WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution ahead!

The recently released Mighty Marvel Holiday Special: Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution caught the attention of an eagle-eyed fan on Twitter who noticed that Bobby Drake of the X-Men transformed into his ice form using a similar method to that of his 1980s counterpart in the iconic cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Not only was this a great Easter egg for long-time admirers of Iceman to discover, but it was also officially confirmed by the artist Luciano Vecchio.

Bobby Drake is one of Marvel's longest-running characters, appearing in the original group of X-Men trained by Professor X, along with Beast, Angel, Jean Grey, and Cyclops, and has a loyal fanbase. Iceman has been through a lot over the decades, and his most recent journey has been one of self-discovery after coming out as gay. One of Bobby's earliest cartoon appearances was when he was a main character in the 1981-83 series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends which followed the exploits of Iceman, Firestar, and the titular Spider-Man.

Related: The X-Men's Iceman Is A Better Tracker Than Wolverine

In Mighty Marvel Holiday Special: Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution - created, written, drawn, and colored by the talented Luciano Vecchio - Bobby must face off against Ikthalon, the "Demon Lord of the Frigid Wastes of Boreas," using his Omega-Level mutant powers to defeat him. Twitter user @powerofxmen seemed to be the first to discover, and then publicly address, the Easter egg, and even made a side-by-side animated comparison for fans. Bobby transforms into his ice form by freezing himself in an ice cube and bursting forth, recreating almost frame for frame his Iceman evolution in the animated intro of the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon.

One of the main plot points of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was Iceman's barely contained romantic obsession with his female teammate Firestar, so the fact that Vecchio decided to reference the opening from this cartoon, in a comic that focused on Bobby's continued journey with his identity, is a great way of transferring the awesome move into a more modern, LGBTQ-friendly era. As opposed to some Easter egg theories postulated by fans, the creator Luciano Vecchio excitedly confirmed the call back in a tweet to the original poster stating, "Wow thank you for doing this!" Bobby has repressed his sexuality for years, partially because of his anti-mutant bigot of a father, and Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution is the perfect platform for Marvel to continue showing Iceman discovering himself.

Thankfully the end of Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution, which has a wholesome message, confirms that "Iceman will return," so Vecchio can continue to show Bobby's journey of acceptance. Perhaps in 2022 Marvel will finally confirm what the status of Bobby Drake and Christian Frost's relationship is? Hopefully, fans of Bobby Drake will be able to continue seeing his awesome 1980s Iceman transformation shown in Iceman's New Year's Eve Resolution in his continued journeys with the X-Men with a fresh start in the year 2022.

More: The X-Men's Iceman Just Threw Shade At The Justice League

Source: Twitter