Blizzard (Donnie Gill) - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

Donald "Donnie" Gill was born in Newark, Delaware. He became a criminal mercenary and was hired by Justin Hammer, who gave him a cryogenic suit reminiscent of the original Blizzard. As the original was vaporized by Iron Man 2020, Donnie decided to use the name Blizzard, as well. His first mission had him working with two other super-villains — the Beetle and Blacklash — in order to capture Force, who had betrayed Hammer. However, Blizzard was clumsy, and annoyed his teammates with his amateur mistakes, such as creating an ice wall which blocked their path to their objective. After accidentally encasing Blacklash in ice, the trio fled as more reinforcements arrived to protect Force.

Later, the trio retried to capture Force, but he was under the protection of Iron Man. Blizzard battled much more competently this round, but when Force entered the fight, he rendered the villains' powers useless. Deciding to flee and rest until their powers restored, Blizzard, Beetle, and Blacklash split up. Force found Blizzard, who had regained his powers. However, his powers were ineffective against Force, so he decided to battle him with his bare hands. Force repelled Blizzard, blasting him through a wall. Blizzard, unwilling to give up, attempted to blast Force once more, despite Force's warnings, and was electrocuted. The Beetle and Blacklash abandoned Blizzard, deciding to blame him for their failures, while he was taken into custody.

However, before he could be imprisoned, he was rescued by Rhino on Hammer's behalf. Blizzard's loyalty to Hammer grew greatly, although Iron Man had attempted to help him legally and morally. Hammer decided to bargain with Iron Man over Blizzard, forcing Iron Man to help him take down the Ghost. Iron Man agreed, but Blizzard refused to believe Hammer would betray him. After hearing a recording, Blizzard was crushed and surrendered to Iron Man.

After several missions on his own which put him in opposition of the Avengers and the New Warriors, attending the AIM Weapons Expo with several other super-villains, and joining the largest incarnation of the Masters of Evil, Blizzard decided to try again with a smaller team, working a mission alongside villains such as Constrictor, Crossfire, and the daughters of Tarantula and Batroc the Leaper. Their mission failed miserably after interference from Agent X and his allies.

Blizzard attacked She-Hulk in a bar and instead of defeating him, she invited him to join her for a drink. He ended up getting extremely drunk, contemplating his self-existence and lack of recognition. Before collapsing in a drunken stupor, Blizzard noted that he liked She-Hulk, forming a friendship with her. After reverting to her Jennifer Walters persona, she collapsed on top of him, vomiting everywhere.

With the Avengers disbanded, the Beetle, now known as Mach-IV, decided to form a new group of Thunderbolts. As with the original group of Thunderbolts, this incarnation was based on former villains seeking redemption and forgiveness for their crimes while working as super-heroes. Donnie Gill was one of the first members invited to join by Mach-IV, and he agreed to join. However, he lacked any confidence despite his intense drive to help people. As a Thunderbolt, Blizzard went up against several enemies, including Fathom Five, the Wrecking Crew and the Purple Man.

Blizzard and fellow Thunderbolt Speed Demon began to bond, forming a close friendship. When Speed Demon attempted to commit illegal acts alongside the Shocker, Blizzard stopped him by convincing him to use his former Whizzer outfit and placing a tracking device on him. Speed Demon, angry at Blizzard, defeated him and tied him upside down on a bridge, naked. While constantly doubting his status as a super-hero and often feeling as though he should give up, Blizzard gained strength through the others, most notably Songbird, who often insulted him and even dismissed him from the group after she became leader.

Baron Zemo, forming a group to battle Songbird's Thunderbolts, recruited Blizzard, who spent his days drinking in bars after being fired by Songbird. His new teammate the Fixer upgraded Blizzard's costume enhancing his abilities. He participated in the ensuing battle against the Thunderbolts, but soon the groups were assimilated, and Blizzard aided the group against the U-Foes during Civil War. In the battle against Overmind, Blizzard proved himself to his teammates by shielding them from the onslaught of his attacks, along with Songbird.

In the final battle against the Grandmaster, Blizzard's suit was destroyed after the Wellspring energy was released. He was pardoned for his past crimes.

On the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1, it shows Blizzard amongst the 142 registered superheroes.

Blizzard later appeared as an inmate at the Raft.