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{{Short description|Supervillain in the DC Universe}}
{{About|the comic book character|the ''Gotham'' episode|Mr. Freeze (Gotham episode)|the roller coaster|Mr. Freeze (roller coaster)}}
{{pp-move-indef}} {{for-multi|other uses}}
'''Mr. Freeze''' is the name of two<!--Do not add "fictional" as it is tautological; supervillains (and characters in general) are by definition implied to be fictionalized to some extent.--> ]s appearing in ]s published by ]. Created by writer Dave Wood and artists ] and ], the character initially debuted in '']'' #121 (February 1959) as '''Mr. Zero''', a ] with an unknown birth name who, after a physiology-altering mishap, becomes an ice-themed criminal typically armed with freezing weapons and an adversary of the superhero ] forced to live in ] temperatures and wear a special "]" for survival. He was later renamed "Mr. Freeze" after the version featured in the 1966 '']'' television series.
{{short description|Fictional character throughout the DC Universe}}

In 1992, Mr. Freeze was reinvented as a ] ] by writer ], producer ], and artist ] for '']'', which portrayed '''Dr. Victor Fries, PhD''' (pronounced "freeze") as a scientist in ] who suffers a lab accident while trying to ] preserve his terminally ill wife, ]. He turns to crime to fund his research in his obsessive quest to cure Nora by any means necessary, which brings him into conflict with Batman. The animated revamped depiction of Mr. Freeze received widespread acclaim and redefined the character, providing such a burst in his popularity that DC Comics ] the ] conceived by Dini into the mainstream comic book continuity, and adapted it for almost every incarnation of the ] since.

As one of Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his ], Mr. Freeze has been adapted in various ]. He has been portrayed in film by ] in '']'' (1997), and in television by ], ], and ] in the 1966 ''Batman'' series, and ] in '']''. ], ], ], and others have provided the character's voice in animation and video games.

==Creation and development==
Created by Dave Wood, ], and ], the character made his first appearance in '']'' #121 (February 1959) as "Mr. Zero", a criminal scientist whose experimental "ice gun" backfires and spills cryogenic chemicals on him, forcing him to wear a sub-zero suit for survival and transforming him into a ]y ] who commits ice-themed crimes.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/><ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=225}}</ref><ref name="B#121">''Batman'' #121 (February 1959). DC Comics.</ref> The name "Mr. Freeze" was first used when the character was adapted for the 1960s '']'' television series, in which he was played by three different actors: ], ] and ].<ref name="Freeze 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze|access-date=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref><ref name="Freeze 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze2.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze 2|access-date=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref><ref name="Freeze 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze3.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze 3|access-date=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref> Mr. Freeze debuted in the episode "]" on February 2, 1966, and his comic book counterpart was soon renamed as well in '']'' #373 (March 1968).<ref name="Detective Comics Vol 1 373">''Detective Comics'' (vol. 1) #373. DC Comics.</ref>

Nearly thirty years later, lead producers ] and ] provided a complete overhaul for the character in adapting him for '']''. Artist ] redesigned Mr. Freeze for the series at Timm's request, while ] provided the character's voice.<ref name="Bio">{{cite web|url= http://www.artofmikemignola.com/Bio|title= Art of Mike Mignola - Bio|year= 2010|publisher= Art of Mike Mignola|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131105025849/http://www.artofmikemignola.com/Bio|archive-date= November 5, 2013|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all|access-date= February 9, 2012}}</ref> The episode "]", which was written by Dini and directed by Timm, aired on September 7, 1992, and retold Mr. Freeze's origin as Dr. Victor Fries, a scientist who turns to crime to find a cure for his cryogenically frozen, terminally ill wife, ].<ref name="Heart of Ice">{{cite web|url=http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/btas/hoi.html|title=Heart of Ice|quote=Mr. Freeze targets the industrialist responsible for his wife's death.|access-date=2008-05-09|publisher=Toon Zone|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080428110756/http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/btas/hoi.html|archive-date=2008-04-28}}</ref> This revamped depiction of Mr. Freeze as a complex and tragic villain was enthusiastically accepted by fans and provided such a burst in the popularity of the character that his comic book counterpart was resurrected in the comic after the episode aired (having previously been unceremoniously ] by the ]).<ref>{{cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=] (comics)|story=Cold Cases|title=]|volume=1|issue=#670|date=January 1994|publisher=]|location=New York City}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=McAvennie |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-8578-6 |page=86}}</ref><ref>{{Cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=Harkins, Tim|editor=]|story=The Funniest Thing Happened...|title=] II: The Joker's Wild!|issue=#1|date=October 1991|publisher=]|location=]}}</ref> Mr. Freeze's characterization and backstory from ''Batman: The Animated Series'' were even ] into the mainstream comic book continuity, and have become the standard portrayal for the character in almost every incarnation of the ''Batman'' mythology and its media adaptations.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Steve|last1=Daly|first2=Anne|last2=Thompson|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,291605,00.html|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090427113344/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,291605,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 27, 2009|title=A Tights Squeeze|magazine=]|publisher=]|location=New York City|date=March 8, 1996|access-date=May 8, 2008}}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
===Pre-Crisis version===
{{Infobox comics character {{Infobox comics character
| character_name = Mr. Freeze | character_name = Mr. Freeze
| image = Mister Freeze (Victor Fries, PhD. - circa 2020).png | image = Image:Batman121 mr zero.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Mr. Freeze in ''Detective Comics'' #1027 (September 2020).<br />Art by Brad Walker.
| caption = The Pre-Crisis version of Mr. Freeze's first appearance as "Mr. Zero" in ''Batman'' #121 (February ]).<br>Art by ].
| real_name = Victor Fries
| publisher = ] | publisher = ]
| first_comic = '''As Mr. Zero:'''<br />'']'' #121<br/>(February 1959)<br />'''As Mr. Freeze:'''<br/>'']'' #373<br/>(March 1968) | debut = '''As Mr. Zero:'''<br />'']'' #121 (February 1959)<br />'''As Mr. Freeze:'''<br />"]"<br />'']''<br />(February 2, 1966)
| creators = Dave Wood<br />]<br />]
| first_series = '''As Mr. Freeze:'''<br />]<br />"]"/"]"<br />'''As Victor Fries:'''<br />]<br />"]"
| first_episode = | real_name = Unknown
| species = ]
| creators = '''As Mr. Zero''':<br />Dave Wood (writer)<br />] (artist)<br />] (concept)<br />'''As Victor Fries''':<br />] (writer)<br />] (character designer)
| homeworld = ]
| alliances = Injustice League<br />]<br />GothCorp
| alliances =
| aliases = Mr. Zero<br />Dr. Art Schivel<br />Crown Prince of Chilblains<br />King of Cold
| aliases = Mr. Zero<ref name="UGO - Freeze">{{cite web|url=http://batman.ugo.com/roguesgallery/mrfreeze/ |title=UGO's World of Batman – Rogues Gallery: Mr. Freeze |access-date=May 10, 2008 |publisher=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527232551/http://batman.ugo.com/roguesgallery/mrfreeze/ |archive-date=May 27, 2008 }}</ref>
| powers = | powers =
* Genius-level intellect * ]-level intellect
* ] adaptation
* Sub-zero physiology allows survival at extremely low temperatures
* Refrigerated ] grants superhuman strength and durability
* Utilizes ] weaponry
| cat = super | cat = super
| subcat = DC Comics | subcat = DC Comics
Line 24: Line 35:
| villain = y | villain = y
}} }}
In order to create an ice gun, a scientist whose name remains unknown starts experimenting with a concentrated freezing solution. He suffers an unfortunate accident that changes his physiology, forcing him to live in environments below ]. He adopts the criminal identity of Mr. Zero. To be able to go out to the normal environment, Zero creates an ], which helps him remain in cold temperatures, even in hot climates. Using this equipment, Zero gathers a small gang and starts a crime spree in ], stealing mainly diamonds and other precious jewels. Mr. Zero is eventually confronted by the local vigilantes, ] and ]. Unable to stand against his cold weapons, the Dynamic Duo fails to stop Zero. They are captured by him and brought to his secret cold hideout, near the mountains. Trapped in blocks of ice, Batman and Robin learn Zero's plan to steal a large collection of gems. Batman eventually breaks a nearby steam pipe, causing steam to fill the hideout, melting the ice away and apparently curing Zero from his ailment. After this, Batman and Robin are able to capture the whole gang and bring Zero to the authorities.<ref name="B#121" />


