Iceman : Robert "Bobby" Drake

Real Name: Robert "Bobby" Drake
Place of Birth: Fort Washington, Long Island, New York
Known Relatives: William Robert (father), Madeline Beatrice (mother)
Group Affiliation: Former member of the X-Men, the Champions of Los Angeles, and the Defenders; founding member of X-Factor

ICEMAN IN COLD COMFORT VIDEO

Height: 5 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 145 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Strength Level: The Iceman possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise.

Known Superhuman Powers: The Iceman is a mutant with the superhuman ability to lower his external and internal body temperature, projecting intense coldness from his body. Like any normal human being's, the nerve centers for regulating the Iceman's body temperature are found in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. However, the Iceman can mentally override his hypothalamus to allow his body temperature to be lowered by an unknown internal mechanism. This ability converts the latent thermal energies in and around his body into an unknown form of energy that is efficiently dissipated. A related mutation has rendered his body tissues unaffected by sub-zero temperatures. The Iceman can consciously, immediately lower his body temperature from its normal 98.6 Fahrenheit to that of -105.7 F within the span of a few tenths of a second. As his body temperature falls, the surrounding moisture in the air that is in contact with him is similarly lowered. Just as condensed moisture forms frost, this moisture forms an icy covering which encompasses his entire body. It also obscures his facial features.

When the Iceman first began to completely lower his body temperature, this covering took on a more snow-like appearance. But as he learned to increase the severity of his coldness, the covering assumed the consistency of crystalline ice that it has today. This ice constantly cracks with any movement of his body, and immediately reforms. (Hence, there is a cracking sound when the Iceman, covered with ice, moves.) Through practice, the Iceman has learned to control the intensity of his coldness, and he can selectively lower the temperature of isolated parts of his body.

The Iceman can use his mutant ability to freeze any local air moisture into super-hard ice. This ice can be formed into any object of his choosing: the only limitations are his own imagination, his skill as a sculptor, the amount of available moisture, and the ambient air temperature which determines how long his ice sculpture will stay icy. He does not have to hold the ice physically with his hands in order to shape it. Apparently he can simply direct the waves of coldness he projects in certain ways so as to create ice in the shape he desires. In the past, the Iceman has formed ice-ladders, ice-slides, ice-shields, and ice-bats.

History: Robert Drake was born with the latent mutant ability to freeze moisture in the air. He slowly became aware of this power as it emerged in his adolescence, but kept it secret from everyone but his parents, who believed people would turn against young Robert if they learned of his power. The elder Drakes were correct, Bobby was walking with his date, Judy Harmon, one night after they saw a movie together, when they were attacked by a bully named Rocky Beasely and his friends. One of Beasely's allies held onto Drake while Beasely himself started to force Harmon to go with him. To save Harmon, Drake used his mutant power to temporarily encase Beasely in ice. Beasely was soon released unharmed, but Harmon was shocked, and the news of the incident swept through Drake's Long Island community, enraging local townspeople enough for them to form a lynch mob.

The mob broke into Drake's home, and he began using his powers to fight them off. But there were too many opponents for the young Drake, and the town's sheriff took him into custody for the youth's own protection. Learning of the incident, Professor Charles Xavier, mentor of the X-Men, dispatched Cyclops, the first and at that time only member of the team, to contact Drake. Cyclops broke into Drake's cell, but Drake refused to leave. The two began fighting using their powers, and their fight spilled out into the streets of the town. Eventually the two exhausted young mutants were captured by the lynch mob, which nearly hanged them. Cyclops and Drake broke free, and were saved when Xavier used his great psychic powers against the mob.

Drake's parents consented to Xavier's proposal to let Bobby enroll in his special school for superhuman mutants, and allowed Xavier to use his powers to erase their knowledge of their son's powers. (They regained this knowledge years later.) Xavier also permanently erased all knowledge of Drake's abilities from the minds of the townspeople. Thus, given the code name Iceman, Bobby Drake became the second member of the X-Men. Years later, Drake left the X-Men and joined the Champions of Los Angeles, a short-lived team of adventurers. After the Champions disbanded, Drake became a full-time college student, although he briefly rejoined the X-Men to battle Arcade. Later he joined his fellow former X-Men the Angel and the Beast as members of the Defenders.

