scaring an entire family in the process. While returning to school, Bobby realized that Angel doesn't remember him. Logan tells him that Angel lost his memories during the battle with Apocalypse. He brought him to the school hoping that it might help him recover his memories. Bobby says that he is taking full responsibility for Warren. Logan, Bobby, and Warren leave Worthington Industries after a meeting, and while Warren takes off his clothes and flies around, Logan and Bobby talk about their current situation. Bobby says that they have used up all their money to open the school, and if they don't have a large infusion of money in the future, they will have to close. Logan refuses to close the school and decides to get more money. He leaves Bobby and Warren, but not before naming Bobby temporary headmaster, as Kitty hasn't been seen in two days. When Bobby discovers why he is one of the X-men that shrink down and go into her body.[65]
Later, Kitty vomits, causing the X-Men to be expelled from her body, after a very long and gruesome battle. Before Kitty is taken away, she kisses him.
=== Avengers vs X-Men ===
Contrary to Wolverine's wishes, Bobby decides to leave the school to join the battle alongside his fellow mutants against the Avengers. But, he and most of the X-Men decide to join the Avengers after the Phoenix Five went rogue.
=== Astonishing X-Men ===
Iceman took part in a battle against Celestial creations, during which he was infected with a Death Seed of Apocalypse's power. He lost control of his mind and almost froze the whole planet, also kidnapping his ex-girlfriends and nearly killing his father. The X-Men figured out that Dark Beast had planted that power on him and tried to confront Iceman with Thor's help. Iceman almost killed Thor, when his ex-girlfriend Opal appeared and distracted Bobby, giving Thor a chance to shatter Iceman. Mystique, who was also pretending to be Iceman's ally, took Apocalypse's fragment for herself, but was stopped by the X-Men.[67] Later Mystique told Bobby that fragment didn't amplify his power, but only opened his mind and allowed him to use his power at a higher capacity without fearing his own abilities. With help from the X-Men, Iceman managed to collect his shattered mind and to become whole again, but the guilt for many lives that were taken during his crisis still haunts Bobby.
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