Top 100 Batman VILLAINS

31 - Mister Freeze

#31 - Mister Freeze
First Appearance: Batman #121 (Feb 1959)

"Of course, I know about bad luck... that's one of the lessons that this city teaches us all, eventually." ~Mister Freeze

We all know the origin of Mister Freeze... but do you know WHERE that origin, erm, originated? Surprisingly, it was put together on Batman: The Animated Series, decades after Freeze first debuted in comics. Similarly to the Penguin, up until someone found a new and unique voice for Freeze, Victor languished in years of poorly-written comically silly Batman stories. However, with the introduction of a dark, tragic backstory, suddenly Fries has become the Freeze we know and love today.

Victor is an oddity; I've found that the best renditions of the character come from non-comics media; Batman: The Animated Series and the Arkham games did an excellent, excellent job demonstrating both his threat and his internal suffering. One thing I really like about Freeze is that he's not really an insane villain like other Bat-enemies; he knows he's being shouted down by his louder demons, but he's truly just too weak to prevent it from happening. It's yet another excellent example of how the Dark Knight truly has a legendary willpower and can stand where others bend and fall; for me, that's the best part of Mister Freeze, and when he's written well, he not only comes across as a character you don't necessarily want to root against, but he also helps to enforce the iconography of Batman as a zenith of human fortitude.

Greatest Mister Freeze Story Ever Told:: To this day, the Batman: The Animated Series story "Heart of Ice" is easily the best Freeze story you could ask for; I've never been so moved for any individual villain in Batman's arsenal as I was for Freeze. It's a tremendous and impactful episode that has had major implications on the franchise ever since.