Mr. Freeze
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Mister Freeze (Dr. Victor Fries) is a DC Comics supervillain, an enemy of Batman. Created by Bob Kane, he first appeared in Batman #121 (February 1959).
Mr. Freeze was one of many gimmick-focused comic book villains. He was a mad scientist who plotted crimes around ice and cold. In most incarnations, this desire stems from a medical condition in which his body temperature was permanently lowered and he required a refrigerated “ice suit” to survive.
Originally called Mr. Zero, he was renamed and popularized by the 1960s Batman television series, in which he was played by several actors. Over two decades later, a television adaptation of Batman revitalized him once again. , retold Mr. Freeze’s origin, introducing his terminally ill, cryogenically frozen wife, which greater explained his obsession with ice and need to build a criminal empire to raise research funds. The animated series version was also more calm and composed than previous, campier versions and the comic book version has been altered to resemble it.
Elements of this personal tragedy, but not calm demeanor, were incorporated into the much-scorned 1997 film Batman and Robin, in which he was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Character history
From the time of his first appearance in 1959 onward, Mr. Freeze was portrayed as one of many "joke" villains (see also Killer Moth, The Mad Hatter) cast as stock enemies of Batman. Originally called Mr. Zero, the producers of the 1960's Batman television series renamed him Mr. Freeze (and portrayed Batman addressing him as "Dr. Schimmell"), and the name quickly carried over to the comic books.Nearly thirty years later, Mr. Freeze would owe even more to television. In Batman: The Animated Series, the "Heart of Ice" episode, he was made into a more complex, tragic character. This version of Mr. Freeze was enthusiastically accepted by fans, and has become the standard portrayal for the character in most forms of media, including the comic book series itself which, having recently had the character casually killed by the Joker, hastily resurrected him.
Origin
Pre-Crisis Mr Zero/Mr Freeze was a rogue scientist whose design for an "ice gun" had led to his inadvertently spilling cryogenic chemicals on himself, resulting in his needing sub-zero temperatures to survive. His motives for turning to crime were not explored beyond this.In the Batman: Mr Freeze special (based closely on the animated series episode "Heart of Ice") Victor Fries was fascinated with freezing animals as a child, which would lead to his career in cryogenics research.
His parents, horrified by his "hobby", sent him to a strict boarding school, where he was miserable, feeling detached from humanity. However, at university, he met Nora, whom he befriended and ultimately married.
Unfortunately, Nora later fell terminally ill. Fries took on a job working for a large company run by the ruthless Ferris Boyle, working in his field. Fries did not like the job but needed money to help Nora.
Fries discovered a way to put Nora into cryo-stasis, hoping to sustain her until a cure could be found. Boyle attempted to have her brought out of stasis, overruling Fries' frantic objections. A struggle ensued, in which Boyle kicked Fries into a table full of chemicals and he was left for dead. He survived, but his body temperature was lowered dramatically, and from then on he could only live at sub-zero temperatures, forced to wear a special refrigerating suit to stay alive. As Mr. Freeze, he used cryonic technology to create a gun, which fired a beam that freezes any target within its range.
Mr. Freeze's first action in his new identity was to seek revenge on Boyle. Batman intervened and, when Victor fired his freeze-gun at him, he dodged, causing the beam to shatter Nora's capsule. Freeze blamed Batman for this, and swore to destroy whatever the hero held dear.
The series The Batman gives a different origin story, it lacks Nora but makes Batman indirectly responsible for his powers: Victor Fries, a petty thief, is robbing a bank when Batman intervenes. A chase ensues, but Batman breaks off just before Fries crashes into a cryogenics lab. He falls into a cryogenic freezing chamber with an electrical cable, and is electrocuted at the same time that his blood is frozen. When he awakes and leaves the chamber, ice forms under his feet, meaning that he can create and control ice. He can also survive for short times at normal temperatures. Armed with these powers, Fries vows revenge on Batman.
Mr. Freeze's crimes tend to involve freezing everyone and everything he runs into, which seems to satisfy his urge to get even with a hard, cruel world. In addition, he hardly ever forges alliances with the other criminals in Gotham City, preferring to work alone, although it should be noted that he has worked as a hired enforcer/hitman for the Black Mask. He also (in the hope of curing and reviving his wife) allied himself with The Society, fashioning for Nyssa al Ghul a sub-zero machine in exchange for the use of her own Lazarus Pit. Attempting to bring back Nora without waiting for the adjusting needed in the pool chemicals, he revives her as the twisted Lazara, and escapes after his now-estranged wife, who blames her husband for her condition.
