History: (Firestorm I #3) - Crystal Frost resented that men liked her for her beauty, and not her mind or who she, earning her the nickname "Ice Maiden." She feared men never saw her as an equal, and would seek to control her, but this ended in college, when she studied under physicist Dr. Martin Stein. He tried to bring her out of her shell, which she misinterpreted as him longing for her, and she fell in love. Years later as a doctor she supervised Mohole One, a project in the Arctic seeking to harness the power of Earth's molten core for energy. She sent for Dr. Stein for a consult on the project and professed her love for him, but he was forced to tell her he never had had feelings for her, though he did see her as an equal. In distress Frost accidentally locked herself in a thermafrost unit, which crystallized her molecules and turned her into the supervillain Killer Frost. Her hatred of male-dominated society made her wild, and she froze soldiers and scientists at Mohole One. Stein turned into the superhero Firestorm, who used his heat powers against her, but Stein realized she absorbed heat despite her cold-based powers. He lured her into a closed space, and turned it into a refrigeration unit, freezing her solid.

(DC Comics Presents #17) - S.T.A.R. Labs, NYC called in Superman to use his heat-vision to defrost Killer Frost so they could perform a scientific autopsy on her. Prof. Martin Stein burst into the lab and warned them that Killer Frost could still be alive before he as dragged off by security. Superman used his heat-vision on Frost, reviving her, and she froze everyone in the lab, making them her icy slaves. She planned on creating a super-cooler unit like the one that gave her powers, and use it to turn every man on Earth into her slave. She had Superman construct her super-cooler in the WTC, but Stein had reformed Firestorm, and he engaged Superman. The battle took them away from the WTC, and Firestorm lured Superman into Earth’s molten core, meting Frost’s freeze, and freeing the hero of her influence. They returned to the WTC, and Frost promised that if she couldn’t seduce Superman she’d destroy him, but the heroes defeated her, using the super-cooler to freeze Killer Frost at absolute zero.

Frost was kept in custody in a freezer unit, and the constant exposure to cold left her near death. She escaped and confided in her colleague Dr. Louise Lincoln that she was dying. Frost went on a rampage that only ended when Firestorm allowed her to absorb his warmth. The energy she absorbed from Firestorm was so intense that it destroyed her.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom.

Killer Frost I was profiled in Who's Who: the Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12. Killer Frost received a profile in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #20 under the Secret Society of Super-Villains entry.

Killer Frost had a flashback cameo in Firestorm I #4 and JLA #115.