Astonishing Iceman #5 finally lays out Orchis’ plans for the titular mutant. The anti-mutant group has dispatched the cybernetic villain Paul Botham, AKA Mister Clean, to take out Iceman. From writer Steve Orlando and artist Vincenzo Carratu, the Marvel comic finds Orchis taking the fight right to Iceman’s Antarctic front door. While the omega-level mutant can handle himself, this assault may be more than he and his beloved Romeo can manage.
Orchis Vs. The X-Men
After launching an assault at the latest Hellfire Gala, Orchis has made it their public mission to eradicate all mutants. Armed with an anti-mutant military and propaganda, the villainous group has solidified its place as a global superpower in the Marvel Universe. The war between mutants and Orchis has spread throughout Marvel’s publications this year and will continue into 2024. So far, the mutants that have survived have been forced into hiding, only able to fight from the shadows. However, mutants like Iceman and Nightcrawler are taking the war into the public’s eye.
Bobby Drake, AKA Iceman, has used his unstable physical state to thwart many of Orchis’ plans. While the initial Hellfire Gala assault almost killed the ice-manipulating mutant, his love, Romeo, has helped him gain control over his molecules and survive. However, his unstable state forces him to recuperate in an Antarctic fortress that has been secret from Orchis…until now.
Astonishing Iceman #5
This week’s Astonishing Iceman reveals that Orchis has uncovered Iceman’s secret lair. So, to put an end to the icy thorn in their side, Orchis is taking the fight to Bobby Drake’s door. That fight includes the villainous Mister Clean arriving to shatter Iceman into a million pieces…again.
Mister Clean has been quite the problem for mutants since the rise of Krakoa as a sovereign nation. The villain has been chemically altered to have skin so durable that even Wolverine’s adamantium claws cannot penetrate it. In fact, his only real weakness seems to be fire. Which is not looking so good for Iceman. Hopefully, Bobby Drake and Romeo still have a few tricks up their sleeves to deal with such a formidable foe.
Astonishing Iceman #5 is on sale on 12/20/2024.
