Back in the spring of 1997, during the opening previews of the Space Jam VHS, I vividly remember the chills I felt when the score for The Adventures of Batman & Robin echoed from my television and the narrator said the following words, “A chill has fallen over Gotham. Freeze is back in town and only one man can stop him. And he’s going to need all the help he can get. It’s going to get cold this summer. Very cold. SubZero.”
Right off the bat, my eyes were glued to this trailer and in the depths of my heart, I could just feel it that I would fall in love with this movie — Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero — and watch it many times over for years to come. Back in 1993, my life forever changed when I discovered Batman: The Animated Series on Fox Kids and the Dynamic Duo would introduce me to a world of storytelling that has been such a critical component of my life for twenty-five years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkO5u_-780I
One of the most notable accomplishments of this series is how it shined the spotlight on Batman’s lesser known villains: Mad Hatter, The Ventriloquist, and Man-Bat. And outside of The Joker and Harley Quinn, no villain commandeered the spotlight and catapulted to the forefront of this show’s legacy quite like Mr. Freeze.
In the fall of 1992, Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Paul Dini penned the script for the Emmy Award winning episode “Heart Of Ice,” which completely redefined Mr. Freeze’s backstory.
For anyone unfamiliar, “Heart Of Ice” introduced the world to Nora Fries, Victor Fries’ wife who was terminally ill. Victor worked for a company called GothCorp and used their resources to develop cryogenic technology that would preserve Nora’s life until he could find a cure for her disease. As he was on the verge of making huge strides in his research, his boss and GothCorp CEO Ferris Boyle immediately shut down the project with no regard for Nora’s well-being. Even worse, Boyle put Victor in a life-threatening situation that resulted in his unfortunate transformation and downward spiral. Low and behold, Mr. Freeze was born.
I want readers to focus on this classic dialogue between Batman and Mr. Freeze during “Heart of Ice.”
Batman: I saw what happened to your wife. I’m sorry.
Mr. Freeze: I’m beyond emotions. They’ve been frozen dead in me.
Batman: That suit you wear, a result of the coolant?
Mr. Freeze: Very good, a detective till the last. I can no longer survive out of a “SubZero” environment. Tonight, I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life, our lives.
Flash forward to 1998, Mr. Freeze’s use of the word “SubZero” in “Heart of Ice” served as the perfect tie-in for screenwriters Boyd Kirkland and Randy Rogel to tell the final chapter of his tragic downfall. Side note, Dini penned a sequel to “Heart of Ice” called “Deep Freeze” in 1994, which showed that Nora was still alive. As that episode concludes, Freeze is “presumed” dead but relocates with Nora to the arctic.
Nearly six-years after the debut of “Heart of Ice” and exactly twenty-years ago, the Annie-Award winning Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero was released on March 17, 1998 and I wanted to commemorate this special anniversary by honoring one of the definitive and most criminally underrated Batman films and storylines across any medium of all-time.
Right around my eighth-birthday, I received a VHS copy of Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero as a gift and this was such a special moment for me. For over a year, I had anxiously awaited its release, especially since I had watched the Space Jam VHS so many times that SubZero’s trailer was so ingrained in me. Movies, comic books, posters, and toys: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Alfred were and will forever be my heroes and I was so excited to watch this movie for the first time.
If I were to have a conversation with someone completely unfamiliar with Batman, or even the Bat-family for that matter: Robin, Batgirl, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon; I mean, they have zero clue of what Batman stands for and I only have one-hour (sixty-seven minutes to be precise) to demonstrate the timeless mystique of Batman and the sacred bond that is shared between Bruce Wayne and his loved ones and the moral code that fuels his journey: Without question, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero would be my definitive choice to showcase the truest and purest essence of Batman.
When SubZero kicks into motion, Mr. Freeze is in a much healthier place both mentally and physically in comparison to “Heart of Ice.” He is raising a surrogate son Koonak and inhabits an arctic climate where he doesn’t have to wear the infamous suit that defined his ruthlessness in Gotham City. It feels like he might even be close to finding a cure for Nora.