With the apparent demise of some of the Defenders, the team was disbanded, and Drake took a job as an accountant. However, he soon left that job to join the other four members of the original X-Men as a member of their new organization, X-Factor. When Professor Xavier returned to Earth after an extended absence in outer space, Iceman and his fellow X-Factor members rejoined the X-Men.

Recently, Emma Frost, the White Queen, took mental possession of Iceman's body and was able to activate the full extent of his powers, turning his body into all ice. Since then, under Frost's prodding, Iceman has learned to transform his body into its "ice" state on his own. More recently, Bobby Drake infiltrated the presidential campaign organization of Graydon Creed, the head of the anti-mutant organization Friends of Humanity. After Drake's father spoke out against Creed's bigotry, he was nearly killed by Creed's thugs. Distraught, Bobby Drake left the X-Men for a time to be with his mother and convalescing father. He has since returned to the X-Men.

Psylocke : Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock

Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is the daughter of Dr. James Braddock, who was once a denizen of Otherworld, an other-dimensional realm. A being who called himself Merlin (but who may not actually be the wizard of Arthurian legend) sent Braddock to Earth to father the champion who would be known as Captain Britain.

Living in England, Dr. Braddock became one of the United Kingdom's leading research scientists. He married a woman named Elizabeth and they bought the mansion they renamed Braddock Manor. There Dr. Braddock created a highly advanced computer complex called Mastermind (which is not to be confused with the two mutants of the same name).

Dr. and Mrs. Braddock's three children, the eldest, Jamie, and the twins, Brian and Elizabeth (nicknamed "Betsy"), inherited genes from their father that endowed them with superhuman powers. The children's powers, however, remained latent for many years.

Dr. and Mrs. Braddock were killed in an explosion in Dr. Braddock's laboratory at Braddock Manor that was caused by the malfunctioning computer Mastermind.

Brian Braddock eventually became the costumed champion known as Captain Britain. Betsy developed the psychic ability which she used in the service of S.T.R.I.K.E., a British division of the international law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D. Betsy also developed a highly successful career as a fashion model. She knew of Brian's double identity, and the two siblings took up residence in Braddock Manor.

Members of a British government agency called R.C.X., knowing that Brian Braddock was Captain Britain, attempted to recruit him to work with them. Refusing to be exploited by the government, Brian Braddock gave up the role of Captain Britain. The R.C.X. agents then persuaded Betsy to become the new Captain Britain, working with them. Betsy used a costume taken from an otherdimensional counterpart of Brian, which magnified her strength to superhuman levels when she wore it and enabled her to fly. Another other-dimensional hero, Captain UK, trained Betsy to become a crimefighter, and the two acted as partners on missions together for many weeks.

Finally, Betsy launched her solo career as the new Captain Britain, which came to a quick end when she went into battle against two of the original Captain Britain's arch foes, the Vixen and Slaymaster. Wearing a battle suit that amplified his own strength, Slaymaster savagely beat Betsy nearly to death and blinded her. Sensing her telepathic cries of agony, Brian Braddock rushed to his sister's rescue and fought and killed Slaymaster. Realizing he could not forsake his responsibilities, Brian resumed his role as Captain Britain.

Betsy went to Switzerland to recuperate. While there she was taken prisoner by the other-dimensional creature known as Mojo. Mojo took control of Betsy and gave her new, artificial eyes, thereby restoring her sight. Betsy was rescued through the intervention of the New Mutants, a team of adolescent mutants. Having regained her free will, Betsy chose to remain at the New Mutants' home, Professor Charles Xavier's mansion in Westchester County, New York, which also served as the secret headquarters of the mutant adventurers called the X-Men.

Betsy proved her courage to the X-Men by resisting the attack of their enemy Sabretooth when he broke into the mansion. As a result she was accepted into the ranks of the X-Men, becoming a costumed adventurer once more under the code name Psylocke.

Later, Psylocke was captured by the crime lord Matsu'o Tsurayaba. Seeking to save the life of his lover, the female assassin Kwannon, Tsurayaba oversaw a process through which the minds of Kwannon and the X-Man Psylocke switched bodies. In the process Kwannon's mind melded with that of Psylocke, endowing each of them with the same memories and telepathic abilities. Tsurayaba brainwashed Psylocke and turned her over to one of Earth's most dangerous men, the Mandarin. Under the name of Lady Mandarin, Psylocke briefly served the Mandarin, but ultimately Psylocke regained her free will and returned to the X-Men.

