Mr. Freeze

Origin

Victor Fries was a talented scientist, with a horrible past (a violent father, no friends) that married the love of his life, Nora Fries. When Nora is diagnosed with a rare terminal illness, Victor's life begins to spiral downhill. In a desperate attempt to save her life, he begins work at a large corporate company run by the evil and corrupted Ferris Boyle. Fries, as he cannot find a way to cure Nora, finds a way to place her in cryo-stasis. In order to save Nora he has to steal equipment from the company he is working for.

When Ferris finds out about Fries stealing from him, he and some of his goons try to kill Fries in the cryo lab. This results in an accident changing Fries so that he can only live in sub-zero temperatures. To counter this, Fries builds himself a cryo-suit to keep his body temperature below zero (powered by diamonds) and an ice gun. Mr. Freeze is born. Freeze was first known as Mr. Zero (Batman #121).

The Title of "Mr. Freeze" was thanks to the 1960's Batman television series which popularized the character. Two-Face was originally slated to be the character but it was thought that he would be "too scary" for kids. Clint Eastwood was to portray Two-Face in the next season. A one shot adaptation of the story that was to introduce Two-Face into the 1960s Batman television show came was titled Batman 66: The Lost Episode. It was adapted from a Harlon Ellison pitch.

Creation

Mr. Freeze was created by Bob Kane, Sheldon Moldoff and Dave Wood (the last two creators are uncredited). A Mr. Freeze appeared in Blackhawk #117 in 1957, two years prior to the Batman #121 appearance. The cover of the Blackhawk issue is titled The Fantastic Mr. Freeze.

Character Evolution

Silver Age: Earth-One

The Silver Age incarnation appears in Comic Book Limbo and is encountered by Animal Man. Mr. Freeze claims that he has been in Limbo so long he has forgotten what a human face looks like. Animal Man, taking pity on Freeze, gives him a photograph of his family.

Modern Age: New Earth

The main difference between Freeze and the other Batman's foes is that he is not a madman like the Joker. Freeze´s actions used to have logic and a deep motivation (to collect diamonds to preserve his life and find a way to save his wife). This explains why he does not like to collaborate with the other Gotham criminals. An exception happened during "Dark victory", when he worked with Two-Face. Two Face paid him a lot of money and Freeze helped him to escape jail and to kill some mob's bosses. It must be noted that Harvey Dent had Freeze´s sympathy because of his strange and tragic situation with his wife, Gilda Dent. Also, sometimes when he´s very enraged, frustrated or confused, Freeze has arrived to attack directly Gotham´s inhabitants ("Batman: Mr. Freeze"), killing innocents, but it is not his habitual behavior. He is not a mass-murderer, like Poison Ivy or the Joker.

Nearly all of Mr. Freeze's crimes are attempts to try and save Nora's life, although he has also tried to take revenge for his mutation on Ferris. Mr. Freeze finally killed Ferris. Mr. Freeze´s weak point, then, was his helmet, that was broken by Batman, seriously damaging his cryo-suit, and allowing the Dark Knight to catch Fries, who later, fixed it. During "No Man´s Land", he took control of Gotham during some weeks.

His kingdom was defined as the less brutal, compared with Killer Croc´s occupation. Mr. Freeze has defeated during his career Robin (Tim Drake) and Batgirl (the last one). He also survived to the attack of a Predator ("Batman VS Predator III"). Also, his freezing technology defeated Catwoman (in Rome) and a Predator (when Batman used Freeze´s weapon). Freeze showed also his good deeds years ago, helping the Flash to solve a crime. He also helped Batman defeat Clayface ("Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75", but only because Batman manipulated him), and also, recently, helped Batgirl to defeat Ra´s Al Ghul´s plans of world destruction.

Major Story Arcs

Modern Age: New Earth

War Games

During War Games, Freeze is brought in by a rival gang to kill several members of the mafia, in retaliation for their attacking of family members, in exchange for diamonds. Following the gang members arriving at what they believe to be a peace conference Freeze ambushes them, freezing them only to be attacked by Catwoman. Catwoman manages to defeat him by kicking him out of a window, which he then hits a brick wall incapacitating him, while Catwoman calls Bruce so he can be locked up in Arkham.

