Killer Frost

Killer Frost is a name used by several fictional supervillainesses appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations, with several different individuals in the DC Universe assuming the Killer Frost persona. Killer Frost appears mainly as an adversary of the superhero Firestorm.

Fictional character biographies

Crystal Frost

Crystal Frost was the first incarnation, appearing in Firestorm #3 (June 1978). 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did not reciprocate her feelings (for his part, Stein told a fellow researcher that he had noticed that Crystal was a withdrawn student of his and he merely tried to draw her out of her shell, which Crystal completely misinterpreted).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 from a living being and project cold and ice. Calling herself "Killer Frost", she began her murderous crusade against men and clashed with Firestorm on many occasions.^[1] Killer Frost eventually died after she absorbed too much energy from Firestorm.^[2] Crystal has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice.^[3] Her body was reanimated as a Black Lantern.^[4]

Louise Lincoln

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). Lincoln was a colleague and friend to Crystal Frost. After her friend's death, she decided to repeat the experiment as a last respect to her former mentor, and became the new Killer Frost. She became just as ruthless as her predecessor and began her own personal vendetta against Firestorm, whom she blamed for Frost's death. She briefly served as a member of the Suicide Squad and sold her soul to Neron for more power.

During the Underworld Unleashed event, Killer Frost attacked Hawaii, freezing part of the islands before being stopped by Superboy and Knockout.

After a group of mobsters put out a hit on Lois Lane, Killer Frost rescued her from Solomon Grundy, only to then leave the reporter bound and gagged on a set of train tracks, hoping to take the credit and reward for Lane's death. Her plan was foiled by Superman who rescued Lois before the train could hit her.^[5]

Killer Frost was later freed when the DEO refrigeration truck transporting her crashed. Effigy happened upon the crash and she discovered the heat from his pyrokinetic abilities enabled her to kiss him without freezing him over. The two had a brief flirtatious partnership that dissolved when Effigy lost patience with her lecturing him on how to defeat Green Lantern. After Green Lantern buried them both under a mountain of snow, Effigy escaped and abandoned her to be apprehended again.^[6]

In the Superman/Batman "Public Enemies" arc, Killer Frost was one of many supervillains seeking to earn a $1 billion reward offered by President Lex Luthor to sanction Superman and Batman, whom he considered treasonous. She teamed with Mister Freeze, Icicle (Cameron Mahkent) and Captain Cold in an attempt to ambush the two heroes in Washington D.C., but all four were defeated. They attacked in a second wave, along with more villains such as Giganta and Gorilla Grodd, but a similar backup of superheroes battered them all into submission. It was later discovered in Superman/Batman #3 that this ice-themed team of villains was being mind controlled by Grodd.

Dr. Light hired Killer Frost and Mirror Master to attack Green Arrow and Black Lightning at a hospital in Chicago, Illinois, where Kimiyo Hoshi was being held. Green Arrow stopped Killer Frost by firing an arrow filled with Greek fire into her thigh. Unable to absorb the heat from the arrow, she was defeated in Green Arrow (Volume 3) #54-55.

Around this time, Lincoln discovered that she had contracted cancer, and tricked Jason Rusch, the new Firestorm, into curing her. With her health and powers restored Killer Frost went on a rampage, only to be defeated when Jason used his abilities to reverse his alterations to Lincoln's body, returning her cancer.^[7]

Killer Frost returned during the events of One Year Later, where she had apparently entered into a relationship with Mr. Freeze. Together, the two villains went on a killing spree in Manhattan, hoping to draw Firestorm into an elaborate trap. Once the hero arrived, Killer Frost used a device to send both of them into space, where she sought to absorb the heat energy of the sun. Firestorm narrowly managed to stop her plan, and both Killer Frost and Mister Freeze were taken into custody by Batman. As they were being sent away, Killer Frost angrily revealed to Mister Freeze that she had only been using him as a pawn, and had no romantic interest in him.^[8]

Killer Frost was later seen battling Firestorm in the Justice League of America Wedding Special until Lex Luthor, Joker and Cheetah arrived, subdued Firestorm, and invited Killer Frost to join the new Injustice League. She then appeared in Salvation Run, where she was sent to the Prison Planet after having been defeated and captured by the Suicide Squad.

