Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze in Detective Comics v1 #1013.

Mr. Freeze is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Pre-Crisis

Mr. Zero was originally a male human scientist who had been experimenting with an ice-gun he had invented when he accidentally doused himself in the freezing solution he had completed. The effects were immediate in that he found he could no longer survive in normal temperatures and could only function in intense cold. Thus, he was forced to live in zero temperatures forever and constructed an air-conditioned costume so he could operate in the world. As Mr. Zero, he began to embark in a crime spree in Gotham City where he used his scientific skill to produce cold weapons for his robberies. He and his gang then took their stolen loot to his secret refrigerated mountain lair as they continued their criminal ventures. Mr. Zero was eventually confronted by the local vigilantes, Batman and Robin, who were unable to stop Zero as they couldn't stand against his cold weapons. The Dynamic Duo were eventually captured by Zero and brought to his secret cold hideout, near the mountains. Trapped in blocks of ice, Batman and Robin learned Zero's plan to steal a large collection of gems and using their cages as weapons, Batman broke a steam pipe in Zero's hideout, causing steam to fill the entire place, melting the ice away and apparently curing Zero from his ailment. After this, Batman and Robin were able to capture the whole gang and brought Zero to the authorities. (Batman v1 #121)

Following years of inactivity, Zero returned to crime where by this point he changed his alias to Mister Freeze. Freeze's condition had apparently returned and he was forced to remain in cold temperatures once again. In this second exploit, Freeze redesigned his Cryo-Suit and also improved his cryothermal gun. With a new gang, he started a new series of crimes and stole valuable pieces of art. Similar to his first criminal activities, Freeze was eventually stopped by Batman and Robin. (Detective Comics v1 #373)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created wit a different history of events. Victor Fries was a male human born in the modern age as the son of Charles Fries and Lorraine Fries. As a boy, his parents raised their son to be a genius and said that they had sacrificed everything to send him to the best private schools and paid for year round tutors. Around this time, he began to start freezing insects and small animals because he wanted to preserve them. This came to be noticed by his parents who found such behaviour to be deviant and the work of a sick mind. As a result, the Fries took their son to Dr. Benjamin Tower who suggested that Victor manifesting these traits stemmed from being under constant pressure from his parents. However, Charles Fries believed that he simply needed to be more strict to correct his son's behaviour. They went to New York but once again Victor tried to freeze his pet rat Nikki with him being caught by his father who beat him. He then sent his son to Greyhaven that was a boarding school for boys that was noted for their discipling techniques. Left there, he found himself bullied by his fellow students and even the staff at the school. (Batman: Mr. Freeze v1 #1)

Nora later fell terminally ill with a rare cancer. Fries left teaching and took on a job working for a large drug company called GothCorp, run by the ruthless Ferris Boyle, so he could find a cure. Using his great intellect and passion for cryogenics, Fries discovered a way to put Nora into cryo-stasis using company equipment, hoping to sustain her until a cure could be found. Boyle found out about the experiment and canceled the funding, but Fries continued with the project, leaving Boyle in huge debt. Boyle attempted to have Nora brought out of stasis and overruled Fries's frantic objections, during which a struggle ensued. As a result, Fries became engulfed in his own cryogenic coolants and was left for dead. Fries survived, but the chemicals had altered his body chemistry and his body temperature was lowered dramatically; he could now only survive at sub-zero temperatures. Fries escaped, unnoticed with the frozen Nora. In hiding, he invented a special refrigeration suit to stay alive, and used cryonic technology to create a powerful gun which fired a beam that froze any target within its range. (Batman: Mr. Freeze v1 #1)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Victor Fries

When he was 10 years old, his father had given him a book of poems that he had given Victor's mother on their first date. Though his father had put a star next to the poems that were his favorite, Victor had picked one as his favorite that did not have a star next it - a short poem about fire and ice. His father did not understand the choice, but Victor said he liked it because it was easy to remember. (All-Star Batman v1 #6)

During a cold winter, his father abandoned him and his mother; Victor watched from the window as the man refused to wish him goodbye. In order to start a new life, Victor and his mother Lorraine went to live with Victor's grandmother in Lowell, Nebraska. There, the two would enter the city's annual snowman contest at the first snow. (Batman: The Dark Knight v2 #23.2)

