DC Ice-Master #5: Killer Frost

With the chill of an icy embrace and the ability to freeze a person to death, villains are perfect for the powers of cold; it's very easy to kill innocents with an accidental blizzard or rapidly dropping temperatures. Double that when you're making an effort. At every turn, the cold villain's very presence becomes a threat to society. Read More.

Killer Frost is #5 on DC's Top 10 Masters of Ice, a countdown from The Superheroes List showing you their main characters of cold, snow, and freezing temperatures. If you like this, Check out the List for more!

Villainous Moments: Join Me

~Annihilators Earthfall #03 (Nov. 2011)

He is The Magus, a cosmic-level entity threatening the universe, and to protect himself from extermination, he hid himself in 30% of Earth's population.

Event #3: The DC New 52

Of all the events coinciding in 2011, DC Comics had their greatest number of reissues with their New 52, a "soft reboot" of #1 titles beginning with Justice League #1 on August 31. Promising an up-do-date, modernized look, all their characters received a makeover; Superman loses his red underwear, Wonder Woman's costume shows armored layers, and all the rest of the DC Universe now operates in the era of the new millennium. Read More.

Recommended Reading: DC Comics: The New 52

DC Entertainment made history by launching 52 #1 DC Comics issues starring their Greatest Super-Heroes. To commemorate this milestone occasion, they released DC COMICS: THE NEW 52, a massive hardcover collection collecting every single one of these debut issues. This 1,216-page compilation will include such issues as:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee
ACTION COMICS #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
BATMAN #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
GREEN LANTERN #1 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
SWAMP THING #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
STORMWATCH #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda
TEEN TITANS #1 by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
And 45 more!


The DC New 52 is #3 on The Top 5 Comic Book Events of 2011, a countdown of the greatest, large-scale stories of the year. This is provided by The Superheroes List. Check out the List!

Spoiler: The Mighty Thor #8

In the November 23rd release of The Mighty Thor #8, it was revealed that Tanarus, God of Thunder, is none other than Ulik the Rock Troll, a long reoccurring enemy in Marvel's Asgardian stories. After Thor dies in Fear Itself #7, Karnilla, Queen of Norns and Geirrodur, the Rock Troll King, use the moment to create a charm, causing everyone to forget that Thor ever existed.

Everyone except Loki, that is...Now embodied in the form of a young boy, it will be up to the God of Mischief to reveal the secret of Tanarus and the plot of the Trolls.

This spoiler is tied to the Shattered Heroes event from Marvel Comics.

Super-Funnies: Be Specific

~Avengers Solo #2 (Nov 2011)

DC Ice-Master #6: Icemaiden

Appearing as one of the first ice-wielding heroes in the DC Universe, Sigrid Nansen of Norwegian descent receives the trophy as Icemaiden, first appearing in Infinity Inc. #32 (1986, but technically her character did appear in Super Friends #9 in the 70s). The child of a leading scientist in the government, she underwent a series of experiments that granted her the power to freeze objects and generate frozen shapes. One of her most unique abilities was to fashion icy armor as a form of protection. Read More...

Sigrid Nansen, Icemaiden, is #6 on DC's Top 10 Masters of Ice, a frosty countdown provided by The Superheroes List, indicating their most notorious characters of the snow and cold. If this puts you in the wintery spirit, Check out the List!

Villainous Moments: An Owl Among Us

~Batman #03 (Nov 2011)

Someone is trying to kill Bruce Wayne. As Batman, he's just learned the mastermind is a cult or family, watching the Wayne family for over a hundred years. Worse, they've been using his assets to fund their diabolical plans.

Event #4: Spider-Island

You knew something like this would happen one day! The Jackal, one of Spider-Man's Greatest Foes, uses Peter Parker's DNA and comes up with a form of mutation that he distributes through the New York bed bug infestation. Suddenly, everyone has spidey powers; they're scaling walls, shootings webs - and the whole city is going crazy! Read More...

Spider-Island registers at #4 on the Top 5 Comic Book Events of 2011, a countdown provided by The Superheroes List to impart the great events of the year, how effective they were, and the impact they had on their perspective universes. If you followed any of these incredible stories, be sure to follow along. Check out this List!