In DC Universe #0, she was seen as the 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 known as the Tarantula.^[9] A short time after this encounter with the Secret Six, Killer Frost appeared as one of the participants in a metahuman fighting tournament in Tokyo. She was defeated by Wonder Woman and Black Canary, who had disguised themselves as villains in order to take down the tournament from the inside.^[10]

Caitlin Snow

In September 2013, as the "Villains Month" part of the Forever Evil storyline during The New 52, Killer Frost was featured in the one-shot Justice League of America #7.2, also titled Killer Frost #1.^[11] She can also be seen on the cover of Forever Evil #1, which hints at her involvement in that series. The issue revealed this is yet another version of Killer Frost, Dr. Caitlin Snow, a scientist sent to S.T.A.R. Labs Outpost #72 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 and continued to search for other sources of heat, eventually discovering that Firestorm's blasts can temporarily heal her condition. When he was declared dead by the Crime Syndicate, she lost hope for a cure.^[12]

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 and generate objects composed completely of ice, such as projectiles and defensive walls. She can also instantly freeze animate matter through physical contact, and is unable to touch a normal person without freezing them. Her weakness is the need to absorb external heat sources to generate ice: she can be imprisoned in cold surroundings such as being locked in a refrigeration truck or buried under a mountain of snow.

Other versions

DC Super Friends

Killer Frost appeared in the DC Super Friends comic as part of a group of ice-themed villains called the "Ice Pack" that encased a city in ice and snow.^[13]

Justice League Adventures

The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appeared along with Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Minister Blizzard, Cryonic Man, Icicle, Polar Lord and Snowman in the Justice League Adventures comic.^[14]

Justice League Unlimited

Killer Frost appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book along with her Secret Society teammate (and current romantic interest) Heat Wave.^[15]

DC Bombshells

Killer Frost appears in the DC Bombshells continuity, which takes place during World War II. Though she's never explicitly named, her outfit is similar to Caitlin Snow's. She is German and serves Hugo Strange of the Nazi Regime alongside Penguin and a brainwashed Harvey Dent (who is eventually rescued by the Batgirls). While Penguin is in love with her, it's unknown if she truly reciprocates the same feeling.^[16]

In other media

Television

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears in the Justice League animated series and Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Jennifer Hale. She is motivated by a base desire to kill people and does not seem to care who she serves so long as she is afforded the opportunity to do so. In the former series, she joins Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society, relishing the chance to freeze Morgan Edge when the rest of the team is distracted with Clayface's release. They were eventually defeated by the Justice League. In the latter series, Killer Frost rejoins Grodd's Secret Society and was sent with Devil Ray, Heat Wave and Giganta to a mountain to steal a Viking ship frozen in a glacier. The ship held the remains of a Viking prince believed to hold the key to invincibility. When an avalanche threatened a nearby lodge, Killer Frost was forced by the Martian Manhunter to save the people there. Later, when the Secret Society mutinied on the way to Brainiac's former lair, she joined Grodd's faction but was defeated by Toyman. After the mutiny was defeated, Killer Frost impressed Lex Luthor with her powers. She subsequently appears as one of the Legion members who survive Darkseid's resurrection and ends up fighting alongside the Justice League in their struggle against Darkseid's forces.

Crystal Frost as Killer Frost in Young Justice.

• The Crystal Frost incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Young Justice, voiced by Sarah Shahi. In the episode "Independence Day", she appears briefly at the beginning of the episode, where she attacks Pearl Harbor and is defeated by Aquaman and Aqualad. In the episode "Terrors", Killer Frost is seen as an inmate at Belle Reve. She is part of the breakout attempt alongside Captain Cold, Mister Freeze and both versions of Icicle. She freezes an undercover Miss Martian for stopping Killer Frost from finishing off a guard, but is stopped by Superboy. In the episode "Coldhearted", Killer Frost and the other ice-based villains were suspected of being behind the ice fortresses that attacked the United States. Hugo Strange told Batman and the Flash that neither of the ice-based villains left their cells.
• The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Jennifer Hale (for the fourth time). This version is portrayed as Ronnie Raymond's vengeful ex-girlfriend. In the teaser of the episode "Darkseid Descending!", she crashes Raymond's class and attempts to kill Ronnie until Batman interferes. She battles Batman and Firestorm. They managed to defeat her and she is taken into custody by S.T.A.R. Labs vowing revenge on Firestorm.
• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost (or in series had the name 'Frost') appears in the web series DC Super Hero Girls (voiced by Danica McKellar) as a student at Super Hero High.
• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost will appear in the animated series Justice League Action.

Killer Frost, portrayed by Danielle Panabaker in The Flash.

• Danielle Panabaker portrays Dr. Caitlin Snow, a series regular on The Flash TV series, set within The CW's Arrowverse family of related shows. Caitlin debuted on Arrow and makes occasional guest appearances in that series and she has also appeared in Legends of Tomorrow. In season one, she and Cisco Ramon are part of the Central City-based S.T.A.R. Labs team which supports Barry Allen as the Flash. In season one, she struggles with her fiancee Ronnie Raymond's apparent death in the particle accelerator blast which created the Flash and other metahumans, but later discovers Ronnie survived and became part of the powerful fire-based superhero Firestorm. Caitlin and Ronnie marry in season one's finale, but Ronnie dies shortly after in the season two premiere, helping close a destructive singularity over Central City.