He was approached by Lex Luthor with the villain offering a cure for Nora's condition with Victor being given an experimental serum. Fries spent sometime studying and perfecting the formula where he had numerous women similar to Nora afflicted with the same condition so as to test the serum. Ultimately, he decided to use it on Nora herself where he transformed her into a being similar to herself. Initially, she was relegated to living in a containment suit until her body stabilised but she came to resent this new existence where she felt trapped by this state of being. She came to find though that her body had adjusted in a similar manner as Victor allowing her to operate without the suit and she came to have a similar skin complexion as her husband. She came to be known as Mrs. Freeze and together they engaged in various criminal acts in the city. However, Victor wanted an end of his life as all his prior actions had been done to cure Nora. Despite this being the case, Nora came to resent her husband more and more as she felt that he was suffocating her by controlling her every action. Thus, she decided to break up with her husband with Victor unable to bear the idea of parting with his wife. Despite that being the case, Nora departed and Victor became desperate to be re-united with his wife. He came to believe that the serum he used to revive her was corrupted and had altered her brain chemistry thus explaining her change in behaviour. In desperation, Victor turned to Batman for help with the two working together to capture Nora as Fries promised the pair would surrender themselves into custody. During the fight, Batman managed to get the upper-hand on Nora but Mr. Freeze betrayed the Dark Knight as he believed his wife's rehabilitation could not occur in prison. He did this out of love with Nora seemingly accepting him again but this was a trick to lower his guard as she injected him with a syringe. The substance caused his body to slowly burn up allowing Nora to escape with Batman having to take Mr. Freeze to safety with Victor being forced to remain in stasis to prevent his body from burning up thus trapping him in a state that his wife had been prior to her cure. (Detective Comics v1 #1016)

Overview

Personality and attributes

He later came to use the name of Mr. Freeze. (Detective Comics v1 #373)

As a child, he was said to had quite an imaginative mind with this occasionally leading to him exhibiting traits of unconventional behaviour. This led to him wanting to keep pretty things safe and beautiful forever. At first, this led to him freezing insects that he thought were pretty and keeping them in the freezer with such behaviour leading his parents thinking he was a deviant and having a sick mind. It was suggested that this also stemmed from a lack of control in his life due to his strict parents. Dr. Tower had believed freezing small creatures in ice had made Victor feel strong in a world that he could control and one that he found pleasing. (Batman: Mr. Freeze v1 #1)

Batman likened Freeze as being similar to the Greek myth of Prometheus with Fries having stolen the power of ice. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #121)

Freeze claimed that he was one of the few true innocents in Gotham City who had done nothing to deserve punishment. (Batman: Mr. Freeze v1 #1)

Victor Fries was the son of Charles Fries and his wife Lorraine Fries. His father was shown to had been a strict man who accused his wife of coddling their son and contradicting him. It was remarked that as a child he was under such pressure to live up to his parents expectations that he felt helpless. Despite this, his father thought that he needed to be stricter and be more controlling over his son. Victor was seen as an embarrassment to his parents and seen as a mistake filed away to be forgotten. (Batman: Mr. Freeze v1 #1)

Powers and abilities

Originally, he was a scientist said to had been a genius when he accidentally exposed himself to a freezing solution. This resulted in him being unable to function in normal temperatures where he began to struggle to breath and could only operate in intense cold. (Batman v1 #121)

To operate in the world, he perfected an air-conditioned costume allowing him to function. (Batman v1 #121)

He wielded an ice-gun that could fire intense cold which could freeze a foe or create ice constructs for his use. (Batman v1 #121)

Notes

• Mr. Freeze was originally created as Mr. Zero where he was created by Dave Wood and Sheldon Moldoff with him making his first appearance in Batman v1 #121 (February, 1959) with him taking the name Mr. Freeze in Detective Comics v1 #373 (March, 1968).
• The character being renamed as Mr. Freeze came as a result of influence and popularity of the 1960's Batman television series.

