Ice King

The Ice King (formerly Simon Petrikov) is the main antagonist (often unintentionally) of Adventure Time. His typical misdeed is to kidnap a princess and force her to marry him, which Finn and Jake foil every time. As his name suggests, Ice King is also his title, announcing himself as King of Ice. He rules the Ice Kingdom. His Ice Powers are contained in his crown, and he is therefore powerless without it. His crown is also the cause of his loss of sanity, his unusual skin color, goblin-like nose, white eyes and beard.

Appearance
Ice King is a short, blue, elderly man with unusually tiny fingers, pointy toes, and a goblin-like nose. He wears a dark blue tunic and has a large beard that covers most of his body. Though the robe gives him the appearance of a larger man, Ice King's body is in fact exceptionally thin. Despite this, Ice King reveals that he is on a diet in "What Have You Done?" Ice King is rarely seen without his crown. Without it, he is powerless, and he is revealed to have a short length of white hair atop his head. The only time he has been seen in shoes was when he was working out before Slime Princess came to talk to him in "Loyalty to the King."

Origin
thumb|300px|left|A video depicting the creation of the Ice King.Sometime before the Mushroom War, Ice King was a normal, olive-skinned, dark-haired, glasses-wearing human named Simon Petrikov studying to be an antiquarian, a specialist in the knowledge of ancient artifacts. He had a young fiancée named Betty, whom he referred to as his "princess" and loved dearly.

At some point in his career he purchased a strange jeweled crown from an old dock worker in Northern Scandinavia. After bringing the crown home, he put it on his head to make Betty laugh, but the crown caused him to black out and experience odd visions while turning his eyes white.

Petrikov had no recollection of what he had done while wearing the crown, though it was enough to frighten away his fiancée. Simon never heard or saw Betty ever again and began to record himself on VHS tape so people would know his story. As time passed, Petrikov would hear voices and continued having disturbing visions without even putting the crown on. Over time, his skin turned light blue, his nose became pointy and long, his hair turned white, he grew a full beard, and his body temperature dwindled to an unnatural low of 30°C. Despite these unnatural body conditions and being in a land covered by snow, Petrikov managed to survive.

This is perhaps what is meant when the crown ‘tells’ him that “the power of the crown will save [him] with its frost”. There are two theories to the significance of this and the snow in the background. The first is that there is a horrible winter (possibly ice age) starting where Petrikov lives and the crown saves his life. The second theory is that the crown's ice power allows him to survive the atomic fires to come; and that since the Ice King has the ability to conjure blizzard storm, the storm outside is actually being conjured by Petrikov unconsciously in his metamorphosis.

As his mind and body became further twisted by the crown, Simon thought himself "too far gone" to find an escape from its influence, though he hoped that he could one day regain his sanity enough so that Betty, his "princess," would come back and love him again.

As many years (likely centuries) rolled by, the effects of the crown, possibly encouraged by isolation, caused a disassociation from his original identity so complete that his only reaction to watching a video of his past was embarrassment at the idea of having once worn glasses. In "What Have You Done?," he responds to Jake accusing him of stealing the crown with "I didn't steal it. I made it! Made it with the magic that I STOLE!" which seemingly contradicts the tape found in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part I" where he states that he bought the crown from an old dockworker in northern Scandinavia. Although, he might mean that he only imbued the crown with stolen ice magic.

Petrikov's influence may still remain in the Ice King's strange and desperate desire to marry a "Princess".

He is no longer human, the power of the crown not only twisted his mind but his body as well. His species/race is now "Wizard" according to the writers.

In the Episode Mortal Recoil when Princess Bubblegum was at a risk of dying, Ice king mentioned something about if she dies he would be lost in his own labyrinth of emotions like in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II." (Finn cut off the rest of what he was going to say.)

Personality


Ice King is normally portrayed as disagreeable and short-tempered, but is more of a nuisance than an enemy. A genuinely lonely character, Ice King spends most of his time kidnapping and imprisoning the various princesses of Ooo, in hopes of someday marrying one. Due to his poor social skills and arrogant nature, Ice King is unable to woo any of his prisoners and often resorts to a forced marriage instead of the loving relationship he craves. With no companions or friends aside from Gunter, his other penguin guards, and numerous ice creatures, Ice King expresses a continual zeal to spend time with anyone who will tolerate his company, especially his so-called "archenemies" Finn and Jake. In "The Eyes," he takes on the disguise of a horse to spy on Finn and Jake in an effort to learn how to be happy, but fails that as well. He has been labeled a "sociopath" by the Cosmic Owl.

