Jack Frost
(Gregor Shapanka profile #1) (a.k.a. Blizzard)
Context
Most of Gregor Shapanka’s villainous career took place under the identity of “Blizzard”. As Blizzard, he was a minor Iron Man enemy and recurrent Marvel Universe jobber (but with a cool costume and weapons).
However, he also had two appearance as “Jack Frost”. In each of those, he was almost a different character.
We recommend that you read this profile first, then the Blizzard one.
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Background
- Real Name: Dr. Gregor Shapanka.
- Other Aliases: The Human Snowstorm, “Ice Man” (as Hulk called him).
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: None at these points.
- Base of Operations: New York City.
- Height: 5’6” Weight: 165 lbs.
- Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown
Powers & Abilities
Dr. Shapanka is a brilliant inventor, scientist and engineer. His most remarkable breakthroughs have been in cryogenics :
- Means to flash-freeze living organisms, and unfreeze them later without any known medical side effects.
- A way to lower the body temperature of people, dramatically slowing down the ageing process… without hindering them in the least. ”Super-cooled” people are as every bit as mobile and vital as a person with a normal level of body heat.
- Systems allowing him to “project cold”, allowing him to wield cold and ice powers like some superhumans (say, Iceman or Equinox) do.
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The original Jack Frost suit
This is a bodysuit with a blue belt and backpack. It can “ice up”, turning Shapanka into a living, moving statue of ice and hardened snow. From the backpack comes a tube ending with an adjustable nozzle. It projects cold jets of oxygen, creating large blocks of ice that do not smother those trapped within.
The jets are large and powerful. Jack Frost can easily walk it across several persons to freeze them all. A less-than-one-second burst is enough to trap even a large man into a huge block of ice. It can also shatter unprotected electrical systems.
The preserving effect of the cold slows down the ageing of Shapanka, but without putting him into suspended animation.
Somehow, bullets fired at him lose their velocity as they approach. They often shatter from the cold before they can hit him. Most bullets just hit the ground as a ball of ice without momentum left.
Shapanka once created new “arms” for himself. These are actually arm-shaped lengths of ice. He uses to climb out of a pit and grapple Iron Man. Though they can’t move, he can create them in quick successions. This functionally gives him extra arms made of ice.
The suit also radiates cold, but that wasn’t much of a factor in the story.
History
Gregor Shapanka was a brilliant but embittered scientist working at Stark International. He was also conducting personal research into cryogenics to gain immortality. In 1963, he attempted to steal special transistors from Stark to finance his private research, but was caught and fired by Iron Man.
Nobody believed his impassioned rantings about being about to discover the secret to immortality. However, Tony Stark chose to let Shapanka go without calling the police or suing him, as a nod toward his years of good work. Still, Dr. Shapanka was now blacklisted, which meant his career was over.
Shapanka built himself a suit that slowed down his aging while keeping him fully mobile. It also gave him cold-based super-powers. He soon used it to rob a bank in Long Island, which proved a satisfactory test of his power. Shapanka kept robbing banks in New York. The press came to call him “Jack Frost” (presumably as a reference to the wartime Jack Frost).
Winter is calling
Triumphant but still embittered, Jack Frost then raided the Stark complex in Long Island. He wanted to take his revenge on his former colleagues and Iron Man.
However, Iron Man (Tony Stark) jury-rigged a heat beam, then a miniature furnace. These made it impossible for Jack Frost to use his equipment. He had to surrender to the police before he would pass out from the heat.
Years later, Shapanka finished building a new costume in prison and escaped. He took the name Blizzard, and had a career as a super-villain. Analysis shows significant differences from his debut as Jack Frost. Thus Blizzard (Gregor Shapanka) is covered in another profile.
Mutatis Mutandis
In 1980, Shapanka’s career as Blizzard stopped. His powers became internalized and he slowly became a walking statue of ice and snow. Since that resembled his old Jack Frost appearance, he reverted to using that name.
The reason for this mutation is unrevealed. A good candidate is an incident some months before where his costume was supercharged and fused to his body by Electro.
Feeling increasingly alienated, Jack Frost retired to the Rockies. He found an improbably large cave, and turned it into an eerie kingdom of ice. There he spent much of his time brooding, creating striking ice statues and generally making the place eerier.
Hulk smashes, as you may know
Some months later the Hulk stumbled upon Jack Frost’s odd realm. Frost attempted to chase him away to be left alone. This angered the jade giant who destroyed much of Frost’s realm while fighting back.
The titanic force of the Hulk’s blows eventually collapsed the entire cave. Jack Frost disappeared under the cave-in.
Shapanka later reappeared in his blue Blizzard suit. His powers, mutated appearance and changed personality were all gone as if nothing had happened.
Description
See illustrations.
Personality
During his original appearance, Shapanka comes across as the typical bitter, nerdy, half-mad Silver Age scientist. His rants sound rather unhinged if one assumes that his allegations about immortality are nonsensical.
