Bobby Drake is the youngest of the original X-Men, and that sticks to him long after the team stops being a group of students. He jokes around, gets distracted, and can seem les…

Bobby Drake is the youngest of the original X-Men, and that sticks to him long after the team stops being a group of students. He jokes around, gets distracted, and can seem less serious than the people standing beside him. It's easy for that first impression to become the whole description of Iceman, even when the stories give him considerably more to do. His origin is a rough reminder of what being a mutant means outside the school. He uses his powers when he and Judy are attacked, and the reaction turns against him. People are frightened of what he can do, an angry crowd comes after him, and he ends up in jail. Xavier sends Scott to find him. That's the background of the kid who becomes the team's comic relief. The jokes don't mean he entered this world without anything frightening happening to him. He's already experienced people treating his existence as the problem. There is something useful about keeping that beginning in mind while reading the lighter scenes. Bobby can be funny and immature without his life being particularly easy. He's also growing up around Scott, Hank, Warren, and Jean, with all their different personalities and strengths. Being the youngest doesn't stop mattering immediately just because he has put on the same uniform and survived the same fight.