Comic Books

X-Men Monday #214 – Steve Orlando Talks ‘Astonishing Iceman’ at FAN EXPO Boston 2023

Plus, eXclusive preview pages from ‘Astonishing Iceman’ #2 and the cover and solicitation for ‘Astonishing Iceman’ #4!

August 9, 2023

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

I, hopefully like many other X-Fans, really enjoyed Astonishing Iceman #1. After all the doom and gloom of the 2023 Hellfire Gala, I did not expect Bobby Drake’s Fall of X spotlight to feature swashbuckling superheroics. But they were there and I was rooting for the coolest Omega from beginning to end.

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When I saw Steve Orlando on the guest list for this year’s FAN EXPO Boston, which I planned to attend for AIPT, I knew I had to stop by the writer’s table and unpack the first issue of Astonishing Iceman and discuss what comes next for Bobby.

Steve Orlando at FAN EXPO Boston

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Steve! There are so many mutants who could receive a solo spotlight. What made Iceman a top candidate for a Fall of X series?

Steve: It goes back to his first appearances as the class clown — if you’re looking for someone to break the rules, so to speak, Iceman is the perfect character. The adult version of a class clown is easily an insurgent. So in an era when Orchis is saying, “Mutants, you’re not allowed to exist, you can’t stand up for your own kind, you can’t congregate,” that’s the era that he’s going to most of all say, “Well, I’m here and you can go fuck yourself,” right? So character-wise, he was the perfect fit. And I won’t lie, I was excited to work on a character who’s become — well, he was always an icon — but he’s become an even greater icon in the past 10 years.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Well, building on that point, since 1963, more than a few comic book legends have had an opportunity to contribute to Iceman’s ongoing story. What, in your opinion, does writer Steve Orlando bring to Bobby Drake that’s unique?

Steve: Um… more bad jokes, more sex puns? No, I like to think that I try to think about characters in a new way. I try to give them new uses of their powers that surprise people. I try to look at who they are as a person, and even after 60 years, try to find a new perspective, right? So with Bobby, it was the rebel. It was the evolution of him from his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men, where he was that person who will do anything to get a laugh — that’s who he was. Now, he’ll do anything to make people happy and make sure they’re safe. But at his core, he’s still bucking against the rules. That’s my take, and I feel like it’s not a specific take that I’ve seen in a while, so I’m just hoping to bring that and some authenticity with it.

AIPT: Iceman’s gone through many phases, but as you alluded to, he’s often the “funny X-Man.” In Astonishing Iceman #1, Bobby’s very much a swashbuckling — and dare I say sexy — superhero. What is it about the Fall of X that has brought out this more confident side of Iceman?

Steve: Well, for one, he’s just gone through a massive trauma. So is he confident or is he covering and avoiding, you know? I think that’s a very natural reaction. But yeah, we knew what was going to be coming at the Hellfire Gala, and this felt like an opportunity to add some complexity and, maybe yes, some pathos underneath. So Bobby may have a sort-of swashbuckling exterior, but it seems like he hasn’t dealt with things, and for a lot of us, that’s a very natural reaction.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: It’s a very good thing Bobby and Romeo reconnected in Marvel’s Voices: Iceman or there’d be no more Bobby! What appeals to you about Romeo as a character?

Steve: So Romeo’s powers presented an opportunity to make him the emotional anchor that Bobby can coalesce around. It just seemed to make sense. You know, Christian Frost and Bobby were also sort of trying to figure things out, but they had split off, or at least are not exclusive. And then of course, Christian isn’t on the planet, so he wasn’t available as the vast majority of mutants are no longer on Earth. So with Romeo, it felt like a chance to develop a character that hadn’t necessarily gotten a ton of development in the past. This was a chance to try to make him unique, diversify his portrayals, and explore what his powers really mean. How can they be used offensively, defensively, and for strategy?

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

Romeo also offers an important point of view that Christian and a lot of Bobby’s exes don’t. You see him in the first issue say, “Orchis isn’t going to stop with mutants.” So Romeo was the best choice for me because he sees that it’s not going to stop with mutants. I think it’s a more powerful message to see him being an Inhuman — someone not yet directly in danger — but seeing the future, knowing how these things go, and stepping in to make a difference before it can happen.

