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This Article Contains Spoilers - WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all.

I know my mind is changing... but I'm already too far gone to know what to do. I want people to know that... if I do things that... if I do things that hurt anyone, please, please forgive me.
~ Simon Petrikov's recording tape about his tragic past.

Simon Petrikov, better known as the Ice King, is a major character in the Adventure Time franchise, serving as a major character in the Cartoon Network 2010-2018 TV series Adventure Time and the deuteragonist of its 2023 HBO Max spin-off/sequel series Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake.

He is a human antiquarian who, during the span of the Great Mushroom War and Earth's shift into the Land of Ooo, was transformed into a deranged ice wizard by a magical crown that came into his possession. In the present, he would become a villain known for kidnapping princesses in the hope of turning one of them into his bride, and trying to force Finn and Jake to become his friends. However, as the series progressed, he would gradually be depicted as a tragic figure and become far less antagonistic, often serving as an ally and friend to Finn, Jake, and the other protagonists. He is the ruler of the Ice Kingdom, Gunter's master, and the (former) archenemy of Finn and Jake.

He is voiced by Tom Kenny, who also voiced Patches in The Powerpuff Girls, Chester in Codename: Kids Next Door, Mumbo Jumbo in Teen Titans, Dr. Two-Brains in WordGirl, Starscream in Transformers: Animated, Reverend Rosty in Brickleberry, Penguin in The Batman, Doctor Octopus in Ultimate Spider-Man and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Commander Peepers and General McGuffin in Wander Over Yonder, Benito Mussolini in Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and King Jellybean from Rick and Morty. In the original Adventure Time pilot, he was voiced by John Kassir, who also voiced the Crypt-Keeper in Tales from the Crypt.

Biography[]

Past[]

Simon petrikov-0

Simon Petrikov after losing Betty.

A Christmas-themed episode ("Holly Jolly Secrets Part II") revealed the tragic backstory about the Ice King by a video. Sometime before The Great Mushroom War, the Ice King was Simon Petrikov, a young glasses-wearing human who was working to be an antiquarian. One day, he bought a crown from a dock worker in Scandanavia and went to show it to his fiancée, Betty Grof, whom he dubbed "Princess." He put the crown on his head for a laugh, which made him do something so terrible (of which he had no memory) that Betty left him. He then begins to slowly lose his sanity and look more and more like the "Ice King". It is revealed that he kidnaps princesses to fill the gap made when Betty left him. Finn later develops sympathy for his nemesis, because he knew that he was once human.

Sometime during the Great Mushroom War before Simon became Ice King, he met a young Marceline Abadeer in the middle of the wreckage. He then comforted her by giving her a teddy bear from a destroyed toy shop. He also tried to find her soup after finding out that she was sick, though he had to protect her from unknown creatures.

Adventure Time[]

S1e3 ice king dancing

Victory dance.

The Ice King is the lonely king of the Ice Kingdom. He constantly kidnaps princesses (including Princess Bubblegum) in hopes that one of them would marry him, even if he has to threaten them with death. He is a lowly villain and was easily defeated by his own heart, Ricardio. He has a small gold crown with three red jewels that gives him all of his magical ability, and keeps him alive. He was previously hated by Finn, Jake, the princesses, and almost everyone who met him. He has a bond with the penguins of the Ice Kingdom, though. Especially one of them he called "Gunther". He has a long beard and blue skin (as an effect of the crown) and a blue robe that makes his body look big, though he is really skinny. He first appeared in "Prisoners of Love". The Ice King seems to have a bad habit of threatening others to do his bidding.

In "Betty," after a demon made of anti-magic negated powers from wizards, including the Ice King, his crown lost its power and he turned back into his previous self, Simon. However, since he had his ice powers (which granted him anti-aging by keeping him as an elderly man) for over 1,000 years, Simon started dying, and the Ice Kingdom was melting. Since Simon was his old self again and could think well, he wanted to use the little time he had to communicate with his girlfriend who left once he first put on the crown, Betty. While he was contacting her, Betty jumped through the portal into the present and was determined to help her fiance regain his powers before it was too late. When Betty defeated the monster back in Wizard City, Ice King and everyone else got their powers back. Afterwards, the Ice King was seen in his castle explaining the story to Muscle Princess (whom he had her feet frozen in ice). Betty left and was determined to keep Simon alive, and as his sane and non-icy self.

In the series finale, Ice King, Betty, and Finn are both swallowed by Golb and the former two begin to revert back to their sane, non-magic human forms. Because the crown was reverted with them, it can grant it's wearers deepest wish. Betty stayed behind when there was a way out of Golb and wished to keep Simon safe, and she fuses with GOLB. Simon is later seen making popcorn at Marceline's house.