After years of inactivity, Zero's condition apparently returns. Going back to his life of crime, he changes his alias to Mr. Freeze and is forced to remain in cold temperatures once again. In this second exploit, Freeze redesigns his cryo-suit and improves his cryothermal gun. With a new gang, he starts a new series of crimes and steals valuable pieces of art. Similar to his first criminal activities, Freeze is eventually stopped by Batman and Robin.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #373. DC Comics.</ref>
'''Mr. Freeze''' ('''Dr. Victor Fries''') is a fictional ] appearing in ] published by ]. Created by writer Dave Wood and artist ], he first appeared in '']'' #121 (February 1959)<ref name="UGO - Freeze">{{cite web|url=http://batman.ugo.com/roguesgallery/mrfreeze/ |title=UGO's World pf Batman – Rogues Gallery: Mr. Freeze |accessdate=May 10, 2008 |publisher=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527232551/http://batman.ugo.com/roguesgallery/mrfreeze/ |archive-date=May 27, 2008 }}</ref> as the ice-based criminal '''Mr. Zero''', but he was soon renamed "Mr. Freeze".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=McAvennie |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |title=DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-8578-6 |page=86}}</ref>


Long after this, Freeze becomes part of a ].<ref>''Batman'' #291-294. DC Comics.</ref>
Years later, the character's origin story was revamped to match the one conceived by writer ] for '']''. Dr. Victor Fries was a ] expert in ] who was caught in a laboratory mishap while attempting to cure his terminally ill wife, ]; the accident drastically lowered his body temperature to sub-zero levels, forcing him to wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive. Freeze’s main goal remains finding a cure for his wife’s illness, though his methods often bring him into conflict with Batman. This depiction of Mr. Freeze has since endured as one of the ] ]'s most recurring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his central ].


Mr. Freeze later changes his cryo-suit with one that allows him more mobility. Freeze eventually falls in love with a woman called Hildy. In order to slow her aging process, Freeze sets out to recreate the accident that transformed him. For his experiments, Freeze uses wealthy people in Gotham as test subjects, but all the efforts result in failure. The victims turn into frozen zombies, who follow Freeze's commands. His new crimes alert the police and Batman. In the ensuing fight, Batman is only able to win when Hildy shows her true intentions and betrays Freeze, only to be encased in solid ice when her plan backfires.<ref>''Batman'' #308. DC Comics.</ref>
]'s list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Mr. Freeze as #67.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://comics.ign.com/top-100-villains/67.html |title=Mr. Freeze is Number 67 |publisher=Comics.ign.com |accessdate=2010-12-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213184608/http://comic.ign.com/top-100-villains/67.html |archive-date=2010-12-13 }}</ref> The character has been portrayed in live-action by ], ], and ] in the '']'' television series; by ] in the 1997 film '']''; and by ] on the ] crime series '']''. He has also been voiced by ] in the ], by ] in '']'', and by ] in the '']'' video game franchise.


Freeze's next plan consists of freezing Gotham City by removing all the heat and transporting the energy to the neighboring city of ]. Freeze is unable to accomplish his goal and is stopped by Batman and ].<ref>''World's Finest'' #257. DC Comics.</ref>
{{TOC limit|3}}


During one last attempt to freeze Gotham entirely, Mr. Freeze creates a large ice cannon. After robbing a bank, Freeze is confronted by Batman and the new ], who manages to defeat him with help from ] and ], whom Freeze previously captured.<ref>''Batman'' #375. DC Comics.</ref>
==Publication history==
]]]
Mr. Freeze made his first appearance in '']'' #121 (February 1959), and was created by Dave Wood, ] and ].<ref>''Batman'' #121 (February 1959)</ref> From the time of his first appearance in 1959, the character was portrayed as one of many "joke" villains cast as stock enemies of Batman.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> He was originally called Mr. Zero in the comics,<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=225}}</ref> but the producers of the 1960s '']'' television series renamed him Mr. Freeze and portrayed Batman addressing him as "'''Dr. Art Schivel'''",<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> and the name quickly carried over to the comic books. In the ] continuity, it is explained that Mr. Freeze is a rogue scientist whose design for an "ice gun" backfires when he inadvertently spills cryogenic chemicals on himself, resulting in him needing sub-zero temperatures to survive.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>


===Victor Fries===
==Fictional character biography==
{{Infobox comics character
===Modern Age===
| character_name = Mr. Freeze
Freeze was revamped using a history similar to the one created by Paul Dini for ''Batman: The Animated Series''.<ref name="wf interview page 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/heartofice/interview/02.php |title=''Heart of Ice'' interview "The Role of Mr. Freeze In The Animated Universe" page 2 – Finding a Voice|accessdate=2008-02-08 |publisher= worldsfinestonline.com}}</ref> '''Dr. Victor Fries, Ph.D.''' (surname pronounced "freeze") was a brilliant cryogenicist. As a child, he was fascinated with cryonic preservation, so he begins freezing animals. His parents are horrified by his "hobby" and send him to a strict boarding school, where he is miserable and feels detached from humanity. In college, he meets a woman named ], whom he ultimately marries.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>
| image = Mr._Freeze_(Victor_Fries).png
| image_size =
| caption = The Victor Fries version of Mr. Freeze as depicted in ''Batman'' #525 (December 1995).<br />Art by ] (pencils) and ] (inks).
| publisher = ]
| debut = '''Television''': "]"<br />'']''<br />(September 7, 1992)<br />'''Comics''': ''Batman: Mr. Freeze'' #1 (1997)
| creators = ]<br />]<br />]
| real_name = Dr. Victor Fries
| species = ]
| homeworld = ]
| alliances = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]
| powers =
* ]-level intellect<ref name="DC.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.dc.com/characters/mister-freeze |title=Mister Freeze |website=] |access-date=January 16, 2024 |language=en }}</ref>
* ] adaptation
* ]<ref name="Batman Eternal 31">''Batman Eternal'' #31</ref>
* Cryokinesis<ref name="Batman Annual Vol 2 1">''Batman Annual'' (vol. 2) #1</ref>
* Decelerated aging
* Toxic immunity
* ] grants:
** ] and durability
| cat = super
| subcat = DC Comics
| hero = n
| villain = y
}}


Following the ] crossover event, the ] is rebooted and Mr. Freeze's origin is retroactively revamped to match the one conceived by Paul Dini for ''Batman: The Animated Series''.<ref name="wf interview page 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/heartofice/interview/02.php |title=''Heart of Ice'' interview "The Role of Mr. Freeze In The Animated Universe" page 2 – Finding a Voice|access-date=2008-02-08 |publisher= worldsfinestonline.com}}</ref> Dr. Victor Fries, Ph.D. is a brilliant expert in cryogenics in Gotham City. As a child, he was fascinated with cryonic preservation and liked to freeze animals. His parents are horrified by his "hobby" and send him to a strict ], where he is miserable, bullied and ]; as a result, he feels detached from humanity. In college, he meets ], the woman he ultimately marries.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>
Nora contracts a fatal illness 1½ years after Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, so Fries begins developing a freeze ray for ] in order to preserve her in suspended animation until a cure can be found. Fries' boss Ferris Boyle decides to tell the mob about the gun, leading Batman to create a team of specialists to help him do his job better. As Fries puts Nora in suspended animation, Boyle interrupts and tampers with the experiment, resulting in an explosion that kills Nora. Fries survives, but the chemicals in the freeze ray lower his body temperature to the point that he must wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive. He swears revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife (whom he talks to often), and becomes Mr. Freeze, the first superpowered villain whom Batman faces in this continuity. Eventually, Batman's operatives find Freeze, who shoots one of them with his freeze gun, but Batman eventually apprehends him.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> Initially locked in ], Freeze was eventually transferred to the Gotham State Penitentiary, from where he escaped and attempted to steal technology from ] until he was stopped and returned to prison by Batman.<ref>''Detective Comic'' #595</ref>


