So this is how Victor Fries becomes the Mister Freeze we’ve come to know and love. Last week we learned that Victor was trying to find a way to save his wife Nora. She’s dying and he wants to find a way to freeze and preserve her cryogenically, until a cure can be found to save her. Then he’d reanimate her and everything would be all hearts and flowers. Unfortunately, Victor has been killing folks to test various freezing methods, looking for the right one. But the end doesn’t justify the means, and that’s murder, which is against the law. So when Nora found out what her hubby was doing she turned herself in to the police. But as luck would have it, that same day Victor Fries found the right concoction that could both freeze and reanimate successfully. So now, how does he get to his wife to save her in time? Nora is in Police custody, beyond his reach. But like all super villains, Victor’s got a plan that seems right to him.
Victor Fries, dubbed Mister Freeze by the press, is going on a rampage and killing people. But it’s kind of a ‘you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours’ thing. He’ll stop freezing people to death if the police release his wife. But that’s not the kind of deal Captain Barnes is willing to make, and he is irate! When he thinks of what Fries is doing he almost loses it. He charges his guys to catch Mister Freeze, because when you mess with the Gotham Police, “It’s clobbering time!” (Michael Chiklis also played ‘The Thing’ in two Fantastic Four Movies) And to that end, Barnes wants to move Nora to a secure medical facility, to further her treatment, and lure Victor into a trap. And the facility he selects is Arkham.
The sinister Hugo Strange, and his equally creepy assistant Miss Peabody, run the rehabilitation program at Arkham. But what they are doing for reals is conducting all kinds of Frankenstein-like experiments in the secret basement facility they call “Indian Hill”. And Strange is overjoyed that the police will be literally dropping the infamous Mister Freeze right into their hands. They have been working on Penguin, using a kind of torturous electro-therapy. And though he continues to fight the effects, he’s slowly becoming unhinged, as are a lot of the patients under Hugo Strange’s care. Penguin asks Jim for help, but Jim rebuffs him. This causes Penguin to throw a tantrum, claiming he lied for Jim, and that Jim was Galavan’s actual killer. But no one is paying attention to Penguin these days, except Hugo Strange that is.
Nora Fries is Lee’s patient. Lee is Jim’s Baby-momma. And she is so pissed that they are using Nora to flush out Victor, she insists on going to Arkham with her. Jim is upset she’s putting herself and their unborn kid in danger, but Lee will not be dissuaded. So she goes along with Nora to Arkham. And Nora is put into a hospital ward with one other patient, Barbara Kean. She’s Jim’s psycho ex-girlfriend. And she also tried to kill Lee and Jim. So there is obvious bad blood there. But Barbara’s been in a coma since she took a dive out a cathedral window. No one knows if she’ll ever recover. But I’m guessing that with Hugo Strange’s help, she’ll be back and more dangerous than ever.
Victor shows up as predicted to get to his wife. And though the police are waiting for him. Hugo Strange manipulates the situation in Victor’s favor; in exchange for a sample of his perfected freeze formula. So Victor Fries gets away, taking Nora and Lee with him. Who didn’t see that coming? He takes Nora back to their home to freeze her. Even though she doesn’t want any part of that plan, and would rather die. He’s killed a lot of people to try and save her, and she’s not cool with that. But she can’t stop him, he’s determined. So she tricks him instead. While he’s out of the room, she switches the cartridge in the freeze gun. She takes out the cartridge with the perfected formula and switches it with a cartridge containing one of his failed attempts. She tells Lee that she saw Victor changing, and going down this dark path. But she loved him and chose not to do anything about it. A situation Lee can identify with. (Jim, when Lee gets home you are in so much trouble.)
Victor Fries comes back and uses the freeze gun on his wife, thinking it will preserve her. But instead it kills her. And when he realizes that she switched the cartridges in his gun, he freezes himself, to join her in death. It’s a very Shakespearean end. But it’s not the end. Victor wakes up in Indian Hill, under Hugo Strange’s care. He’s stark white, with white hair, and he can only survive in sub-freezing temperatures. It seems all the chemicals he dealt with, changed him. And now he is Victor Fries no more. He is Mister Freeze forever. To quote Hugo Strange: “Death is not an ending. Death is a new Beginning.” So you can look forward to seeing him again some day, along with Barbara Kean, and possibly Theo Galavan. Remember what I said about Frankenstein. STAY TUNED!!!!!
BRUCE NEWS: Bruce and Alfred are back from a month-long stay in a Swiss chalet. They left Gotham after Galavan kidnapped and almost killed Bruce. But their time away didn’t help. Bruce is in psycho revenge mode. He’s training in the batcave like a mini maniac, intent on killing Matches Malone, the guy that possibly killed his parents. And though he promises to let Alfred do the deed instead of him. (Alfred’s pretty dark these days too) Bruce goes behind Alfred’s back and asks Salina to get him a gun. Maybe he’ll commit murder end up in Arkham too! (Yeah! Our Hero)
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