Appearance[]

Ice King is a blue-skinned man with unusually pointy fingers, pointy toes, sharp teeth, and a long, goblin-like nose. He wears a dark blue tunic and has a lengthy white beard that covers most of his body. Although his robe gives him the appearance of a fat and small/short man, Ice King's body is in fact exceptionally thin and tall.

As Simon Petrikov, he was a man with olive skin and dark brown hair. He wore glasses along with a tuxedo. After putting the crown on, his eyes turned white and his appearance slowly began to change to that of the Ice King's.

Personality[]

Though in earlier episodes the Ice King was portrayed as short-tempered, argumentative, and disagreeable, due to his main antagonistic role, he is merely a nuisance and "isn't usually a serious threat", according to Princess Bubblegum. Despite this, he is still capable of causing harm to others (whether intentionally or unintentionally).

In later episodes, due to no longer acting as the main antagonist, he is portrayed as more genial, easy-going and having a sense of humor from time to time, particularly due to considering Finn and Jake his "friends" after the events of "What Have You Done?".

The Ice King is a misunderstood, lonely, and sad being who only hopes of marrying a princess. He has been labelled as a "sociopath" by the Cosmic Owl, though his personality seems more akin to a person with narcissistic personality disorder, as he still feels humiliation and guilt. Due to his poor social skills, enduring short attention span and arrogant nature, Ice King is unable to attract any of his prisoners and often resorts to a forced marriage instead of the loving relationship he desires. However, he can be a loving and selfless person as revealed in "Princess Monster Wife". Aside from Gunter, his other penguin guards, and numerous ice creatures, Ice King expresses a continual zeal to spend time with anyone who will tolerate his company, especially Finn and Jake. In "The Eyes", he takes on the disguise of a horse to spy on Finn and Jake in an effort to learn how to be so happy, but this fails as well.

Despite the Ice King's more antagonistic role, he plays the part of a protagonist in "Mortal Recoil", as he helps Finn and Jake defeat Princess Bubblegum by freezing her Lich-possessed body. In the same episode, he was shown to not be willing to love her when she turned thirteen. In the mini episode, "The Wand", he actually helps Finn and Jake regardless of the fact that Finn said to "sacrifice" himself, but unbeknownst of the fact that it also changed his face.

Ice King is harmless and nonviolent in nature, and only kidnaps princesses and steals out of desperation. However, in the episode "Loyalty to the King", when he does have the opportunity to marry many princesses, he secretly plots to make an elite army of wives to take over the world with. His misunderstood intentions may either be in question or may just stem from his lunacy. Over the many years, his crown has made him insane, affecting his social skills and causing him to unintentionally do bad things. Friendship and companionship are all he really wants, albeit he often goes about it the wrong way.

Demoniceyeandghostpouch

Ice King showing off his Demonic Wishing Eye.

Due to the insanity brought by wearing the crown, Ice King seems to have a limited memory. This was first seen in "I Remember You", where he does not seem to remember his past as Simon Petrikov, even though he saw the history (after he found the crown) in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II". Later on, he does not remember who Neptr is, even though he was the one that wanted Neptr to accept as his father in Neptr's debut, "What is Life?", and even confuses him with BMO, as seen in the events of "Mystery Dungeon".

Ice King 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 in "Mystery Dungeon", he tries to bring the characters to life, but he fails. In "Bad Little Boy", it is revealed that he had made ice sculptures of Fionna and Cake along with writing many other fan-fiction stories.

Although Ice King is characterized by these traits, Simon's personality is completely the opposite: he was known for his intelligence, kindness, and self-sacrifice. From the information given in "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II", Simon was deeply trustworthy, loving, and had a fiancé, Betty. 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. Some of Simon's innermost thoughts and fears of his inevitable madness were revealed in left to Marceline revealed in "I Remember You". Simon agonized over abandoning Marceline in a dangerous world due to his deteriorating sanity. However, Simon, nearing the very end of his humanity feared for his own life, worried that as the crown took him from Marceline, no one would be able to "save him". His vulnerability as a human was most evident just before he permanently became the Ice King.

Goals and Ambitions[]

S1e17 Icekingwink

The Ice King wants to find a woman who would want to marry him, and help to rule his kingdom. As long as he has not found that companion, however, he continues to kidnap a wide variety of princesses and trap them in his Ice Kingdom. In later episodes, Ice King started to respect Finn and Jake and becoming their new best friend by any means necessary has become one of his new goals.

Really Evil?[]

The Ice King may be a misunderstood man who just wants attention and a companion. In the episode, "What is Life?," he wanted NEPTR (Never-Ending Pie Throwing Robot) to be his son, but he failed. In "Prisoners of Love", he was thrilled when he thought Finn and the captured princesses wanted him to dance with them, and when he was in his imagination, he pondered why people did not like him and he wanted advice from Finn and Jake about marriage in "When Wedding Bells Thaw".

