Top 10 Ice Manipulators

Ah winter, an absolute wonderland of…..cold, bitter bitter cold. So to celebrate the cold dead of winter, I’ve decided to create a top 10 list on individuals with ice manipulation powers. You may ask why? I will respond with because I am very cold where I am right now and it seems to be the only thing on my mind at the moment. Before I begin here are some runner-ups

-Frozone (The Incredibles)
-Snow Miser (The Year Without a Santa Clause)
-Killer Frost (DC comics)

Now without further delay, here is my Top 10 Ice Manipulators

10 – Kopaka (Bionicle)

One of the six Toa who were destined to reawaken the great spirit, Mata Nui, Kopaka is the master of Ice. Kopaka is a solitary warrior, preferring to spend his time alone in the cold mountains, only aiding the other Toa when the trials they face are truly treacherous or of the utmost importance. When Kopaka does enter the battlefield the conflict is usually ended rather quickly as his ice blade can freeze mass landscapes in a single swipe…..I miss when Bionicles were cool.

9 – Iceman (X-Men)

I feel like Iceman should be higher on this list, but the truth is he is one of the most underutilized X-Men. For being one of the original members of the team, Iceman has not evolved past his original core concept of being the comical youngster in the group. Even when Iceman has story arcs that raise his maturity or vastly increase his powers to god-like levels, writers typically regress him back to the childish comedian he originally was. Unfortunately this lost amount of potential for his character holds him back from being higher on this list.

8 – Jack Frost

Don’t be fooled by the picture I put up there, this is a place holder for all versions of Jack Frost. Frost is known as a mischievous spirit typically being held responsible for the nipping of your nose in cold weather, leaving fern-like ice patterns on windows, and generally frosty weather conditions. Frost is the oldest ice manipulator on this list, but I wouldn’t say his power over cold is what he is most known for. Jack Frost is better known for being a free spirit who enjoys just playing with his abilities like simple tricks, thus the reason why he is so low on the list.

7 – Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)

Okay so… the original Sub-Zero killed a rival ninja named Hanzo Hasashi, who then came back as a specter known as Scorpion who then killed Sub-Zero in the first Mortal Kombat tournament, but then the original Sub-Zero was resurrected as the un-dead warrior Noob Saibot, but the younger brother of Noob Saibot didn’t know about his brother’s resurrection and took up the title of Sub-Zero himself in order to gain vengeance against Scorpion but then none of this matters anymore due to Raiden’s interference in the timeline causing Noob Saibot to be resurrected as a Cyborg Sub-Zero instead and…..and……and I don’t think anyone really plays Mortal Kombat for the story do they?.....SUB-ZERO IS A REALLY COOL NINJA WITH ICE POWERS! Moving on to the next one.

6 – Ice King (Adventure Time)

What started off as a creepy old man who kidnaps princesses…stayed a creepy old man who kidnaps princesses, but one that we sympathize and pity.  Simon Petrikov was just a normal person, studying to become an antiquarian, but his entire life was changed the second he put that crown upon his head. The crown whispered the secrets of ice and snow into Simon’s ear but drove him utterly insane in the process. Thus Simon became the immortal insane Ice King.

5 – Elsa (Frozen)

There has been a bit of a backlash due to the over exposure of this movie even a year after its release, but to be honest I really enjoyed this film. I feel like Disney did a really good job with her character and the development she receives throughout the story.  We get the tale of someone with extraordinary abilities that are repressed and hidden due to fear as well as misunderstanding. In all honesty, this was the story of every X-Man character wrapped up in a fantastic Disney musical.

4 – Horohoro (Shaman King)

What’s wrong with wanting to fuse with the Great Spirit, the nexus point where all souls are created and end up, just to make a vast field of butterbur? Absolutely nothing, but when you are aiming to attain god-hood, you’d think he would have set his goals a little higher. Not to say that Horohoro didn’t need to enter the Shaman King tournament at all….but he could have just planted a vast field on his own. I’m not complaining though, without this bizarre drive, we would have never met one of the greatest characters in this series.

3 – Elijah Snow (Planetary)

Elijah Snow is a Century Baby, being born on January 1^st, 1999, thus we can obviously reach the conclusion that he was born with extreme control over temperature and is practically immortal...you see the logic don’t you, but it’s not really the origins that make a person great, it is their actions. Snow’s actions were to set up an organization that would seek out the bizarre and weird in the world in order to chronicle them as well as to use that knowledge for the betterment of mankind.

2 – Kuzan (One Piece)

Kuzan, or better known as the former Admiral Aokiji, is one of the most powerful figures in the One Piece universe. Having eaten the Hie Hie no Mi fruit, Kuzan has the ability to manipulate all forms of ice and cold as well as transform himself into a being of pure ice. Kuzan is considered to be a generally lazy character but due to his extreme skill level he managed to rank up to Admiral of the Marines. Unfortunately when it came time to select a new Fleet Admiral he didn’t want the position but didn’t want Admiral Akainu to get it more. After losing a brutal match against Akainu, Kuzan left the Marines and now wanders the oceans just trying to protect his friends from the corruption of the world.

1 – Mr. Freeze (Batman: The Animated Series)

“Think of it Batman…to never again walk on a summer’s day with a hot wind in your face and a warm hand to hold. Oh yes…I’d kill for that…”

This may be entirely biased. Mr. Freeze is my all time favorite Batman villain, specifically this version of him. This was when they did Mr. Freeze right. Changing his origin story to that of a man desperately trying to save his loved one was a masterstroke on Paul Dini’s part. Being so close to your beloved yet never being able to touch again due to layers of ice would drive anyone mad. This is the version of Mr. Freeze I hope we get to see put to live action someday, instead of that horrific depiction by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hopefully this list will keep you warm in the cold days of winter…..or not.