Killer Frost is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. All three characters associated with the mantle are metahumans possessing ice powers, and have some connection to the superhero Firestorm.
The first Killer Frost is Crystal Frost, a misandristic scientist who attempts to kill her former professor Martin Stein for rejecting her romantic advances. After Crystal's death, her friend Louise Lincoln takes up the mantle of Killer Frost to seek revenge against Firestorm. The New 52 reboot introduced a new Killer Frost named Caitlin Snow, who eventually reforms and joins the Justice League of America as the superhero Frost.
Various iterations of Killer Frost, primarily Crystal Frost and Louise Lincoln, have appeared in various animated projects and video games, primarily voiced by Jennifer Hale. Additionally, Danielle Panabaker portrayed Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost (later renamed Frost), and Khione in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, such as the television series The Flash.[1]
Fictional character biographies
Crystal Frost
Crystal Frost was the first incarnation, first appearing in Firestorm #3 (June 1978).[2] While Frost was studying to be a scientist in Hudson University, she fell in love with her teacher Martin Stein. While working on a project in the Arctic, Frost was upset to learn that Stein did not reciprocate her feelings; Stein told a fellow researcher that Frost was a withdrawn student and that Stein had merely tried to draw her out of her shell, which Crystal completely misinterpreted. Frost accidentally locked herself in a thermafrost chamber but survived, being transformed in a way in which she was able to absorb heat and project cold and ice. Calling herself "Killer Frost", she began her murderous crusade against men and clashed with Firestorm on many occasions.[3] Killer Frost eventually dies after absorbing too much energy from Firestorm.[4]
Dr. Louise Lincoln is the second incarnation; she first appeared in Firestorm (vol. 2) #21 (March 1984) and used the "Killer Frost" name in Firestorm (vol. 2) #34 (April 1985).[6] Lincoln was a colleague and friend to Crystal Frost. After her friend's death, Lincoln decided to repeat the experiment as a last respect to her friend, with Lincoln herself as the second Killer Frost. Just as ruthless as her predecessor, she began a vendetta against Firestorm, whom she blamed for her friend's death.[4] She briefly served as a member of the Suicide Squad and sold her soul to Neron for more power.
Lincoln is later diagnosed with cancer and tricks Jason Rusch, the new Firestorm, into curing her. With her health and powers restored, Killer Frost goes on a rampage, only to be defeated when Jason reverses his alterations to her body, returning her cancer.[7][8]
In DC Universe #0, Killer Frost appears as a member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. She is later seen as one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six, and ultimately helped deal the killing blow to the crazed supervillain Junior and the troubled vigilante Tarantula.[9]
Caitlin Snow
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity; Killer Frost is reintroduced in September 2013, as the "Villains Month" part of the Forever Evil – she was featured in the one-shot Justice League of America (vol. 3) #7.2, also titled Killer Frost #1.[10] She can also be seen on the cover of Forever Evil #1, which hints at her involvement in that series where she's revealed to be Dr. Caitlin Snow, a scientist who was sent to a S.T.A.R. Labs outpost in the Arctic to work on a thermodynamic engine whose creator had committed suicide. Snow soon discovered the place had been infiltrated by H.I.V.E. agents. When they tried to kill her inside the engine, Snow frantically ripped off the coolant system, merging her body with ice. Transformed into a heat vampire, she killed the H.I.V.E. agents out of revenge. She then wandered out into the cold until she came across a Norwegian camp and took their heat too. Hijacking a helicopter, she made it back to her hometown Pittsburgh. She even created a suit that helped her retain heat for longer. She later encountered the superhero Firestorm and discovered that his powers could temporarily heal her mutation. She tried recreating the Firestorm matrix several times, only to fail with each attempt. When Firestorm and the Justice League were declared dead by the Crime Syndicate, she lost hope for a cure to her condition.[11]
In DC Rebirth, Caitlin Snow is taken to Belle Reve Penitentiary, where she is introduced to the Suicide Squad and offered a place on the team by Amanda Waller. She accepts and joins the team. She helps the Suicide Squad in their fight against the Justice League, but subsequently assists them against Maxwell Lord when he is possessed by Eclipso, whose attempt to tap into her "darkest desire" only unlocks her desire to make a difference. She then has to save all the Suicide Squad and the Justice League by absorbing the energy out of Superman and using it against Lord. Afterwards, Waller is forced to release Snow into Batman's custody.[12] She then joined the new Justice League of America made up of Batman, the Atom, Lobo, Black Canary, Vixen, and the Ray.
Powers and abilities
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.
Other versions
An alternate universe variant of Killer Frost appears in DC Comics Bombshells.[13] This version is Louise L'inconnue, a servant of Hugo 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.[14]
The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost appears in the teaser for the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Darkseid Descending!", voiced again by Jennifer Hale.[15] This version is Ronnie Raymond's vengeful ex-girlfriend.
The Caitlin Snow incarnation of Killer Frost appears in the Justice League Action episode "Freezer Burn", voiced by Mena Suvari.[15] This version gained her powers during a freak accident involving "thermafrost" and is a fan of Mr. Freeze.
The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Harley Quinn. This version's appearance resembles her counterpart from Batman: Assault on Arkham.
Due to Barry Allen altering the timeline while creating and undoing the "Flashpoint" timeline in the third season, Caitlin develops cryokinetic abilities and an alternate, villainous personality named Frost, both of which she attempts to hide.[16][17][18][19][20] In the fifth season, Caitlin discovers that her powers originated from her father Thomas' attempts to cure their genetic propensity to ALS.
In the seventh season, Caitlin and Frost are separated by Mirror Monarch's rays and decide to live separate lives as twin sisters. In the eighth season, Frost is killed in battle with Deathstorm. Caitlin tries to resurrect her, but inadvertently creates a new individual named Khione.[21]
The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham, voiced again by Jennifer Hale.[15][22] This version is a member of the Suicide Squad who is later killed by Bane amidst a mass breakout.
The Crystal Frost incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voiced by Kristin Bauer van Straten.[15][23] This version is a "tough girl" who killed her parents after her powers manifested when she was young. Amanda Waller recruits Frost into the Suicide Squad and later kills her with a nano-bomb.
The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Injustice.[15]
The DCAU incarnation of Louise Lincoln / Killer Frost appears in issue #21 of the Justice League Unlimited tie-in comic book, in which she enters a relationship with Heat Wave.[27]
An unidentified incarnation of Killer Frost appears in DC Super Friends #16 as a member of the "Ice Pack".[28]
The Injustice incarnation of Louise Lincoln / Killer Frost appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic.
↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p.168. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
↑ Gates, Sterling(w),Santacruz, Derlis(p),Santacruz, Derlis(i),Smith, Brett(col)."Freezing to Death"Justice League of America,vol.3,no.7.2(November 2013).DC Comics.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Killer Frost Voices (DC Universe)". Behind the Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
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