ICEMAN and Pyro were introduced to X-Men movie-goers, as opposed to X-Men comic book buyers, in the first film when Rogue (Anna Paquin) tentatively attended her first lessons at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
There, for a brief moment, Pyro (Aaron Stanford) played with fire, while Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) doused it with his ability to radiate intense cold.
This time round, the two young men have matured enough to have far greater parts to play in the story, even to the point where Rogue gets over her infatuation with Wolverine to direct her affections towards Iceman. It's a romance fraught with difficulties since she has the power to suck out the life force of anyone who touches her.
Meanwhile Pyro's ability to manipulate fire threatens to overwhelm his understanding of Xavier's teachings.
The story deals with the threat to Mutants from the villainous human Stryker (Bryan Cox).
He's aided and abetted by the Mutant Deathstrike (Yuriko Oyama) who, like Wolverine, has adamantium claws and amazing healing powers.
Other Mutants include:
Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), a blue-skinned, yellow-eyed Mutant with powers of teleportation
Collossus (Daniel Cudmore), who can change his flesh to organic steel
Siryn (Shauna Kain), who can unleash eardrum-piercing sonic screams
Shadowcat (Katie Stuart), who can pass through ceilings and walls
Jubilee (Kea Wong), who can control fireworks, and the fork-tongued Artie (Bryce Hodgson).