Depression

In 2005 ("Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #190-1"), he suffered a depression, caused by his lack of success healing / resurrecting his wife, and considered the idea of suicide, but Batman saved him. In that episode, he defeated Batman with gas, but let him live. He also, months later, ("Batman: Gotham Knights #59") captured Batman again, and created a trap that would have killed Batman and himself, but Freeze had a long conversation with Batman, and finally recovered his aim, and even helped Batman to escape. Since then, his depression finished, and Freeze recovered his strength to save his wife.

Lazara

Freeze is one of the villains to join the latest incarnation of the Secret Society of Super VIllains. He used the teams connections to contact Nyssa Al Ghul in order for him to gain access to the Lazarus pit. He builds a machine for the society in return for access to the pits. The procedure is successful in bringing Nora back to life, but she returns damaged and mutated. Thanks to years of experimentation and decomposition Nora has absorbed the properties of the Lazarus Pits and has become Lazara.

Black Mask

Freeze later worked for the first Black Mask when the Red Hood was stirring up trouble in the Gotham Underworld. During Salvation Run he was one of the few Batman's foes that joined Luthor´s side, instead of the Joker´s. In that comic, he destroyed some of Darkseid´s parademons, freezing them. Afterwards, Freeze briefly allied himself with Hush when he placed Catwoman's heart in cryogenic suspension. Freeze was next seen in Battle for the Cowl, Mr. Freeze captured Commissioner Gordon and held him hostage.

However, he was defeated and sent to Iron Heights until Arkham Asylum is rebuilt. Freeze was then freed along with the rest of the prisoners by Black Mask. An explosive device was planted in his head to prevent himand the rest of the group from rebelling. Not wanting to work for Mask, Mr. Freeze sets up a device to remove the chip. It needs a power source, so he captures

Black Lightning. Black Lightning escapes, and knocks out Mr. Freeze. The Outsiders take pity on him and remove the chip.

Post-Flashpoint: Earth-0

First Snow

On the Night of the Owls, Mr. Freeze stages a breakout at Arkham, ruthlessly attacking many guards in search for his cryo-suit and makes his way to the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge in order to obtain his weaponry. Fries endeavors to resurrect Nora using a formula he developed, which was used by the Court of Owls to raise the Talons. A flashback event from six years ago reveals that Bruce Wayne was instrumental in firing Victor from Wayne Laboratories and decommissioning the research that he was working on--namely bio-cryonics. Freeze, enraged by this, hurled a chair at Bruce, which hit the cryotanks in the laboratory and exploded all over him. The accident left Victor biologically changed, his skin cells now storing the cold and rendering him unable to live without being in constant cold temperatures.

Mr. Freeze finds Nora in the penthouse of Wayne Tech. Batman is there to stop him. Mr. Freeze engages Batman in battle, and Batman takes the opportunity to reveal information about the cryogenically frozen Nora. She is not Nora Fries, but a woman named Nora Fields, born in 1943. She was engaged to a lawyer, was diagnosed with an incurable heart condition at 23, and had graduated from college. Her parents decided to place her under this controversial treatment. This is what brough Victor to work for Wayne Industries. She was the first person to undergo crygenic stasis and wrote his doctoral thesis on her decades ago. A separate flashback from Fries' childhood reveals a sinister, twisted, and perhaps delusional, aspect of his personality.

A young Victor was walking over the frozen lake to a snowman contest in Nebraska with his mother. She was talking about the tradition of using an apple to create the snowman's eyes, nose, and mouth. Victor was ahead of her when the ice broke and she fell in. The ice preserved her until help arrived. The ice preserved her but, she was left paralyzed and she no longer thought clearly. She had forgotten the apple and when she showed young Victor her hand was bleeding in two circles. He kissed her and telling her to rest, he pushed her into the hole in the lake to drown.

Powers and Abilities

Cryo-Suit

Mr Freeze wields a laser-powered cold gun, capable of creating ice or freezing people or objects. He is a genius and has advanced expertise in the field of cryogenics. His cryo-suit also gives him increased strength and durability. Also because the experimental coolants he fell in were meant to preserve life, his aging process was greatly decreased making him almost immortal. Mr.Freeze's helmet is completely bulletproof as shown in Batman Under the Red Hood.

Physical Characteristics

• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: None
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 190 lbs

Other Versions

Flashpoint

An alternate version of Freeze appears in the Reverse Flash altered world of Flashpoint. Freeze's origin appears the same, as he is attacking STAR Labs for technology that could possibly assist his ill wife. He is attacked by Citizen Cold, a villain posing as a hero. Freeze is frozen, but his head escapes on mechanical spider legs, similar to Batman: the Animated Series. Citizen Cold then crushes the escaping mechanical head.