Of course, just when things had been going well, a submarine searching for safeground in dangerous snowy conditions crashes into his home (located in a cave) and destroys everything Victor had built in this new life. Nora’s container is broken, which means that she could potentially die at any moment. Mr. Freeze relapses and everyone aboard that submarine is frozen by his notorious freeze gun and left-to-die in the arctic.
I mean, that is just some heartbreaking and downright sinister writing. My heart genuinely sulks for Mr. Freeze since he never seems destined for happiness, his life is just burdened with gut wrenching examples of pain, suffering, and terrible timing. He eventually kidnaps his former colleague Dr. Belson who evaluates Nora and determines that she needs an emergency organ transplant, which is almost impossible to find within such a limited timeframe (“A few weeks, at best”). Nora’s rare blood type makes this scenario that much more difficult and Freeze holds no regard for any roadblocks standing in his way, he will use a live donor and sacrifice their life for hers. Historically speaking, coincidence and timing are such major catalysts in Batman’s universe and Barbara Gordon, of all the rare blood types in Gotham City, is the perfect match for Nora’s organ transplant.
Again, my hat is off to to Boyd Kirkland and Randy Rogel for conceptualizing such a radical storyline; infusing such realistic and frightening narratives (terminal illnesses and the heartache of potentially dying from a disease without finding a match for an organ transplant) into an animated platform. Especially around this time-frame, I cannot think of another series or animated property with that level of intellect and eerily villainous motives.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, as someone driven by the concept of love and saving his wife, Mr. Freeze’s conquest nearly rips apart the blossoming love between Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson, a couple that deserves to be happy. One of my favorite aspects of SubZero is the ongoing relationship between Barbara and Dick, which had been alluded to in the Animated Series and serves as a noteworthy display of maturity for both characters. We watched them grow up before our very eyes and those who were invested in this show’s continuity were always rewarded for their efforts.
In terms of the Dynamic Duo, we see the brotherhood of Bruce and Dick in their prime as a team and how they intuitively trust in one another to save Barbara Gordon in the most personal and heart throttling situation of their journey yet. To quote George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell in Batman & Robin, “Sometimes, counting on someone else is the only way to win.”
Even during the scene where Barbara is kidnapped by Mr. Freeze, I absolutely respect both her and Dick’s ability to put up one helluva of a fight without their costumes and resources. Even in a losing effort, we see a Nightwing worthy Dick Grayson do everything within his power to save Barbara and it makes me wonder, “What if he had his Robin gear?” Elite Robin status right there.
And the plot of this film definitely isn’t some lame example of stereotypical “damsel in distress” storytelling. When Barbara wakes up at Mr. Freeze’s new hideout (an oil rig five-miles off the coast of Gotham), neither Freeze or Belson can keep her locked up long enough to begin the procedure. She fights them off with every single ounce of resilience and determination that she possesses to keep herself alive, which affords Batman and Robin the time they desperately need to find her location.
Earlier, I mentioned how SubZero is a definitive snapshot of Batman’s moral code. We witness all of the crucial intangibles that exemplify Batman, Batgirl, and Robin’s heroism: The ability to strategize, adapt, stay focused, save lives, and avoid death even under the worst circumstances — an oil rig engulfed in flames. And maybe, most importantly, forgiveness. Yes, Batman, Robin, and Barbara thwart Mr. Freeze’s plan but both Nora and Freeze’s surrogate son Koonak are trapped inside a burning room. Mr. Freeze puts his faith in Batman and Barbara to save his loved one’s. Trust is a two-way street: Batman and Barbara put their trust in Mr. Freeze to fend off the flames so they could save Nora and Koonak.
