Ice Climbers

"I'm Popo, the one wearing the blue winter-uniform!

...and I'm Nana, the one wearing the pink winter-uniform!"

—Popo and Nana, as introduced in *The PowerPuff Sticks*.

**The Ice Climbers**, distinctly known as **Popo** (the boy dressed in a blue Inuit parka) and **Nana** (the girl dressed in a pink Inuit parka) are major protagonists of *The PowerPuff Sticks* franchise, making their first appearance in the episode *Stick Climbers*, hailing from the original game *Ice Climber* (アイスクライマー, ***Aisu Kuraimā***) by the **Nintendo Entertainment System** from 1984, where they appear as the titular main protagonists in said game.

According to the original 1984 game *Ice Climber*, the ice climbers, seen in the video-games of *The PowerPuff Sticks* and the *Super Smash Bros. Series*, are rather playable as a team instead of single due to Popo and Nana being tied together.

## Sypnosis

The Ice Climbers make their first appearance in the series in the episode *Stick Climbers*. As the powerpuff sticks take their attempts to reach the top of the mountain for no paticular reason; primarly because Stick-Stick is concered about what was really on top of the mountains, which was inconsistent and most likely a waste of time to the other stick characters, but they worked entirelessly to reach their goal by watching out for platforms and icebergs, avoiding polar bears, topis, fighting the condor and the main antagonist that prevents them from reaching the top of the mountain, The Nitpicker.

After a not-so-easy adventure, they find the Ice Climbers on top of the mountain all of a sudden, sitting in relaxation and watching the nightsky-glow, and they immediately befriend the stick brothers after asking what their names are and where they came from. After a short time of relaxation, they all, including the Ice Climbers, return home, and the Ice Climbers joined the big group after being befriended, but getting down from the mountain for reaching their goal, their home, was not so easy - compared to cimbing it from the first time.

## Physical appearances

The Ice Climbers are protrayed to be cute, yet junior-like and button-eyed children wearing winter-like uniforms and they have slightly visible pink cheeks, but their hairstyles aren't revealed yet. Typically, the ice climbers hold big hammers, but in some other unofficial artworks, they are seen without them.

### Popo's appearance

Popo appears to be a young boy wearing blue winter-uniform (otherwise known as a blue Inuit parka) and long button-like eyes, somewhat similar to Ness and Kirby's style. He has spiky hair that stops near his eyes. His parka's hood resembles the Freeze copy ability's hat from Kirby.

### Nana's appearance

Nana appears to be a young tomboyish girl that bears a similar resemblance to Popo, wearing the same type of winter-uniform (otherwise known as a blue Inuit parka) and also has the same long button-like eyes, however, the only differences are that her parka is pink-colored, and she has smoother hair that parts near the middle. Her parka's hood resembles the Freeze copy ability's hat from Kirby.

## Personalities

According to *The PowerPuff Sticks*, The Ice Climbers appear to be heroic and epic, yet easygoing and they show confidence, appearing to to good friends of the stick characters.

However, they are sometimes childish and mischevious, as all this is accompained by the original 1984 game *Ice Climber*, as they, in their glory days, pursued a condor who, peculiarly, had possession of cucumbers, eggplants, and various other vegetables, which means they will vie other character who have these various vegtables. They are also shown to be scaredycats to horror-like things like most of the other characters in the series.

Popo and Nana are forever friends with each other, which means they are typically seen as a team, however, while Popo is the leader, Nana is the follower. They are sensible and a bit of worriers, and are more catious than most of the characters in the franchise.

## Trivia

* Although this is apparently a coincidence, the Ice Climbers slightly resemble Team Umizoomi.
* Contrary to popular belief, the pair are not siblings. In an interview with Masahiro Sakurai, he has referred to the pair as "childhood friends-like boy-and-girl pair" and goes on to say that their relationship is “more than friends, but less than lovers.”
* They have never took off their hoodies or gloves, not even fully shown their hairstyles.
* This is possibly the case; they are refer to as “eskimos”.
* The Ice Climbers are the second of the multiple characters who use hammers for weapons, the first being The PowerPuff Sticks, mainly Mr. Game & Watch, the latter being King Dedede and Kirby.
* The Ice Climbers are related to Mr. Game & Watch and Kirby to some way, because the former uses hammer for *Vermin*, and the latter has the same types of eyes the ice climbers currently have in the series.
* On the box artworks for the Japanese and PAL versions of *Ice Climber*, Nana (the only one of the two to appear on the box artworks) had blonde hair instead of original brown hair, although in the game, she and Popo hair color were restricted to black hair. In their later appearances in *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*, *Super Smash Bros. Melee* and *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, they have brown hair. This current design was also used in *The PowerPuff Sticks*.
* In some other languages besides English, Popo's name is Pepe. This is because "popo" means "buttocks" in Turkish and "poop" in Spanish.
* The Ice Climbers cease to return as playable characters in *Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS/Wii U*, but they make a cameo appearance as a collectible trophy. In a column for the Japanese gaming magazine *Famitsu*, Masahiro Sakurai claimed that technical limitations of the **Nintendo 3DS** prevented their inclusion; the two were reportedly difficult to implement on the system, and since the characters were unlikely to have a new game in their series, Sakurai deemed the Ice Climbers as "low-priority" characters. While they were fully functional on the Wii U, Sakurai decided to cut them to keep the roster identical.
* The *Mega Man* Robot Master Ice Man may have taken some of his designs from the ice climbers' ones.

## References

1. ↑ https://iceclimber.fandom.com/wiki/Popo
2. ↑ https://iceclimber.fandom.com/wiki/Nana