There's been posts about Tai/fire, Matt/ice associations flying around that got me really thinking about Matt/ice specifically. Yes, MetalGarurumon can use ice, but not in any of his forms before that (compared to Agumon where it's a lot more consistent). In fact, Gabumon and Garurumon spit fire too- it's just blue! Whereas WereGarurumon is more of an up-close brawler.
I think the ice association- and I'm guilty of this myself from when I was a kid- is from this one attack + ice being opposite to fire + mischaracterization of Matt as the cool, suave, level-headed loner (the early dub episodes "helped" with this). But if anything, Matt is also fire. I know I grossly over-estimate how much he hits things around here. He only does so for a reason- because he perceives someone is in danger and/or he's trying to protect someone. On a normal day, his fists are in service of others- whether they're aware of it or not.
^ Matt's stake in this fight was TK. Tai's stake in this fight was reuniting the group. They both care way too much and they express this care by aggression A LOT (Tai moreso in Adventure- he mellows out as he gets older far more than Matt does). They are fascinating bugs to study and I adore them.
The Cherrymon incident is the only case of Matt being "fiery" for his own sake. But he was being manipulated, and his insecurities toyed with. The irony of his character is he believes he doesn't deserve the Crest of Friendship, or TK's admiration (Cherrymon played with both). But the way he expresses his love and care for others is so automatic and burns so brightly that everyone else (at least, in the audience) can see it.
He's so used to doing this that he doesn't want anyone to get too close- too see the vulnerability he has under all that fire. And I can see how the ice metaphor works here, too. But fire burns. It pushes people away with raw force. Which matches Matt's actions more than ice, imo? In the cave with Gabumon, I don't see ice melting from warmth. I see fire gently fading. Both metaphors work, but the mental picture of a fire going out under a soft rain just does more for my brain cells. Especially with his desire to let no-one see him cry.
Matt cares so much that it's everyone else's problem and I love him for that. What I don't love is dub material calling him the "cool kid", having him introduce himself to Tsunomon with "no autographs please" before he even had a band, and then creating expectations for his character that just...don't work.
