The best villains tend to be the ones that can not only pack a punch, but those whose motives are relatable on at least some level too. Gotham Knights stars the four young protagonists Red Hood, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing, who are left to defend Gotham after Batman dies. One of the most notable villains they face off against is Mr. Freeze, a long-standing adversary of Batman. Over the years, the two have shared a complex relationship that has often changed from ally to enemy at the drop of a hat, then back again just as quickly. Thanks to Mr. Freeze's compelling backstory, he is seen by many as a character who the audience can sympathize with, and his inclusion in Gotham Knights is a welcome one.
Mr. Freeze is easily one of Batman's most recognizable adversaries. Thanks to his striking blue appearance which is usually offset by his piercing red glasses, as well as his huge mechanical suit and freezing gun which can turn objects and even people into solid blocks of ice, he is an easy man to identify. As well as the suit and gun giving him great strength and power, Mr. Freeze is also a highly intelligent scientist who works relentlessly on various new inventions.
Mr Freeze's Origins
When the character made his debut in the February 1959 edition of the Batman comic, he was actually introduced to audiences as Mr. Zero. Portrayed as little more than a gimmick character, he wasn't given much of a second thought at first. However, in the popular 1960s Batman TV series, the character was renamed Mr. Freeze, and, while still lacking a notable backstory, the character started to build up a little momentum, with his new name carrying over to the comics too.
It wasn't until a couple of decades later that Mr. Freeze became the character that audiences are familiar with now. The 1990s saw Batman's popularity hit new heights, thanks in part to Batman: The Animated Series, a four-time Emmy award-winning cartoon that ran for 85 episodes between 1992 and 1995. It was during this series that Mr. Freeze was fully fleshed out, and given a backstory that helped to elevate him to the top tier of Batman's villains gallery.
During the series' 14th episode, titled "Heart of Ice", it is explained that Mr. Freeze is actually Dr. Victor Fries. His wife, Nora, is terminally ill, and in order to combat this, she has been cryogenically frozen in ice while Victor desperately searches for a cure. Mr Freeze's criminal tendencies stem from an urgent need to raise money, which he can use to expedite the research necessary to discover a cure and save his wife. This gave the character some proper motives, and all of a sudden he was seen by fans in a whole new light. His tragic, complex nature was now fully appreciated. Some consider "Heart of Ice" the best episode of the show, and its popularity helped to resurrect Mr Freeze's character in the comics, years after he had been nonchalantly killed off by The Joker.
This newfound popularity also saw Mr. Freeze brought to life on the big screen, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the role in the 1997 movie Batman and Robin. Despite the film being panned critically, the director even incorporated elements of Mr. Freeze's backstory into the film, again showing just how much weight this had given to the character and his motivations. Since the cartoon episode aired, Mr. Freeze has continued to appear regularly in Batman's various forms of media entertainment. Prior to his Gotham Knights appearance, he had already appeared in three of the four Batman: Arkham games.
Gotham Knights is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.