Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

"In this universe, there's only one absolute...EVERYTHING FREEZES."

- Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze was an arch-nemesis of Batman, Robin and Batgirl.

Batman & Robin
Victor Fries was a two time olympic decathlete and a very well known scientist, having won the Noble Prize in the field of molecular biology. He was trying to cure his wife Nora (who he was deeply devoted to) from a terminal illness called McGregor's syndrome that would eventually kill her. Victor placed her in an experimental cryogenic chamber of his own invention, hoping to keep her in suspended animation until he could find a cure. He continued his research on the disease while his wife endured her frozen slumber, even managing to cure the disease in its early stages, but still working on the advanced case Nora had contracted. During an experiment, he fell into a vat of his cryo-fluid that was fifty degrees below zero, somehow surviving only to find himself dependent on a special cryosuit that used special diamond enhanced lasers to keep him at zero degrees. He took on the persona of Mr. Freeze.

Crime spree
Freeze hid out at Snowy Cones Ice Cream Factory and began a life of crime in a continued effort to cure his wife. He began robbing museums of large diamonds, planning to use them to create a large scale freeze gun that he called his "freezing engine" to freeze Gotham, holding it ransom for billions, allowing him to complete his research for her cure. He was pursued by Batman and Robin, but managed to steal a diamond after freezing Robin, and warned Batman that he had eleven minutes to thaw Robin before he would freeze to death. Freeze spared Batman, but threatened to kill the Dark Knight the next time he tries to stop him, and escaped with the diamond.

At his hideout Freeze is watching his past before the accident. He is then interrupted by one of his thugs who is holding a newspaper and tells him that he wants to see, but he freezes him, commenting, "I hate when people talk during the movie." Then he tells his wife only one diamond left and notices the newspaper on one his frozen thugs and reads it.

At a rainforest costume party that was using a large diamond necklace to help raise money for a charity, Freeze returned and stole it. Batman and Robin followed and captured him, imprisoning Freeze in Arkham Asylum. Stripped of his cryo-suit, Victor could no longer survive outside of his specially designed cell, and was rendered incapable of escaping.

While in Arkham, Mr. Freeze carved an ice statue of his wife in order to have some solace, for he missed her deeply and wished he was still with her.

Alliance with Poison Ivy
Freeze was then broken out of the asylum by Poison Ivy and Bane. Ivy had witnessed Freeze's attack at the party and been impressed at his skills.

They returned to Freeze's hideout where Ivy and Bane distracted the Dynamic Duo (who had learned of Freeze's escape) while he retrieved his energy diamonds and weapons telling Ivy to bring his wife back to him.

However, Poison Ivy betrayed him by disconnecting the cable in the cyro chamber that is keeping Freeze's wife alive. Upon showing Freeze his wife's special snowflake necklace, and claiming Batman killed her, Freeze swore vengeance on him, and, at Ivy's urging, humanity itself. He thus decided to continue his plan to freeze Gotham and kill the population. He told Ivy to distract Batman and Robin while he put his despicable plan into action.

He went with Bane to Gotham observatory to use it's powerful telescope to create a giant freeze gun, on his arrival he froze lead scientist Dr. Lee and his assistant, leaving them to die and began his plan of freezing Gotham City.

Redemption
Batman and Robin (who had survived Ivy's trap), along with their new partner Batgirl arrived at Gotham Observatory attempting to put right the damage Freeze had done. He had already coverted the main telescope into a giant freeze gun and used it to freeze most of Gotham's population leaving them with only eleven minutes to thaw the whole city. Freeze sends Bane to deal with Robin and Batgirl while he takes care of Batman. A fierce battle ensues between the Dark Knight and the cold hearted villain for control of the telescope ending with Freeze being knocked off the telescope platform destroying his freeze device.

But Freeze wasn't defeated easily and with one last ounce of strength, detonated icicle bombs that were earlier placed around the telescope, causing the structure to explode and crash it straight through the walls to the far ground below in one last attempt to destroy Batman and stop him from saving the city. In doing so he finally falls fifteen feet to the ground below. He breaks his helmet with the impact of the fall. Batman survives the fall along with the two scientists who had been thawed out and been clinging onto the telescope for dear life. After setting them down safely on the ground he went after Robin and Batgirl who had defeated Bane. They head back to the observatory and finally find a way to thaw Gotham City using the satellites; soon the population is restored to normal.

Batman goes over to Freeze, who is lying amongst the wreckage of what's left of the telescope structure and is now weakened by the heating. Freeze orders Batman to kill him just like he killed his wife. Batman replies that he didn't kill her, and shows him a recording of Ivy's betrayal, making Freeze realize that his partner betrayed him and is the one who pulled the plug. The Dark Knight comforts Freeze, assuring him that his wife wasn't dead. She had her systems restored and was still alive.



