As most of you reading this will know, a couple of years ago
Mr. Freeze received a new origin by Batman writer Scott Snyder.
In the origin that started in Batman: The animated series Mr
Freeze (real name Victor Fries) is a man who can only survive in sub zero
temperatures. This came about due to a set of circumstances that involved his
wife (Nora Fries), whom Fries put in suspended animation to prevent her illness
from killing her before he could find a cure.
In the New 52 version Nora isn’t married to Mr Fries. In
fact she was born and put in suspension decades before Victor was even born and
they haven’t even met. Victor was working on finding a cure for her and became
obsessed with her. When he was found out it led to the events that caused his
current condition.
When news of this revised origin came out I didn’t want to
read it. Obsessed man in love with a woman he has only ever seen in suspension
removes a lot of tragedy from what was the story of a man so damaged in his
attempts to save his wife. In my opinion this lack of a tragic element makes
this new origin lesser in comparison, and if they were to put Mr Freeze in a
new movie I hope that they go with the animated series version.
However, that being said I recently came to see the merit of
the new version. In one of the later issues of Batman Eternal Mr Freeze uses
his freezing device to create a tableau of the perfect family life. It was this
scene that showed me the strength of the new origin story.
The problem with the animated series (as) Mr Freeze is that
because all of his actions are for his wife it is too easy to stop conflict.
When Mr Freeze is on a rampage all Batman needs to do is figure out if he wants
revenge or medical supplies. If it is revenge Freeze wants Batman can bring the
man to justice, if it is medical supplies then Batman can easily supply all
that. At the end of Batman and Robin George Clooney’s Batman has Nora Fries
moved to Arkham Asylum so that Mr Freeze can work on her condition while he
resides there. With this action he has completely nullified the villain.
This might be good for a movie but it doesn’t work for a
comic book. In a comic book the ideal is to have the villains able to return
for as much as you want to use them. Earlier comic tales have killed off Nora
Fries but this only causes a delay to the issue. The problem of as Mr Freeze is that he has a
logical finishing point. Either he gets to work on his wife and has need reason
to harm anyone or he flames out getting revenge. Too many revenge stories would
just see the character growing stale.
New 52 Freeze on the other hand, doesn’t have a logical end
point. He believes that Nora is his wife and will kill anyone whom he deems to
be coming between them. Unlike as Freeze there is no simply reasoning with this
man.
His obsession also creates story possibilities that extend beyond
Nora. A story could examine the route of his obsession (the issue that he was
revealed in depicted him pushing his mother into a frozen lake because of the condition
that a similar accident left her in). A story could show how he operates when
he isn’t around Nora or what would happen if he were to make a connection with
another person, and if such a thing would even be possible for his character.
I have loved the as Mr Freeze ever since I first saw his
episode as a child and I still believe it to be the superior tale. The problem
is that it just doesn’t work as a story that can be dragged out and re-examined
in the way that a comic series requires. For this reason I have come to the
belief that what Scott Snyder did in Batman Annual #1 was the right move for
the character. While controversial, the new Mr Freeze has far more story
potential than the old.
If you reacted like I did, and rejected the change I urge
you to reconsider, and look at the New 52 version of the character with this
perspective in mind.
