Killer Frost

Crystal Frost was the first incarnation, first appearing in Firestorm #3 (June 1978).[1] 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Frost was upset to learn that Stein did not reciprocate her feelings; Stein told a fellow researcher that Crystal was a withdrawn student and that he had merely tried to draw her out of her shell, which Crystal completely misinterpreted.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.[2] Killer Frost eventually died after she absorbed too much energy from Firestorm.[3] Crystal has been identified as one of the deceased villains entombed below the Hall of Justice.[4] Her body was reanimated as a Black Lantern.[5]

Louise Lincoln as Killer Frost. Art by Tom Grummett

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).[6] 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 second Killer Frost. She became just as ruthless as her predecessor and began her own personal vendetta against Firestorm whom she blamed for Crystal'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 Lois 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.[7]

Killer Frost was later freed when the DEO refrigeration truck transporting her crashed. Effigy happened upon the crash and she discovered the heat from Effigy's pyrokinetic abilities enabled her to kiss Effigy without him freezing over. The two had a brief flirtatious partnership that dissolved when Effigy lost patience with her lecturing 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.[8]

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. 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 that this ice-themed team of villains was being mind controlled by Grodd.[9]

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.[10]

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's abilities reversed the alterations to Lincoln's body, returning her cancer.[11]

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 her lover as a pawn, and had no romantic interest.[12]

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 a 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 Tarantula.[13] 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.[14]

The "DC Rebirth" version of Louise Lincoln debuts in the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock." While Firestorm considers "The Superman Theory" as a hoax, Killer Frost claims that Captain Atom, Firehawk, Moonbow, and Typhoon are the government's creations.[15] Killer Frost later accompanied Black Adam in his attack on the White House.[16]

Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost. Artwork for the cover of Justice League of America: Killer Frost #1 (January 2017 DC Comics). Art by Joshua Oyerokun.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity; Killer Frost is reintroduced in September 2013, as the "Villains Month" part of the Forever Evil – she was featured in the one-shot Justice League of America #7.2, also titled Killer Frost #1.[17] She can also be seen on the cover of Forever Evil #1, which hints at her involvement in that series where she's revealed to be 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 out of revenge. She then wandered out into the cold until she came across a Norwegian camp and took their heat too. Hijacking a helicopter, she made it back to her hometown Pittsburgh. She even created a suit that helped her retain heat for longer. She later encountered the superhero Firestorm and discovered that his powers could temporarily heal her mutation. She tried recreating the Firestorm Nuclear Matrix several times, only to fail with each attempt. When Firestorm and the Justice League were declared dead by the Crime Syndicate, she lost hope for a cure to her condition.[18]

Killer Frost later has a scientist named Byte track down Martin Stein, the original creator of the Firestorm Matrix, to his secluded cabin while he had gone into hiding during the Crime Syndicate's takeover of Earth. She encountered Steve Trevor who was sent there on a mission to try to find the Justice League who were imprisoned inside Firestorm. Learning he was alive, Snow allied herself with the two men to find them. Soon they were attacked by supervillains Multiplex, Black Bison, Hyena, Tempest and Plastique for betraying the Syndicate. While fighting them off, Stein, Trevor and Frost teleported to another A.R.G.U.S. base, where they learned that to free the Justice League, they needed Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. Discovering Cheetah was keeping it as a trophy, they found her and her Menagerie, but were subdued. Doctor Light (Arthur Light) suddenly appeared and blasted everyone except Frost and Trevor unconscious. After defeating him, they managed to deliver the Lasso of Truth to Cyborg who successfully used it to free his teammates.[19]

In DC Rebirth, Caitlin Snow is taken to Belle Reve Penitentiary, where she is introduced to the Suicide Squad and offered a place on the team by Amanda Waller. She accepts and joins the team. She helps the Suicide Squad in their fight against the Justice League, but subsequently assists them against Maxwell Lord when he is possessed by Eclipso, whose attempt to tap into her "darkest desire" only unlocks her desire to make a difference. She then has to save all the Suicide Squad and the Justice League by absorbing the energy out of Superman and using it against Maxwell Lord. Afterwards, Waller is forced to release Snow into Batman's custody.[20] She then joined the new Justice League of America made up of Batman, the Atom, Lobo, Black Canary, Vixen and the Ray.

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.[21]

The Crystal Frost version appeared along with Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Minister Blizzard, Cryonic Man, Icicle, Polar Lord and Snowman in the Justice League Adventures comic.[22]

Killer Frost appears in the DC Bombshells continuity, which takes place during World War II. She 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.[23] This version is Louise L'inconnue, who is of French and German descent. In 1870, her mother is killed by angry villagers for conceiving a child with a German man and was thrown into an ice-cold well to die with her child. Louise emerges from the well with blue skin and freezes all the villagers to death. She is later adopted by the Joker's Daughter, who trained her in magic and controlling her powers (while also giving her the chance to kill her father). After clashing with Baroness Paula Von Gunther, she expresses her desire to have the world filled with superhumans like her.[24]

Killer Frost appeared in the DC Super Hero Girls by the name of "Frost". In the series, she is shown to be a superhero, instead of a supervillain. She has her own separate bio with her powers and personality listed. She is shown to be very smart too. There she lives with Lady Shiva, Miss Martian and Star Sapphire. She has her own bedroom with: a nightstand, a king sized bed, a desk and other decorations. Her appearance is also different: she has long hair made into a ponytail. She has blue eyes, white skin and all of her outfits have something to do with ice and snow.

