Marvel’s Iceman has changed quite a bit over the past year, but that still might not have prepared him for what’s coming next.
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Iceman has been one of the more pleasant surprises coming out of Marvel’s RessurXion line, and writer Sina Grace isn’t resting on his laurels for Marvel Legacy. Fans can expect even more growth from their favorite frozen X-Man, and some of that will come courtesy what Marvel is tagging as a battle of Iceman versus Iceman.
Marvel Legacy will bring the time-traveling Bobby Drake from the past back into the spotlight, though it isn’t to take the attention away from the current Bobby Drake.
“My favorite thing about bringing time-displaced Bobby back into the series is getting to use him as a way to
show the reader how much our lead has grown over the past few issues,” Grace told ComicBook.com. “Bobby was on uneven footing in that first issue, and folks will get to see how much the younger Bobby has to learn from his older self in their next encounter. I love it.”
Having the younger Bobby Drake back in the picture won’t just affect the current Iceman, but also the Drake family as a whole. It has to be a bit disorienting and surreal to have two of the same child running around the world after all.
“Fudge, I want to answer this question with more than ‘readers will have to pick up the book to find out!’
because I don’t wanna spoil a single bit about my approach,” Grace said, “but I’ll say this: It’s a lot of information for parents
to process, and how they process the information will be pretty telling about the Drake parents’ growth in the
series.”
So what else is in store for Iceman in Legacy? Hit the next slide to find out!
Iceman vs Iceman
So you might be wondering who is really pushing this Iceman vs Iceman feud, as often times there is a true “villain” working behind the scenes. For Iceman though, that is not going to be the case.
“I had a long talk with my editor about this issue, and he said something completely surprising to me: ‘I want this to be a 100% character study,’” Grace said. “‘Whatever happens there is more interesting than any fight scene.’ Does that answer your question?”
It certainly does, so don’t plan on Mr. Sinister hopping out of the bushes screaming about his plans coming to fruition.
While both Drake’s are occupying the same space for awhile, readers will still be able to get a sense of their individual characters.
“I think I write time-displaced Bobby a little more aloof and carefree,” Grace said. “I was re-reading how I wrote him in the All-New X-Men Annual, and there’s a general optimism and enthusiasm in his tone that I don’t think I always put in the older Bobby’s voice. He’s had like 15 years less torture and pain than our Bobby has, heh! I think when the older Bobby’s jokes land, they land harder.”
The Bobby Drake of the present will have plenty to keep him busy, but there is one character he won’t be able to rely on, at least for a bit. “We don’t see Kitty again until issue nine,” Grace revealed. “This remains entirely a Drake family affair.”
Hit the next slide to see what’s coming next for Iceman in Marvel Legacy.
What Comes Next
Iceman will be getting a new artist going forward in Weapons of Mutant Destruction’s Robert Gill. That series gave Gill plenty of sprawling action to draw, but fans haven’t seen anything yet compared to what’s coming in Iceman #7.
“There were some mighty big shoes to fill replacing Alessandro Vitti, and let me tell you: Robert is
slaaaaaaaying,” Grace said. “I’ll be honest: he’s lowercase great in issue six, but then after we had some chats about the type of comics we both go wild for, he got uppercase Phenomenal with everything in issue seven. The Champions fighting Sentinels sequence is so frickin’ cool. I hate that he’s gonna make a mint selling those originals, cuz I really want one.”
You pretty much had us at Champions versus Sentinels.
“As always, expect some surprising faces to be sprinkled into the issues to come,” Grace said, “and get super pumped about Robert’s art… it just gets better and better.”
We can’t wait, but in the meantime, you can check out the description for Iceman #6 below, which hits stores on October 4, 2017:
“Bobby Drake reunites the original Champions! And with heroes like Hercules, Ghost Rider, Iceman, Black Widow, Darkstar, and Angel, the more things change… nothing stays the same! Unfortunately for them, this reunion is under less than happy circumstances, as a familiar foe from the past re-emerges!”
