| Killer Frost | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost inJustice League of America: Killer Frost Rebirth #1 (March 2017). Art byMirka Andolfo | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Frost)Firestorm #3 (June 1978) (Lincoln)Firestorm (vol. 2) #21 (March 1984) (as Louise Lincoln) Firestorm (vol. 2) #34 (April 1985) (as Killer Frost) (Snow)Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #19 (June 2013) (as Caitlin Snow) Justice League of America (vol. 3) #7.2 (November 2013) (as Killer Frost) |
| Created by | (Frost and Lincoln) Gerry Conway Al Milgrom (Snow) Dan Jurgens |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Crystal Frost Dr. Louise Lincoln Caitlin Snow |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | (Frost) Hudson University Black Lantern Corps (Lincoln) Suicide Squad Injustice League Secret Society of Super Villains (Snow) S.T.A.R. Labs Legion of Doom Suicide Squad Justice League |
| Notable aliases | (Snow) Frost |
| Abilities | (All)
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Killer Frost is a name used by several femalesupervillains andsuperheroes appearing incomic books published byDC Comics:Crystal Frost,Louise Lincoln, andCaitlin Snow. All three usually have some connection to thesuperheroFirestorm.
Various iterations of Killer Frost, primarily Crystal Frost and Louise Lincoln, have appeared in various animated projects and video games, primarily voiced byJennifer Hale. Additionally,Danielle Panabaker portrayedCaitlin Snow, Killer Frost (later renamed Frost), and Khione inThe CW'sArrowverse franchise, such as the television seriesThe Flash.[1]
Crystal Frost was the first incarnation, first appearing inFirestorm #3 (June 1978).[2] She is an aspiring scientist atHudson University who possesses unreciprocated feelings for her teacherMartin Stein. After accidentally locking herself in a thermafrost chamber, Frost gains cryokinetic abilities and becomes a supervillain and enemy ofFirestorm.[3] Frost is later killed after absorbing excessive energy from Firestorm.[4] Years later, she is resurrected as aBlack Lantern inBlackest Night.[5][6]
Louise Lincoln is the second incarnation of Killer Frost; she first appeared inFirestorm (vol. 2) #21 (March 1984) and used the "Killer Frost" name inFirestorm (vol. 2) #34 (April 1985).[7] Lincoln is a colleague and friend of Crystal Frost who succeeds her as Killer Frost following her death.
In subsequent appearances, Lincoln joins theSuicide Squad, sells her soul toNeron to enhance her powers, and briefly enters a relationship withEffigy. She is among the villains who seek to claimLex Luthor's bounty onBatman andSuperman inSuperman/Batman.[8][9][10][11]
Around this time, Lincoln is diagnosed with cancer and tricksJason Rusch, the new Firestorm, into curing her. With her health and powers restored, Killer Frost went on a rampage, only to be defeated when Jason undoes his actions.[12]
InOne Year Later, Frost allies withMr. Freeze. However, she reveals that she had been using Freeze as a pawn and had no interest in him.[13]
InSalvation Run, Frost is among the villains sent to another planet. She later joinsLibra'sSecret Society of Super Villains and is among the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from theSecret Six.[14][15] During theDoomsday Clock event, Frost supports the "Superman Theory" and claims that the U.S. government gaveCaptain Atom,Firehawk, Moonbow, andTyphoon their powers.[16][17]
The third incarnation of Killer Frost isCaitlin Snow, introduced inThe New 52 continuity reboot.[18] She is a scientist who gains powers afterH.I.V.E. agents attempt to kill her with a thermodynamic engine. In subsequent appearances, Snow seeks help from Firestorm and Martin Stein to cure her condition and joins the Suicide Squad andJustice League.[19][20][21]
All versions have shown the ability to absorb heat from external sources and transmute it into waves of cold. Using these powers, Killer Frost can create an ice-sheen across her entire body that grants her increased durability, cause intense blizzards that can instantly freeze the target and generate objects composed completely of ice, such as projectiles in the form of ice shards and defensive walls or shields. She can also instantly freeze animate matter through physical contact and is unable to touch a normal person without freezing them. However, if someone has a power or ability that negates the natural waves of freezing cold that come from her body, she can touch them without anything happening.
Her weakness is the need to absorb external heat sources to generate ice: although heat-based weapons such as flamethrowers only make her stronger, she can be imprisoned in cold surroundings such as being locked in a refrigeration truck or buried under a mountain of snow. The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost is constantly plagued by a hunger for heat, which can only be sated by absorbing the heat from a living being, a process which inevitably kills the victim. However, in recent stories she seems to have finally gotten it under control by only absorbing a tiny amount of heat from every person she touches, sparing them and leaving them otherwise unharmed. The Caitlin Snow and Louise Lincoln versions of the character have, albeit inconsistently, demonstrated the ability to fly, either by riding Arctic winds or through an unknown manner of self-propulsion.
While the exact limits of her abilities have yet to be established, how much power Frost can channel at once seems to depend on how much heat she has absorbed and stored in her body. For example, when she absorbed all the heat from Superman (whose body is supercharged by yellow solar energy) during a stand-off between the Justice League and the Suicide Squad, she was able to flash-freeze the entire League in a single blast.
It also seems that using up all the heat energy she has stored can put Frost's life in danger. If she does not feed in time, she even risks dying of what she calls "starvation".
The Caitlin Snow version also boasts a genius-level intellect, being S.T.A.R. Labs' youngest and brightest scientist prior to her transformation. She could solve complex equations easily, operate heavy energy generating machinery and appeared particularly skilled in the field of physics and research about energy. She once managed to create an ice prism with her powers that converted Superman's heat vision into a bright burst of sunlight to defeat Eclipso.
Several adaptations of the villain have also depicted the Crystal Frost and Louise Lincoln incarnations as having basic skills in melee combat which they use in conjunction with their powers as well as impressive agility, being able to perform maneuvers such as leaps or cartwheels with ease.
An alternate universe variant of Killer Frost appears inDC Comics Bombshells.[22] This version isLouise L'inconnue, a servant ofHugo Strange who is of French and German descent and gained her powers after her mother was killed and she was left to die in a well.[23]
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Danielle Panabaker portrays Caitlin Snow in media set in theArrowverse. This version is an employee ofS.T.A.R. Labs andRonnie Raymond's fiancée before he is killed stopping a singularity over Central City.
Due toBarry Allen altering the timeline while creating and undoing the "Flashpoint" timeline in thethird season, Caitlin develops cryokinetic abilities and an alternate, villainous personality named Frost, both of which she attempts to hide.[25][26][27][28][29] In thefifth season, Caitlin discovers that her powers originated from her fatherThomas' attempts to cure their genetic propensity toALS.
In theseventh season, Caitlin and Frost are separated byMirror Monarch's rays and decide to live separate lives as twin sisters. In theeighth season, Frost is killed in battle withDeathstorm. Caitlin tries to resurrect her, but inadvertently creates a new individual namedKhione.[30]
Caitlin also appears in the animated seriesFreedom Fighters: The Ray, with Panabaker reprising the role.[24]
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