He is generally not liked by Finn and Jake, but in the episode, "When Wedding Bells Thaw," Finn and Jake become a little more accepting of him, evidenced when Finn says, "I'm kinda happy for him." In that same episode, Ice King asks Finn and Jake to throw him a "Manlorette Party." However, this acceptance soon wilts when Finn and Jake discover the Ice King's diabolical hypnosis of his would-be wife. In the episode "What Have You Done?," he calls Finn his "bosom" when they release him free from jail after Finn learns that Ice King had committed no recent crime. Although after Finn's "death," Ice King howls in pain for ten seconds, he subsequently drops his "corpse" to the ground, which Finn declares mean and cruel. Jake also states that he will clasp Finn for a "ka-jillion" years. In "Still," Finn and Jake declared that they and the Ice King are friends. Ice King writes fan fiction about Finn and Jake. (Fionna and Cake)

It seems that the Ice King will steal any adult female so long as she has the word "Princess" in her name. This is shown in "The Chamber of Frozen Blades," in which he steals Dr. Princess, even though "Princess" is merely her surname. His obsession with anyone titled Princess may be his old nickname for Betty twisted by the Ice Crown. Despite Ice King's more common antagonistic role, he plays the part of a protagonist in "Mortal Recoil," helping Finn and Jake to defeat Princess Bubblegum by freezing her Lich-possessed body; in the mini-episode, "Let's Work Together," he actually helps Finn and Jake regardless of the fact that Finn said to "sacrifice" himself, but unbeknownst of the fact that it also changed his face.

Ice King seems to only attack Finn and Jake upon provocation. Old age and visions of supernatural creatures, due to the effects of his Wizard Eyes, have made Ice King slightly insane (though the crazed visions that Ice King associates with his wizard eyes may truly be visions forced on him by his crown, and completely separate from his Wizard Eyes, or his Wizard Eyes could be how the crown manifests its visions upon him).

While Ice King comes off evil, doing mostly bad things like kidnapping Princesses, and stealing, it can be said that his behavior is because he is lonely, and desperate for companionship and attention. His crown has made him insane over the years, affecting his social skills, causing him to do bad things, yet friendship, and companionship is all he really wants, but just goes about it the wrong way.

Finn and Jake
Ice King has a mixed view on Finn and Jake. In earlier episodes, he would often be annoyed by them and occasionally get into fights with them, usually ending with a humiliating defeat on the Ice King's part. He would also remain neutral to them and even try to avoid conflict with them, as shown in "The Eyes." He seems to agree on the fact that Jake is also an enemy to him at times. Ice King has difficulty keeping princesses in his castle without Finn attacking him and saving them. This is one of the main reasons Ice King usually has negative feelings towards Finn and Jake. However, as of "Mortal Recoil," Ice King has a more positive reaction to them; in fact, they even seem to have a slight friendship also seen in "What Have You Done?".

The Ice King does not really hate Finn and Jake, as he only fights with them because they always foil his plans of stealing a princess. He frequently tries to be friends with them (in his own, misguided way) and has willingly made alliances with them. In the episode "Still" The Ice king freezes Finn and Jake so they can have "bonding time". It was shown in Hitman that while Finn and the Ice King are rivals.

The Ice King made it clear that he doesn't want to kill Finn- the most he would do is punch him in the belly and make him vomit up his lunch. At worst, they are battling rivals, as Finn openly disapproves of the Ice King's habit of stealing princesses and causing mischief. At best, they are playful rivals, even friends. In "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II," the Ice King has a locket with the pictures of Finn and Jake. Near the end of the episode, the two are shown snuggled up side-by-side by a roaring fire, wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. Finn's attitude towards the Ice King has softened since discovering the tragic secret of his origin, and his compassion for people in distress outweighed his petty squalls with him enough to be his friend.

