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More at the link: aiptcomics.com/2023/08/09/x-men-monday-214-steve-orlando-iceman/

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 f--k 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.

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: 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.

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.

A few eXclusive pages from Astonishing Iceman #2!









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)!