Astonishing Iceman #1 preview reveals one Hellfire Gala victim may not be dead

The Hellfire Gala has taken the lives of many popular X-Men. Now Iceman is on the hunt for revenge in Astonishing Iceman #1 – but didn’t he just die?

As a founding member of the X-Men, Bobby Drake was always a bit of a joke. That changed when he was revealed to be an Omega Level mutant – the designation for some of Marvel’s strongest mutant characters. 

Characters like Jean Grey, Magneto, and Storm have all been confirmed to be Omega-level, but Iceman was always unique among them. His mastery over ice meant he could affect the ecosystem on a level few others could. It also meant he had an unprecedented degree of control over his physiology. 

He’s not immortal, though, as he appeared to die in one of the greatest X-Men massacres ever. Or did he?

Iceman somehow survived the X-Men’s Hellfire Gala massacre

Recently released preview pages for Astonishing Iceman #1 have surprised some readers. Fans knew the book was coming, but no one realized it would come so shortly after his apparent death.

The recent X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 was a devastating blow to Marvel’s merry mutants. Their greatest enemies attacked Krakoa, discredited the X-Men in the public eye, and slaughtered most of the remaining mutants. Among them was Iceman, who suffered an incredibly violent death. 

Facing off against the mutant-hunting sentinel Nimrod, Bobby took a blast to the chest and seemed to survive, reforming his body. But things quickly took a turn for the worst as his body seemingly imploded on itself, melting into a puddle before his friends. 

It was a gruesome scene, but Iceman has escaped death many times thanks to his powers. Since discovering his Omega-level status, he’s cheated death by remaining in his ice form, allowing him to reform shattered limbs. 

That power has grown, too. A recent issue saw him escape a Brood hoard by rebuilding his entire body from a single water droplet that stored his consciousness.

His death in the Hellfire Gala pages was brutal, but there could conceivably have been enough left to recover eventually. 

Though death in a comic, let alone an X-Men comic, is no surprise, the sudden turnaround for Bobby was a shock. Fans coming out of Hellfire Gala were adamant about his death, though many were quick to point out how close the death was to his new ongoing series.

Still, Iceman’s death hit particularly hard. Even in the short week following Hellfire Gala 2023’s release, fans picked apart his death as one of the most heartbreaking.

Iceman likely won’t have much time to dwell on Hank or any other X-Men, though. Astonishing Iceman #1 is kicking off with Bobby Drake alive and well.

The preview teases him pushing back against Orchis and being reinvigorated as a hero. How exactly he survived the Hellfire Gala massacre remains to be seen, but Iceman is bound to continue pushing the limits of his chilling powers.