Blizzard (Donnie Gill)
| Blizzard | |
|---|---|
 Blizzard, art by Rick Leonardi. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Iron Man #223 (October 1987) |
| Created by | David Michelinie Bob Layton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Donald "Donnie" Gill |
| Team affiliations | Thunderbolts Masters of Evil Hammer Industries |
| Abilities | Cold manipulation Water manipulation |
Blizzard (Donnie Gill) is a fictional character, both a supervillain and superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe.
Fictional character biography
Donald "Donnie" Gill was born in Newark, Delaware. He became a criminal mercenary and was hired by Justin Hammer, who gave him a cryogenic suit reminiscent of the original Blizzard. As the original had died, Donnie decided to use the name Blizzard, as well. His first mission had him working with two other super-villains — the Beetle and Blacklash — in order to capture Force, who had betrayed Hammer. However, Blizzard was clumsy, and annoyed his teammates with his amateur mistakes, such as creating an ice wall which blocked their path to their objective. After accidentally encasing Blacklash in ice, the trio fled as more reinforcements arrived to protect Force.[1]
Later, the trio retried to capture Force, but he was under the protection of Iron Man. Blizzard battled much more competently this round, but when Force entered the fight, he rendered the villains' powers useless. Deciding to flee and rest until their powers restored, Blizzard, Beetle, and Blacklash split up. Force found Blizzard, who had regained his powers. However, his powers were ineffective against Force, so he decided to battle him with his bare hands. Force repelled Blizzard, blasting him through a wall. Blizzard, unwilling to give up, attempted to blast Force once more, despite Force's warnings, and was electrocuted. The Beetle and Blacklash abandoned Blizzard, deciding to blame him for their failures, while he was taken into custody.
However, before he could be imprisoned, he was rescued by Rhino on Hammer's behalf. Blizzard's loyalty to Hammer grew greatly, although Iron Man had attempted to help him legally and morally. Hammer decided to bargain with Iron Man over Blizzard, forcing Iron Man to help him take down the Ghost.[2] Iron Man agreed, but Blizzard refused to believe Hammer would betray him. After hearing a recording, Blizzard was crushed and surrendered to Iron Man.
After several missions on his own which put him in opposition of the Avengers and the New Warriors, attending the AIM Weapons Expo with several other super-villains, and joining the largest incarnation of the Masters of Evil, Blizzard decided to try again with a smaller team, working a mission alongside villains such as Constrictor, Crossfire, and the daughters of Tarantula and Batroc the Leaper. Their mission failed miserably after interference from Agent X and his allies.
Blizzard has also been a constant annoyance to She-Hulk, though in their most recent confrontation, Blizzard attacked She-Hulk in a bar and instead of defeating him, she invited him to join her for a drink. He ended up getting extremely drunk, contemplating his self-existence and lack of recognition. Before collapsing in a drunken stupor, Blizzard noted that he liked She-Hulk, forming a friendship with her. After reverting to her Jennifer Walters persona, she collapsed on top of him, vomiting everywhere.
With the Avengers disbanded, the Beetle, now known as Mach-IV, decided to form a new group of Thunderbolts. As with the original group of Thunderbolts, this incarnation was based on former villains seeking redemption and forgiveness for their crimes while working as super-heroes. Donnie Gill was one of the first members invited to join by Mach-IV, and he agreed to join. However, he lacked any confidence despite his intense drive to help people. As a Thunderbolt, Blizzard went up against several enemies, including Fathom Five, the Wrecking Crew, and the Purple Man.
Blizzard and fellow Thunderbolt Speed Demon began to bond, forming a close friendship. When Speed Demon attempted to commit illegal acts alongside the Shocker, Blizzard stopped him by convincing him to use his former Whizzer outfit and placing a tracking device on him. Speed Demon, angry at Blizzard, defeated him and tied him upside down on a bridge, naked. While constantly doubting his status as a super-hero and often feeling as though he should give up, Blizzard gained strength through the others, most notably Songbird, who often insulted him and even dismissed him from the group after she became leader.
Civil War/Initiative
Baron Zemo, forming a group to battle Songbird's Thunderbolts, recruited Blizzard, who spent his days drinking in bars after being fired by Songbird. His new teammate, the Fixer, upgraded Blizzard's costume, enhancing his abilities. He participated in the ensuing battle against the Thunderbolts, but soon the groups were assimilated together, and Blizzard aided the group against the U-Foes during Civil War. In the battle against Overmind, Blizzard proved himself to his teammates by shielding them from the onslaught of his attacks, along with Songbird.
In the final battle against the Grandmaster, Blizzard's suit was destroyed after the Wellspring energy was released. He was pardoned for his past crimes, but could not help walking away, feeling like a loser.
Blizzard has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1. [3]
Powers and abilities
Blizzard has no superhuman powers. However, he wears a battle-suit that contains microcircuited cryogenic units which allow its wearer to generate and focus intense cold on a level beyond that of his predecessor, the original Blizzard. By manipulating this cold, Gill can create blasts of cold, ice missiles and walls of ice from ambient moisture, as well as forming sleet, snow, and freezing rain. He can emit freezing rays capable of lowering the temperature within the ray's range 50 degrees Fahrenheit in about 15 seconds. At the risk of depleting his water supply, he can encase people in snow or ice, create an ice barricade, or form an ice slide beneath his feet.
The current costume used by Blizzard has been improved upon by the members of the Thunderbolts formerly known as the Beetle and the Fixer. It can essentially emulate most of the powers originally wielded by the mutant known as Iceman, including the spontaneous generation of Ice Bridges for extremely swift and maneuverable transportation (it does not give the wearer thermal vision). The limits of this costume are not yet known.
Donnie Gill is otherwise an athletic man, with extensive experience in street-fighting techniques.
Other versions
Power Pack
Blizzard appears in Iron Man Power Pack Issue #2, teamed up with Speed Demon. He kidnaps Irena Crumb, the daughter of millionaire Arnold Crumb at her school and takes her to an abandoned warehouse across town, where he tells her why she's there and tortures her.
Speed Demon runs in, telling him that Power Pack has found them and yells at him for having him make the ransom call. Then, Power Pack bursts in, who start to battle him and Speed Demon. Blizzard sneaks up on Mass Master who is trying to save Irena and freezes him. He goes into cloud form and starts to Blizzard attempts to freeze him again.
Doing this, he freezes the ground, causing Speed Demon to slip and smash into him, almost knocking him out. The Pack ties him up, and Lightspeed takes his mask so she can rescue Irena from Speed Demon. Later, Blizzard is taken in by the Police with Speed Demon.
In other media
Iron Man: Armored Adventures
Blizzard has been confirmed to appear on the animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures, in the episode "Cold War."[4]
External links
References
- ^ Iron Man #223-224
- ^ Iron Man #239-240
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #1 Character Map
- ^ Comics Continuum