The Doom That Come to Gotham

In the HP Lovecraft inspired Elseworlds, The Doom That Came to Gotham, Mr. Freeze is a man named August Grendon. Grendon is a member of the Cobblepot expedition to Antarctica. Grendon is chosen by the Cthulhu-esque entity called Iog-Sotha to be an agent, and, in a pastiche to the Lovecraft story "Cool Air", is saved from death and decay when in cold temperatures.

He is rescued from the Antarctic by a rescue expedition helmed by Bruce Wayne. One of Wayne's sailors, Jason Todd, rigs a refrigerated suit for Grendon whilst keeping Grendon in the freezer of the ship. Grendon ultimately freezes the entire ship in Gotham Bay, and escapes. He is killed when Killer Croc tears his suit so that Ra's Al Ghul can create an agent of Iog-Sotha with his corpse.

Injustice: The Regime

Despite his cell still being kept cold for him, Freeze did not stay locked inside Arkham. Instead, he remained surprisingly low-key during Superman's Regime, remaining in hiding for five years before being captured by Killer Croc. Detained in a prison in the sewers of Gotham, Freeze was soon rescued by Harley Quinn and her Joker Clan.

Other Media

Film

Batman & Robin

In the movie Batman and Robin he is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In Batman and Robin, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy are the two villains, but in the last scenes, Freeze is redeemed by Batman, and saves Alfred Pennyworth´s life. Later, he punishes Poison Ivy by having attempted to kill Nora Fries.

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero is a 1998 direct-to-video animated feature film based on Batman: The Animated Series. It serves as a sequel to both the episode "Deep Freeze" and the feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

After the Ninja Turtles and Batman team up to stop the alliance between the Foot Clan and the League of Assassins, Ra's al Ghul gives a cannister of ooze to Joker to use on Arkham Asylum inmates to create a diversion. Freeze was turned into a polar bear mutanimal.

Television

Batman (1966)

In Batman's TV series, starring Adam West, he was played by George Sanders (first), Otto Preminger (later) and Eli Wallach (finally). George Sander's Freeze is serious and tragic, very interesting, marked by the accident that Batman caused (this fact was introduced), and forced to live "sub zero".

Otto Preminger's Freeze was the creepiest as, besides discrediting Batman as being a coward and on the make, he kidnapped 'Miss Iceland' from a beauty contest and tried to reduce her tempreture to sub zero, so he could have a girlfriend. Eli Wallach's Freeze is campy and funny and the only Freeze to have a girlfriend that sincerely liked him as well as having a pet seal. The three versions of Mr. Freeze show a strong German accent.

List of Episodes

• Season 1, Episode 7: Instant Freeze
• Season 1, Episode 8: Rats Like Cheese
• Season 2, Episode 19: Green Ice
• Season 2, Episode 20: Deep Freeze
• Season 2, Episode 59: Ice Spy
• Season 2, Episode 60: The Duo Defy

Batman Cartoon (1970's)

Freeze appeared in an episode of Batman´s 1970´s cartoons. The character is like Preminger's version, but bald.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)

When Mr. Freeze first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (part of the DC Animated Universe), he had gone through a monumental change from his original comic counterpart. Bruce Timm had transformed him into a victim of injustice and a hero in his own mind. He starts a crusade against the man that caused his accident, and finally, he destroys his financial empire.

This version was well accepted by fans and became canon in the regular DC Universe, after Paul Dini's one-shot comic book "Batman: Mr. Freeze". This version shows Freeze as an anti-hero, instead of as a ruthless villain. In his final appearance in the series, before the film "Batman: Subzero", Freeze helps Batman to defeat a villain that wanted to annihilate mankind. That villain offered Freeze to resurrect Freeze's wife, but Victor, man of honor, rejected him, because "Nora would not have accepted the exchange".

List of Episodes

Batman The Animated Series (1992)

• Season 1, Episode 3: Heart of Ice
• Season 3, Episode 10: Deep Freeze

The New Batman Adventures (1997)

• Season 1, Episode 3: Cold Comfort

Batman Beyond

Freeze would go own to make numerous appearances in the DC Animated Universe, even in the future of "Batman Beyond", where, again, finishes joining Batman's side, to defeat a powerful villain. Freeze (who knew that his wife died years ago) scarified his life, but destroyed the creature, and saved the city.