In the later episodes, he often tried to be best friends with Finn and Jake, as well as other individuals.

Possibly, the Ice King's final main antagonistic role was in the episode "A Glitch is a Glitch", where he unleashed a virus that would delete everything in the world except him and Princess Bubblegum. However, this episode isn't canon to the series.

There is also the revelation that in reality, he is a normal person, and that the crown drives him crazy, so he ends up making it clear that his problem is more madness than evil.

Quotes[]

Making your way, in the world today, takes everything you got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't it be nice to get away, where everybody knows your name, where everybody...
~ Simon Petrikov singing the theme song for "Cheers" in an attempt to keep his sanity.
Hello. My name is Simon Petrikov. I am recording this tape so that people will know my story. I was studying to be an antiquarian of ancient artifacts. Now, I never believed in the supernatural stuff myself—just had a fascination with superstitions, but everything changed when I came into contact with this item, After purchasing this crown from an old dock worker in northern Scandinavia, I brought it home and excitedly showed my fiancée Betty, and jokingly put it on my head just for a laugh or something, and that's when it started. The visions, I fought with them. Shouted at them until I realized it wasn't real—it was the crown!! [Taking crown off] I quickly took it off, and saw my fiancée in front of me, [Whispering] looking at me with such contempt. What had I said? What had I done when I wore this crown? All I know is I never saw Betty again. Since then, I see the visions always whether or not I wear the crown. They tell me the secrets, the secrets of the ice and snow, that the power of the crown will save me with its frost. I don't yet know what this means. As you can see, my skin is beginning to turn blue. My body temperature has been lowering at a supernatural rate, to what is now about 30° C. I don't know when it will end, I'm really scared. I know my mind is changing, but I'm already too far gone to know what to do. I want people to know that, if I do things, if I do things that hurt anyone, please, please forgive me. Just watch over me until I can find a way out of this labyrinth in my brain and regain my sanity!! And then maybe Betty, my princess, maybe you will love me again. [Sobbing] Please love me again Betty!
~ The Ice King about his tragic past.
Heh? Stop meddling, boy! You and your magical dog can't harm me.
~ Ice King in the pilot episode.
Do you know what 'Ice King' means?!
~ Ice King.
Ladies! I brought you a baby, and a puppy!
~ Ice King.
Play it or I'll squish you into juice!
~ Ice King threatening Wildberry Princess - one of his most notable quotes.
Because when you have stanky old Wizard Eyes, sometimes you see things that are real, and other times it's like crazy, crazy, crazy, in your face, all the time. [sighs] All the time...
~ The Ice King explaining his wizard eyes.
What do you think, Finn? Can we pull back the veil of static and reach in to the source of all being? Behind this curtain of patterns, this random pattern generator. So clever. Right here in every home, watching us from a one-sided mirror.
~ Ice King in "Beyond this Earthly Realm".
J. T. Dawgzone always says, 'Ladies are drawn to bros. with tortured pasts.' And I've got a way tortured past! I think. I don't really . . . re . . . hmm.
~ Ice King in "I Remember You.
I just wanted to be loved!
~ Ice King in "I Remember You."
Marceline, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world? That must be so confusing for a little girl. And I know you're going to need me here with you. But I'm losing myself, and I'm afraid you're gonna lose me too. This magic keeps me alive, but it's making me crazy, and I need to save you, but who's going to save me? Please forgive me for whatever I do, when I don't remember you... Marceline, I can feel myself slipping away. I can't remember what it made me say. But I remember that I saw you frown. I swear it wasn't me, it was the crown.
~ Simon's messages to Marceline explaining his declining sanity, which was also sang by the two as "Remember You".

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Back when Adventure Time started airing, the Ice King initially received a mixed reception due being considered an "irritable antagonist". However, as the series progressed, the Ice King's later development into a complex character and the revelation of his tragic backstory behind his villainy was widely acclaimed. Some even came to deem him as one of the most tragic figures in television of all time.
  • His backstory is similar to Dr. Two-Brains from WordGirl, even sharing the same Voice actor, Tom Kenny
  • The Ice King's obsession with kidnapping princesses, aside from his desire for companionship, might be from a desire to feel the love that he once had with with his fiancé Betty, as he referred to Betty as "my princess" on his video tape.
  • Due to the immortality his crown provides him, the Ice King can remain alive even without his heart, Ricardio. However, he is extremely weakened in this state.
    • After the episode "Lady & Peebles", Princess Bubblegum makes a new heart for Ice King made out of Ricardio's sinews, toffee and maracas.

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