Eighteen months after Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, Nora contracts a fatal disease, so Fries begins developing a freeze ray for ] in order to preserve her in suspended animation until a cure can be found. Fries' boss Ferris Boyle decides to tell the Mob about the gun, leading Batman to create a team of specialists to help him do his job better. As Fries puts Nora in suspended animation, Boyle interrupts and tampers with the experiment, resulting in an explosion that kills Nora. Fries survives, but the chemicals in the freeze ray lower his body temperature to the point that he must wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive. He swears revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife (whom he talks to often) and becomes Mr. Freeze, the first superpowered villain whom Batman faces in this continuity. Eventually, Batman's operatives find Freeze, who shoots one of them with his freeze gun, but Batman eventually apprehends him.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>
Freeze's crimes tend to involve freezing everyone and everything that he encounters<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> so he never forges alliances with the other criminals in Gotham, preferring to work alone. On rare occasions, he has worked with another member of Batman's rogues' gallery, usually as an enforcer for Gotham's mob bosses, such as the ] during his ] <ref>''Detective comics'' #804–806</ref> or ] during the ] of ].<ref>''Batman'' #635</ref><ref>''Batman'' #836</ref> In one of his notable team-ups, Freeze constructs a cryogenic machine for ] so that Hush might take revenge on Batman, Freeze's equipment allowing Hush to preserve ]'s surgically removed heart to use as a means of threatening her life.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #850</ref>


During the "]" storyline, Mr. Freeze sold his soul to ] in exchange for cryokinesis and temperature control where the latter ability enables him to survive in warm temperatures without use of his cryogenic suit.<ref>''Underworld Unleashed'' #1. DC Comics.</ref><ref>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 3) #66–69. DC Comics.</ref> While planning to freeze the elderly in order to preserve them, Mr. Freeze was secretly planning to steal their assets causing his henchmen Ice and Cube to get concerned. Though Batman defeats Mr. Freeze, he ends up getting away.<ref>''Batman'' #525. DC Comics.</ref> He would somehow revert to his pre-upgraded appearance causing him to sport a new cryogenic suit and wield a new freeze gun.<ref>''Batman'' #535. DC Comics.</ref>
After Batman's ], most of the Arkham inmates were ] by a ]. Freeze was among them and he started working on a project called Ice-X Protocol when the GCPD tried to capture him. He stunned them with his gun and captured Gordon, taking him to his secret lair. Gordon managed to break free and defeat Freeze by causing an explosion that weakened Freeze. After his capture, Freeze was taken to ] prison.<ref>''Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon'' #1</ref>


Initially locked in ], Freeze was eventually transferred to the Gotham State Penitentiary, from where he escaped and attempted to steal technology from ] until he was stopped and returned to prison by Batman.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #595. DC Comics.</ref>
During his time with the ], he fashions a sub-zero machine for ] in exchange for the use of her ]. He attempts to restore Nora to life without waiting for the adjusting needed in the pool chemicals; she returns to life as the twisted Lazara and escapes. She blames her husband for her plight, and she estranges herself from him.<ref>''Batgirl'' #69–70</ref>


During the "]" storyline, Mr. Freeze sets up a base in the sewers which is stumbled upon by ] and Tommy Mangles.<ref>''Robin'' Vol. 2 #69. DC Comics.</ref> Mr. Freeze finds them and uses his freeze gun on them after getting information about a storage room with canned food in it. He and ] were defeated by ] and arrested by Detective Mackenzie Bock with the Gotham City Police Department also bringing the frozen bodies of Gearhead and Tommy Mangles into their custody as well.<ref>''Robin'' Vol. 2 #70. DC Comics.</ref>
===The New 52===
In September 2011, ] rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, during the '']'' crossover, the ] sends assassins known as Talons to kill 40 of the most important citizens of Gotham, including Mr. Freeze. ], ] and ] choose to save him, and subsequently remand him into ]'s custody.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Last Regrets – I've Had a Few|title=]| volume=1|issue=#8| date=June 2012| publisher=]|location=]}}</ref>


Freeze's crimes tend to involve freezing everyone and everything that he encounters<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> so he forgoes alliances with the other criminals in Gotham, preferring to work alone. On rare occasions, he has worked with another member of Batman's rogues' gallery, usually, as an enforcer for Gotham's mob bosses, such as the ] during his ]<ref>''Detective comics'' #804–806. DC Comics.</ref> or ] during the ] of ].<ref>''Batman'' #635. DC Comics.</ref><ref>''Batman'' #836. DC Comics.</ref>
''Batman Annual'' (vol. 2) #1 introduces a new origin for Mr. Freeze. Here, Victor Fries' fascination with cryonics began when he was a boy and his mother fell through the ice of a frozen lake. The ice was able to keep her preserved long enough for help to arrive, thus sparking his lifelong obsession with the cold. It is later revealed that the accident left Fries' mother in constant pain, and Fries ended her suffering by pushing her into the same frozen lake. In this new origin, Nora was never Fries' wife. Her name was Nora Fields, a woman born in 1934. When Nora was 23, she was diagnosed with incurable heart disease, so her family placed her in cryogenic stasis hoping that a cure would be found in the future. Fries, having written his doctoral thesis on Nora, took on a position as a cryogenic researcher and technician at Wayne Enterprises, the facility that housed Nora's body.


In one of his notable team-ups, Freeze constructs a cryogenic machine for ] so that Hush might take revenge on Batman, Freeze's equipment allowing Hush to preserve ]'s surgically removed heart to use as a means of threatening her life.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #850. DC Comics.</ref>
Eventually, he fell in love with Nora and became dedicated to finding a reliable method for slowly thawing cryogenic subjects. However, Bruce Wayne ordered the project to be shut down, as he began to feel uncomfortable with Fries' obsession with Nora. Furious, Fries hurled a chair at Wayne, who dodged the attack; the chair smashed into an array of cryonic chemical tanks, the contents of which sprayed onto Fries and transformed him into Mr. Freeze.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Night of the Owls: First Snow|title=]|volume=2|issue=#1|date=July 2012|publisher=]|location=]}}</ref>


During the "]", Mr. Freeze appears as a member of ]'s ].<ref>''Villains United'' #1. DC Comics.</ref>
The Court of Owls uses Freeze's cryogenic-thaw formula to revive their Talons, and then they try to kill him. Freeze survives but is captured by the Red Hood and sent to ]. He escapes shortly afterward and rearms himself with the Penguin's help. Freeze decides to kill Bruce Wayne and takes Nora, whom he believes to be his wife so that they can leave ] behind forever. Infiltrating ], Freeze has a brief fight with ] and ], but he subdues them. Then, Freeze goes to the penthouse, where he finds Batman and the frozen Nora. Batman defeats Mr. Freeze by injecting his suit with the thawing formula, which he had intended to use to revive Nora from suspended animation.


After Batman's ], most of the Arkham inmates were ] by a ]. Freeze was among them and he started working on a project called Ice-X Protocol when the GCPD tried to capture him. He stunned them with his gun and captured Gordon, taking him to his secret lair. Gordon managed to break free and defeat Freeze by causing an explosion that weakened Freeze. After his capture, Freeze was taken to ] Prison.<ref>''Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon'' #1. DC Comics.</ref>
During the '']'' storyline, Mr. Freeze appears as a member of the ] at the time when the ] arrived from their world.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]| editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Nightfall| title=]|volume=1|issue=#1|date=November 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> ] later visits Mr. Freeze to let him know of the war going on at ].<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=City of Fear| title=Detective Comics|volume=2|issue=#23.3|date=November 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> The ]s are able to bring the remaining Talons to Mr. Freeze after Man-Bat and Scarecrow steal them from Blackgate.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Batman Death March| title=]|volume=1|issue=#1|date=December 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Das Bat!| title=]|volume=1|issue=#3|date=February 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> Mr. Freeze and ] later encounter the Rogues when they land in their territory.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Dark Knight| title=]|volume=1|issue=#3|date=February 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> Mr. Freeze tells ] II he is not interested in capitalizing on the bounty on their heads, only to use ] to create optimal conditions for him to freeze Gotham. As the Rogues are fighting the two, Black Mask (alongside his False Face society) arrives to capture the Rogues to receive the bounty.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Escape from Gotham| title=]|volume=1|issue=#4|date=March 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref>


