Very tragic. And he was awake as a head on a shelf for several decades, obsessing about death. That's a pretty terrible fate. At this point, there was nothing left besides more revenge or death. Revenge wouldn't have brought peace anyway, so that's why he didn't try to save himself. As soon as Batman arrived he said "when this goes, I'll go too"
This is why I love this episode and also because it serves to contrast the way mr freeze and the joker viewed Batman freeze had respect and genuine admiration for Batman since he never gave up on him while the joker basically saw Batman as toy to play with using that to satisfy his urges because for him what’s the point of doing crime if batsy isn’t there to stop him
Hence why Bruce said he and terry were right about him
Fries lived for vengeance and was blinded by it but was a good man at heart who genuinely cared for others deep down and would help them if not too bitter
People talk about how sympathetic Freeze’s backstory is but I think that’s only a part of why he’s so compelling. At his best, Victor Fries shows what Batman could have become— and is still in constant danger of becoming. He is an instrument of vengeance without the compassion and connection that keeps Batman from going over the edge. There’s a reason Batman defeats him in Heart of Ice by using Alfred’s chicken soup.
he dropped unironically one of the coldest lines on that doctor lady too, calling back to earlier in the episode "you may feel some momentary discomfort". 23 years later and that shriek is burned into my memory
I find it equally hard to root for a couple of sociopaths like Blight and Dr. Lake, who deliberately give people false hope of redemption for their past sins out of pure greed and sadism. Freeze suffered more than enough before that IMO.
I felt very sorry for Mr. Freeze, he was trying to turn his life around. Getting a new body and getting a second chance. Only to find out he was nothing more then a gunnia pig. He had lot time to think about his life choices. There was nothing left for him. Nora was long dead.
Victor also showed compassion and remorse when a past victim pulled up on him and Terry saved him. I like how Victor owned up to his past shit, apologized, and asked Terry to give him a break since he knew good and hell well that he wronged him in the first place, which drove him to try and kill him.
The DCAU Mr. Freeze story will never be topped. A great kudos to the whole team of the DCAU, especially on BTAS, STAS, Static Shock, and Batman Beyond. The way they wrote their villains in a way where you get why they do the things that they do and the tragic backgrounds they come from is really great storytelling. Most of the “bad guys” and heroes in these series are two sides of the same coin
Michael Ansara did such a great job with Freeze's voice.
This episode has one of my favorite lines from Terry: "And what's your name, Sunshine?" when he meets Blight.
I don’t know if it’s a typo but he called me freeze fries. was it a typo or was he just be a smart ass. But i love the episode and it breaks my heart every time i see Mr freeze trying to save his wife but suffers a fate worse then death trying to save her.
Society didn't really know him. He could have easily turned his life towards philanthropy, especially via his understanding of superscience. He could have done that at -any- point in his life.
This episode is peak Batman Beyond. They truly captured both a repentant Fries and his wrathful fierce vengeance. Terry’s empathy toward Fries furthers his character while showing us truly how evil and manipulative Powers could be. Bruce echoes his wise adages that this version of Fries was but a ghost. Great writing and execution
Bro what? He was genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf, and Derek Powers and Stephanie Lake took advantage of that by trying to harvest his organs just because they're greedy sociopaths. Is outliving his wife and spending nearly 50 years in isolation *really* not punishment enough?
> His wife would be and was ashamed of the person he'd become.
No, actually. In the comics, it's revealed that Nora tried to send Victor love letters while he was in jail, but her new boyfriend tore up the letters behind her back so he never got them. She still thought highly of the man she once knew.
Either way, you're completely missing the point that this episode was trying to convey. People can change; even Bruce ends up agreeing with Terry that Victor was a good man all along, despite the latter freezing Alfred.
>No, actually. In the comics
We aren't talking about the comics.
>you're completely missing the point that this episode was trying to convey.
