Just like with the Batman Arkham look at Killer Croc, I felt that this book presents a full dossier at the decent into madness that Victor Von Fries takes to become Mister Freeze.
When we first meet Freeze, he's not really even the same character we have grown to love over the decades. When the character first appears in 1959, he's called Mr. Zero and he's referred to by the Caped Crusader as Dr. Art Schivel. While working on a freeze gun, the frozen mixture explodes and turns Schivel into a living breathing icicle.
In the late 60s, as producers were looking for fun and unique villains to opposed Batman and Robin, they brought Mr. Zero back. But now he was called Mister Freeze and he mostly committed ice-themed crimes in order to fund his need for Freon. If wouldn't be until the 1990s when Dr. Art Schivel would become Dr. Victor Fries.
Paul Dini and Batman: The Animated Series would be responsible for turning the frozen fiend into a tragic figure. In 1992's 'Heart of Ice', we learn of Fries' life-long obsession with cryogenics and his strict, miserable childhood. Victor eventually marries a woman named Nora. Happy for the first time in his life, Fries becomes top in his field. But the happiness is short as Nora has a fatal disease that yet has a cure. Victor places her into a form of suspended animation. But a lab accident during his experiments turns Fries into Freeze!
Unable to go out into non-freezing temperatures, Freeze creates a refrigerated body suit. Unfortunately, it needs diamonds to fuel it. Plus, now a fugitive, Victor still needs funds to continue trying to save Nora. Disconnected totally from humanity, Mister Freeze, armed with a cryogenic gun, will let noone stand in his way to save the woman he loves.
Man, this is great tragic stuff! Shakespeare, Hemingway and Vonnegut couldn't write stuff this powerful. Okay, maybe the could. But the new origin of Mister Freeze is further proof Paul Dini belongs in some sort of comic book hall of fame!
While there is a Paul Dini penned story, there's not anything from the various comics based on the 1990s cartoon.
After Dini, you start to really dive into Mister Freeze and his backstory. Victor Fries is possibly more demented than we thought. It's possible Nora Fries isn't really his bride. She might be a cryogenics test subject from the 1950s that Victor fell in love with while conducting his doctoral thesis. Plus, he might have killed a family member or two. It's kinda left up to the reader to decide.
Man, the New 52 and Rebirth did a number of this character. But wow!
I love the cold. Always have. And it's why I've had an affinity for Mister Freeze. Maybe I am a little biased. But I thought that this collection earned high marks. Freeze undergoes a very wide metamorphosis over the years. Yet that evolution kept getting better and better the more complex the character gets.
A chilling read for a hot summer's night.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
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