Issue(s): Iron Man #86, Iron Man #87
Cover Date: May-Jun 76
Title: "The gentleman's name is Blizzard!" / "The icy hand of death!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
George Tuska - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Bill Mantlo had a well received fill-in on Iron Man with issue #78 and now he's back with a nice two-parter.

Not only does this story revamp Jack Frost as the Blizzard...

...but it also quickly wraps up the "Pepper is mad at Tony because Happy got hurt" subplot that threatened to linger indefinitely and add unwanted melodrama. I can't say that the wrap up is particularly good. Pepper sees Iron Man risk his life against the Blizzard and realizes that he's selfless and heroic. But i don't think Pepper's initial anger at Tony was all that rational either, and i'm just glad to see the theme go away.

But back to the Blizzard. His old identity is hinted at but not revealed right away. Pepper guesses it before Tony (her first appearance was the same as his).

Blizzard is very powerful in these appearances. He's like a fully realized Iceman, performing multiple power tricks with his freezing ability.

His new suit is said to be filled with micro-circuitry that reduces the size of his freezing technology, and makes it "a million times" more powerful.

The Blizzard was after the weather-controlling Climatron device that he was working on when he got fired from Stark previously. Iron Man defeats Blizzard with the help of a "mini-dynamo" that keeps him warm.

Tuska's art is looking good. I don't know if he designed Blizzard's costume, but it's a nice and simple iconic design, and it's rendered nicely here, anyway. Tuska's also good with the non-super stuff.

The opening splash to #86 looks like it might have some real-world faces.

The last panel in this transformation scene is really interesting, too.

It's worth noting that Tony Stark doesn't quite seem to have the notion of unstable molecules down. Reed Richards gave him some clothes, but Stark doesn't seem to understand that he's supposed to be wearing them while he's transforming.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - Jack Frost becomes the Blizzard.

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Michael O'Brien again shows up to accuse Tony Stark of murdering his brother in Iron Man #46. At this point it's getting repetitive and annoying, probably due to the creative team changes with everyone wanting to keep the sub-plot alive but no one being responsible for moving it forward.
  
• The Blizzard previously appeared as Jack Frost in Tales of Suspense #45.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Mantlo seems to have had plans for Blizzard: he uses him again in a Marvel Team-Up story where Electro fuses his suit to his body by accident, and then much later has him turn up as Jack Frost, who can create a kingdom of animate ice-people. Everyone else just writes him as an also-ran with an ice gimmick.