During season two, Caitlin grieves for Ronnie a second time and grows closer to the Flash of Earth-Two, Jay Garrick, before the later revelation that he is in fact the evil Earth-2 speedster Zoom posing as the real Jay Garrick. She also meets her Earth-Two doppelganger, an ice-based supervillain named Killer Frost who is later killed by Zoom, and wonders at what this means for her own capacity to do evil.

In the "Flashpoint" timeline of the Season 3 opening episode, Caitlin is a children's eye doctor with no connections to Team Flash. Barry restores the original timeline but with subtle variations and Caitlin appears to be the least affected. However, she is revealed to be developing cryokinetic abilities that she is keeping secret from the team, and subsequent episodes reveal that she also is developing a dissociative identity. In the episode The New Rogues, she uses her powers for the first time to get Barry out of being trapped in a mirror by Mirror Master. By the end of the episode, Caitlin is beginning to physically transform into Killer Frost by her hair turning white and her lips turning blue like her doppelganger in Earth 2. ^[17] She goes to see her mother, Dr. Carla Tannhauser, who studies her powers, but is attacked by a crazed scientist and briefly assumes her Killer Frost persona while defending herself. Later, her mother advises her not to use her powers or her transformation will become irreversible.^[18] She eventually reveals her powers to Cisco, who uses his powers and sees the two of them fighting each other in the future as Vibe and Killer Frost. Cisco forces her to reveal her powers to the rest of Team Flash to avoid hiding it until the time comes. Barry tells Caitlin that her powers are a result of the changed timeline, which angers her.^[19] In "Killer Frost," Caitlin nearly gives into her Killer Frost persona and threatens the lives of Barry, Cisco, and multiple others in order to find Doctor Alchemy, hoping he can take away her powers. After imprisoning her, Barry tells Caitlin she can leave only if she kills him, knowing that the real Caitlin is underneath the cold exterior. Caitlin returns to normal self and puts herself in the metahuman cuffs to restrain her evil side from coming out. Barry sacrifices his job as a forensic scientist in order to keep her secret from the police.

Film

• The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, with Jennifer Hale reprising her role (albeit uncredited) for the third time. In this film, she teams up with fellow cold-based villains Mister Freeze, Captain Cold and Icicle to capture Superman due to a bounty placed by President Lex Luthor. After a brief fight with Batman, they are defeated by Superman.
• The Louise Lincoln incarnation of Killer Frost appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham, voiced again by Jennifer Hale (for the sixth time).^[20] She appears as a member of the Suicide Squad, given by Amanda Waller the secret mission of killing the Riddler. During the infiltration of Arkham Asylum, Killer Frost locates the Riddler, but decides not to kill him when she learns the reason she was sent to assassinate him: Riddler knows how to disable the bombs implanted in the Suicide Squad members. She also finds Mister Freeze's gun and uses it briefly to fight Batman, but has trouble lifting it and ends up leaving it behind after the fight. Later, Killer Frost is one of the Suicide Squad members who has her bomb defused by the Riddler. Only King Shark (who Frost formed a relationship with) and Black Spider (who wasn't with the Squad because of Batman) are killed by Waller, when she learns what they've done. After the "Black Spider" with the Squad is exposed as Batman, and after the Joker breaks free and sets all the inmates of Arkham loose, Frost tries to escape from Arkham by stealing a police car. However, Bane grabs and throws the car, apparently killing Frost.

Video games

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost is featured as an antagonist and playable character in the video game Justice League Heroes, voiced by Nika Futterman.
• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost is also an outdoor raid boss in the MMORPG DC Universe Online, voiced by Christina J. Moore.
• The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appears as an unlockable character in the portable version of Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes.
• The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appears as a boss in the video game Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us, voiced again by Jennifer Hale for the fifth time. In the alternate reality, she is a member of Superman's Regime and is shown to have her hair in a mohawk style. She fights Green Arrow at Wayne Manor (alongside Solomon Grundy) and Deathstroke at the Ferris Aircraft facility (alongside Wonder Woman). After the alternate Superman is defeated by Superman, Killer Frost is among the Regime members to be rounded up by the Justice League. In Killer Frost's ending, she becomes overconfident after her defeat of Superman, and S.T.A.R. Labs scientists manage to apprehend her, with the intent of using her ability to fortify the polar ice caps. They underestimate her, however, and she turns on them, eventually freezing the entire western hemisphere. The survivors of the incident currently struggle to overthrow the self-proclaimed "Ice Queen".
• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost appears as a downloadable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

References