Iceman

It seems to have taken a heckuva long time for the second series of X2: X-Men United figures to reach shelves. The movie was out in the summer, and we've been looking at nothing but Wolverines and Cyclopes since then. Of course, getting the new figures now makes sense: ToyBiz was just waiting for the DVD release to build interest. Part of the fun of the X-Men films for fans of the comic was trying to spot the various 'cameos' by other mutants, whether by name or in person. Especially in Xavier's school, a lot of the students were folks that hardcore comic geeks would recognize. One of these minor characters turned out to have a larger role: Bobby Drake became a bit of a love interest for Rogue, and was the only 'minor' actor to return to the same character for the second film. Bobby Drake was raised in an upper-middle-class suburbanite family, living a relatively normal life. He was athletic, popular, and a straight-A student. His mutant power manifested when he accidentally froze the family's pet goldfish. Slightly traumatized by the experience, he hid his mutation for years until he was sought out by Professor Charles Xavier, who convinced him to enroll in his institute for gifted youngsters. During his stay, Bobby has come to terms with his mutation and himself, and expressed interest in becoming a full-fledged member of the X-Men. Iceman is seen here in the X-Uniform he wore briefly at the end of the film. Like most of the X2 figures, Bobby is superposeable, with articulation at the toes, ankles, shins, knees, thighs, hips, waist, neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, wrists and hands. The detailing on the costume is quite thorough, from the ribbed panels to the piping and wrinkles. In keeping with his chilly demeanor, Iceman's costume is highlighted with white. The likeness to actor Shawn Ashmore is very good, though the paintjob leaves him looking rather sallow: the case could be made that this was done intentionally to make him look chilled, but that doesn't seen likely. The figure's head was molded in black, so the paint needed to cover that is fairly thick and plasticy, leaving the skintone flat and lifeless. Iceman cometh with two accessories: an "ice blast" that fits over his hand and a blue ice wall. The battery-powered blast has a button inside that is pressed by the figure's hand, causing a tiny blue light inside to strobe brightly. The wall serves as an ice tray: fill it with water, toss it in the freezer and you can make your own real ice wall that measures 4 1/4" x 6 1/2". Though most of the students at Xavier's were recast for X2 (Kitty and Pyro, most noticeably), Bobby was still himself. At 6 1/4" tall, this Iceman figure fits in well with both the X-Men and Marvel Legends figures, and looks particularly cool next to the Battle Suit Rogue from the first line. How sweet was X2? Tell us on our message board, The Loafing Lounge.

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