After traveling the world and coming into contact with Amahl Farouk, otherwise known as the Shadow King, Professor Xavier became suddenly aware of two facts that would change his life, along with the lives of everyone he came into contact with. One, there were powerful mutants in the world that would seek to use their immense power to inflict as much damage as they could on the fragile balance between humans and themselves. And two, he needed to do something to stop them.
With these facts in mind, Xavier established Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters as a front to educate and train young mutants to combat these villainous foes. Though his original team of five was rather small, it held within its ranks two of the most powerful mutants to ever been born into the Marvel landscape. Jean Grey and Bobby Drake, Iceman. Forty percent Omega-level mutants, not too shabby.
10 Bobby The Snowman
Though Bobby Drake has always been known by his alias “Iceman”, since his first appearance back in X-Men #1 back in 1963, it would be a while before he actually had the powerset to back up his name. Like many mutants, Bobby had to put in a significant amount of work before he realized his potential as a mutant. Until he became more acquainted with his abilities, however, Bobby would cover himself in icy snow, which would serve to protect him before he was able to turn himself into ice entirely.
9 He’s Among The First X-Men
While Jean Grey has the honor of being the first young mutant that Professor Charles Xavier would induct into the Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters, Bobby Drake, along with Scott Summers(Cyclops), Warren Worthington III(Angel/ Archangel) and Henry McCoy (Beast), would become the first five students enrolled as well as the first five X-Men.
While the first five X-Men are all powerful characters that have long-standing histories with Charles, of the original group, only Jean Grey and Bobby Drake are considered Omega-level mutants.
8 Emma Frost Took Over His Body
After a time-traveling named Trevor Fitzroy came back in time to and attacked Emma Frost as part of a “game” where the mutant that killed the most mutants (receiving the most points) would be given control of the Hellfire Club. Though his attack on Emma Frost would not result in her death, it would knock the powerful telepath into a coma and result in the death of many of her hellions. However, an accident in the med-lab where her body was being kept would result in a mind-transfer, sending her mind into the body of Bobby Drake and vice versa.
7 And Subsequently Discovered His Ability To Sustain Heavy Damage In His Ice Form
Though Bobby had recently started to understand his abilities on a much deeper level, finally realizing that he could turn his entire body into living ice. Alongside this ability, Bobby began to understand that he could use this new ability to add mass to his body, essentially bulking himself up. However, even with these newly-discovered abilities, Emma Frost would take his powers to levels even he hadn’t discovered.
During her tenure in Bobby’s body, Emma was able to control all forms of moisture, freeze fluids inside people’s bodies, withstand lethal attacks by using the moisture in the air to reconstitute his body and even travel as a liquid, solid or gas should she choose to do so. After this experience, Bobby would demand to know how she had used his powers so effectively, but Emma would not agree to tutor him. Instead, Bobby would turn to Storm, who had similar abilities.
6 He Can Essentially Control Reality
Because Bobby’s abilities work on an atomic level, and because he has such great control over his abilities, this essentially means that Bobby can control reality itself. According to an interview with CBR, writer Mike Carey, points out the because Bobby is essentially able to slow and/or stop molecules themselves, with enough training, his abilities could grant his that type of control on a universal scale. He goes on to state that “[He thinks] that the potential of his powers are almost limitless.”
5 Cryokinetic Perception
During the events of Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 # 64, Bobby was able to create a world that had essentially fallen into a new ice age. With the northern hemisphere and nearly the rest of the world blanketed in deadly snow, Bobby gained a new ability which made his perception on par with that of a god.
Through his newly-discovered cryokinetic perception, Bobby learned that he was able to spread his consciousness throughout all forms of icy matter and witness the events that took place within it.
4 He Can Teleport
Because Bobby can make it so that his body is formed entirely of ice crystals and crystals are compose of small crystalline structures that each contain the information necessary to recreate the whole, with his ability to project his consciousness through the moisture in the air, Bobby can essentially teleport anywhere he wishes. By projecting his consciousness through the moisture in the air and reconstituting his body at a place of his choosing, Bobby is actually able to teleport him (and sometimes others) to a much higher degree than someone like Nightcrawler.
3 Clone Creation
Because of Bobby’s immense control over his abilities and his ability to spread his consciousness throughout all manner of icy material, much like Naruto, Bobby is able to create clones of himself to do his bidding. Though it is not establishing what the upper-limits of the clone creating ability are, it’s likely that the number is either very high to infinite based on Omega-level status. This basically means that should Bobby ever choose to, he could have an entire army of immortal ice clones at his disposal. Yikes.
2 Thermal Vision
Much like Storm whose abilities are so intrinsically linked to the energies of the universe that they have granted her the ability to see the universe in terms of the energies that compose, Bobby’s abilities so intrinsically linked to the thermal spectrum, that he has the ability to see the world as though he were looking through thermal vision goggles. When lowering the temperature of his body, Bobby can see the heat signatures of other beings around him due, in part, to the utter lack of heat around his person.
1 He Can Fly
Much in the same way that Bobby can create ice spikes out of thin air and send them flying towards whichever foe is dumb enough to oppose, Bobby has similar power over his own body. Because his body is often partially or entirely composed of ice crystals, Bobby can use his abilities in such a way that allows him to fly. Though the ice ramps have become a staple of his character, his ability to fly might make them a bit outdated. But even so, his ability to teleport makes flight seem a little pedestrian. But hey, sometimes it’s about the journey, not the destination.