The original X-Men should never be underestimated, not least because they’ve been training in the use of their powers for years. Cyclops is a skilled strategist who can generate more raw power than your average nuclear reactor, Angel is one of the most maneuverable airborne heroes in comics, and Beast is a scientific genius. But, of course, the two most powerful original X-Men are their Omega mutants – Jean Grey and Iceman.
Videos by ComicBook.com
According to Marvel, an Omega mutant is one “whose dominant power is deemed to register — or reach — an unidentifiable upper limit of that power’s specific classification.” To put it more simply, an Omega mutant has unlimited potential; their abilities expand with practice, as these X-Men explore their frankly broken powers. Sometimes they even unlock other abilities, avenues that are only tangentially related to their main powerset. When an Omega mutant is around, anything can happen – as Iceman has just proved.
Iceman Is Figuring Out What It Really Means To Be an Omega
The appropriately-titled Iceman: Omega, by Luciano Vecchio, is a delightful character study into Bobby Drake. Best known as the X-Men’s “class clown,” Iceman has frequently been reluctant to explore the true potential of his powers, and the comics have gradually teased away layers of repression to reveal just how much he buries from the world. Vecchio’s story continues that process, with a series of confrontations forcing him to explore his abilities in whole new ways.
The explorations really begin when Loki pretends he’s given Iceman a magical boost. It’s a lie, of course, “the oldest trick in the book” (as Loki calls it); he knows Bobby lacks self-confidence, and will find it easier to exploit his powers if he believes the power-up belongs to somebody else. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this; in the ’90s, Emma Frost exhibited some remarkable new powers for Iceman when she possessed his body, but he was reluctant to tap into them afterwards.
But that’s not the end of the story. Iceman: Omega is divided into a series of chapters, each one a part of the greater whole; in the next chapter, Iceman winds up going up against a former herald of Galactus who has obtained a fragment of the Black Winter, a cosmic force of death and destruction. Annoyed because of the “winter” theme, Iceman pushes himself more than ever before – and pulls off a remarkable feat.
Iceman Can Actually Freeze Spacetime
Incredibly, Iceman expands his powerset to freeze space-time itself around him at a quantum level. The idea was subtly teased earlier in Iceman: Omega, when Bobby encountered an ice demon named Ikthalon who did indeed possess the power to freeze time; Iceman discovered he had a natural resistance to that magic, which subtly hints at a connection between Bobby and space-time. What nobody expected, though, was to see Iceman wield a version of this sorcery himself.
The X-Men comics have gradually blurred the lines between mutants and magic, as Bobby himself reflects when he realizes just what he’s doing. The truth is, Omega mutants really are so powerful that they might as well be magical beings, manipulating nature on its most basic quantum level. We’d already seen Jean Grey accomplish feats on a similar scale – using telekinesis to rearrange the molecules of her clothing, changing into her costume at will – but Bobby Drake has never done anything like this.
The effort taxes Iceman to his limits. But it must be noted that Omegas tend to find their powers expand with usage; once they’ve accomplished a feat once, it is frequently repeated and even exceeded. Iceman: Omega has effectively given Bobby Drake a whole new power, the ability to freeze time itself, and it’s one we are sure to see him use again.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics -
Image courtesy of San Diego Studios
