The Highlight Reel: Fire vs. Ice!

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by the meeting of opposites.  

Though that fascination certainly includes clashes between superheroes and their evil opposite numbers, it extends beyond that to the forces of nature itself. Maybe it's because I live in a northern climate, where the dramatic change of seasons seems very much like a battle between extremes of heat and cold, wind and calm, sunlight and darkness...well, you get the picture. Whatever the reason, I'm instantly intrigued by any fictional portrayal of opposing elemental power.

With that criteria in mind, it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite Christmas specials was (and is) The Year Without a Santa Claus...though not so much for the story itself, but rather for the appearances of sibling rivals Snow Miser and Heat Miser!

As most of you will recall, this 1974 Rankin & Bass classic featured Mother Nature's combative "temperature twins" as part of an elaborate plot by Mrs. Santa to restore her husband's flagging confidence. Though relatively brief, the musical numbers starring the Snow and Heat Miser completely stole the show through their clever character designs, lyrics, and elaborate sets (including their diminutive look-alike "lackies"). For those of you who've never seen these wonderful show-stoppers (or fellow oldsters looking for a walk down memory lane), here they are:

However, as memorable as the Snow Miser-Heat Miser rivalry remains, another fire and ice clash earlier that same year made an even bigger impact on this newly-minted eight year-old comic book fan.

Although Marvel Team-Up was essentially a Spider-Man title, fellow hotshot The Human Torch "guest hosted" in a number of issues...one of which was the memorable Marvel Team-Up #23. As you can see from the dynamic cover (click for a larger view), the Torch was bringing the heat against his chilly counterpart the Iceman, a teenage member of the original X-Men.

As these intramural Marvel conflicts usually went, a misunderstanding lead to a full-fledged battle, as gloriously choreographed by artist Gil Kane...

(click on the pages for a larger view)

The Torch then jumped into "summary flashback" mode, passing on an account of a mysteriously icy bank robber that Spider-Man had told him about earlier. We now resume the clash of the temperature titans...

Question: What's cooler than a fire lasso?  Answer: Ice scissors!

A few panels later, the X-Men showed up and stopped the battle...which lead to a reluctant team-up between Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake. Patrolling the area, they finally located Equinox the Thermo-Dynamic Man (sort of a composite, making it a triple (or would that be quadruple?) Fire vs. Ice extravaganza. 

Does it compare to today's standards of more subtle and sophisticated comic book storytelling?  Some would say "no" and dismiss it as a simplistic slugfest with hokey dialogue. Me? I'm an unapologetic fan of these so-called "old school" stories, especially when it features such a cataclysmic clash of opposites!

In other words, another clip for The Hightlight Reel!

Comments

[Blake]

You know, the "Snowmiser/Heatmiser" song is the only Christmas song I can get my humbug girlfriend to listen to without complaint. :D

[Mark Engblom]

It's certainly a memorable song...especially since it's been stuck in my head since I wrote this post!

Badump bump bump BAAAAA bump!

[ShadowWing Tronix]

So did you catch the new Miser Bros. cartoon this year, Mark? It's on ABC Family. And my DVR box, so I can't tell you if it's any good.

[Comic Coverage]

I'm not sure if I want to see the new one. Other attempts to do new stuff with old characters usually fail horribly, and I would expect the same thing with the new Miser bros. project. I'm always hoping to be surrprised, though. Let me know if it's worth watching.

[Ian B]

Something that always bothered me, even as a kid, was the those ice bridges/slides. What happened to them after Iceman had slid past? Wouldn't they fall to the streets as great big lethal chunks of ice?

[Mark Engblom]

Oh, absolutely! Also, the physics of the ice slides were beyond impossible, and should have crumbled the second he formed them.

At least Spider-Man's weblines eventually dissolved!

[Pat Curley]

Yes, the ice slides reminded me of the gag cartoon where some strongman's lying on a hammock that is tied at one end to a tree while he holds up the other end with one hand. Cute, but no leverage.

There is an earlier Human Torch/Iceman crossover, way back in Strange Tales #120. The cover shows them fighting side by side, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't a little battle before they teamed up. And of course there were a few Captain Cold/Heatwave matchups on the villainy side.

Loved your post on the evil opposite numbers (I really have to dig through your archives some day), but you missed one oddball class of doppelgangers: the all-your-heroes-in-one villains like Amazo, the Composite Superman and the Super-Adaptoid.

[Comic Coverage]

"...but you missed one oddball class of
doppelgangers: the all-your-heroes-in-one villains like Amazo, the
Composite Superman and the Super-Adaptoid. "

Oh, I'm definitely going to cover them. As I've told others who've inquired, I like these guys so much, I want to devote an entire week's worth of posts to 'em. Even today, I snap up back issues with any of these "all-in-one" guys in them (love that term, by the way...I think I'll use it)!

Look for that series in January!

[Alexandra Kitty]

When I saw this, I thought you were going to talk about Tora Olafsdotter and Bea da Costa...

[Grumpy]

I remember Iceman's booties, but I've never seen Johnny Storm in red tights, a la his android namesake.

When did the Human Torch get the authority to "arrest" anybody??

[Ken Walden]

Not to mention, "Arrest" them by tying them up in a burning lasso. Sounds like a recipe for a quick lawsuit.