Mr. Freeze (Victor Fries) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Batman #121 (February 1959) as the ice-based criminal Mr. Zero. He was soon renamed "Mr. Freeze" and, years later, received a revamped origin story based on the one conceived by writer Paul Dini for Batman: The Animated Series. Dini's depiction of the character as a tragic villain popularized Mr. Freeze into becoming one of Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Mr. Freeze is the alter ego of Dr. Victor Fries, a cryogenics expert in Gotham City who was caught in a laboratory mishap whilst attempting to cure his terminally ill wife, Nora. The accident drastically lowered his body temperature to sub-zero levels, forcing him to wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive. Fries turns to crime to find a cure for his wife's illness through any means necessary, which often puts him into conflict with Batman.
The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, having been portrayed in live-action by George Sanders, Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach in the 1960s Batman television series, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1997 film Batman & Robin, and Nathan Darrow in the Fox crime drama Gotham. Michael Ansara, Clancy Brown, Maurice LaMarche, and others have provided his voice in media ranging from animation to video games.
Creation and development
Introduction
Mr. Freeze made his first appearance in Batman #121 (February 1959), and was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane. 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. He was originally called Mr. Zero in the comics, but the producers of the 1960s Batman television series renamed him Mr. Freeze and portrayed Batman addressing him as Dr. Art Schivel, but the name never carried over to the comic books. In the Pre-Crisis 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.
Origin story
Originally called Mr. Zero, he was renamed and popularized by the 1960s Batman television series, in which he was played by three different actors (George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach).
Nearly 30 years later, a television adaptation of Batman revitalized him once again. Batman: The Animated Series retold Mr. Freeze's origin in "Heart of Ice", an episode by writer Paul Dini. The episode introduced his terminally ill, cryogenically frozen wife Nora, which explained his obsession with ice and need to build a criminal empire to raise research funds. 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 Joker.
Freeze was resurrected in the comic after the episode aired. 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 canon in the comics and has been the character's official origin in almost every incarnation of Batman until September 2011, when The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. Elements of this origin story were incorporated into the 1997 film Batman & Robin, in which he was portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.