While he displays no obvious signs of insanity (at least, in comparison to the likes of the Joker or Two-Face), he is usually imprisoned in Arkham Asylum when apprehended by Batman, as it is only local penal facility that can accommodate his medical requirements for a refrigerated cell.
Powers and abilities
Like most Batman villains, Mr. Freeze plans his crimes about a specific theme; in his case, ice and cold. In darker incarnations of the Batman mythos, Mr. Freeze's obsession with ice stems from personal tragedy, and his crimes are inspired by his desire to make the rest of the world as cold and miserable as he is. He freezes areas around him using special weapons and equipment. His refrigeration suit grants him superhuman strength and durability, making him a powerful villain in Batman's rogues gallery. Some interpretations also suggest that because he has been soaked in the serum he intended to use for cryo-preservation, his age progression has slowed drastically.In the Underworld Unleashed storyline Mr Freeze was granted the ability to generate sub-zero temperatures, no longer needing his freeze-gun or refrigeration suit. Unlike most villains granted boons by the demon Neron, Freeze's new powers proved temporary.
In other media
- In the 1960s Batman television series, Mr. Freeze was played by George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. In his first appearance (Instant Freeze), it is revealed that it was Batman who spilt the cryogenic chemicals on him during a fight, causing his hatred of the Caped Crusader. This concept would be revisited in Batman & Robin.
- Mr Freeze was a significant villain in , as noted above. He is voiced by Michael Ansara in the series, and its spin-offs.
- * In the direct-to-video film , Freeze is initially happy, living in the Arctic. However, a submarine breaks through into the cave where he lives, causing a cave-in. As the floor cracks and splits, the glass cylinder that contains Nora Fries tips over and shatters. Nora's condition begins to rapidly deteriorate, so Freeze enlists the help of Dr. Gregory Belson to find a cure. Belson is strapped for cash, but agrees to work with Freeze in exchange for all of the gold from a large vein that Freeze discovered in the Arctic. Belson determines that Nora Fries needs an organ transplant, and due to her rare blood type there are not many suitable donors, so Freeze declares that they will use a live donor. Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl) is a perfect match, so Freeze abducts her (with the help of his two polar bears) and takes her to an abandoned oil rig out in the ocean that Freeze is using as a hideout. Batman discovers where Barbara is, and shows up to rescue her. During this time, the oil rig catches on fire. Batman manages to get Nora out safely with Freeze's help, but Freeze sustains damage to his suit and falls off of the rig into the ocean when the rig begins to fall apart. Later, Freeze learns that Nora has been cured, and he is overjoyed to know that his technology has saved her life.
- *In the New Batman Adventures episode, Cold Comfort, Mr. Freeze has returned, but not to a happy reunion as he had hoped: Nora, having accepted that he had likely been killed in the oil rig's collapse, has remarried and left Gotham, leaving Mr. Freeze with nothing for which to live. Furthermore, he learns that the serum that mutated his body was deteriorating it, and although he had hired many scientists to try and stop the process, they only succeeded after the process had claimed all but his head. He begins plotting to drop a freezing bomb on Gotham City but is overpowered by Batman, who ties Mr. Freeze to the bomb and drops him into the sea.
- *Freeze, though having his seemingly last battle with Batman in "Cold Comfort", has had numerous appearances in the comics set in the same universe. In Batman: Gotham Adventures issue #5 he was found shortly after the battle and back in action. He has had further appearances in Batman Adventures as well as two appearances in Justice League Adventures. In the first, he claimed that Captain Cold had stolen his freeze gun design, but in the second they were working together, alongside other cold-based villains.[link]
- *In Batman Beyond, it is discovered that the disembodied head of Victor Fries did indeed survive the events of "Cold Comfort" (The New Batman Adventures) and that the cryogenic process had made him essentially immortal. A doctor working for Derek Powers, the villain Blight, used him as a test subject for a process she hoped would be able to cure Powers' condition. She created a clone body for him and transferred Fries' memories into it. Given a normal life back, Fries tries to right some of the wrongs he did as a criminal. However, the new body soon was found to suffer from the same condition as Fries' original body. The doctor and Powers betrayed Fries, hoping to learn more from an autopsy. Fries escapes, recovers an old suit of armor, and becomes Mr. Freeze again. He seeks revenge on those who betrayed him, but is stopped by Batman. He manages to redeem himself by saving Batman from Blight, but apparently dies from his injuries.
