From Panel to Play: Iceman

Grab your mittens and scarves! Today’s From Panel to Play is icy cold as Iceman skates into Marvel: Crisis Protocol!

When a school bully went too far a young Bobby Drake revealed his mutant powers to the world by accidentally encasing the bully in ice. Bobby was subsequently pursued by a mob of townspeople keen on ending the perceived threat to their home, but the timely intervention of Scott Summers and Charles Xavier saved him. They offered him a place in Xavier’s school and Bobby accepted. He became one of the founding members of the X-Men and was the youngest on the team. He soon earned the name, Iceman.

Bobby’s early use of his powers was very basic. At first he would use his power to cover himself in a layer of snow and looked a bit like a child’s snowman. He also demonstrated that he could use the water around him to create basic tools of ice and snow. By training with the X-Men he learned to make this protective cover out of ice, and he gained better control of his ability to manipulate the water around him, ultimately growing beyond making weapons and tools. He can drop the temperature of the area around him to well below freezing rapidly leading to an expanding area of ice around him. This has led to some fearing him due to what they see as an incredible potential for destruction. However, he has been reluctant to push himself to test his limits, perhaps because he fears losing control of his power.

As a founding member of the X-Men, Iceman has been part of many of their adventures. When Magneto took over a military base not long after the X-Men were formed, Professor X sent them on their first mission to stop him. During this mission Iceman rendered several missiles inoperable mid-flight and then protected the team with an ice cocoon when Magneto threw a flaming fuel truck at them. When the M-Pox crisis reached its climax, he found multiple X-Men in his home demanding his assistance with an attack on the Inhuman home of New Attilan. Bobby objected to the plan, and Iceman walked out of the meeting. However, when the battle started, Iceman was at the leading edge of the charge into the city. He didn’t remain there long. In the midst of the fiercest fighting he realized his initial objections were correct, abandoned the fight, and escaped the city with his boyfriend Romeo, an Inhuman.

The Iceman of Marvel: Crisis Protocol joins the battlefield on his classic ice slide. The young Bobby Drake is a 3 Threat Value character with 5 Stamina on both sides of his card. He has slightly above average defenses with 4 Physical and 3 in both Energy and Mystic. His attacks and superpowers are efficient with lots of utility.

Iceman’s first attack, Freezing Blast, is a Range 3 beam attack. This attack has an unremarkable Strength 4, but after each attack is resolved Iceman will gain 1 Power and the target may end up with the Slow condition as the chill of ice lingers on them. His second attack, Chill, is a Range 3, Strength 7 attack that costs him 3 Power. This attack has a chance to Stagger opponents as the ice takes hold of them!

Iceman has a respectable movement stat of Medium, but his first superpower, Freeze and Fade, really shows how mobile he can be. This superpower costs 2 Power and an action to let him make an attack action followed by a move action. What makes this superpower unique is that when he makes this move, he counts as Size 5 as he creates ice slides to quickly traverse the battlefield’s terrain.

Speaking of ice slides, his second superpower, Ice Slide, allows him to assist his squad with some quick relocation. This Active superpower allows an allied character that is near him when he starts a move action to be Placed within Range 2 of their current location after he finishes moving. With a 2 Power cost, this superpower is often available and combines well with Freeze and Fade to enable darting attacks that pull allies out of danger!

Iceman’s final superpower will make any opponent who wants to get in close think twice before going after him. Cold Snap is an Innate superpower that makes enemy characters who end moves or make attacks within Range 2 of him suffer the Slow special condition as the icy air around Iceman begins to affect their movements. If they already have the Slow special condition, they will suffer 1 Damage as the frost bites them. Enemies that rush in to attack him may trigger both effects during their turn if they aren’t careful.

It’s starting to warm up which means we’ve finished our look at the X-Men’s Iceman! Be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your copy of Iceman at your local game store or through the webstore today.