During the "]" storyline, Mr. Freeze is among the villains that are sent to another planet by a Boom Tube by the ].<ref>''Salvation Run'' #1. DC Comics.</ref>
===DC Rebirth===
In the '']'' sequel '']'', Mr. Freeze is among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by ] that talks about the Superman Theory. When Comedian crashes the meeting, Mr. Freeze's helmet is punctured by a bullet shot by an unseen combatant.<ref>''Doomsday Clock'' #6 (July 2018). DC Comics.</ref>


Mr. Freeze later fashions a sub-zero machine for ] in exchange for the use of her Lazarus Pit. He attempts to restore Nora to life without waiting for the adjusting needed in the pool chemicals; she returns to life as the twisted Lazara and escapes. She blames her husband for her plight, and she estranges herself from him.<ref>''Batgirl'' #69–70. DC Comics.</ref>
In the "Ends of the Earth" story arc of ''All-Star Batman'', Freeze has awoken many people that have been held in cryogenic stasis—using them as an army to steal resources for his research to cure his wife Nora, himself, and all of these people—and plans to release deadly bacteria held in one of the world's oldest ice cores to make a new world, but ] has injected himself with a cold-resistant virus that becomes airborne when his skin is exposed and is able to kill the spores.<ref>''All-Star Batman'' #7 (2017). DC Comics.</ref>


====''The New 52''====
Several ] due to the events in "]," ] gives Mr. Freeze a vial that would cure and furthermore revive his frozen wife. Mr. Freeze had to kidnap several women who matched his late wife's characteristics, in both mental and physical states, going as far as modifying their DNA to hers in order to experiment with the vial before reviving his wife. In the end, it worked and his wife came back to life cured. She soon took up the name Mrs. Freeze.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Detective Comics #1014 - Cold Dark World: Awake!|last1=Tomasi|first1=Peter|last2=Mahnke|first2=Doug|publisher=DC Comics|date=October 2019|issue=1014}}</ref>
] and ].]]
In September 2011, '']'' rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, during the '']'' crossover, the ] sends assassins known as Talons to kill 40 of the most important citizens of Gotham, including Mr. Freeze. ], ] and ] choose to save him, and subsequently remand him into ]'s custody.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|letterer=Sienty, Dezi|editor=]|story=Last Regrets – I've Had a Few|title=]| volume=1|issue=#8| date=June 2012| publisher=]|location=]}}</ref> ''Batman Annual'' (vol. 2) #1 introduces a new origin for Mr. Freeze. Here, Victor Fries' fascination with cryonics began when he was a boy and his mother fell through the ice of a frozen lake. The ice was able to keep her preserved long enough for help to arrive, thus sparking his lifelong obsession with cold. It is later revealed that the accident left Fries' mother in constant pain, and Fries ended her suffering by pushing her into the same frozen lake. In this new origin, Nora was never Fries' wife. Her name was Nora Fields, a woman born in 1934. When Nora was 23, she was diagnosed with an incurable heart disease, so her family placed her in cryogenic stasis hoping that a cure would be found in the future. Fries, having written his doctoral thesis on Nora, took on a position as a cryogenic researcher and technician at Wayne Enterprises, the facility that housed Nora's body. Eventually, he fell in love with Nora and became dedicated to finding a reliable method for slowly thawing cryogenic subjects. However, Bruce Wayne ordered the project to be shut down, as he began to feel uncomfortable with Fries' obsession with Nora. Furious, Fries hurled a chair at Wayne, who dodged the attack; the chair smashed into an array of cryonic chemical tanks, the contents of which sprayed onto Fries and transformed him into Mr. Freeze.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=Cipriano, Sal|editor=Marts, Mike|story=Night of the Owls: First Snow|title=Batman Annual|volume=2|issue=#1|date=July 2012|publisher=]|location=]}}</ref>


The Court of Owls uses Freeze's cryogenic-thaw formula to revive their Talons, and then they try to kill him. Freeze survives but is captured by the Red Hood and sent to ]. He escapes shortly afterward and rearms himself with the Penguin's help. Freeze decides to kill Bruce Wayne and takes Nora, whom he believes to be his wife so that they can leave ] behind forever. Infiltrating ], Freeze has a brief fight with ] and ], but he subdues them. Then, Freeze goes to the penthouse, where he finds Batman and the frozen Nora. Batman defeats Mr. Freeze by injecting his suit with the thawing formula, which he had intended to use to revive Nora from suspended animation.
==Characterization==
===Origin story===
Originally called Mr. Zero,<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> he was renamed and popularized by the ], in which he was played by three different actors (], ], and ]).<ref name="Freeze 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref><ref name="Freeze 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze2.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze 2|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref><ref name="Freeze 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/villains/mr_freeze3.php|title=Batmania UK: 1966 Batman: Villains: Mr. Freeze 3|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Bat-Mania}}</ref>


During the "]" storyline, Mr. Freeze appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains at the time when the ] arrived from their world.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=Leigh, Rob| editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Nightfall| title=]|volume=1|issue=#1|date=November 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> The ] later visits Mr. Freeze to let him know of the war going on at ].<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=Kudranksi, Szymon|inker=Kudranksi, Szymon|colorist=]|letterer=Sienty, Dezi|editor=Marts, Mike|story=City of Fear| title=Detective Comics|volume=2|issue=#23.3|date=November 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> The ]s are able to bring the remaining Talons to Mr. Freeze after the Man-Bat and the Scarecrow steal them from Blackgate.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=Mendoza, Jaime|colorist=Delhouse, Andrew|letterer=Esposito, Taylor|editor=Gluckstern, Rachel|story=Batman Death March| title=]|volume=1|issue=#1|date=December 2013| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=Mendoza, Jaime|colorist=Dalhouse, Andrew|letterer=Lanham, Travis|editor=Gluckstern, Rachel|story=Das Bat!| title=]|volume=1|issue=#3|date=February 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> Mr. Freeze and ] later encounter the Rogues when they land in their territory.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=Buccallato, Brian|penciller=Hepburn, Scott|inker=Coehlho, Andre|colorist=Filardi, Nick|letterer=Sienty, Dezi|editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Dark Knight| title=]|volume=1|issue=#3|date=February 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref> Mr. Freeze tells the ] III he is not interested in capitalizing on the bounty on their heads, only to use the ] to create optimal conditions for him to freeze Gotham. As the Rogues are fighting the two, Black Mask (alongside his False Face society) arrives to capture the Rogues to receive the bounty.<ref>{{cite comic| writer=Buccallato, Brian|penciller=Hepburn, Scott|inker=Coehlho, Andre|colorist=Filardi, Nick|letterer=Sienty, Dezi|editor=Cunningham, Brian|story=Escape from Gotham| title=]|volume=1|issue=#4|date=March 2014| publisher=]| location=]}}</ref>
Nearly 30 years later, a television adaptation of Batman revitalized him once again. '']'' retold Mr. Freeze's origin in "]", an episode by writer ]. The episode introduced his terminally ill, ] wife ], which explained his obsession with ice and need to build a criminal empire to raise research funds.<ref name="Heart of Ice">{{cite web|url=http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/btas/hoi.html|title=Heart of Ice|quote=Mr. Freeze targets the industrialist responsible for his wife's death.|accessdate=2008-05-09|publisher=Toon Zone|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080428110756/http://www.toonzone.net/anbat/btas/hoi.html|archive-date=2008-04-28}}</ref> This more complex, tragic character 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 previously had the character casually killed off by the ].<ref>{{Cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=The Funniest Thing Happened...|title=] II: The Joker's Wild!|volume=|issue=#1|date=October 1991|publisher=]|location=]}}</ref> Freeze was resurrected in the comic after the episode aired.<ref>{{cite comic|writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|colorist=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Cold Cases|title=]|volume=1|issue=#670|date=January 1994|publisher=]|location=New York City}}</ref> The episode was seen as groundbreaking for a Saturday morning cartoon and helped set the tone for the rest of the series. This backstory was also made ] in the comics and has been the character's official origin in almost every incarnation of Batman until September 2011, when ] rebooted DC's continuity.


