William Drake (Earth-616)

William Drake
Name	William Robert Drake
Affiliation and Relationships
Relatives	Madeline Bass (wife); Robert Drake (Iceman) (son); Anne Drake (sister); Georgie Drake (brother, deceased); Mary Drake (niece); Joel Drake (nephew);
Marital Status	Married
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Brown
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human
Living Status	Deceased
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	No Dual
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Accountant
Base of Operations	Long Island, New York
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Gary Friedrich, George Tuska, John Verpoorten
First	X-Men #44 (March, 1968)
First	X-Men #44 (March, 1968)
Death	Marvel's Voices: Iceman Infinity Comic Vol 1 2
Death	Marvel's Voices: Iceman Infinity Comic Vol 1 2

History

Early Life

In his youth, William wanted to join the army to fight in World War II, but he was turned down because of his heart murmur, while his younger brother Georgie was admitted to the navy and died in the war, leaving William to wonder why it wasn't him who would die.

An accountant living in Long Island, William Drake would go on to become the father of Bobby Drake, who would become the X-Man Iceman. Both William and his wife Madeline's memories were manipulated by Professor X when their son first joined the X-Men to forget about his powers, though he eventually revealed his superhero identity to them again. He did not approve of Bobby's choice to be a mutant superhero, pushing him to become an accountant like himself, and was on poor terms with his son for several years.

Retirement

During William's retirement party, a fight ensued between Iceman and two of Oblivion's minions, leading to the desctruction of a neighbouring house. William swore that he'd never forgive his son for bringing this kind of danger to his doorstep. Madeline explained to Bobby that his father's heart wasn't as strong as it used to be, and asked him not to kill his father with these kinds of aggravations. Though they seemed to reconcile later, their relationship continued to be strained.

When Iceman was dating Opal Tanaka, William expressed some anti-Asian sentiment, in that dating Opal would just complicate his son's life more. When Bobby's parents met him and Opal for dinner, they were attacked by the Cyburai, though William and Madeline managed to escape before they could get hurt. Later on, when Bobby brought Rogue to a family dinner as a friend, William complained that he never brought home a 'normal girl.' After some arguing, Bobby stormed out.

Graydon Creed

However, when bigot Graydon Creed ran for the American presidency, William Drake heckled him during a televised interview, shouting that a Creed presidency would be harmful to American sons and daughters. Bobby, who was undercover in the Creed campaign as "Drake Roberts," was in the building at the time, and was immensely proud of his father. William was subsequently hospitalised by Creed campaign goons, and Bobby, his cover blown, took a leave of absence from the X-Men to help his father recover. During this time, William seemed to embrace his son's superheroics more than he did before. He was relatively healed by the time of Operation: Zero Tolerance, a plan initiated by the death of Graydon Creed.

The Apocalypse Seed

After some time, Bobby seemed to be estranged from his parents again, not even calling his mother on her birthday. While corrupted by the Apocalypse Seed, he decided to check on them to see if he could help them cope with the cold he himself brought onto the world. William rejected his son's offer in anger. Bobby, in turn, used his powers to induce a heart attack in William before storming off again.

Absolute Zero

William would continue to have heart issues when he was at the hospital for an infection around his heart. He appeared resentful towards Bobby when he visited him, as he missed his mother's birthday again. Since the last time Bobby's parents saw him, they also decided to move since their old house was too big and they didn't like their neighborhood anymore. Bobby had to leave his parents when he heard an attack going on in the hospital; a purifier was hunting a young mutant girl. Once he defeated the purifier and returned to William's room, Madeline asked him to leave to not give William anything more to stress about.

Bobby later came over to his parents' new house for dinner, during which both still expressed disagreement with his superhero career. They were soon interrupted by another group of purifiers, who came to take revenge on Iceman for attacking the first purifier at the hospital. Though Iceman managed to overpower the purifiers easily, he destroyed a large part of his parents' new house in the process. Bobby returned the next morning with a few X-Men in tow to help his parents repair their home. William declined, but Madeline was more open to talk, accepting that being a mutant is fine in moder times, but asking her son to give his parents some time to adjust.

When William and Madeline decided to give Bobby a surprise visit at Xavier's, he thought it'd be a good opportunity to come out as gay. Bobby's parents didn't take the news well, William going so far as to say that their son was dead, Iceman had won. Bobby had to leave the conversation to deal with Juggernaut, who was attacking the school. On their way out, Kitty stopped William and Madeline to hand them a letter in which Bobby had explained his feelings in more detail. William then came back to the school to talk to Bobby, saying that his son had gotten his tendency to keep his feelings on the inside from him. He left his son knowing that he'd always love him.

Iceman vs. Iceman

When Bobby's parents found out that a younger, time-displaced version of Bobby was in the present, they asked to meet both versions of their son for dinner. When they asked the younger Bobby to move into their house, the older Bobby realised that they were trying to use his younger version as a chance to start over. The younger Bobby declined their offer to be their spare son and together with his older self left their parents at the restaurant.

Death

Refusing to take any Krakoan medicine, William died in a hospital of unknown causes.

See Also

• 30 appearance(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 4 minor appearance(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 13 mention(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 6 image(s) of William Drake (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about William Drake (Earth-616)

Links and References

References

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