Martinex1: We at BITBA truly appreciate having viewers from around the world; and we are also somewhat jealous of you that are from a more moderate or even tropical climate. In the upper midwest of the U.S.A. and much of North America, we have been dealing with horrendous snow, ice, and low temperatures this past week. You know it is bad when your eyelashes stick together and your cheeks go numb after two minutes of chiseling crystals on the inside of your car window.
In honor of the wintery weather, let's rank the ice based characters and pop culture entities from all genres. It seems we have a myriad of snow ball throwing terrors and zero degree denizens to choose from, so give us your top three favorites (including the reasons why) and also list one who just leaves you cold.
Here are my selections:
1) Captain Cold: Leonard Snark is one DC character and villain that I have liked for a long time. I cannot remember exactly when I first encountered the cold criminal (it was in a Flash comic when the rogues teamed up), but I was fascinated by him from the beginning. I liked his design with Parka hood and the goggles. He didn't look like anybody else and he used his gun in dangerous and creative ways. Sometimes ice characters can seem one note, but Captain Cold always seemed like a serious adversary. I actually bought DC books when he was on the cover.
2) Killer Frost: What? Two DC Characters on my list? Has my brain been addled by the -15 wind chill? Nope - not at all. I recently reread some Fury of Firestorm issues while preparing for some posts and I have to say that I liked the Killer Frost character. She was different than other villains and had a weird fascination with her heroic enemy. And for a female character in the late 70s and early 80s, she was quite powerful, dangerous, conniving, and complex.
3) (Tie) Slurpees and Icees: Okay I know these are beverages and not characters, but I did say "pop culture" and these delicious drinks literally give me a headache even on a hot day! Favorite flavors: Cherry and Blue Raspberry!
As far as the worst (in my opinion), I never thought Bobby Drake / Iceman was used to his potential at all. I am not saying he couldn't be a great character; he was an X-Men after all. But I don't think any writer or creative team ever found the proper voice for Bobby in the Silver and Bronze Ages. He could have used his powers in so many strange and wonderful ways, but he was relegated almost to teenage sidekick status and never emerged from the D List. From almost every standpoint, the character never cut it.
So what do you say? Here are some photos to get your brain boiling; you may be surprised how many cool characters there are to draw from. Cheers!