====''DC Rebirth''====
Elements of this origin story were incorporated into the 1997 film '']'', in which he was portrayed by ].<ref>{{cite news|first1= Steve| last1= Daly| first2= Anne| last2= Thompson|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,291605,00.html|title=A Tights Squeeze|magazine=]|publisher=]|location=New York City|date=March 8, 1996|accessdate=May 8, 2008}}</ref>
In the '']'' sequel '']'', Mr. Freeze is among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by the ] that talks about the Superman Theory. When Comedian crashes the meeting, Mr. Freeze's helmet is punctured by a bullet shot by an unseen combatant.<ref>''Doomsday Clock'' #6 (July 2018). DC Comics.</ref> In the "Ends of the Earth" story arc of ''All-Star Batman'', Freeze has awoken many people that have been held in cryogenic stasis — using them as an army to steal resources for his research to cure his wife Nora, himself, and all of these people — and plans to release deadly bacteria held in one of the world's oldest ice cores to make a new world, but ] has injected himself with a cold-resistant virus that becomes airborne when his skin is exposed and is able to kill the spores.<ref>''All-Star Batman'' #7 (2017). DC Comics.</ref>


During the "]" storyline, Mr. Freeze was given a special playing card by ] which enables him to perform cryokinesis.<ref>''Teen Titans'' Vol. 6 #12. Marvel Comics.</ref> Mr. Freeze and his frost monsters fought different superheroes who moved through his domain. Robin is the one who defeated Mr. Freeze and he regressed back to normal when the threat of the Dark Multiverse was sent back to its own dimension.<ref>''Nightwing'' Vol. 4 #29. DC Comics.</ref>
===Powers and abilities===
Like most Batman villains, Mr. Freeze plans his crimes about a specific ]; in his case, ice, snow, and cold.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> He can also freeze any area around him using special weapons and equipment, most notably a handheld "freeze gun," and his refrigeration power suit grants him superhuman strength and durability, making him a powerful villain in Batman's rogues' gallery.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>


Mr. Freeze was suspected of murdering three women and was put on trial. Due to Batman's later investigation, he found that Mr. Freeze didn't commit the crime and he was found not guilty by the jury.<ref>''Batman'' Vol. 3 #51-53. DC Comics.</ref>
In the '']'' storyline, the demon ] grants Mr. Freeze the ability to generate subzero temperatures, no longer needing his freeze gun or refrigeration power suit. However, after his encounter with ], ], and ] in Central Park, he reverted to his original subzero biology. He then gained a new subzero armor and weaponry.<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = ]|artist = ]; ] and others| Story = | Title = Underworld Unleashed| Volume = | Issue = #3| Date = November 1995 – January 1996| Publisher = ]| location=New York City}}</ref>


Several ] due to the events in "]", ]'s Apex Lex form gives Mr. Freeze a vial that would cure and furthermore revive his frozen wife. Freeze had to kidnap several women who matched his late wife's characteristics in both mental and physical states, going as far as modifying their DNA to hers in order to experiment with the vial before reviving his wife. In the end, it worked and his wife came back to life cured. She soon took up the name "Mrs. Freeze".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Detective Comics #1014 - Cold Dark World: Awake!|last1=Tomasi|first1=Peter|last2=Mahnke|first2=Doug|publisher=DC Comics|date=October 2019|issue=1014}}</ref> After Mrs. Freeze betrayed him, Mr. Freeze turned to Batman for help.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #1015. DC Comics.</ref> During the fight, Mrs. Freeze used a syringe on Mr. Freeze which started to heat him up while also eradicating the special nanites that kept him cold without the assistance of his cryogenic suit. Batman had to put Mr. Freeze in the same cryogenic state that Nora was in while Mrs. Freeze fled to the northern parts of Canada.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #1016. DC Comics.</ref>
==Reception==
The character of Mr. Freeze has been analyzed as a stereotypical depiction of a villainous European in fiction.<ref>Georg Drennig, "Otherness and the European as Villain and Antihero in American Comics," in ''Comics as a Nexus of Cultures'', eds. Mark Berninger, Jochen Ecke, and Gideon Haberkorn (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2010) 131-132.</ref>


Mr. Freeze was later seen as an inmate at Arkham Tower.<ref>''Detective Comics'' #1053. DC Comics.</ref>
==Other versions==
===''Smallville''===
Mr. Freeze appears in the comic book adaptation of '']'', partnered with the ] of ].<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Detective, Part 4|title=]| volume=1|issue=#8| date=December 5, 2012| publisher=]|location=]}}</ref> He agrees to work for Intergang in order to fund Nora's treatment. Freeze is betrayed by Prankster, however, and is defeated by Batman and ].<ref>{{cite comic| writer=]|penciller=]|inker=]|letterer=]|editor=]|story=Detective, Part 4|title=]| volume=1|issue=#9| date=January 9, 2013| publisher=]|location=]}}</ref>


===Robot Mr. Freeze=== ==Powers and abilities==
Like most Batman villains, Mr. Freeze's crimes are often centered around a specific ]; in his case, ice, cold and snow. The lab accident that bathed him in chemical coolants radically altered his biology and lowered his body temperature to 23 degrees Fahrenheit, transforming him into a metahuman who is impervious to sub-freezing temperatures and incapable of surviving outside of them.<ref name="Batman Annual Vol 2 1"/> As a result, anything Freeze's skin comes into contact with will freeze. He can generate ice around his body, encase an entire person's body in ice simply by touching them, and cause ice to rapidly form along structures through physical contact.<ref name="Batman Eternal 31"/><ref name="Batman Annual Vol 2 1"/> The demon ] briefly grants Freeze the ability to generate absolute zero temperatures around him, though his body is soon reverted to its original sub-zero state.<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = ]|artist = ]; ] and others| Title = Underworld Unleashed| Issue = #3| Date = November 1995 – January 1996| Publisher = ]| location=New York City}}</ref> Since the chemicals he was exposed to were meant for cryo-stasis, Freeze's aging has been decelerated to the point that he is considered to be virtually immortal, and he is immune to most ]s, ], ]es, and illnesses.<ref>''Arkham Manor: Endgame'' #1. DC Comics.</ref><ref name="UGO - Freeze"/>
In '']'', Mr. Freeze appears as a robot that is controlled by Doctor Thurman.<ref>{{cite comic|artist=]|penciller=]|inker=]|title=]|issue=#117|publisher=]|location=New York City|date=October 1957}}</ref>


Freeze possesses a genius-level intellect and a gifted scientific mind. He is an expert in ], ], ], ], and ], having built his own specialized ] suit and equipment to keep his body temperature below freezing, as well as a "freeze ray" gun capable of creating gusts of cold that approach absolute zero.<ref name="UGO - Freeze"/> Freeze's ] also increases his strength and durability to superhuman levels. His inventions have been described as being as technologically advanced as that of ] or ].<ref>''Detective Comics'' #849. DC Comics.</ref>
===''Justice League Adventures''===
Based in the ], Mr. Freeze is part of a group of ice-themed villains called the "]" that tried to overthrow a small ]n nation. The Cold Warriors appear in ''Justice League Adventures'' #12 (December 2002).<ref>''Justice League Adventures'' #12 (December 2002)</ref>


==Reception==
===DC Super Friends===
'']''{{'}}s list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Mr. Freeze as #67.<ref name="IGNT100CBVATMF67">{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-comic-book-villains/67|title=Mr. Freeze is Number 67 |publisher=Comics.ign.com |access-date=2010-12-25}}</ref>
Based in the ] universe, Mr. Freeze is part of a group of ice-themed villains called the "Ice Pack" that encased a city in ice and snow. The Ice Pack appears in ''DC Super Friends'' #16 (August 2009).<ref>''DC Super Friends'' #16 (August 2009)</ref>


==Other characters named Mr. Freeze==
===''Flashpoint''===
===Robot Mr. Freeze===
In the alternate timeline of '']'', Mr. Freeze attacks the ] in ] to find a cure for his wife Nora. However, ] 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.<ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #1 (June 2011)</ref> This version of Mr. Freeze is a friend of Fallout's and pursues revenge against Citizen Cold for murdering him.<ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #2 (July 2011)</ref> It is later revealed that radiation produced by Fallout is the cure Mr. Freeze was searching for.<ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #3 (August 2011)</ref>
In '']'', Mr. Freeze appears as a robot created and controlled by Professor Thurman to pose as a villain so that Thurman could use his "Instant Freeze Icing Machine" invention to commit crimes without incriminating himself, but the plan is eventually foiled by the Blackhawks and Thurman is arrested.<ref>{{cite comic|artist=]|penciller=]|inker=]|title=]|issue=#117|publisher=]|location=New York City|date=October 1957}}</ref>


===''Swamp Thing''=== ===Earth-Two Mr. Zero===
An issue of '']'' revealed that there was a criminal on ] who also operated as Mr. Zero. While not much is known about Earth-Two's Mr. Zero, his freeze gun was among the weaponry used by ] to attack ], ], and Batman of Earth-One.<ref>''The Brave and the Bold'' #182. DC Comics.</ref>
During the Rotworld storyline where Swamp Thing traveled to an alternate Earth afflicted by a mutating plague, Mr. Freeze was mentioned to be an inmate in Arkham, not making attempts to escape out of Batman's false claims of implanting him with explosives.