He craves money, freedom and revenge and has a hint of paranoia to him. He also likes to talk in pompous ways that show off his vocabulary.
Mutated
When he mutated into his Jack Frost form, Shapanka was different. He was a reclusive, almost poetic, contemplative hermit and artist. He felt alienated from the normal world and just wanted to dream, to create and to ponder his immortality. Melodramatically, of course.
However, the mutated Jack Frost also seemed more unhinged than before :
- He was now clearly paranoid.
- He had strange ideas about how warm-bodied creatures detested him (in actuality nobody knew about him).
- He reacted to lethal violence even when the situation with the Hulk could easily have been de-escalated.
Quotes
Early quotes
(Bitterly) “How noble of you ! Big-hearted Stark tossing a crumb of freedom to [me,] a lowly crook !”
“Well, they’ve given me a name now ! ’Jack Frost’ ! How corny can you get ? Yet, the moniker does have an appropriate ring ! Jack Frost I shall remain to my trembling public ! Now Jack Frost will pay off Anthony Stark for firing Professor Shapanka ! I’ll walk right into his plant and destroy it, along with every one of his precious governmental projects !”
“I always hated you, Miss Potts ! You always treated me so coldly ! Now it’s my turn to freeze you out !”
“But I’ve found the secret of eternal life ! Think of it ! The money would finance my research into human immortality !”
“Fire, you fools ! My ice is more than a match for your useless bullets !”
Two animated ice statues created by the mutated Jack Frost
In mutated form
“Who dares interrupt the somber meditations of Jack Frost ?”
“I came here to dream, creature, and you interrupted my dreams by tramping brutishly through my world of fragile beauty ! I thought I would be safe here, away from a warm-blooded world which no longer held a place for one such as I !”
DC Universe History
Jack Frost would be redundant with the Icicle (Joar Makent), I reckon.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Dr. Gregor Shapanka
| Dex: 03 | Str: 02 | Bod: 03 | Motivation: Power/Revenge |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 05 | Min: 02 | Occupation: Disgraced researcher |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 03 | Spi: 02 | Wealth: 003 |
| Init: 010 | HP: 020 |
Note:
After he robs banks, Jack Frost’s Wealth rises to 006 until he’s imprisoned. Before he was fired, his Wealth was 005.
Skills:
Artist (Ice sculpting): 02, Gadgetry: 05, Scientist: 05, Vehicles (Land): 03, Weaponry (Firearms): 02, Weaponry (Jack Frost systems): 05
Advantages:
Scholar (cryogenics), Stroke of Genius (Ambulatory cryogenics, Jack Frost suit), Language (*possibly* Hungarian, based on the place of birth listed by secondary sources).
Connections:
None demonstrated.
Drawbacks:
MIA toward Vengeful bitterness, Uncertainty (lack of experience with his powers).
Equipment:
Originally, a 9 APs Lab in his cellar.
Jack Frost super-suit
JACK FROST SUPER-SUIT [BODY 06, Cold immunity: 06, Extra limbs (x2): 03, Ice production: 09, Icing: 04, Skin armour: 04, Suspension: 05, Temperature control: 01, Advantages – Insta-Change, Slow Aging.
- Bonuses:
- Cold immunity and Icing can be Combined.
- Ice Production has both Multi-Attack 1 and Scattershot.
- Ice Production and Suspension are always Combined.
Mutated Jack Frost state
| Dex: 03 | Str: 02 | Bod: 08 | Motivation: Contemplation |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 05 | Min: 03 | Occupation: Hermit |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 03 | Spi: 03 | Wealth: N.A. |
| Init: 010 | HP: 040 |
Powers:
Cold Immunity: 08, Ice Animation: 10, Icing: 05, Ice Control: 13, Temperature control: 04
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Ice Animation can only create Physical Stats (-1).
- The DEX of the ice creatures is half the size of the pool (eg, DEX 05).
- Each ice creature can perform one set application of the Ice Production Power, with APs equal to its STR.
- Temperature control only to subtract heat.
Possible Powers:
APs of Sealed Systems and any of the Powers of his old Jack Frost suit are certainly a possibility, but weren’t demonstrated.
Skills:
Artist (Ice sculpting): 06, Gadgetry: 05, Scientist: 05, Vehicles (Land): 03, Weaponry (Firearms): 02, Weaponry (Jack Frost systems): 07
Bonuses and Limitations:
Weaponry (Jack Frost systems) can be used with his new Powers, given the similarities.
Advantages:
Life Support (Jack Frost doesn’t seem to require sustenance), Near-Immortal, Scholar (cryogenics), Stroke of Genius (Ambulatory cryogenics, Jack Frost suit).
Connections:
None.
Drawbacks:
Altered Anatomy, Strange Appearance, SIA toward Paranoia.
Source of Character: Marvel Comics.
Helper(s): Darci.
Writeup completed on the 31st of May, 2016.