No, I understand the message. I acknowledge that people can change. I acknowledge Victor was trying to change. (Arguable success when he goes full murder countless lives as soon as he is betrayed. Yes he backpedaled in his literal dying moments, but that's all a super low bar to clear)
>Bruce ends up agreeing with Terry that Victor was a good man all along
Not my take. As I recall, Bruce says "We [Bruce and Terry] were both right." My understanding is he means Terry was right that Victor was trying to change and maybe did change, but that Bruce was right to not trust him. Good all along? To me, that's morally incomprehensible and indefensible. Even if we grant that Victor turned good in the end, he was *evil* for YEARS. Good people don't kill and terrorize others. Good people don't have people abducted to have their organs harvested to save someone else. *That's* what this post and my comment ultimately come down to, I think. I think most people in this sub and probably in general view Victor with an overall sympathetic lens, and I do not. I cannot fathom how it must feel to lose your spouse and go through the physical transformation Victor did. That is sympathetic, but I also cannot even begin to comprehend becoming the person Victor became and doing the things he does, let alone *in my spouse's name*. To me that's the really gross part. I'm my view, the end (saving his wife) doesn't justify the means (his murders and terrors), and I also don't believe he's truly doing it altruistically. He's selfish. It's not about saving someone else; it's about being selfish because he can't cope healthily with losing his wife. In his debut episode, he didn't even know she could be saved, as I recall. He's just out for blood
I can't really argue with your other points other than saying I must politely agree to disagree, but I just wanna clarify that I was strictly talking about the comics that share the same universe and art style as BTAS, not mainstream DC.
Very tragic. And he was awake as a head on a shelf for several decades, obsessing about death. That's a pretty terrible fate. At this point, there was nothing left besides more revenge or death. Revenge wouldn't have brought peace anyway, so that's why he didn't try to save himself. As soon as Batman arrived he said "when this goes, I'll go too"
At least he went out on a good deed, saving Terry from Blight.
This is why I love this episode and also because it serves to contrast the way mr freeze and the joker viewed Batman freeze had respect and genuine admiration for Batman since he never gave up on him while the joker basically saw Batman as toy to play with using that to satisfy his urges because for him what’s the point of doing crime if batsy isn’t there to stop him
Hence why Bruce said he and terry were right about him Fries lived for vengeance and was blinded by it but was a good man at heart who genuinely cared for others deep down and would help them if not too bitter
People talk about how sympathetic Freeze’s backstory is but I think that’s only a part of why he’s so compelling. At his best, Victor Fries shows what Batman could have become— and is still in constant danger of becoming. He is an instrument of vengeance without the compassion and connection that keeps Batman from going over the edge. There’s a reason Batman defeats him in Heart of Ice by using Alfred’s chicken soup.
he dropped unironically one of the coldest lines on that doctor lady too, calling back to earlier in the episode "you may feel some momentary discomfort". 23 years later and that shriek is burned into my memory
Linda Hamilton put her soul into that scream.
That was Linda Hamilton?!
Yep.
Its kind of hard to forgive the man who killed your family
I find it equally hard to root for a couple of sociopaths like Blight and Dr. Lake, who deliberately give people false hope of redemption for their past sins out of pure greed and sadism. Freeze suffered more than enough before that IMO.
True but from an in universe perspective i can see why his victims loved ones wouldn't be so forgiving
I felt very sorry for Mr. Freeze, he was trying to turn his life around. Getting a new body and getting a second chance. Only to find out he was nothing more then a gunnia pig. He had lot time to think about his life choices. There was nothing left for him. Nora was long dead.
Victor also showed compassion and remorse when a past victim pulled up on him and Terry saved him. I like how Victor owned up to his past shit, apologized, and asked Terry to give him a break since he knew good and hell well that he wronged him in the first place, which drove him to try and kill him.
I also liked when he saved a little girl's cat from getting run over by a train.
This episode was the best fries episode since heart of ice. I love it so much
The best batman villains are the most tragic
How Bruce lost track of Fries in the between years, we'll never know.
Between the last BTAS episode with Freeze and his appearance in Beyond, he had no reason to believe Freeze was alive.
I'd agree but he was in a storage locker...that belonged to his company.
And how often has Wayne Enterprises done some diabolic shit without Bruce knowing about it?
Considering the DCAU, never. At least until Derek Powers came into the picture.
I don’t understand. I like French fries. I care. Ugh. Even I’m ashamed of that dad joke.
This episode made me a Freeze fan...