==Other versions==
===''Injustice: Gods Among Us''===
===''Flashpoint''===
In the '']'' reality, despite his cell still being kept cold for him, Freeze did not stay locked inside Arkham after clashing with Batman. Instead, he remained surprisingly low-key during ]'s Regime, remaining in hiding for five years before being captured by ]. Detained in a prison in the sewers of Gotham, Freeze was soon rescued by Harley Quinn and her Joker Clan.<ref>''Injustice: Ground Zero'' #4</ref>
An alternate timeline variant of Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze appears in '']''. This version is a friend of ] and an enemy of the eponymous ], who later kills Freeze. Additionally, Freeze's motivations revolve around seeking a cure for Fallout's radioactive powers.<ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #1 (June 2011). DC Comics.</ref><ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #2 (July 2011). DC Comics.</ref><ref>''Flashpoint: Citizen Cold'' #3 (August 2011). DC Comics.</ref>


===''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''=== ===''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''===
An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze appears in '']''. After being exposed to mutagen by the ], Freeze mutates into an anthropomorphic polar bear and joins other mutated Arkham Asylum inmates to attack Batman and ] before the inmates are defeated by ]. Sometime later, the inmates are stated to have been cured and in ] custody.<ref>''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' #6. DC Comics/IDW.</ref>
In the crossover comic, Mr. Freeze was mutated into a humanoid mutant ] by ].


===''Batman: White Knight''=== ===''Batman: White Knight''===
Victor Fries appears in the 2017 series '']''. In this series, Victor Fries has retired from his criminal lifestyle to focus on curing his wife's disease. It is later revealed that, due to his unique, cryogenically-dependent physiology, Fries's aging had been slowed considerably, and that his father was a member of the Nazi SS during the Second World War, but acted as a double agent, allowing America to stay one step ahead of ] on the scientific front. As a result of this, a massive freeze cannon was constructed beneath a lighthouse off the coast of ]. The superweapon is discovered by Neo-Joker (the second ] who felt that by taking pills to retain his sanity, ] was destroying the most beautiful part of himself) and is used to freeze most, if not all, of Gotham. Freeze is able to reverse the effects with the aid of ]. It is also revealed that Fries had been contacted by Batman in an attempt to secure the villain's aid to save the life of ], but unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries appears in '']''. This version retired from his criminal lifestyle to focus on curing his wife Nora Fries' disease. Additionally, his cryogenically mutated physiology considerably slowed his body's aging process. Years prior, Victor unnamed father and Nora's father, Jacob Smithstein, worked as cryogenic researchers in interwar Germany. Amidst the rise of the Nazis, Victor's father joined them as an SS officer and became cold and abusive towards Victor. After being conscripted to experiment on Jewish prisoners using cryotech, Victor helped the Smithsteins escape, during which Jacob was shot and made Victor promise to protect Nora. After arriving in the U.S., Victor would go on to help deliver Bruce Wayne after the latter's mother Martha went into premature labor and attempt to save ].<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = Sean Murphy|artist = Klaus Janson|colorist = Matt Hollingsworth|letterer = Andworld Design|editor = Mark Doyle|title = Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze|volume = 1|issue = 1|date = '''January 2020'''|publisher = DC Black Label|location = Burbank, CA}}</ref>


===''Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story''=== ===''Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story''===
In ], Nora and Victor's backgrounds and the beginnings of their romance are the premise of ''Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story'', written by ] and with art by Isaac Goodhart, released in November 2020.<ref></ref> An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries appears in the ] novel ''Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story'', written by ] and with art by Isaac Goodhart.<ref></ref>


==In other media== ==In other media==
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==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist|30em}} {{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
{{wikiquote|Batman (comics)#Mr. Freeze|Mr. Freeze}}
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*{{gcdb|type=character|search=Mr.+Freeze|title=Mr. Freeze}}
*{{comicbookdb|type=character|id=1584|title=Mr. Freeze}}
*{{DCdatabase|Mister Freeze}}


{{Batman characters}} {{Batman characters}}
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{{Outsiders (comics)}} {{Outsiders (comics)}}
{{Robin}} {{Robin}}
{{DC Animated Universe}}


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Latest revision as of 15:40, 28 November 2024

Supervillain in the DC Universe For other uses, see Mr. Freeze (disambiguation).

Mr. Freeze is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Dave Wood and artists Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, the character initially debuted in Batman #121 (February 1959) as Mr. Zero, a mad scientist with an unknown birth name who, after a physiology-altering mishap, becomes an ice-themed criminal typically armed with freezing weapons and an adversary of the superhero Batman forced to live in sub-zero temperatures and wear a special "cryo-suit" for survival. He was later renamed "Mr. Freeze" after the version featured in the 1966 Batman television series.

In 1992, Mr. Freeze was reinvented as a tragic villain by writer Paul Dini, producer Bruce Timm, and artist Mike Mignola for Batman: The Animated Series, which portrayed Dr. Victor Fries, PhD (pronounced "freeze") as a scientist in Gotham City who suffers a lab accident while trying to cryogenically preserve his terminally ill wife, Nora. He turns to crime to fund his research in his obsessive quest to cure Nora by any means necessary, which brings him into conflict with Batman. The animated revamped depiction of Mr. Freeze received widespread acclaim and redefined the character, providing such a burst in his popularity that DC Comics retroactively integrated the origin story conceived by Dini into the mainstream comic book continuity, and adapted it for almost every incarnation of the Batman franchise since.

As one of Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, Mr. Freeze has been adapted in various media incarnations. He has been portrayed in film by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman & Robin (1997), and in television by George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach in the 1966 Batman series, and Nathan Darrow in Gotham. Michael Ansara, Clancy Brown, Maurice LaMarche, and others have provided the character's voice in animation and video games.

Creation and development

Created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff, and Bob Kane, the character made his first appearance in Batman #121 (February 1959) as "Mr. Zero", a criminal scientist whose experimental "ice gun" backfires and spills cryogenic chemicals on him, forcing him to wear a sub-zero suit for survival and transforming him into a gimmicky stock villain who commits ice-themed crimes. The name "Mr. Freeze" was first used when the character was adapted for the 1960s Batman television series, in which he was played by three different actors: George Sanders, Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach. Mr. Freeze debuted in the episode "Instant Freeze" on February 2, 1966, and his comic book counterpart was soon renamed as well in Detective Comics #373 (March 1968).

Nearly thirty years later, lead producers Paul Dini and Bruce Timm provided a complete overhaul for the character in adapting him for Batman: The Animated Series. Artist Mike Mignola redesigned Mr. Freeze for the series at Timm's request, while Michael Ansara provided the character's voice. The episode "Heart of Ice", which was written by Dini and directed by Timm, aired on September 7, 1992, and retold Mr. Freeze's origin as Dr. Victor Fries, a scientist who turns to crime to find a cure for his cryogenically frozen, terminally ill wife, Nora. This revamped depiction of Mr. Freeze as a complex and tragic villain was enthusiastically accepted by fans and provided such a burst in the popularity of the character that his comic book counterpart was resurrected in the comic after the episode aired (having previously been unceremoniously killed off by the Joker). Mr. Freeze's characterization and backstory from Batman: The Animated Series were even retconned into the mainstream comic book continuity, and have become the standard portrayal for the character in almost every incarnation of the Batman mythology and its media adaptations.

