In the pages of Marvel Comics' Iceman, X-Men member Bobby Drake has decided to live a better and more honest life as both a civilian and superhero. Of course, that decision has brought him face to face with some difficult challenges like the Purifiers, the villainous Daken, and the unstoppable Juggernaut. But in issue #5 he faced his most daunting task yet: Coming out as a gay man to his bigoted and disapproving parents.

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The issue ended with a grudging acceptance from Bobby's father, but that doesn't mean the emotional turmoil in the young mutant's life is over. In Iceman #6, writer Sina Grace and new series artist Robert Gill kick off the book's Marvel Legacy arc, which sends Bobby and his best friend Angel to Los Angeles where they'll reunite with their former teammates, the Champions of Los Angeles, to mourn their fallen comrade, Black Widow, who perished in the recent Secret Empire event.

CBR: The big emotional moment in Iceman #5 and bridge to the series' Legacy arc was Bobby Drake coming out to his parents and the aftermath. What was it like writing that scene?

Sina Grace: I only have the most inappropriate words to describe writing issue #5. It was fun and it was easy, but only in that for the entire story arc I knew where I was going. By the time I got to writing issue #5 all the pieces were in place, and I just felt ready after so many months of build up.

So it was really kind of smooth and cathartic. [Laughs] Because some of the words in the issue came from very personal places.

The sense I got from the end of the issue was that some progress has been made in terms of Bobby's parents accepting who he is, but there's still miles to go.

Grace: Yes. If I'm bored of the very stone cold stance the Drake parents are taking on certain prejudices I imagine the readers are also tired of it. So that slow crawl of getting Bobby's parents on the same page as the rest of 2017 is kind of exciting. [Laughs]

They're really going to get to know Bobby as much as a superhero as they are as a person. I think that's going to be one of the exciting parts of the new issues to come.

How much time passes between the end of issue #5 and the beginning of issue #6? Where is Bobby physically and emotionally when you pick up with him?

Grace: Maybe a week or two passes between #5 and #6. Our first page of the issue is Bobby in Los Angeles with the remaining Champions. [Laughs] Again, all the words I'd use to describe working on the issue are inappropriate for the mood conveyed in the issue, but it's great because on top of everything else Bobby has been dealing with Natasha [Romanoff AKA the Black Widow] has died!

Natasha was one of the original members of the Champions, so Bobby really can't get a break, which is fantastic in terms of storytelling because that's going to continue to push him to sort of level up, be stronger, and be more present and aware.

None of the Champions are in a particularly good mood, and in honor of Legacy everyone is kind of in a different place than they were when they were the Champions. So it's really great to kind of play with those dynamics for as much as I can in 40 pages

Robert, Iceman #6 is where you take over art chores on the book. What's it like drawing Bobby Drake, a character who can do all sorts of amazing and visual things with his powers?

Robert Gill: I think it's great. You can pull off some really awesome visuals with his ice powers. There's the standard ice sled, but there's also the things he can come up with as far as weapons.

In between Sina's writing and him leaving stuff up to me to come up with this book is a really great opportunity to let your imagination go wild and see what you can come up with. That's been a lot of fun.

What's your sense of Bobby Drake as a character? Which of his physical and emotional qualities do you want to make sure you capture and convey in your depictions of him?

Gill: I think Bobby Drake is a pretty everyday kind of dude. He's got a lot of the same personality traits as probably you or I. He's very down to Earth. He just happens to have this mutant power that allows him to be part of the X-Men and do all this crazy stuff.

So I think it's pretty cool to be able to sort of put myself in there and ask how I would handle some of these situations? Plus, he's pretty straightforward in both his superhero and civilian identities. So conveying his emotions in his ice form is pretty easy to do. He's not wearing some crazy costume that might have some elements that would get in the way of that. You can take full advantage of his facial expressions and body language. There's a lot of opportunity to get that across.

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The Champions Are Back!

One person that's part of the Champions reunion is of course Bobby's friend, fellow mutant, and longtime team mate Angel, AKA Warren Worthington III.

Grace: It's the original Champions team and the original iterations of the X-Men, so there's no time displaced Warren. He's a character who's also gone through a lot recently. I chatted with Cullen Bunn about where he left the character before X-Men Blue, and editorial gave me feedback and insight into how Charles Soule would be handling him in Astonishing X-Men.

Warren is a really nice character to have after everything Bobby has gone through, because it allows Bobby to be a friend to someone else rather than just sort of continue on any sort of pity parade. They're relationship is bromantic. So fans will get to see these two best friends be there for each other on top of dealing with a potential Sentinel threat in Los Angeles. I say potential because not everything is as it seems. [Laughs]

Writing the Champions is such a juggle of different voices. For lack of a better world it was cool to write these characters and because of where Hercules was in Secret Empire and his relationship with Natasha it was really interesting to make it so he wasn't the go to leader in this scenario. That makes the story more interesting for Bobby because the Champions aren't necessarily a team at this moment. So the dynamics are all askew.

It's the same with Johnny Blaze. I wrote him as a little aloof and quiet. Really everyone is in such a mood and they're all grieving. Again, I hate to use that word, but it was fun to play on these dynamics of where everyone was when they first met and where they are now. All of this stuff plays into the story in a really fun way.

I almost forgot to ask about Darkstar. She's part of the reunion as well, correct?

Grace: Yes, and the way you asked that question is pretty much how I'm handling Darkstar. [Laughs] She's trying so hard to not be an afterthought.

Robert, which members of the Champions did you especially enjoy bringing to life?

Gill: Out of the group I think Ghost Rider was the most fun. He's such an iconic character and his design as far as his biker gear and the bike itself, the flames and the whole spectacle of it, is just a really awesome thing to tackle.

What else can you tell us about your approach to Iceman? How does it compare to some of your recent work like Totally Awesome Hulk?

Gill: Totally Awesome Hulk was definitely a different type of story. That was part of a straight up, big superhero team action crossover. The Iceman stuff is a much more toned down and focused story. You do have the team elements of the Champions here, but I feel like the focus is much more on Iceman himself, obviously it's his own title.

Finally, one of the fun things about Iceman #5 and the series as a whole is watching Bobby's powers grow. We've been told for years that he's one of the most powerful mutants in the world and now that he's begun accepting some truths about himself he seems to be unlocking his potential. So it seems to me that some of the larger themes in this book are empowerment and how learning to care for yourself can make you a better person and hero. Is that what you were aiming for?

Grace: Yeah, readers were so harsh to me the first few issues because of how low key I was playing his powers and I wanted to scream, “Trust me! We're building towards something!” What's really great is as early as the end of issue #6 and the beginning of issue #7 we really get to see that happen. We really get to see Bobby sort of take control, stop perceiving himself as the kid of the group, and we see something cool that I don't believe has been done with Iceman while he's of his own mind.

I wanted to conclude by saying that in addition to the characters we've been advertising with our Champions reunion, expect to see a couple more familiar faces in coming issues. Plus, on top of all the mopey emotional stuff, and the superhero action stuff fans can also look forward to Bobby exploring his dating life now that he's out to everyone and has a little more emotional bandwidth to maybe explore that.