The Ice King
| Ice King | |
|---|---|
| Adventure Time character | |
 |
|
| First appearance |
Adventure Time (rough-cut) "Prisoners of Love" (official) |
| Created by | Pendleton Ward |
| Voiced by |
Tom Kenny John Kassir (pilot) |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Simon Petrikov |
| Species | Wizard (currently) Human (formerly) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation |
Monarch of the fictional Ice Kingdom Antiquarian (Simon Petrikov) |
| Title | King (self-proclaimed) |
| Family | Betty Grof (ex-fiancée) Neptr (son) |
The Ice King is a character in the American animated television series Adventure Time. A supposedly evil wizard capable of creating and manipulating ice and snow, he is the self-proclaimed king of the Ice Kingdom, a land of ice he claimed as his own and lives in in company of many penguins. Although technically an antagonist, he sometimes helps the main characters and is the protagonist of several episodes focusing on his struggles or backstory. The character is voiced by Tom Kenny.
Originally depicted as a two-dimensional, humorously over-the-top vilain trying to kidnap Princess Bubblegum on a regular basis, the character's personality was subsequently expanded, revealing him to be a kind-hearted but misunderstood old man with completely twisted senses of morality and social behavior, suffering from loneliness and memory loss. Later seasons unveil his tragic backstory, revealing he was once a good human nammed Simon Petrikov who lost his mind, memories and loved ones due to the magic crown giving him his ice powers.
Although the character originally received lukewarm reception and was considered an "irritating antagonist", his later backstory and devellopment into a tragic figure were widely acclaimed, and he came to be seen as an accurate and touching depiction of social isolation and mental illness, notably Alzheimer's and bipolar disorder; the episodes "I Remember You" and "Simon & Marcy", which unveil the Ice King's relation with Marceline the Vampire Queen almost a thousand years before the beginning of the series, are often considered two of the show's very best.
Ice King is a frequent antagonist and occasional ally of Finn and Jake who kidnaps princesses throughout Ooo to forcefully marry them, Princess Bubblegum being his usual target. His ice-based magic abilities come from a magical crown he wears, which directly causes his insanity. Though defined as completely crazy by many, the character is also lonely and misunderstood, having a generally benevolent relationship with the penguins of his realm. When he briefly had a wife, he actually treated her with great care and love. Whenever he kidnaps princesses, he treats them with care and respect. Aside from the actual imprisonment, their only protests seem to be that they don't like him and he occasionally could become possessive and slightly creepy. Despite rarely meaning harm, Ice King is still potentially very dangerous due to his power and his unstable mind which warps his sense of morality and socially acceptable behavior. Furthermore, unaware that the two learned of his origins as Simon Petrikov before being driven insane by the crown's influence, he is somewhat envious of Finn and Jake for being such good friends.
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Wikipedia