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WARNING: This character article contains major spoilers for |
The Ice King (real name: Simon Petrikov) is a major antagonist and anti-hero in the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. He appears as the main antagonist of seasons 1-3 and an anti-villain/protagonist for the remainder of the show. Though initially the main antagonist, his role has shifted into a tragic villain/anti-hero.
He was voiced by Tom Kenny.
Why He Rocks
- Tom Kenny brings so much emotion and energy into his performance as the comedic kidnapper.
- While the first three seasons play him as a crazy, powerful ice lord obsessed with kidnapping princess (albeit while having an honorable side and standards his in goals), Season 3 begins give Ice King far more depth as he's revealed to have been a young antiquarian named Simon Petrikov, who bought a crown and went to show it to his fiancee Betty, whom he dubbed "Princess.", put the crown on his head for a joke, but the crown made him do something so terrible -- of which he had no memory -- that Betty left him. He would then begin to slowly lose his sanity and look more and more like the "Ice King". And his obsession with kidnapping princess? He wants to fill the gap made when Betty left him. It was enough to make his archnemesis Finn feel sympathy for him. So basically, the joke character was morphed into one of the most complex and tragic characters on the show. And that's not even getting into his relationship with Marceline...
- Not only has his ice crown made him insane and unintentionally do bad things, it also gives him a limited memory, making him unable to remember his past as Simon Petrikov, and he once forgot who NEPTR was even though he was very close to him.
- Character Development: After his background's revealed in the third season he slowly stops playing antagonistic roles and becomes more genial, easy-going and having a sense of humor from time to time for the rest of the series. He's even teamed up with Finn and Jake several times to take down greater threats. This proves that even with his crown making him crazy, he's still got remaining signs of Simon's sanity and he's isn't a monster.
- Even before his big reveal of his past, he's able to avoid becoming one-note as he not only has an honorable side with Finn and Jake and standards his in terms of evil, he slow tended to feel very lonely in his ice palace with just his penguins to give him comfort. Due to his poor social skills, enduring short attention span and arrogant nature, He's unable to attract any of his prisoners and often resorts to a forced marriage instead of the loving relationship he desires. He had also shown to have certain interests such as training to be a ninja
- Aside from Gunter, his other penguin guards, and numerous ice creatures, he expresses a continual zeal to spend time with anyone who will tolerate his company, especially Finn and Jake. He even takes on the disguise of a horse to spy on Finn and Jake in an effort to learn how to be so happy in one episode ("The Eyes").
- He also seems to find his happiness in his own Imagination Zone, and it is clear that he would rather live in his Imagination Zone than in the real world. In "Fionna and Cake", he is shown reading his gender-swapped fan fiction Finn and Jake, based on the events and characters in the actual world. He is shown to cherish his fan characters more than the real-life characters, and tried (and failed) to bring the characters to life once.
- As Simon, he's was pretty much the opposite of his Ice King alter-ego: he was known for his intelligence, kindness, and self-sacrifice. Simon was deeply trustworthy, loving, and had a fiancé. He proved to be the same way as a subservient and watchful guardian over young Marceline during the aftermath of the Mushroom War. Even when they were in great danger, Simon struggled to keep Marceline happy and helped her to always see the best of their situation. He took on a very responsible role in Marceline's life, by not only protecting her and keeping her healthy, but also by teaching her right from wrong and keeping her spirits high (as seen in "Simon & Marcy"). Simon, as a rule, was known for being optimistic even at the worst of times and it is clearly one of Simon's most notable and outstanding attributes. Even while being saddled with a great burden, Simon fought an apocalyptic world while fighting the influence of the Ice Crown.