Killer Frost is the name used to refer to two DC Comics super villains otherwise known as Crystal Frost and Louise Lincoln. They each have similar powers, including the ability to manipulate heat energy into extreme cold, but that’s not where their overlapping stories end.

Killer Frost’s story begins at fictional Hudson University. While Crystal was a student there, she fell madly in love with one of her professors, Martin Stein. Unfortunately, Stein did not reciprocate Crystal’s feelings, and this rejection was the major contributing factor to her absolute hatred of all men.

Years later, the mismatched pair were reunited while they were both working on a scientific project in the Arctic. During an experiment, Crystal was accidentally locked inside a thermo frost chamber. Upon emerging from the chamber, she finds that she has been granted cryokinesis, the ability to generate extreme cold from her body. To do so, she had to absorb heat from the atmosphere or other sources, so extreme heat did not burn of even affect her like it would a normal person; instead, it gave her more power. One classic Killer Frost tactic was to freeze a person to one spot and then kiss them to absorb all of the heat from their body.

Along with giving her such powers, the chamber also seemed to have some effects on Crystal’s mind and personality; she had turned into a psychotic killer who now called herself Killer Frost. Her first task was to kill Martin Stein, the man who had rejected her love so many years ago. In the meantime, however, Stein himself had become one-half of the fusion hero Firestorm, and he was able to subdue Killer Frost’s attack and she was sent to prison.

Killer Frost later joined up with the Secret Society of Super-Villains and helped them battle against the Justice League of America. While on trial for her crimes during this epic battle, she escaped from official custody and turned New York City into a frozen wasteland. Captured once again, she was then imprisoned in a special cell, which maintained a temperature below freezing. Without the ability to absorb heat, Killer Frost was not only losing her powers, but her internal chemical makeup was beginning to deteriorate; her own powers were turning on her!

Even in her weakened state, she was able to take advantage of a power outage at the prison and escaped in search, once again, of Martin Stein. When Killer Frost attacks him in a Manhattan subway station, Stein quickly transforms into Firestorm and escapes her wrath. Shortly following this incident, Crystal consults with old college buddy and scientist friend Louise Lincoln and even allows Lincoln to perform experiments on her, who finds that Killer Frost’s powers are slowly killing her and that she doesn’t have long to live. At this point, Killer Frost goes completely insane and starts attacking random people. Firestorm shows up on the scene, and when Killer Frost plants one of her deadly kisses on him, his nuclear power combines with her fleeting powers in a reaction that is fatal for Killer Frost.

Upon the death of her dear friend, Louise Lincoln throws herself into one final round of experiments as a last respect. Her experiments end up transforming her into the new Killer Frost, complete with the power of thermokinetic cyrokinesis. She continues the vendetta against Firestorm, whom she blames for Crystal’s death.

The new Killer Frost can put member of the Suicide Squad, selling her soul to Neron for more power, and freezing parts of the Hawaiian Islands on her super-villain résumé. Later, she teamed up with icy evil counterparts Mister Freeze, Icicle, and Captain Cold in an effort to capture Superman and Batman for the $1 billion reward promised by President Lex Luthor. She has also battled the Green Arrow, Black Lightning, and the Justice League of America.

Even though Crystal Frost is long gone, it appears that the threat of a Killer Frost isn’t over yet!