Super-Funnies: Hi There.

~Avengers Academy #22 (Nov 2011)

DC Ice-Master #7: Polar Boy

 

You wouldn't think that an overheated world would originate one of DC's greatest ice superheroes, but in the 31st century, a distinctly hot planet called Tharr defied reason. To counter their furiously heated climate, their citizens evolved with the uncanny ability to project a bio-field; it made them capable of lowering the surrounding temperatures. For them, therefore, this was a natural ability. Read More...

Brek Bannin, the frosty Polar Boy, is #7 on DC's Top 10 Masters of Ice, a countdown provided by The Superheroes List which details their most famous, and sometimes notorious, users of cold powers and chilling temperatures. If you like this kind of theme, whether it's freezing outside or a hot summer day, Check out this List!

Villainous Moments: Magneto Is Never Helpless

~Magneto, Not A Hero #1 (Nov 2011)

Iron Man and Captain America confront the Master of Magnetism on the murder of 40 members of an anti-mutant group; they've got the place demagnetized. But as you can see, no one simply takes Magneto into custody.

Super-Funnies: Anything Else?

~Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #3 (Nov 2011)

DC Ice-Master #8: The Cryonic Man

 

In the era of 50s and the Cold War, one of the concerns of the United States was Nuclear Holocaust; wars, radiation and a post-apocalyptic world filled the media in response. Comic books were not to be outdone and in one such case, adopting the hysteria into the plot behind their villain, DC introduced us to Philip (last name unknown) of the Niles Raymond Project. It was these very designs, protective and benevolent at first, that preserved the group's life, but would also become the dark, horrible secret that turned him into The Cryonic Man. Read More...

The Cryonic Man is #8 on DC's Top 10 Masters of Ice, a countdown sponsored by The Superheroes List up to and during the weeks of Winter. If you like finding out who some of the unique superheroes and villains are in the world of the cold and you're a fan of comic books, Check out this List!

Villainous Moments: Mr. Sinister

~Uncanny X-Men #1 (November 2011)

If You Can't Kill Bucky, Then Who Can You?

Well...Bucky's back. No. Seriously. Just saw him hanging out with Steve and Fury. Right over there before his wake.

Have you read Fear Itself 7.1? Thumbed through the issue and learned that Bucky Barnes is alive? Revealed plans from Marvel Comics are to put him back in his own issue, Winter Soldier, which will be appearing in 2012. Most of you probably got wind of the spoiler before the release, but rest assured, it was fully explained and embraced in the issue.

If you missed it, Bucky Barnes had been filling the role and uniform of Captain America and took on Skadi, Herald of The Serpent, in Fear Itself #3. He threw his shield, hit her in the face, and then she ripped off his mechanical arm and shove the butt end of her Dark Asgardian Hammer through his chest. Big hole, take a look.

Not going to criticize the storyline; it's actually well-written and makes complete sense; Bucky was about to undergo a criminal trial and Nick Fury used the moment to fake his death. What I'm developing, though, is a theory; and it boils down to a slow-bubbling cauldron of concern.

I don't have problems with Bucky Barnes, not even if he returns as the Winter Soldier; I liked his character. Just not sure about the mentality and this type of hype; it isn't just with Marvel; DC has done it's share of killing great superheroes and villains during explosive events and then bringing them back. (Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and Superman, for example.)

So here's my question: who can I write off? Scarlet Witch? Johnny Storm? Janet Van Dyne? Both Bucky and Steve Rogers have been killed twice (at least). The first time was in the 1940s after Baron Zemo's drone rocket explosion. Rogers returned in Avengers #4 (Vol 1, March 1964) because he landed in icy waters in suspended animation; Bucky, it turns out, was recovered by the Russians and programmed as their Winter Soldier assassin. Their second deaths are more recent: Rogers' was at the hands of a sniper attack after Civil War, but it turns out he was never dead. Bucky, as we see, was just killed in the Fear Itself event.

(I remember reading Secret Avengers #15; man, I should've paid more attention. I thought Black Widow was mad at those reporters; she was just covering up the truth!)

Alright, I should take bets. How long before Thor returns? What about The Serpent; I know that's long odds, but I think it'll pay off.