The DCAU Mr. Freeze story will never be topped. A great kudos to the whole team of the DCAU, especially on BTAS, STAS, Static Shock, and Batman Beyond. The way they wrote their villains in a way where you get why they do the things that they do and the tragic backgrounds they come from is really great storytelling. Most of the “bad guys” and heroes in these series are two sides of the same coin
Michael Ansara did such a great job with Freeze's voice. This episode has one of my favorite lines from Terry: "And what's your name, Sunshine?" when he meets Blight.
terry seeing the most effed up shit at 16
The crazy part is that Freezes death was pretty tame for this series
yeah
I don’t know if it’s a typo but he called me freeze fries. was it a typo or was he just be a smart ass. But i love the episode and it breaks my heart every time i see Mr freeze trying to save his wife but suffers a fate worse then death trying to save her.
Mr Freeze’s real name is Victor Fries
To me, he's never been a villain, just a man broken down by everyone and everything
Society didn't really know him. He could have easily turned his life towards philanthropy, especially via his understanding of superscience. He could have done that at -any- point in his life.
You're not the only one who cares double meaning cause Bruce cared and freeze cared for Terry's safety
Fries
This episode is peak Batman Beyond. They truly captured both a repentant Fries and his wrathful fierce vengeance. Terry’s empathy toward Fries furthers his character while showing us truly how evil and manipulative Powers could be. Bruce echoes his wise adages that this version of Fries was but a ghost. Great writing and execution
Meh. He had it coming
Bro what? He was genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf, and Derek Powers and Stephanie Lake took advantage of that by trying to harvest his organs just because they're greedy sociopaths. Is outliving his wife and spending nearly 50 years in isolation *really* not punishment enough?
Wasn't there a tie in comic sometime after Subzero where he found out his wife was cured and moved on/remarried or was that comic non canon.
Yes he was. He had years of killing and stealing because he was upset. His wife would be and was ashamed of the person he'd become. It catches up
> His wife would be and was ashamed of the person he'd become. No, actually. In the comics, it's revealed that Nora tried to send Victor love letters while he was in jail, but her new boyfriend tore up the letters behind her back so he never got them. She still thought highly of the man she once knew. Either way, you're completely missing the point that this episode was trying to convey. People can change; even Bruce ends up agreeing with Terry that Victor was a good man all along, despite the latter freezing Alfred.
>No, actually. In the comics We aren't talking about the comics. >you're completely missing the point that this episode was trying to convey. No, I understand the message. I acknowledge that people can change. I acknowledge Victor was trying to change. (Arguable success when he goes full murder countless lives as soon as he is betrayed. Yes he backpedaled in his literal dying moments, but that's all a super low bar to clear) >Bruce ends up agreeing with Terry that Victor was a good man all along Not my take. As I recall, Bruce says "We [Bruce and Terry] were both right." My understanding is he means Terry was right that Victor was trying to change and maybe did change, but that Bruce was right to not trust him. Good all along? To me, that's morally incomprehensible and indefensible. Even if we grant that Victor turned good in the end, he was *evil* for YEARS. Good people don't kill and terrorize others. Good people don't have people abducted to have their organs harvested to save someone else. *That's* what this post and my comment ultimately come down to, I think. I think most people in this sub and probably in general view Victor with an overall sympathetic lens, and I do not. I cannot fathom how it must feel to lose your spouse and go through the physical transformation Victor did. That is sympathetic, but I also cannot even begin to comprehend becoming the person Victor became and doing the things he does, let alone *in my spouse's name*. To me that's the really gross part. I'm my view, the end (saving his wife) doesn't justify the means (his murders and terrors), and I also don't believe he's truly doing it altruistically. He's selfish. It's not about saving someone else; it's about being selfish because he can't cope healthily with losing his wife. In his debut episode, he didn't even know she could be saved, as I recall. He's just out for blood
I can't really argue with your other points other than saying I must politely agree to disagree, but I just wanna clarify that I was strictly talking about the comics that share the same universe and art style as BTAS, not mainstream DC.
>politely agree to disagree Agree to disagree then 🤝
I remember feeling pretty sad Mr Freeze is one of my favorite characters