Appealing to Freeze's healing nature as a doctor and a good man, while arguing that anyone can take a life, but only a few people, such as Victor Fries, can give life, Batman asked him for a cure for the first stages of his wife's illness to save the life of another (specifically, Bruce Wayne's dying friend, Alfred Pennyworth). Deeply moved by this, Freeze compiles and provides them with the antidote with the words "Take two of these and call me in the morning". Batman gratefully takes it from him. Although Freeze is still sent to Arkham, Batman promises that he will have Nora moved to the Arkham labs so that he can continue his research. Having been allocated Poison Ivy as his cell mate, Freeze promises to make her life a living hell for what she did to his wife.

Powers and Abilities
Mr. Freeze is an expert in cyrogenics and inventions. As a scientist Freeze has a very intelligent mind. He is very resourceful and cunning with his plans. His suit not only gives him the ability to survive in sub zero temperatures, but also gives him great strength. Additionally, Freeze wields a freeze gun which freezes an opponent instantly. Also, Freeze had wings in his armor which would allow him to fly - which was seen when Freeze abandoned the doomed pod heading into the sky.

Weapons, Equipment and Technology
Apart from his special cyrosuit, Freeze has an array of different weapons and devices. His main weapon is a large freeze rifle that shoots a very powerful freeze beam, a hi-tech freezing machine called his "Freezing Engine" that is made up of several white diamonds that can be used to freeze a whole city, Icicle bombs that can be detonated when pressed by a button on his suit and his vehicle called the Freezemobile that fires a freeze beam and Icicle missiles.

Behind the scenes
This version of Mr. Freeze was a campy one, who had endlessly used one-liner puns related to low temperatures and cold weather, such as "The Iceman Cometh", "Freeze-well", and "Let's kick some ice" although it includes Batman: The Animated Series version's tragic origin, but portrayed it as being a machinery accident, falling into a vat of Liquid Nitrogen. The film's characterization of Mr. Freeze, as well as Schwarzenegger's performance, was widely criticized. Mr. Freeze's suit is given a complete redesign to make it distinctive from BTAS and comic book incarnations. The suit, as in the comics and animated representations, is depicted as giving Mr. Freeze enhanced strength. Schwarzenegger was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Supporting Actor for playing Mr. Freeze, but didn't win. Instead, the award went to Dennis Rodman, a professional basketball player, for another movie called Double Team.

Mr Freeze Puns
This version of Mr. Freeze and a few of the other characters used a lot of cold joke puns in the movie:

Mr. Freeze
"The Iceman Cometh!"

"I'm afraid that my condition has left me cold to your pleas of mercy."

"In this universe, there's only one absolute. Everything Freezes!"

"You're not sending me to the cooler!"

"What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!"

"Can you feel it coming? the Ice cold of space."

"At thirty thousand feet, your heart will freeze and beat no more."

After you're frozen, your icy tomb will plummet back to Gotham."

"Freeze Well!"

"Stay cool, Bird-boy."

"Can you be cold, Batman? You have eleven minutes to thaw the bird."

"My passion thaws for my Bride alone."

"It's winter forever here in Gotham."

"All right everyone, Chill!"

"Pheromone Dust, designed to heat a man's blood. It doesn't work on the cold hearted."

"Cool party."

"It's a cold town."

"Allow me to break the Ice. My name is Freeze. Learn it well for it's the chilling sound of your doom!"

"Always winterize your pipes."

"Chilled to Perfection!"

"Their bones will turn to Ice. Their blood will freeze in my hands."

"I will blanket the city in endless winter!"

"First I will turn Gotham into an Icy graveyard, then I will pull Batman's heart from his body and feel it freeze in my hands!"

"If revenge is a dish best served cold. Then put on your Sunday finest, it's time to feast."

"Tonight Hell freezes over!"

"Let's kick some Ice!"

"Tonight's forecast, a freeze is coming!"

"Freeze in Hell, Batman!"

"Prepare for a bitter harvest. Winter has come at last."

Batman, Robin and Batgirl
Batman: "You get the ice, I'll get the Iceman."

Batman: "If it's Ice, the Iceman wants..."

Robin: "We're going to trap ourselves a snowman?"

Robin: "No sign of the Snowman."

Batgirl: "Maybe he melted."

Batman: "No he's just hibernating!"

Batman: "Hey Freeze, the heat is on."

Batman: ".... and maybe you can save the life of the man your wife once loved. He's still inside you Victor, buried deep beneath the snow."

Poison Ivy
"A cool customer. Yes!"

Well I, my most unabominable snowman have been impressed by you."

Arkham Asylum Guards
Guard 1: "Welcome Home, Frostface."

Guard 2: "You're the common cold and we're the cure."

Guard 1: "Alright Freezy, you can't live outside the cold zone!"

Guard 2: "Hey Icehead...."

Ms. B. Haven
"I'd weather blizzards just to have you."

"What do you say we heat things up?"

"Talk about your cold shoulder."

See

 * Mr. Freeze
 * Mr. Freeze (George Sanders)
 * Mr. Freeze (Otto Preminger)
 * Mr. Freeze (Eli Wallach)
 * Mr. Freeze (BTAS)
 * Mr. Freeze (The Batman)