On their blog DC’s Brian Cunningham (editor of Justice League: Generation Lost) has shared a page of Aaron Lopersti’s pencils from Justice League: Generation Lost #12 showing a rather spiky Ice (above). Cunningham comments:

For those of us that read the Super Friends series in the 1970s where Ice was originally introduced as Ice Maiden, we all know how absurd her origin was. With Gen Lost #12, writer Judd Winick provides Ice with a credible and tragic origin that does not negate what we already know. And the consequences of this new origin are pretty explosive, as Aaron Lopresti’s amazing art shows.

It’s a dramatic new look – if it indeed is permanent. Which leads Troy Brownfield on Blog@Newsarama to quibble about the use of the name Ice Maiden insisting that it’s actually an earlier character whio appeared in the Super Friends comic book and then he takes issue with the similarity to the Water Blast Iceman action figure. He’s not entirely wrong on either account, but his central thesis is against  the darkening of such likeable character and I entirely agree with him there.

However, Ice’s back story and character have been played with before – it’s what led to her getting killed in the first place. The Overmaster came along bolstered her power making her more regal and detached. She rebelled against him and was killed. Ice then  resurrected before Blackest Night, but its that fear of dying again that’s pushing her character development in Generation Lost. Alan Kistler does a sterling job setting everybody by right by running through Ice’s many looks and permutations.

What I find interesting is the note about “how absurd her origin” is in Cunningham’s quote. It’s not any more absurd that a society of immortal Amazons sending an bathing-suit wearing ambassador to “Man’s World” or a Norse god being punished by being cast out of Asgard as a crippled mortal doctor. There is an implicit absurdity in superhero comics – it’s part of the fun – but, it undermines the internal integrity and logic of the stories if you try to fight it too much.