Stay Frosty

Hey! I know we're all in strung out shape, but stay frosty and alert. We can't afford to let one of those bastards in here.

—Corporal Hicks, Aliens

When "keep cool" just isn't awesome enough. This is a Stock Phrase that a Badass soldier will typically say to his troops right as it's all about to hit the fan. It's extra Badass because it encourages others to be as Badass as the speaker himself. More associated with modern warfare and Space Marines than Military Tropes of the past.

Not to be confused with a certain Snowlem.

Examples of Stay Frosty include:

Anime and Manga

• Uttered frequently by Shinji Mimura in the manga of Battle Royale, particularly after Kazuo Kiriyama splits open his stomach and his guts fall out. He often addresses his uncle, who taught him to stay cool.

Film

• Probably made famous by Corporal Hicks in the movie Aliens. It also makes perfect sense coming from him, as he does remain quite frosty under pressure (compare with Hudson & Gorman). He even falls asleep during the dropship ride to the surface.

Literature

• The Specials in the Uglies trilogy have an even cooler version: stay icy.
• In The Glitch in Sleep, John Hulme and Michael Wexler's first Seems book, Casey Lake says this to Becker just before they jump into a big body of water to investigate possible sabotage—with, as the narration points out, no idea what's at the bottom.

Casey: Stay frosty.
Becker: Staying frosty, sir.

Live Action TV

• This was the title of an episode of Generation Kill. A big theme of the book/TV series is how modern soldiers pattern themselves after war movies. Colbert actually says it enough for other Marines to consider it his stock phrase.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000's Joel Robinson would occasionally use this line, especially when confronted with a particularly bad movie, or the villainous... Timmy.
• Battlestar Galactica ("Razor"). The "stay frosty" line is used by one of the Space Marines boarding the Hybrid vessel; as his name is Hudson, it's likely a deliberate Shout-Out to Aliens.
• Used in a 1979 episode of The Rockford Files (#6.8 "The Hawaiian Headache") by government agent Gordon Lyle when giving directions to Jim Rockford: "Just stay frosty and don't panic."

Video Games

• The Cleaners in Max Payne 2 instruct each other to stay frosty while they're looking for you.
• The protagonist of the Marine campaign in Alien vs. Predator 2 is even named Andrew "Frosty" Harrison.
• One of the lines in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It comes during a sequence which borrows a lot of lines from Aliens, making it a Shout-Out. Later used to the point of absurdity in Modern Warfare 2.
  • Funny, because the ones yelling it are the ones who need to take their own advice.
• Uttered by Jim Raynor in the original StarCraft. Bonus points for the fact that the cutscene takes place on a Volcano Planet.
  • And again in the very first mission of 2.
  • And by a generic Medic in the expansion. "Stay frosty and get the job done!"
  • And ironically by the Firebat, in more than one way (both uses flame weapons and military-grade stimulants in combat).
• In Star Fox Command, Falco frequently uses this line.
• Max of Sam and Max used this as his campaign slogan while running for President. Stay Frosty, America!
• In Resident Evil 5, the helicopter pilot Kirk says this after blowing the hell out of everything with a rocket launcher.
• Mega in Mega Man Star Force uses this often, especially in the third game.
• Rouge says this at one point in Sonic Heroes.
• Used several times in Starsiege, most notably by Harabec Weathers. Becomes punny when he says it to his brother, Caanon "Icehawk" Weathers.
• Also used a lot in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.
• Used by a common soldier you talk to on base in Bionic Commando: Rearmed.
• The goal of the interactive fiction game Little Blue Men is to "remain. Totally. Frosty." Kind of.
• Used once or twice in Bad Company 2, in a hilarious scene mocking Modern Warfare 2.
• City Of Heroes has the hero Manticore saying this in the Lord Recluse Task Force when he and the rest of the remaining Freedom Phalanx realize you and your team of villains are gunning for them.
• Said at least twice by Kasumi Goto in Mass Effect 2.
• Said quite often by the Galactic Rangers in the third "Ratchet and Clank" game

Webcomics

• Commander Foxworthy from Schlock Mercenary elaborates on this: "I want you sharper than razors and frostier than snowmen."
• Fleur tells Eeichi this in Okashina Okashi.

Western Animation

• Henchman 21 asks "Texas," a future part of Venturestein, if he's staying frosty in the first-person-perspective intro to The Venture Brothers episode "Viva Los Muertos!"
• A common line in ReBoot, generally played for humor rather than used seriously.
  • Usually after a bad guy has been, well, frozen.
• Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation SHAVE.
• Common line in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command before commercial breaks.
• In Batman Beyond, Terry tells Chelsea, who is being brainwashed and tortured at a "tough love ranch" to "stay schway until he can rescue her.
• In the Space Ghost: Coast to Coast episode "Snatch", replicating pods have taken over the studio and are waiting for our heroes to fall asleep in order to take over their bodies. They cannot leave the studio because the planet has been coated by the Blob. In the midst of this dilemma, Zorak comes up with an ingenious escape plan.

Zorak: Alright, here's the plan. We create a diversion by throwing the planet's orbital axis off by thirteen degrees. Actually, ten degrees should do it. You don't want to throw it off too much, because...well, you know. Now, once we've lowered the gravitational fields by say...forty gigawatts...and secured the outer perimeter...securely...well I...I think we'll be just fine. *brandishes raygun* Any questions? Okay then! Move out, lock n' load, happy birthday, and STAY FROSTY!!! *Dramatic Gun Cock*