| Ice | |
|---|---|
.png) Ice, art by David Nakayama. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Justice League International #12 (April 1988) |
| Created by | Keith Giffen (writer) J. M. DeMatteis (writer) Kevin Maguire (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tora Olafsdotter |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Justice League Global Guardians Cadre White Lantern Corps Justice League International Black Lantern Corps |
| Partnerships | Fire Icemaiden |
| Abilities |
|
Ice (Tora Olafsdotter) is asuperheroine appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. She is a member of theJustice League who possesses cryokinetic abilities and is often associated withFire.
Ice has appeared in various media outside comics, primarily television.Jennifer Hale voices Ice inBatman: The Brave and the Bold, while Kimberly Oja portrays her inJustice League of America.
Created byKeith Giffen,J. M. DeMatteis, andKevin Maguire, she first appeared inJustice League International #12 (April 1988).[1]
Ice is a separate character fromIcemaiden, although the two are similar in appearance, group affiliation, and powers. When Icemaiden first appeared, she had blue skin and pointy ears, and was named Sigrid Nansen. When the character joinedJustice League International, the comic book creators believed that her real name had never been given but they were mistaken.
After Ice is killed, the original Icemaiden joins the Justice League. A backstory revealed that she is the first Icemaiden, and quit theGlobal Guardians when Tora appeared.
An alternate origin was revealed inJustice League: Generation Lost #12 (2010), written byJudd Winick and art byFernando Dagnino Guerra.
The princess of an isolated tribe of magic-wieldingNorsemen, Tora Olafsdotter has the natural ability to create and manipulate ice.
In the Danish graphic novelSuperman: A Tale of Five Cities,Superman andLois Lane visitOslo and encounter Ice (Isjomfruen), a local superhero, and her sister Ice Flower (Isblomst), inFrogner Park.
A different origin was presented inJustice League: Generation Lost. It has not been revealed in what respects this story replaces Tora's original history.
In the alternate origin mentioned inJustice League: Generation Lost story, Tora's parents and brother areRomanifolket, and her grandfather was the head of a small sect of Romanifolket known as the Is Bygd. Tora was trained to stay calm to control hermetahuman abilities to create and manipulate ice, to ensure that her grandfather (from whom Tora's parents sought to hide their daughter) could not find her and force her to use her power to keep control over the other Bygd residents. Eventually Tora's grandfather tracked his family down and, after seeing her father being beaten, she lost control, causing the death of several, among them her own father.[2]
When an engineer named Rod Schoendienst discovered the ice people, he made a pact with the King that allowed Tora to leave their kingdom. After Rod introduced Tora toDoctor Mist and theGlobal Guardians she joined the team as the second Icemaiden.[3] Soon after, she became friends with Beatriz Da Costa (aka Green Flame). After the Guardians lose their funding from theUnited Nations in the wake of theJustice League's reformation asJustice League International, Green Flame talks Icemaiden into joining the Justice League.
Ice's personality is a mix of girl-next-door wholesomeness and innocent-abroad naiveté, which served as a contrast to the impulsive, libidinous traits of her friend and teammate Fire. The two change their names from Green Flame and Icemaiden to Fire and Ice.[4]
Ice returns to her kingdom after being summoned by her dying father, King Olaf, who wants to make her his successor to the throne of their kingdom when he dies. When Olaf dies, Ice's brother Ewald becomes the successor to the throne instead. Ewald had been in contact with theOvermaster, a powerful entity who considers himself a celestial force beyond good and evil, with the purpose to "act when judgment has been passed". The JLA set out to rescue Ice; when they reach her kingdom they discover that Ewald's power has increased due to an ancient staff he carries. As they come near Ewald, they are attacked by ancient Norwegian giants summoned by Ewald.Guy Gardner and Fire rescue Ice from Ewald while the rest of the Leaguers battle the giants. One by one, the weapons that the giants hold are destroyed, removing their powers. A similar tactic is used on Ewald, which kills him. Ice is free to take the throne of her kingdom, but believes the people should choose a leader for themselves – she leaves to rejoin her friends in the Justice League.[5]
Ice later falls under the mental influence of Overmaster. During a confrontation with the Justice League, Ice breaks free of Overmaster's control, only to be killed by him.[6]
While on a mission inAzerbaijan,Barbara Gordon'sBirds of Prey discover Ice unconscious within aRocket Red suit which they wrest from the possession of an underworld figure, Kerimov. Kerimov has hired theSecret Six to transport the suit, and the Birds of Prey and Secret Six come to blows afterBig Barda andHuntress capture it. Kerimov plans to use Ice to manipulate the Russian people by playing on their superstitions about ice princesses, and to use her great power to make himself a powerful ruler.[7]
Tora is awakened byCreote, a member of the team who addresses her as "goddess". She is enraged and attacks the Birds of Prey and the Secret Six, seeking to avenge her murder. Huntress' mention of Guy Gardner, in addition to a hard slap, brings Ice back to her senses.[8]
Ice appears as one of the central characters inJustice League: Generation Lost, a maxi-series that takes place during the "Brightest Day" storyline. She is one of many superheroes tasked with hunting downMaxwell Lord, a former ally of the Justice League who murderedTed Kord. During an encounter with Lord at the Justice League's former headquarters, Ice is rendered unconscious alongside Fire,Booster Gold, andCaptain Atom. The former Justice League members awake to discover that Lord has used his mental abilities to erase his existence from the minds of every human on the planet, save for those present at the embassy. and the others.[9] After trying to talk to Guy and tell him what has transpired, Tora discovers that Lord has mentally influenced the world into believing that she had attempted to murder Guy.[10]
Ice, Fire and Rocket Red arrive at a robotics labs and are confronted by theMetal Men, who are being controlled byProfessor Ivo.[11] Ice loses control after nearly being beaten to death, transforming her skin and hair into ice.[12] Ice nearly kills the entire team, but calms down as the repressed memories involving the truth about her origins resurface.[2]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Ice is recruited as part of the newU.N.-sponsored Justice League International.[13] She appears to still have some sort of existing relationship with Guy, though it is not expanded upon.[14]
Ice appeared in the 2022 limited seriesHuman Target byTom King and Greg Smallwood where she was the primary love interest and secondary lead in the series. The series follows the Human Target as he investigates who poisoned him and tried to poison Lex Luthor, with the primary suspects being the Justice League International.
InAbsolute Power, Ice loses her powers toAmanda Waller'sAmazo army. After the Amazos are defeated, Ice and Fire regain their powers, but have them swapped.[15] Fire and Ice star in the 2024 miniseriesFire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville, where they relocate toSmallville; and the 2025 miniseriesFire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over, where Fire inadvertently causes herself and Ice toswap bodies after wishing on amonkey's paw to return their powers to normal.[16][17] Following a journey throughHell, Fire and Ice retrieve the Ring ofNabu and regain their original bodies and powers.[18]
In addition to being a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, Ice can project in various forms and quantities of ice and snow through her hands. She can create platforms of ice upon which she can skate.[19] Before her initial death, she was powered-up mysteriously (later revealed to be the result of the Overmaster)[citation needed]. She was able to generate larger amounts of ice and snow, and gained superhuman strength and the ability to fly[citation needed].