Alternate Versions

• In Flashpoint: Citizen Cold v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Mr. Freeze appeared in the Flashpoint reality in the Multiverse. Mr. Freeze attacks the S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City to find a cure for his wife Nora. However, Citizen Cold attacks and uses his cold gun to freeze Mr. Freeze's body. Mr. Freeze tries to escape on robotic legs, but Citizen Cold freezes him to death and tells him that Nora is dead. He was shown to be a friend of Fallout and pursued revenge against Citizen Cold for murdering him. It was later revealed that radiation produced by Fallout is the cure Mr. Freeze was searching for.
• In Batman: White Knight v1 (2017), an alternate version of Mr. Freeze appeared in a reality within the Multiverse. This version was a German scientist whose father was Baron Von Fries who was alive during World War II. During that time, Baron Fries met with Thomas Wayne who created a secret program for valuable Nazi assets to be smuggled out to America. Baron Von Fries was among such prisoners with Wayne convincing the War Department to allow him to continue his work on Freeze-Tech for it to be used by the Allies. Fries was allowed to have his family with him on the condition that the project be kept off U.S. soil with Thomas creating a laboratory underneath the German embassy in Gotham. Baron Von Fries intended for his technology to be used as a weapon whilst Thomas saw medical applications though ultimately the War Department sided with Fries leading to Wayne being removed from the project that was re-named Paperclip that was used in the Cold War. Victor Fries came to hate his father and his Nazi past especially on how he treated his fiancée Nora Smithstein with him meeting Thomas Wayne who he saw as a father to him and helped him in his cryogenic medical experiments.
• In Harleen v1 #1 (2019), an alternate version of Mr. Freeze appeared in a reality within the Multiverse. Mister Freeze was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum where he was being treated by Dr. Harleen Quinzel, but she had no progress with him. A group of rogue cops called The Executioners broke into Arkham, freed the inmates and gave them back their weapons. Mister Freeze tried to escape from the asylum, but since the police rounded up the place, he made hostages. Batgirl and Robin defeated Mister Freeze and put him back behind bars.
• In DC's Very Merry Multiverse v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Mr. Freeze appeared in the reality that was designated as Earth-19 in the Multiverse. Mister Freeze studied subzero thermodynamics who used his discoveries for crime. In a fight against Batman and Eel O'Brian, Eel sabotaged his Ice Gun's connection to his suit, which resulted in an ice explosion that seemingly killed him.

In other media

Television

• In The Batman/Superman Hour, Mr. Freeze appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Ted Knight.
• In the DC Animated Universe, Mr. Freeze made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, Mr. Freeze made his first appearance in the setting of the animated television series in the episode "Heart of Ice" where he was voiced by Michael Ansara.
• In The Batman, Mr. Freeze appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Clancy Brown.
• In The Flash, Victor Fries was referenced by name in the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse in the episode “The Icicle Cometh”. Thomas Snow stated that he kept in touch with various scientific experts including Louise Lincoln, Victor Fries and Harrison Wells to keep track of his daughter Caitlin Snow’s activities in the twenty years when he was missing.

Films

• In Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Mr. Freeze featured in the setting of the 1998 animated film set in the DC Animated Universe where he was voiced once again by actor Michael Ansara.
• In Batman & Robin, Mr. Freeze appeared in the setting of the 1997 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Victor Fries was a genetics engineer, who was researching for the cure of MacGregor's Syndrome, a strange disease his wife Nora was suffering from. To give himself more time, he used the company's technology to put his wife, Nora, in cryostasis until he found a cure for her. While working on the cure, an explosion knocked him into a vat full of chemicals, which mutated his body, lowering his body temperature so that he could only survive in temperatures of under 0 degrees. Desperate to save his wife's life, Victor, now calling himself Mister Freeze, made a suit that would keep him at subzero temperatures, powered by diamonds, and a freezing gun, to get enough money to create a cure for his wife's disease. Freeze attacked the Gotham Museum of Art for a huge diamond to power his suit. He was confronted by Batman and Robin, and despite their best efforts to stop him, he still escaped with the Diamond. After this, Batman and Robin hosted a party, in which another diamond would be auctioned, to lure Mister Freeze. Effectively, Freeze showed up, but this time, was stopped by Batman. He was taken to Arkham Asylum, but was soon broken out by Poison Ivy and Bane, who sought an alliance with him. He agreed and the three of them escaped. Ivy attempted to kill Nora out of jealousy and blame it on Batman. Furious and lusting for revenge, Freeze vowed to freeze the entire world, so that everyone would suffer as he did. This fit with Ivy's plan for plants dominating the world perfectly. He sought a new telescope from Wayne Enterprises to turn it into a gigantic freeze gun and freeze all of Gotham. Batman, Robin and their new partner, Batgirl arrived and stopped him. Batman revealed with a security tape, that it was Ivy who tried to kill Nora and not him. Batman then told him, that his wife was still alive, kept in cryostasis and would be sent to Arkham so that he could continue his research there. He told him, that anyone could take a life, but not everyone could give life like he could. Batman then asked for a cure of the first stage of the syndrome, which Alfred was suffering from. Freeze gave it to Batman and was taken to Arkham, where he shared a cell with Ivy. There, he told her that he would make her life a living hell, informing her that "winter has come at last".

Video games

• In DC Universe Online, Mr. Freeze appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Robert Kraft.
• In Injustice 2, Mr. Freeze appeared as a Premier Skin for Captain Cold in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor Jim Pirri.
• In Batman: The Enemy Within, Mr. Freeze appeared in the setting of Telltale Games point-and-click graphic adventure video game where he was voiced by actor Matthew Mercer.

Appearances

• Batman v1: (1959)
• Detective Comics v1:
• Batman: Mr. Freeze v1:
• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1:
• Batman v3:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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