Princess Bubblegum
Princess Bubblegum is Ice King's main love interest, but it's unrequited love. Since Finn had a crush on Princess Bubblegum, this made it even harder for Ice King to maintain any relationship that will last with her. Finn and ice king would usualy be seen fighting for the affections of PB in earlier episodes. It seems that he also captures her more than any other princess and enjoys being near her. In "Mortal Folly," he even tries to get her attention and marry her. However, after she temporarily turns thirteen, he is not interested in her. As of "What Have You Done?", Princess Bubblegum is completely willing to hurt the Ice King if forced to. In Holly Jolly Secrets part II, however, it has been shown that Princess Bubblegum and the Ice King are capable of being civil, even hanging out, presumably when Finn is around to prevent anything bad from happening. The three were shown wearing Christmas sweaters, drinking cocoa, and watching tapes in a content way.

Abilities


When Ice King is wearing his magic crown, it gives him the power to control all forms of ice and snow. This includes, but is not limited to, throwing ice lightning, moving ice with telekinesis, creating living manifestations of ice, flash freezing his enemies, and the ability to onset wintry weather on cue. In "Thank You," The Ice King makes a full armor of ice and says that it is "invincible". However, Finn and Jake eventually chopped away the ice. In "What Have You Done?," it is revealed that the crown was infused with stolen magic.

His beard is apparently animated, operating much like a limb with partial shape-changing abilities, which he can wield in close combat. His beard also forms tiny wings that allow him to fly, although he must be wearing both his beard and crown to fly. Because of his quick temper and arguably slow wit, he isn't able to wield his powers as effectively as he should, but has proven himself capable of defeating Finn and Jake when amply provoked. However the Ice King’s inability to wield his powers effectively may be the product of his internal battle between the Ice Crown and Petrikov; meaning that the Ice King not wanting to hurt anyone is one of the few ways that he shows his remaining humanity.

Ice King can also play the drums, once demonstrating a drum solo, and owns two drum sets, one of which is a green one with "#1 Babe" across the front. The set consists of a bass drum, a floor tom, a snare, a crash cymbal, a ride cymbal and a hi-hat. His other drum set, a red one, is in terrible shape, and smashed to pieces in a corner of his castle. He can also play the keyboard fairly decently. The fact that he has so many instruments lying around his castle indicates that he has a fair amount of musical ability.

In "The Chamber of Frozen Blades," the Ice King is shown to have studied the Ice Ninja art of Fridjitzu.

Aside from his magic, Ice King owns a pair of nun-chucks that uses during the Wizard Battle to "cheat" as opposed to using his ice powers.



Ice King also possesses a power known as "Wizard Eyes", which allow him to see certain things that normal people can't. However, it also causes him to constantly see strange, freaky creatures. He notably used this power in "Mortal Recoil" when he witnessed The Lich take over the melted body of Princess Bubblegum. These freaky creatures are caused by the lack of control the Ice King has over his wizard eyes.

Nice King
Nice King is the beardless alter ego of the Ice King, who appears in "Loyalty to the King." The reason for his existence was the Ice King's choosing to shave his beard, in hopes that it would make him more attractive to princesses after innumerable failed captures. When going out in public in his beardless form, a misinterpretation by Slime Princess when introducing himself ("a nice king," instead of "an ice king") ultimately leads to the princesses trying to court him. He also dubs Finn and Jake his loyal "Nice Knights," commanding them to interview his prospective princesses auditioning for a date

Horse
In "The Eyes," Ice King spies on Finn and Jake, disguised as a creepy horse. The horse has a very "un-horse-like" face with ever-staring eyes and a protruding tongue. Its vacuous expression leads Jake to suspect it has a case of "whacked-out poo brain." Finn and Jake try many things to get rid of him. When Finn finally kicks it, Ice King pops out of the inflatable horse costume. According to the Frederator Blog, the design for this horse was inspired by Kate Beaton's ''Hark! A Vagrant'' comics, which features a similar Fat Pony character.

Quotes
See Ice King/Quotes

Major appearances

 * Prisoners of Love
 * Ricardio the Heart Guy
 * What is Life?
 * When Wedding Bells Thaw
 * What Have You Done?
 * The Eyes
 * Loyalty to the King
 * The Chamber of Frozen Blades
 * Mortal Folly
 * Mortal Recoil
 * Let's Work Together
 * Hitman
 * Still
 * Wizard Battle
 * Holly Jolly Secrets Part I
 * Holly Jolly Secrets Part II

Minor appearances

 * Evicted!
 * It Came from the Nightosphere
 * Conquest of Cuteness
 * Fionna and Cake
 * Thank You
 * Five Short Graybles