List of Episodes

• Season 1, Episode 5: Meltdown

The Batman (2004)

Freeze appears in number of episodes of The Batman.

List of Episodes

• Season 1, Episode 6: The Big Chill
• Season 2, Episode 3: Fire and Ice
• Season 3, Episode 12: The Icy Depths
• Season 4, Episode 7: Artifacts

Batman the Brave and the Bold

He appears in Batman the Brave and the Bold as Mr. Zero.

Young Justice

Freeze appears in the opening episode of Young Justice, he is fighting against Robin.

Video Games

Lego: Batman

In Lego Batman The Video Game, he is a boss and a unlockable character. His powers are Super Strength, and he is immune to acid, he also has a freeze gun that he can freeze teammates or foes with. Mister Freeze also has a watercraft that is immune to acid (Only other person with this kind of watercraft is Killer Croc, who drives some kind of small boat) This can be used to beat certain levels and access certain areas.

DC Universe Online

Mr Freeze appears throughout DC Universe Online, having taken over Gotham Mercy Hospital in a villain exclusive mission. He later reappears as one of the three villains who have taken Batman hostage and taken over Arkham Asylum in one of the T2 Alerts.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

He is mentioned in one of the Riddler's challenge. During the boss fight with Harley Quinn in the Penitentiary area, Mr. Freeze's prison cell can be seen in a corner of the room, encased in ice. Scanning it solves the Riddler challenge and unlocks his character bio.

Batman: Arkham City

Mr. Freeze is introduced in Arkham City where he is voiced by Maurice LaMarche. Mr. Freeze has, like all other Arkham Asylum and Blackgate prisoners been transferred to the newly created Arkham City, here he continued to work on the cure for his beloved Nora from the old GCPD building before she is stolen from him by the Joker, who threatened to kill her unless he worked out a cure for his Titan poisoning.

Reluctantly Victor came close to a cure before he was attacked by the Penguin and dragged off to his museum stronghold where he was put on display. Batman finds him there and threatens him to reveal how to bypass his freeze gun that the Cobblepot had armed himself with. After Cobblepot's defeat Freeze is re-installed in his suit, only to reveal that the cure could not be made unless a specific compound was added... a compound Batman realises is swimming around in Ra's al Ghul's blood.

After retrieving the blood however Freeze double crosses Batman, having been fed up with being pushed around, leading to a harrowing fight in the GCPD station where Batman could not employ the same tactic twice to defeat him. Freeze is eventually defeated however, and Batman promises to find his Nora after Harley Quinn stole the cure during the fight.

Batman: Arkham Origins

Mr. Freeze was the main villain in the DLC for Batman Arkham Origins, called: A cold, cold heart. It is based on the first episode Freeze appeared in Batman the Animated series. Just like the episode it was based on, the Humanitarian award was arranged in Wayne Manor by Bruce Wayne's approval. Freeze blames Ferris for his wife's incident just like he did in the animated series.

Mr.Freeze busts in to Wayne Manor with the help of Penguin thugs, and he captures Ferris Boyle. He then continues to go to the building Ferris Boyle's company is in, and from there on, he fails to kill Ferris due to Batman stopping him.

Batman: Arkham Knight

Though having given up on crime, Batman's and Freeze's paths cross again when the Arkham Knight's militia take Nora. When Batman is told that a freighter is frozen near Gotham City and goes to investigate, he finds that the ship is called Nora and is taken over by the Arkham Knight's forces. After defeating them, Batman ventures inside the ship, where he sees Freeze desperately trying to fix the machinery. He then turns to Batman, telling him that the Arkham Knight initially wanted Freeze to assist him in taking down Batman.

When Freeze refused, they took Nora from him and told him that she would be returned to him if he would kill Batman. He then aims a weapon at Batman, claiming that they took Nora because of him. Batman tells him to pull the trigger if he thinks the Knight will be true to his word. Freeze then holsters the weapon and begs Batman for help.

Batman and Nora meet with Victor on the deck of the ship, where Nora and Victor decide to use the small amount of time they have together to live. Batman then leaves the scene. He is later told by Alfred that the ship has set course and is leaving Gotham and asks Batman whether he should track them. Batman refuses, stating that they won't see Freeze and Nora again.

Injustice 2

Mr. Freeze is a Premier Skin in Injustice 2 for Captain Cold. Most of Freeze's dialog is looking for a cure for his wife's disease. His voiced by Jim Pirri.