ICE KING

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: God-like giant humanoid (World War I era) (see comments)

Occupation: King of the Antarctic ice, protector of the Antarctic ice shelf

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Sub-Mariner

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Deep glacial crevasse, Antarctica

First Appearance: Sub-Mariner I#42/2 (October, 1955)

Powers/Abilities: The Ice King stood 15 feet in height. His great size would suggest that he had some form of increased strength, probably Class 20 or higher. As a god-like being, he was more than likely at least semi-immortal and extremely long-lived. His body was composed entirely of ice which afforded him total immunity to cold temperatures. He was able to shape and control the Antarctic ice to his whim and had the ability to blow a freezing wind from his mouth. The Ice King was able to assume humanoid form just once every 10 years while for the remainder of the time, his spirit was infused within the Antarctic ice shelf.

History:

(Sub-Mariner I#42/2) – As a child, Namor the Sub-Mariner was exploring a deep ice crevasse near his Antarctic home and came across a giant who called himself the Ice King. The Ice King claimed to be Namor’s friend and that both of them had aided each other in the past, even though they had never met. Namor spent over an hour in conversation with the giant and  returned home to relay his story, but no one believed him.

   Later, a disaster struck the Atlantean palace as the winter supply of food began to quickly disappear from the Antarctic ice fields. Much of the Atlanteans' food supply of walrus and seals started to migrate away to return to the North Sea from whence they came. The young Sub-Mariner implored the Ice King to help him save the food supply and the kindly giant  built Namor a huge corral made from Antarctic ice, which he then fused together with a blast of his frigid breath. The Atlantean stocks were saved and the Ice King bid Namor goodbye and once again became one with the Antarctic ice and snow. The story told to the Atlantean people of the Ice King’s help was again not believed and passed off as just a made-up tale by the young Namor.

Comments: Created by unknown writer, Bill Everett (pencils & inks).

The Ice King seemed to hail from an unknown pantheon of gods. Since he was the embodiment of the Antarctic ice, maybe he was one of the gods of the Savage Land and was one of the reasons why much of the ice and snow did not cover this lost world. The story was only four pages long and was an untold tale of Namor’s youth. I kind of liked the character and hope to maybe see him return someday but this is not likely to happen.

Could the Ice King be an Asgardian frost giant? Could he be related to the Golden Age hero, Jack Frost?

He is far out of his cultural range for the various known deities of ice and northern winds of established pantheons. He could just as likely be a retired deity from the Hyborian Age enjoying retirement or a powerful member of the Deviants or Eternals. My best guess he is an exiled Frost Giant---William Uchtman

Per Namor's bibliography for the All-New Official Handbook, Namor met the Ice King in 1929---Ronald Byrd

A few comments by Carycomic:

1. If he is a Frost Giant, he might have come south--in mystic disguise--as one of those Viking exiles who made their way to the Savage Land in a stand-alone Thor story circa the 1980's.
2. He could also be a good-hearted exile from Ikthalon's realm (same as I believe the Golden Age Jack Frost to be).
3. The walruses must have been domesticated, and brought down from the Arctic, by the Atlanteans as there's no such thing as "wild" walruses native to Antarctica.
4. The removal of domestic walruses from the Arctic might make for a good flashback tale, explaining the animosity between adult Namor and Sedna the Inuit seal-goddess.