Killer Frost made an appearance in the comic book prequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us.

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears in the Justice League animated series and Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Jennifer Hale.[25]This version 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. She was sent with Giganta, Heat Wave and Devil Ray 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 gets forced by the Martian Manhunter to save the people there. 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 / Killer Frost in Young Justice.

• The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appears in the Young Justice animated series, voiced by Sarah Shahi.[25] In the episode "Independence Day", she appears briefly at the episode's beginning, 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 the 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. However, Hugo Strange told Batman and the Flash that none of the ice-based villains left their cells. In the episode "Into the Breach," Killer Frost is taken down by Infinity, Inc. as part of Lex Luthor's plot to make them popular than the Outsiders.

• Killer Frost appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced again by Jennifer Hale. This version is identified as Louise Lincoln, but wears Crystal Frost's attire. Louise is portrayed as Ronnie Raymond's vengeful ex-girlfriend. In the teaser of "Darkseid Descending!", she crashes Raymond's class for vengeance 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 appears in the web series DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Danica McKellar.[25] This version is simply called Frost (as she is a hero) and is a student at Super Hero High.

• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Mena Suvari.[25] This version was presented as being caught in a freak accident involving thermafrost turning into Killer Frost. In "Freezer Burn", Killer Frost is hired by Mr. Freeze who she is a fan of. While going to the hideout in Gotham City, she is pursued by Firestorm who she knocks out upon developing a crush on her at the same time. Killer Frost then arrives at the hideout where she defeats Batman. Mr. Freeze betrays her and uses her to power an aircraft designed to freeze Gotham with its freeze ray. Firestorm frees her, and Killer Frost stops the crashing aircraft. She freezes Mr. Freeze in a block of ice when the latter tries to kill her, Firestorm, and Batman. After knocking out Firestorm again, Killer Frost escapes.

• Killer Frost makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Harley Quinn episode "The Runaway Bridesmaid", attending Poison Ivy and Kite Man's wedding and later fighting GCPD officers when the wedding gets busted by Commissioner Gordon. Frost's design in the show bears resemblance to that of her counterpart from Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost in The Flash

Danielle Panabaker portrays Dr. Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost, a series regular on The Flash TV series, set within The CW's Arrowverse family of related shows. Her character also makes occasional guest appearances on Arrow (where she debuted), Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. In The Flash, she is a part of the Central City-based S.T.A.R. Labs team alongside Cisco Ramon/Vibe and Harrison Wells which supports Barry Allen/The Flash and has a friendship with Iris West.

In season one, she struggles with her fiancé Ronnie Raymond's death in the particle accelerator blast which created various meta-humans, but later discovers Ronnie survived as part of the fire-based superhero Firestorm. Caitlin and Ronnie later marry but shortly thereafter Ronnie, while helping the Flash, disappears into a destructive singularity over Central City. During season two, Caitlin grieves for Ronnie, but grows closer to Hunter Zolomon (disguised as Jay Garrick). She then develops the Velocity serum with Harry Wells to cure Hunter's revealed illness, before the revelation that the so-called Flash of Earth-2 is in fact the evil Earth-2 speedster Zoom. She also meets her Earth-2 doppelganger, the ice-based supervillain Killer Frost who is later killed by Zoom, and wonders what this means for her own capacity to do evil.

Caitlin experiences timeline changes in season three.[26][27][28] After the original timeline is restored with subtle variations, Caitlin is shown to have cryokinetic abilities which she is keeping secret from the team, and also develops a second villainous personality. She also develops a relationship with Julian Albert. Caitlin is advised by her mother Dr. Carla Tannhauser to not to use her powers or her transformations will become irreversible. Catlin's abilities fully manifest when Julian takes a power-suppressing necklace off so her healing abilities could save her, triggering her Killer Frost transformation. Acting as Savitar's personal enforcer, Killer Frost battles Team Flash alongside him. After a fight with Vibe, she turns against Savitar after being given a cure developed by Julian. She defends her former teammates from Savitar, rather than allow them to be killed. After Savitar's defeat, she tells the others that she is not yet ready to return, leaving to rediscover herself.