Trivia

 * Ice king's lust for princesses may be do to the fact that he lost his wife when he was fully human.
 * Ice King has a tattoo of a penguin on his butt, as seen in the episode "Prisoners of Love" during his dream sequence.
 * His cut-out has Ricardio sticking out under the beard.
 * In the episode "When Wedding Bells Thaw" Ice King unintentionally marries Jake. However, their marriage was annulled soon after.
 * Ice King has a computer which he uses to play video games, as seen in "What is Life?" and to make rudimentary drawings of himself with princesses, seen in "The Chamber of Frozen Blades."
 * According to Natasha's formspring, the Ice King's species is Wizard.
 * However, as seen in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II", the Ice King is (or once was) human. This could mean that the crown not only warped the Ice King's mind, but made him inhuman.
 * Also in "What have you done?" he says that he made his own crown with the magic he stole.
 * As revealed on Adam Muto's formspring, one of the gems on Ice King's crown provides the same effects as the magic gems used by Princess Bubblegum, protecting him from The Lich's mind control effects.
 * The Ice King may not know that he is old or even how old he actually is, hinted at in "Mortal Recoil," when he states, "I'm not old." He could also be in denial over his age.
 * According to Pen Ward's Formspring, Ice King's favorite video game is Battle Babe, most likely the one he played in "What is Life?."
 * In "Mortal Folly", when Ice King tried to lift the latch on the on a window to get to see Princess Bubblegum, he used a small card that has the word "Wizard" printed on it.
 * In "Hitman," Ice King states that Lumpy Space Princess and Ghost Princess are his least favorite princesses. This is due to the fact that he cannot hold Ghost Princess with his "love mitts."
 * He sometimes falls asleep with his eyes open as seen in "Still."
 * According to Natasha Allegri, the Ice King thinks he's fat (in his imagination zone).
 * It is possible that he might be ambidextrous because in "Hitman," he signs Scorcher's note with his right hand and the second time he signs it with his left hand.
 * Natasha Allegri has joked that Ice King's character is based off Pendleton Ward.
 * It is possible that Ice King is actually based on the character "Winter Warlock" from the 1970s Christmas film "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" due to striking similarities including his white beard, pointed teeth, long nose, and magical command over ice and snow.
 * As Simon Petrikov, a Scientific Parasite is visible in his coat pocket.
 * The manipulative influence of Ice King's crown, its magical powers, and the fact that it gives its wearer unpleasant visions make it somewhat reminiscent of "The One Ring" from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series.
 * In "What Have You Done?," Ice King states that he made his crown with the magic he stole, but in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II," he bought the crown when he was human.
 * In "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II," it is revealed that Ice King wears a gold, circular locket with a picture of Finn and Jake inside.
 * The Ice King has apparently tried to kill Finn and Jake four times, stated by Jake in the episode "Still."
 * Ice King has a gender swapped version, Ice Queen.
 * The voice of Ice King, Tom Kenny, coincidentally voiced another blue skinned, white haired and bearded, pointy-nosed magic using villain on another Cartoon Network TV show: he was the voice of Mumbo Jumbo, aka The Amazing Mumbo, on the Teen Titans animated series.
 * Ice King is about the same age as Marceline.
 * The Ice King loves filling his bathtub up with milk and sitting in it like he's a magic angel. This is revealed in a fast-forwarded portion of Ice King's tapes in the episode "Holly Jolly Secrets Part 1."
 * As seen in "Mortal Folly", the Ice King isn't interested on capturing certain aged princess. However, it is unknown how old a princess must be for the Ice King to be interested in her.
 * Though Ice King collects princesses, he has not collected or heard of Flame Princess.

Appearances in other media

 * Ice King is a character in FusionFall.
 * On New Year's Eve 2010, there was an Adventure Time marathon, and it featured bumpers with the Ice King.
 * He appeared in two Hole in the Wall bumpers in which he is a contestant. He tries to freeze the wall, or runs away in fear. A third bumper features Rath from "Ben 10: Ultimate Alien"
 * In Regular Show's "See You There", one person is dressed like the Ice King. He is seen many times.
 * He appears in the CN TV show "MAD" in the episode "Avenger Time." He is called by the same name and voiced by Tom Kenny, but he has a much shorter beard and hunches over.
 * In YouTube, a video called UCF (Ultimate Cartoon Fighting). While Finn and SpongeBob were wrestling, the Ice King made a cameo and said to SpongeBob that "Your voice sounds familiar". This Quote of Ice King is a reference of Tom Kenny who voiced the two characters.