Fictional character biography

Pre-Crisis version

Comics character
Mr. Freeze
The Pre-Crisis version of Mr. Freeze's first appearance as "Mr. Zero" in Batman #121 (February 1959).
Art by Curt Swan.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAs Mr. Zero:
Batman #121 (February 1959)
As Mr. Freeze:
"Instant Freeze"
Batman
(February 2, 1966)
Created byDave Wood
Sheldon Moldoff
Bob Kane
In-story information
Alter egoUnknown
SpeciesMetahuman
Place of originGotham City
Notable aliasesMr. Zero
Abilities

In order to create an ice gun, a scientist whose name remains unknown starts experimenting with a concentrated freezing solution. He suffers an unfortunate accident that changes his physiology, forcing him to live in environments below zero temperature. He adopts the criminal identity of Mr. Zero. To be able to go out to the normal environment, Zero creates an air conditioned costume, which helps him remain in cold temperatures, even in hot climates. Using this equipment, Zero gathers a small gang and starts a crime spree in Gotham City, stealing mainly diamonds and other precious jewels. Mr. Zero is eventually confronted by the local vigilantes, Batman and Robin. Unable to stand against his cold weapons, the Dynamic Duo fails to stop Zero. They are captured by him and brought to his secret cold hideout, near the mountains. Trapped in blocks of ice, Batman and Robin learn Zero's plan to steal a large collection of gems. Batman eventually breaks a nearby steam pipe, causing steam to fill the hideout, melting the ice away and apparently curing Zero from his ailment. After this, Batman and Robin are able to capture the whole gang and bring Zero to the authorities.

After years of inactivity, Zero's condition apparently returns. Going back to his life of crime, he changes his alias to Mr. Freeze and is forced to remain in cold temperatures once again. In this second exploit, Freeze redesigns his cryo-suit and improves his cryothermal gun. With a new gang, he starts a new series of crimes and steals valuable pieces of art. Similar to his first criminal activities, Freeze is eventually stopped by Batman and Robin.

Long after this, Freeze becomes part of a mock criminal trial.

Mr. Freeze later changes his cryo-suit with one that allows him more mobility. Freeze eventually falls in love with a woman called Hildy. In order to slow her aging process, Freeze sets out to recreate the accident that transformed him. For his experiments, Freeze uses wealthy people in Gotham as test subjects, but all the efforts result in failure. The victims turn into frozen zombies, who follow Freeze's commands. His new crimes alert the police and Batman. In the ensuing fight, Batman is only able to win when Hildy shows her true intentions and betrays Freeze, only to be encased in solid ice when her plan backfires.

Freeze's next plan consists of freezing Gotham City by removing all the heat and transporting the energy to the neighboring city of Metropolis. Freeze is unable to accomplish his goal and is stopped by Batman and Superman.

During one last attempt to freeze Gotham entirely, Mr. Freeze creates a large ice cannon. After robbing a bank, Freeze is confronted by Batman and the new Robin, who manages to defeat him with help from Vicki Vale and Julia Pennyworth, whom Freeze previously captured.

Victor Fries

Comics character
Mr. Freeze
The Victor Fries version of Mr. Freeze as depicted in Batman #525 (December 1995).
Art by Kelley Jones (pencils) and John Beatty (inks).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceTelevision: "Heart of Ice"
Batman: The Animated Series
(September 7, 1992)
Comics: Batman: Mr. Freeze #1 (1997)
Created byPaul Dini
Bruce Timm
Mike Mignola
In-story information
Alter egoDr. Victor Fries
SpeciesMetahuman
Place of originGotham City
Team affiliationsInjustice League
Secret Society of Super Villains
Legion of Doom
Suicide Squad
GothCorp
Abilities

Following the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover event, the DC Universe is rebooted and Mr. Freeze's origin is retroactively revamped to match the one conceived by Paul Dini for Batman: The Animated Series. Dr. Victor Fries, Ph.D. is a brilliant expert in cryogenics in Gotham City. As a child, he was fascinated with cryonic preservation and liked to freeze animals. His parents are horrified by his "hobby" and send him to a strict reform school, where he is miserable, bullied and abandoned by his parents; as a result, he feels detached from humanity. In college, he meets Nora, the woman he ultimately marries.

Eighteen months after Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, Nora contracts a fatal disease, so Fries begins developing a freeze ray for GothCorp in order to preserve her in suspended animation until a cure can be found. Fries' boss Ferris Boyle decides to tell the Mob about the gun, leading Batman to create a team of specialists to help him do his job better. As Fries puts Nora in suspended animation, Boyle interrupts and tampers with the experiment, resulting in an explosion that kills Nora. Fries survives, but the chemicals in the freeze ray lower his body temperature to the point that he must wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive. He swears revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife (whom he talks to often) and becomes Mr. Freeze, the first superpowered villain whom Batman faces in this continuity. Eventually, Batman's operatives find Freeze, who shoots one of them with his freeze gun, but Batman eventually apprehends him.

During the "Underworld Unleashed" storyline, Mr. Freeze sold his soul to Neron in exchange for cryokinesis and temperature control where the latter ability enables him to survive in warm temperatures without use of his cryogenic suit. While planning to freeze the elderly in order to preserve them, Mr. Freeze was secretly planning to steal their assets causing his henchmen Ice and Cube to get concerned. Though Batman defeats Mr. Freeze, he ends up getting away. He would somehow revert to his pre-upgraded appearance causing him to sport a new cryogenic suit and wield a new freeze gun.

Initially locked in Arkham Asylum, Freeze was eventually transferred to the Gotham State Penitentiary, from where he escaped and attempted to steal technology from S.T.A.R. Labs until he was stopped and returned to prison by Batman.

During the "No Man's Land" storyline, Mr. Freeze sets up a base in the sewers which is stumbled upon by Gearhead and Tommy Mangles. Mr. Freeze finds them and uses his freeze gun on them after getting information about a storage room with canned food in it. He and Ratcatcher were defeated by Robin and arrested by Detective Mackenzie Bock with the Gotham City Police Department also bringing the frozen bodies of Gearhead and Tommy Mangles into their custody as well.

Freeze's crimes tend to involve freezing everyone and everything that he encounters so he forgoes alliances with the other criminals in Gotham, preferring to work alone. On rare occasions, he has worked with another member of Batman's rogues' gallery, usually, as an enforcer for Gotham's mob bosses, such as the Penguin during his reign or Black Mask during the return of Jason Todd.

In one of his notable team-ups, Freeze constructs a cryogenic machine for Hush so that Hush might take revenge on Batman, Freeze's equipment allowing Hush to preserve Catwoman's surgically removed heart to use as a means of threatening her life.

During the "Infinite Crisis", Mr. Freeze appears as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.

After Batman's death, most of the Arkham inmates were freed by a new Black Mask. Freeze was among them and he started working on a project called Ice-X Protocol when the GCPD tried to capture him. He stunned them with his gun and captured Gordon, taking him to his secret lair. Gordon managed to break free and defeat Freeze by causing an explosion that weakened Freeze. After his capture, Freeze was taken to Iron Heights Prison.

During the "Salvation Run" storyline, Mr. Freeze is among the villains that are sent to another planet by a Boom Tube by the Suicide Squad.

Mr. Freeze later fashions a sub-zero machine for Nyssa al Ghul in exchange for the use of her Lazarus Pit. He attempts to restore Nora to life without waiting for the adjusting needed in the pool chemicals; she returns to life as the twisted Lazara and escapes. She blames her husband for her plight, and she estranges herself from him.