Later Kwannon, in Psylocke's body, became an ally of the X-Men, calling herself Revanche. For a time there was confusion among the X-Men as to who was the "real" Betsy Braddock. Finally, Revanche learned that she was dying from the Legacy Virus and had Tsurayaba kill her. Thus Betsy's original body died, but she lived on as Psylocke in Kwannon's original body.

Recently, Psylocke and her fellow X-Man, Angel, have fallen in love with each other. Psylocke was nearly killed by Sabretooth, but was healed by magical forces from a mystical dimension called the Crimson Dawn. However, Kuragari, a sinister being who had conquered the Crimson Dawn, attempted to corrupt Psylocke's personality through a mystical ring. Kuragari planned to make Psylocke his queen and through her father a genetically powerful bloodline. However, together Angel and Psylocke thwarted Kuragari, and Psylocke's mind is now free of Kuragari's influence.

A life-saving encounter with the other-dimensional energy source called the Crimson Dawn resulted in a more subtle, though no less meaningful, metamorphosis. Psylocke's fighting skills and telepathic talents were enhanced, and she acquired the ability to transport herself and others through shadows, as well as become one with the shadows. Also, the mark of the Crimson Dawn, a blade-like, red tattoo, appeared over her left eye. Betsy later sacrificed her psychic powers to forever imprison the telepathic criminal called the Shadow King in her astral shadow form, but subsequently acquired a range of telekinetic abilities.

Soon after, Betsy left Xavier's mansion with a small strike force of fellow X-Men in search of the diaries of the blind mutant seer known as Destiny, which map out human history for the next thousand years. While in Valencia, Spain, the team was captured by the Action Force of the Guardia Civil, that country's national police. Subjected to a battery of tests, the X-Men were released into a technologically fortified maze to gauge the their fighting abilities and mutant powers. Psylocke, the blue-furred Beast and the ability-absorbing Rogue found them selves in the headquarters' control center, separated from their teammates. There, they encountered Vargas, a criminal claiming to be the first manifestation of the next authentic generation of humanity, the pure and legitimate Homo sapiens superior. Her teammates wounded, Betsy engaged her opponent in a duel to the death, which ended when Vargas speared his sword through her abdomen. Psylocke's sudden demise left her teammates, and her lover, Thunderbird III, to balance the scales and complete the quest for Destiny's missing diaries.


Psylocke from X-men Episodes





Height: (both bodies) 5 ft. 11 in.
Weight: (both bodies) 155 lbs.
Eyes: (original body) Violet, (current body) Blue
Hair: (original body) Blonde, (current body) Black (dyed purple)
Other distinguishing features: Red tattoo over her left eye

Strength level: Psylocke possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.

Known superhuman powers: Psylocke possesses many telepathic abilities, enabling her to read minds, communicate mentally with others over long distances, stun the minds of others with "mental bolts," control the minds of others, and create illusions in the minds of others. Psylocke can intensely focus her psionic powers into her "psychic knife," with which she can stun or kill an adversary.

When using her powers, a butterfly-shaped energy aura would appear around her face. It was never made clear in the comic books by the writers, whether this was something that could be perceived by others or if this was simply an 'effect' to show when Psylocke was using her powers to the reading audience. This 'butterfly' (sometimes depicted as having eyes in its wings) was also the form Psylocke chose when manifesting her astral form, both on the astral plane and in the physical world, instead of an illusory image of her physical body. In addition, Psylocke possessed an ability not generally displayed by other telepaths: she could project a focused beam of directed psionic energy called a 'psycho-blast'. Unlike typical telepathic attacks, this beam was able to affect physical matter. Psylocke's telepathic blast shattered the Cerebro metal helmet that she was wearing, when she used her psycho-blast on Sabretooth .

Psylocke also possessed limited precognitive powers that occasionally allowed her to envision probable future events. However, these flashes were random and infrequent, and she had no control over them.

Other abilities: Psylocke is highly skilled in Far Eastern martial arts.