In season four, Caitlin and Killer Frost are like Jekyll and Hyde.[29][30] She works at a bar that has some underworld connections until Cisco asks her to help get Barry back, and she agrees. Caitlin eventually comes to terms with her dual personalities, giving her the ability to switch between her two personas at will as well as the Killer Frost persona showing a more heroic side as she agrees to use her powers to help. In the crossover "Crisis on Earth X", Killer Frost joins forces with the rest of the heroes against the Nazis of Earth-X. Eventually Caitlin learns that Killer Frost was already a part of her as a child, therefore she did not get her powers from the particle accelerator explosion. In season five, Caitlin discovers her father is alive, but has developed a split personality called Icicle. During the sixth season, Caitlin experiments with allowing Killer Frost some time in control outside a crisis situation, allowing her other self to basically have her own life.

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, with Jennifer Hale reprising her role (for the second time [albeit uncredited]). In this film, she teams up with fellow cold-based villains (Mr. 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 version of Killer Frost appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham, voiced again by Jennifer Hale (for the fifth time).[25][31] This version appears as a member of the Suicide Squad chosen to break into Arkham Asylum to retrieve stolen data, though Amanda Waller assigns Killer Frost the secret task of killing the Riddler. She forms a friendship with King Shark after she fends off an attempt to eat her; King Shark respects her ferocity and he uses the metahuman's strength to her advantage. She briefly uses Mister Freeze's gun when the Squad is attacked by Batman, but has trouble lifting the weapon which she discards. Under Waller's secret orders, Killer Frost slips away after the battle and locates Riddler but decides not to kill when she learns of Waller's true motive: Riddler found a way to disable the bombs implanted in the Suicide Squad members. The pair rejoin the Squad and Killer Frost is one of the four Squad members whose bomb is defused by Riddler; King Shark's bomb remains undamaged and is quickly executed by Waller, but Killer Frost's anger at this death evaporates when Black Spider is exposed as Batman. After the Joker sets all of Arkham's inmates loose, Killer Frost tries to flee Arkham by stealing a police car. However, Bane grabs and throws the car, which then explodes. Her fate is unknown.
• The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appears as one of the main characters in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voiced by Kristin Bauer van Straten.[25] Much like Louise Lincoln in Batman: Assault on Arkham, this iteration appears as a member of the Suicide Squad and with a flashback revealing she was a "tough girl" when her powers manifested and she used them to kill her abusive parents. Killer Frost is one of the many Squad members assembled by Waller to retrieve a mystical black playing card which allows the user to bypass Hell and go directly to Heaven. After the Squad leave Denver, Colorado after fleeing from Vandal Savage, Killer Frost is kidnapped by Professor Zoom's henchmen Silver Banshee and Blockbuster. Killer Frost's nano-bomb is removed from her neck thanks to Zoom's powers, convincing her to join Zoom's crew and betraying the Squad in the process. After the Squad manages to find Savage's lair, Zoom's crew later arrive and Killer Frost traps her former teammates in ice (and also freezes Harley Quinn's mouth shut as she was bored of hearing Harley talk). After Zoom removes the mystical card from Savage's chest, Killer Frost then double-crosses Zoom by killing Silver Banshee and Blockbuster and then takes the card for ransom, since she doesn't believe in the afterlife. Copperhead then manages to free himself and fights Killer Frost and Waller detonates Copperhead's bomb during the struggle with Killer Frost, killing them both.

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost is featured as an antagonist and playable character in 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.[25]
• The Crystal Frost version of Killer Frost appears as a boss in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.

• The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears as an unlockable character in the portable version of Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes.
• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost appears as a downloadable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
• The Caitlin Snow version of Killer Frost appears as a main character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Jennifer Hale.[32] She first appears at the breakout of Stryker's Island with the rest of her fellow inmates. Following her freedom, she is later seen at S.T.A.R. Labs with Mirror Master from a successful jewelry store robbery until she was later encountered the Teen Titans and the Justice Syndicate later, where she learns about the Syndicate's true colors from a newspaper headline that was brought back from Earth-3. After her escapade with the Rookie from both teams, she and the Rookie are later accompanied by both Captain Boomerang & Deadshot to find Harley Quinn at the Gotham Botanical Gardens with Poison Ivy, after a failed meeting with Perry White. After her rescue thanks to the Joker and Livewire from their breakout at Arkham Asylum, Killer Frost later joins the Rookie, Gorilla Grodd & the Scarecrow to free Sinestro on Oa from the Green Lantern Corps and their newest member, Power Ring. She is later seen with the rest of her teammates and the Justice League to stop Darkseid's plan to acquire the Anti-Life Equation and following his defeat, Killer Frost is later with the rest of the Legion of Doom leaving in a white flash.

The Louise Lincoln version of Killer Frost appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us, voiced again by Jennifer Hale. 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 Regime Superman is defeated by Superman, Killer Frost is among the Regime members to be rounded up by the Justice League. In her ending, Killer Frost 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.

Killer Frost appeared in the Justice League Unlimited spin-off comic book along with her Secret Society teammate (and current romantic interest) Heat Wave.[33]