The New 52

Mr. Freeze in Batman Annual (vol. 2) #1 (July 2012). Art by Jason Fabok and Peter Steigerwald.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, during the Night of the Owls crossover, the Court of Owls sends assassins known as Talons to kill 40 of the most important citizens of Gotham, including Mr. Freeze. The Red Hood, Starfire and Arsenal choose to save him, and subsequently remand him into Batgirl's custody. Batman Annual (vol. 2) #1 introduces a new origin for Mr. Freeze. Here, Victor Fries' fascination with cryonics began when he was a boy and his mother fell through the ice of a frozen lake. The ice was able to keep her preserved long enough for help to arrive, thus sparking his lifelong obsession with cold. It is later revealed that the accident left Fries' mother in constant pain, and Fries ended her suffering by pushing her into the same frozen lake. In this new origin, Nora was never Fries' wife. Her name was Nora Fields, a woman born in 1934. When Nora was 23, she was diagnosed with an incurable heart disease, so her family placed her in cryogenic stasis hoping that a cure would be found in the future. Fries, having written his doctoral thesis on Nora, took on a position as a cryogenic researcher and technician at Wayne Enterprises, the facility that housed Nora's body. Eventually, he fell in love with Nora and became dedicated to finding a reliable method for slowly thawing cryogenic subjects. However, Bruce Wayne ordered the project to be shut down, as he began to feel uncomfortable with Fries' obsession with Nora. Furious, Fries hurled a chair at Wayne, who dodged the attack; the chair smashed into an array of cryonic chemical tanks, the contents of which sprayed onto Fries and transformed him into Mr. Freeze.

The Court of Owls uses Freeze's cryogenic-thaw formula to revive their Talons, and then they try to kill him. Freeze survives but is captured by the Red Hood and sent to Arkham Asylum. He escapes shortly afterward and rearms himself with the Penguin's help. Freeze decides to kill Bruce Wayne and takes Nora, whom he believes to be his wife so that they can leave Gotham City behind forever. Infiltrating Wayne Enterprises, Freeze has a brief fight with Nightwing and Robin, but he subdues them. Then, Freeze goes to the penthouse, where he finds Batman and the frozen Nora. Batman defeats Mr. Freeze by injecting his suit with the thawing formula, which he had intended to use to revive Nora from suspended animation.

During the "Forever Evil" storyline, Mr. Freeze appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains at the time when the Crime Syndicate arrived from their world. The Scarecrow later visits Mr. Freeze to let him know of the war going on at Blackgate Penitentiary. The Man-Bats are able to bring the remaining Talons to Mr. Freeze after the Man-Bat and the Scarecrow steal them from Blackgate. Mr. Freeze and Clayface later encounter the Rogues when they land in their territory. Mr. Freeze tells the Mirror Master III he is not interested in capitalizing on the bounty on their heads, only to use the Weather Wizard to create optimal conditions for him to freeze Gotham. As the Rogues are fighting the two, Black Mask (alongside his False Face society) arrives to capture the Rogues to receive the bounty.

DC Rebirth

In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Mr. Freeze is among the villains that attend the underground meeting held by the Riddler that talks about the Superman Theory. When Comedian crashes the meeting, Mr. Freeze's helmet is punctured by a bullet shot by an unseen combatant. In the "Ends of the Earth" story arc of All-Star Batman, Freeze has awoken many people that have been held in cryogenic stasis — using them as an army to steal resources for his research to cure his wife Nora, himself, and all of these people — and plans to release deadly bacteria held in one of the world's oldest ice cores to make a new world, but Batman has injected himself with a cold-resistant virus that becomes airborne when his skin is exposed and is able to kill the spores.

During the "Dark Nights: Metal" storyline, Mr. Freeze was given a special playing card by The Batman Who Laughs which enables him to perform cryokinesis. Mr. Freeze and his frost monsters fought different superheroes who moved through his domain. Robin is the one who defeated Mr. Freeze and he regressed back to normal when the threat of the Dark Multiverse was sent back to its own dimension.

Mr. Freeze was suspected of murdering three women and was put on trial. Due to Batman's later investigation, he found that Mr. Freeze didn't commit the crime and he was found not guilty by the jury.

Several years later due to the events in "Year of the Villain", Lex Luthor's Apex Lex form gives Mr. Freeze a vial that would cure and furthermore revive his frozen wife. Freeze had to kidnap several women who matched his late wife's characteristics in both mental and physical states, going as far as modifying their DNA to hers in order to experiment with the vial before reviving his wife. In the end, it worked and his wife came back to life cured. She soon took up the name "Mrs. Freeze". After Mrs. Freeze betrayed him, Mr. Freeze turned to Batman for help. During the fight, Mrs. Freeze used a syringe on Mr. Freeze which started to heat him up while also eradicating the special nanites that kept him cold without the assistance of his cryogenic suit. Batman had to put Mr. Freeze in the same cryogenic state that Nora was in while Mrs. Freeze fled to the northern parts of Canada.

Mr. Freeze was later seen as an inmate at Arkham Tower.

Powers and abilities

Like most Batman villains, Mr. Freeze's crimes are often centered around a specific theme; in his case, ice, cold and snow. The lab accident that bathed him in chemical coolants radically altered his biology and lowered his body temperature to 23 degrees Fahrenheit, transforming him into a metahuman who is impervious to sub-freezing temperatures and incapable of surviving outside of them. As a result, anything Freeze's skin comes into contact with will freeze. He can generate ice around his body, encase an entire person's body in ice simply by touching them, and cause ice to rapidly form along structures through physical contact. The demon Neron briefly grants Freeze the ability to generate absolute zero temperatures around him, though his body is soon reverted to its original sub-zero state. Since the chemicals he was exposed to were meant for cryo-stasis, Freeze's aging has been decelerated to the point that he is considered to be virtually immortal, and he is immune to most toxins, bacteria, viruses, and illnesses.

Freeze possesses a genius-level intellect and a gifted scientific mind. He is an expert in physics, chemistry, neurobiology, medicine, and mechanical engineering, having built his own specialized cryogenic suit and equipment to keep his body temperature below freezing, as well as a "freeze ray" gun capable of creating gusts of cold that approach absolute zero. Freeze's armored suit also increases his strength and durability to superhuman levels. His inventions have been described as being as technologically advanced as that of Apokolips or Lex Luthor.

Reception

IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time List ranked Mr. Freeze as #67.

Other characters named Mr. Freeze

Robot Mr. Freeze

In Blackhawk, Mr. Freeze appears as a robot created and controlled by Professor Thurman to pose as a villain so that Thurman could use his "Instant Freeze Icing Machine" invention to commit crimes without incriminating himself, but the plan is eventually foiled by the Blackhawks and Thurman is arrested.

Earth-Two Mr. Zero

An issue of The Brave and the Bold revealed that there was a criminal on Earth-Two who also operated as Mr. Zero. While not much is known about Earth-Two's Mr. Zero, his freeze gun was among the weaponry used by Earth-Two's Hugo Strange to attack Robin, Batwoman, and Batman of Earth-One.

Other versions

Flashpoint

An alternate timeline variant of Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze appears in Flashpoint: Citizen Cold. This version is a friend of Fallout and an enemy of the eponymous Citizen Cold, who later kills Freeze. Additionally, Freeze's motivations revolve around seeking a cure for Fallout's radioactive powers.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze appears in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After being exposed to mutagen by the Shredder, Freeze mutates into an anthropomorphic polar bear and joins other mutated Arkham Asylum inmates to attack Batman and Robin before the inmates are defeated by Splinter. Sometime later, the inmates are stated to have been cured and in A.R.G.U.S. custody.

Batman: White Knight

An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries appears in Batman: White Knight. This version retired from his criminal lifestyle to focus on curing his wife Nora Fries' disease. Additionally, his cryogenically mutated physiology considerably slowed his body's aging process. Years prior, Victor unnamed father and Nora's father, Jacob Smithstein, worked as cryogenic researchers in interwar Germany. Amidst the rise of the Nazis, Victor's father joined them as an SS officer and became cold and abusive towards Victor. After being conscripted to experiment on Jewish prisoners using cryotech, Victor helped the Smithsteins escape, during which Jacob was shot and made Victor promise to protect Nora. After arriving in the U.S., Victor would go on to help deliver Bruce Wayne after the latter's mother Martha went into premature labor and attempt to save Alfred Pennyworth.

Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story

An alternate universe variant of Victor Fries appears in the DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults novel Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story, written by Lauren Myracle and with art by Isaac Goodhart.

In other media

Main article: Mr. Freeze in other media

See also

References

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