AIPT: Bringing back Xperience from Matt Fraction’s Uncanny X-Men run was interesting, as was the idea of Orchis moving onto past and present Xperience users when there are no mutants left to hunt. Why was it important to devote real estate to that concept in Astonishing Iceman #1?

Steve: Well, it’s not just Xperience — you’ll see the Y-Men, you’ll see a couple of other things. But it’s about the cultural appropriation of mutant culture. For me, the statement was all these people wanted the cool part of being a mutant. They wanted the fun, they wanted the powers, the vibe, and then the rush. Now, perhaps karmically, they get to face the other side of being a mutant. They get the persecution, they get all the things that they thought they wouldn’t have to deal with in a privileged world. So for me, it’s about interrogating what those stories were really about. It was about appropriating mutant abilities. And now, they’re getting the real experience — they’re finally getting hated and feared. So for better or worse, now they really know what it is to be a mutant. Or at least they’re starting to get an idea.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: You seem pretty comfortable exploring the Culture/Narrative division of Orchis. What is it about Judas Traveller’s manipulation of the media you find interesting?

Steve: To me, the Narrative petal is the most powerful petal. It’s the petal that gets someone to look at the sky that is blue and say that it’s red. And that’s what Orchis needs. If you look at the world right now, obviously, you’re living in a world of anti-truth, and that’s what Orchis needs. They don’t want people thinking too hard or too long about what’s going on with mutants. They don’t want people to be turned when they’re presented with the facts. The way that you overcome facts is with feelings. So in many ways, to me, Orchis is the most powerful and most dangerous part of that Narrative petal.

AIPT: As soon as I saw Helium and the Elements of Doom I knew they had to be another Steve Orlando deep cut. How much of a headache are these former Thunderbolts villains going to give Iceman in Astonishing Iceman #2?

Steve: Helium can’t freeze, so it’s all about forcing Bobby to work with his powers in a new way. I mean, we don’t do deep-cut villains for the purpose of doing a deep-cut. We do deep-cut villains because heroes can’t fight the same characters every issue. And also, in the same way that it might surprise readers to see them come back and surprise the heroes. So these characters are picked because they present an interesting narrative challenge for the heroes. In the case of Helium, he’s the unfreezable man. Helium as an element does not freeze. So Bobby can’t touch or hurt him. It’s about Bobby having to rethink how he uses his powers to get the day done.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: And finally, what can you tease about what comes next in the pages of Astonishing Iceman?

Steve: Well, in Astonishing Iceman #3, we’ve got Aaron Fischer, the Captain America of the Rails coming in. We’ve got the on-page first confrontation with the Cleaner, who’s been hinted at already in the first issue. And then in Astonishing Iceman #4, we have Bobby visit New York to see a Spider-Man that is not uncanny — that is friendly neighborhood and one of his longest friends. And again, I think that having a guest spot with Peter Parker makes sense in the current context. It’s not just a gimmick. Most of Bobby’s closest friends are mutants, and they’re either out of touch or off-world and maybe even dead. So who does he turn to in those times? It’s his friends and found family that are from without the mutant community.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Looking forward to that Amazing Friends reunion. Too bad Firestar can’t be a part of it… that traitor. But on that note, thanks for taking the time to chat, Steve! (And thank you, FAN EXPO Boston for the chance to connect with Steve!)

You know what would really tick off Orchis? Revealing a few eXclusive pages from Astonishing Iceman #2!

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

And since Steve already teased Astonishing Iceman #4, why not just eXclusively reveal the cover and solicitation as well?

ASTONISHING ICEMAN #4 (OF 5)

STEVE ORLANDO (W) • VINCENZO CARRATÙ (A)

Cover by JESÚS SAIZ

AMAZING FRIENDS – BACK IN NYC!

ORCHIS hunts in New York City – but this time, they’re not after MUTANTS! The ever-amazing SPIDER-MAN swings onto the scene, but what new force will Orchis unleash that’ll require the titanic team-up of ICEMAN and the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler?!

Don’t miss the coolest reunion of the fall (or the REVAMPED VILLAIN who has Iceman in his sights)!