Oliver Thomas Black was born in London, England, on January 13, 1997. He lived a typical middle-class childhood in the United Kingdom, until his genetic mutation manifested during puberty.

The initial symptoms were easily dismissed as a fever or simply blamed on puberty, but it soon became apparent that this was something else entirely. The teen's condition worsened and he was quickly hospitalized when his declining body temperature started to reach critical levels. Any attempt to warm up Oliver's body seemed to only produce adverse effects, leaving the doctors with little choice but to cease their treatments and simply monitor Oliver's condition. The doctors soon realized that they were dealing with something that could only be explained as metahuman.
Despite the abnormally low body temperature, Oliver's organs continued to function. A strange layer of frost and ice slowly began to cover the teenager's entire body, leaving the now comatose Oliver with a permanently frost-shrouded appearance. His condition and vitals became stable again, but Oliver's life was forever changed. As it turned out Oliver was not ill, he was a mutant.

After spending several months in hospitals and research facilities Oliver's doctors managed to create a concoction of chemicals and cryogenic liquids that allowed Oliver to return to looking like his old self again. The serum basically suppressed the outward mutation by lowering Oliver's core temperature, tricking his body into thinking it had already reached its ideal temperature and no longer needed to keep forming an exterior layer of ice crystals. Unfortunately the effects of the serum were still only temporary and Oliver would eventually return to his default mutant state again.

Oliver returned home and went back to school, but between the manifestations of his still unmastered cryogenic abilities and having to regularly ingest an unstable experimental serum trying to live a normal life was a nearly impossible task. The young Oliver constantly got in trouble at school as events kept happening around him that he could not explain. Life at home was just as bad.

At the age of 16 Black filed for emancipation and moved to Millennium City, The City of the Future, in the United States to get a fresh start. He chose the city for its relatively high tolerance towards metahumans and, more importantly, because of the many scientific breakthroughs in metahuman research that were constantly happening there.

Oliver started practicing parkour and soon found himself using his mutant powers for good, hindering the criminals in his neighborhood. He became known by the alias Black Ice and joined a club of young metahumans and heroes in training, New Vigil. This would eventually lead to him joining his current team, The Progeny, which formed the start of Oliver's career as a sponsored hero.

Black Ice is currently being sponsored by Good Guise - Men's Grooming Products.

Originally Oliver has dark blonde hair, icy blue eyes and an infectious smile. He possesses a lean frame and a build that leans more towards athletic than muscular, pretty much exactly what you would expect from a teen model and parkour fanatic. Admittedly he could do with a bit of a tan, but given his wintry mutation having a pale complexion does seem to fit the young Brit.

When in his default mutant state Oliver is completely covered by a layer of ice and frost from head to toe. In this form he can still be recognizable as that same handsome boy, but only just barely. Not surprisingly, the frost-shrouded appearance is often met with a mixed response. There are some who consider such an apparent mutation to be off-putting, while others think it is cool.

Given the nature of his mutation, it should not be surprising that his choice of wardrobe seldom accounts for the weather.

Oliver Black is usually described as an amiable, albeit somewhat troubled, young man. He does not warm up to people easily and seems to find trusting someone difficult, but once he does his loyalty and trust are absolute. Oliver's demeanor can sometimes come across as a bit cold or distant, although it is pretty obvious that he cares far more than he lets on or is willing to admit.

In the field Black Ice is typically able to keep a cool head, even when everything around him is going up in flames. He is also pretty stubborn and often acts with little regard towards his own safety.

Even though he is considered one of the more promising up-and-coming young heroes, already having his name attached to a brand, Black does not care much for the media attention and prefers to keep to himself. He has actually gotten rather good at evading the press and he seldom agrees to do an interview, much to the frustration of his manager who would like nothing more than to see Oliver fully embrace his status as a minor celebrity. Instead his handlers often have to deal with confused or disgruntled photographers who keep having difficulties with iced-over camera lenses.

Cryokinesis

Black Ice possesses the ability to create, direct and manipulate ice or any substance below its freezing point. This gives him the power to cause extreme drops in temperature, spontaneously freeze things solid and to exercise near complete control over frozen substances or ice formations. The ice created through the use of these meta abilities also has a slightly higher density and strength than regular, naturally formed ice crystals. This is especially true for the constantly shifting ice that covers Black's own body when he is in his default mutant state.

While these abilities do not require direct physical contact, using these powers over longer distances appears to be more straining and does not allow Black Ice to exercise the same level of control. It has been estimated that the subject is capable of invoking temperatures as low as several hundred degrees below Celsius when maintaining direct physical contact with his target.

Mutant Physiology

Black Ice is able to withstand extreme weather conditions, particularly those below freezing point, and possesses physical traits that are beyond the human norm, such as heightened endurance, fortitude and stamina. Black is also less receptive to external stimuli, most notably pain. In his default mutant state Black is even able to withstand a moderate force of impact and a significant amount of pressure, due to the protective layer of frost and ice that covers his entire body. Although he is not completely bulletproof and far from invincible.

Due to the drastically reduced body temperature, Black Ice is able to bypass most forms of heat detection. It will also take much longer for certain types of poison and most viruses to take effect. Many forms of radiation do still affect Black Ice, as can some mutagenic compounds or mutagenic energies, as long as they are able to get past the subject's frozen exterior.
His unique physiology unfortunately offers little to no additional protection against any form of magic, with perhaps the exception of pyromancy, or any mental abilities.

CAUTION:

Outside of his meta abilities and standard crime fighting paraphernalia, Black Ice is known to utilize a variety of hazardous chemicals and chemical agents.

• Black Ice is a member of The Progeny, a team of young heroes.

• He is most active within Millennium City, The City of the Future.

• Often works alongside the MCFD and helps out their crime lab.

• Logs into the Champions Response & Protection channel.

• Is sponsored by Good Guise - Men's Grooming Products.

• Oliver Black is English and speaks with a British accent.

• Oliver is a student at Millennium City University or MCU.

• He is also an avid gamer and a practitioner of Parkour.

• Has become a very regular customer at Darren's Pizza.

• Sometimes finds himself the subject of celebrity gossip.