- In the film Batman & Robin, Mr. Freeze (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) teamed up with Poison Ivy in a scheme to freeze Gotham City solid. In this largely campy interpretation, the character spouts puns related to cold weather and temperatures (e.g., "You’re not sending me to the cooler!", "Let's... kick some ice!"). His tragic origin is the same, however, and he is not without sympathetic qualities, though many fans couldn't stand this version of the character. Here, he teamed up with Poison Ivy and her assistant, Bane, to take down Batman, Robin and Batgirl, even freezing Gotham, after Ivy claimed that Batman had turned off his wife's life-support system. But the heroes foiled Freeze's plan and, revealing Ivy's betrayal to him, give him a chance at redemption by reminding him that anyone can kill, but only a few people can save lives. As a result, Freeze gives Batman a means of curing the disease that Alfred, their butler, has recently been diagnosed with, revealing that his wife is still alive and that she will be moved to the Arkham Asylum laboratory so that Freeze can continue working on a cure. After Ivy was incarcerated, Freeze visited her and tells her "Winter has come at last". Presumably, Freeze does things to Ivy to prove his displeasure with her.
- In The Batman, Mr. Freeze was a simple crook who was pursued by the Batman one night after a jewelry heist. Running into a cryogenics lab, he was knocked into one of the freeze chambers and electrocuted as his body was frozen. The experience somehow turned him into a quasi-undead being that constantly generated extreme cold around him; he was forced to wear a special suit (developed by a cryogenicist he coerced into working for him) to prevent him from freezing everything he comes in contact with. He could also (presumably) channel/focus his abilities. Batman had a hard time beating him until Alfred made a winter-themed bat-suit which the Caped Crusader used to defeat Mr. Freeze. In a later episode, Mr. Freeze teamed up with Firefly to put Gotham in a permanent winter. After Firefly stole a technological firm, Freeze made a break-in at Wayne Industries to get liquid canisters. However he was interrupted by Batman. Still, Freeze makes an escape. At the cyro-accelerator, he and Firefly freeze the police force and Batman, but Batman breaks free. At the fight, Freeze is defeated by Batman after he uses heat to melt Mr. Freeze's helmet. He and Firefly are then turned in to the police. Though his background is different, in a flashback of his accident there is a picture of him and a woman with him in his car, suggesting that Nora (or another love interest) does indeed exist in this universe of the Batman mythos. In this series, Mr. Freeze is voiced by Clancy Brown.
- Mr. Freeze also appeared in several Batman video games. He was a boss in Batman: The Animated Series, The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Super NES, The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega Genesis (in which Freeze was the game's final boss), the video game adaptation of the movie Batman & Robin, Batman: Chaos in Gotham, Batman Vengeance and (the only game to feature the comic book version of Mr. Freeze, as all other games use the animated or movie version). Micheal Ansara reprised his role as Mr. Freeze for Batman Vengeance.
Trivia
- In some Spanish translations of The Batman, Mr. Freeze is mistakenly translated as "Capitán Frío". That name is a more accurate translation to another DC ice-themed villain, Captain Cold
- In some Galician translations of TV series Batman, Mr. Freeze is mistakenly translated as "O Siñor Xeo" ("Mr. Ice"), which even led to confusion with Spanish translation of Marvel hero Iceman.
- In Batman Beyond, Mr. Freeze's fate was to be explained in a brief, comedic scene in which Bruce Wayne sends his successor, Terry McGinnis, to the fridge to get him something to drink, and he opens it to find Freeze's head staring back at him. The producers decided that joke didn't do the character justice, however, and did not use it.
- Mr. Freeze's appearance in Batman TAS was designed by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, at the request of series creator Bruce Timm.
- Mr. Freeze is also the name of two LIM roller coasters at two Six Flags parks (Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Texas)
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