When Robin arrives with the Batplane, Mr. Freeze tells Batman to get everyone else safely aboard the plane, which he obliges. Real talk, not too many people would go back to save Mr. Freeze, especially since he nearly killed Barbara Gordon yet Batman jumps onto a burning platform to rescue him. In terms of the artwork throughout this scene, each frame-by-frame shot is a world-class Vincent van Gogh worthy masterpiece, especially as Batman rushes through the fire and avoids countless explosions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR_edfIjKW8
My favorite quote of this entire film happens when Batman emphatically tells Robin, “If I’m not back in time, go on without me!” Robin nervously responds, “No, wait!” Right there, that is some of the greatest Batman dialogue of all-time. This scene demonstrates Kevin Conroy’s dramatic virtuosity as an actor and why so many fans (including myself) consider him to be the official voice of Batman and the greatest Dark Knight of all-time. The relentless fortitude and absolute certainty in his vocal delivery symbolizes Batman’s bravery and refusal to second-guess his decision to save another life.
At the core of every solid Batman story, Bruce Wayne believes in the concept of redemption more than any other character in fiction and he knows the spirit of Victor Fries is still alive. While he is unable to save Mr. Freeze, Bruce utilizes all of his resources to bring Victor’s greatest wish to life: He recruited a medical team to cure Nora Fries. As the film concludes, Mr. Freeze comes across a news broadcast that acknowledges how the benefits of his research eventually saved his wife. For the first time in years, he finally rediscovers a sense of warmth in a heart that had been frozen shut.
In my eyes, this is a five-star film and to pack so much heart, depth, drama, and pristine action sequences into an hour’s worth of storytelling, every single writer, artist, and performer involved in this film deserves so much credit for their work. They rightfully won the Annie Award for Best Home Video Animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGBHGqtx9Sg
Just like Kevin Conroy, I have the highest levels of respect and admiration for Loren Lester as Robin, Mary Kay Bergman as Barbara Gordon, and Michael Ansara as Mr. Freeze. If I read any Batman comic book involving these characters, their voices play through my mind, which brings their respective characters dialogue to life. This film was also released during an interesting time period where Hollywood started to move away from classic Walt Disney inspired 2D animation into Pixar style 3D animation. The scene where Batman and Robin fly the Batplane out of the Batcave combines the best elements of both formats, which I consider to be the definitive Batplane sequence on film to-date.
One must remember, the equivalent of a cinematic earthquake occurred at Warner Brothers in 1997 after Batman & Robin generated the harshest criticisms from both critics and fans alike. The release of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero was even postponed from the summer of 1997 to the spring of 1998 in an effort to completely distance itself from the wreckage of Batman & Robin. Plus, there have been some long standing rumors that film executives at Warner Brothers knew that SubZero was infinitely better than its live-action counterpart – like Harlem Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals lopsided.
Over the last seventy-nine years, Batman has gone through some patches where he received lackluster treatment across cinema, television, and even the comic books. Yet, what makes him such a captivating character is his adaptability, fortitude, and timelessness. For every Batman & Robin debacle that nearly destroys the integrity of the Caped Crusader, an animated masterpiece like Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero shuns aside the negativity and summons a miraculous comeback from creative masterminds who truly understand the fundamental foundations of this character’s world.
In my opinion, Batman: The Animated Series is the greatest piece of animation and storytelling that I have ever witnessed and it is the all-time definitive interpretation of Batman. If I close my eyes and picture Batman, I immediately harken back to Bruce Timm’s 1992-1995 design with the gray suit, yellow emblem and belt, white eyes, and black and blue cape and cowl.
Personally speaking, this film feels like a final love-letter and heartfelt goodbye to the original interpretation of Batman: The Animated Series, in terms of the iconic costumes and character designs that defined the show from 1992 – 1995. During a time period before fans could purchase entire seasons of their favorite shows on DVD, owning VHS tapes like SubZero and other various B:TAS collections were the best everlasting memories that I had outside of the comic books for a show that meant everything to me, still means everything to me, and continues to infuse me with unlimited amounts of inspiration. Happy 20th Anniversary, Batman and Mr. Freeze: SubZero!
