While Mr. Freeze’s appearance in Gotham Knights is similar to the ones seen in the comics, his motives for trying to engulf Gotham in an ice age are a little different. With Gotham Knights’ strategy of having players investigate the villain by interrogating their henchmen, players can find out a lot about Mr. Freeze before actually going head-to-head with him. With Batman gone, Mr. Freeze is no longer held back by the agreement he made with The Dark Knight, so it is up to the players to stop him from transferring Gotham into a cold, desolate desert.
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Who is Mr. Freeze
Dr. Victor Fries was a brilliant scientist specializing in cryogenics, and he only has one goal in most of his appearances: to cure his terminally ill wife Nora before disease takes her life. In the comics, Victor cryogenically freezes Nora to stop the disease, and all his research going forward is dedicated to bringing her back. Unfortunately, a laboratory experiment gone wrong lowered his body temperature to sub-zero levels, making it impossible for him to live outside his suit.
Mr. Freeze’s origin in DC Comics starts with the first iteration of the character, known as Mr. Zero, who has a mishap while trying to create an ice gun. Following a long hiatus from crime, Zero eventually returns before the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot under the alias Mr. Freeze, kick-starting the reign of one of Batman’s most iconic villains. The Crisis event changes his storyline to include Nora’s illness and Mr. Freeze’s motives behind the crimes he commits.
Mr. Freeze’s Deal With Batman
Gotham Knights takes a different approach toward Mr. Freeze, who successfully heals Nora but is eventually rejected by his wife due to his new appearance and physiology. Prior to the events of Batman’s death, Mr. Freeze brokered a deal where he would stop committing crimes if Batman would be willing to supply him with the resources necessary for his research to find a cure for his ailment. Batman agrees, and for a while, Mr. Freeze stays away from the life of crime, instead focusing his efforts solely on his research in the hopes of curing himself so that he can return to his wife.
Mr. Freeze teams up with the Regulators, a faction in Gotham Knights that specializes in black market tech, providing them with improved gear to commit crimes in exchange for help gathering the resources he needs. However, even with them by his side, he is only concerned about his own goals, often allowing the Regulators to be foiled by the Bat Family just so that he can escape with what he needs. Without Batman, the Bat Family will either need to ensure that Mr. Freeze remains in custody, or they can find a way to fund his research and keep him away from a life of crime.
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Mr. Freeze’s Ice Age
During the first encounter with Mr. Freeze at S.T.A.R. Labs, the character that the player is controlling notices that a lot of cryogel, the substance that powers Mr. Freeze’s suit, has leaked out. This means that Mr. Freeze’s suit is failing and will eventually stop working altogether, which is the main reason that Mr. Freeze wants to cause an ice age in Gotham City. By reducing the overall temperature of Gotham City, Mr. Freeze will be able to live in the city without his suit and take his time to find a cure for his current ailment, and in turn, fix the relationship with his wife.
Mr. Freeze uses a device of his creation to do this, essentially pumping cryogel into the air and forcing the temperature to lower, all while the GCPD tries to stop him. Mr. Freeze takes over the Eliot Center and converts it into a giant ice spike, with his device at the top. The device also gives Mr. Freeze certain power increases as he fights the Knights, allowing him to grow invulnerable and perform extremely powerful and dangerous attacks that the player must dodge.
Mr. Freeze is often regarded as one of the most popular Batman villains, and his presence in Gotham Knights was a welcome addition to the game. His fear of death before reconciling with his wife is portrayed brilliantly, as the player eventually learns the true reasons behind his actions and is suddenly filled with sympathy. While this Mr. Freeze is not an exact copy of the character in the comics, Gotham Knights does a good job of creating a sense of legend around the villain, especially since a few of the Knights have probably gone up against the icy antagonist in the past.
Gotham Knights is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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