Deep Freeze

We have our second appearance of Mr. Freeze. He is kidnapped from Arkham and ends up with an amusement park creator who has designs on destroying the world and becoming a king. He needs Freeze to accomplish this. I don't know the story behind Freeze, other than his condition is one of stark loneliness, especially since the death of his wife. He is lured in, but his anger and unwillingness to let anyone else affect his life, keep him from following through, so he goes rogue. Batman and Robin infiltrate a futuristic city and try to put a stop to it. I like these episodes where there is more of a human element at work rather than a series of punches to solve the problems. Freeze is a sad character.

The story follows the tragic and conflicted Mr. Freeze in his second appearance in the series. After being sprung out of Arkham, Mr. Freeze is recruited by Billionaire Grant Walker to aid him in fulfilling his life-long vision. You might say that Mr. Walker is a cross between Walt Disney and Karl Stromberg, the villain in "The Spy Who Loved Me". At first, Mr. Freeze rejects his proposal, but is soon goaded into helping Walker with his request after being offered a gift he cannot refuse.

I enjoy Mr. Freeze stories and love the character as interpreted by the series. The details surrounding his mistakes and tragedy makes you feel empathy and you find yourself pulling for him to find redemption. It gives him some nice character depth as opposed to other Batman villains who follow the traditional "bad guy" persona.

However, this episode is average at best. 22 Minutes is not enough time to adequately develop the plot and I found it to be rushed at times. There was some good, short dialogue concerning an Utopian Society vs. Free Will, and of course Mr. Freeze always carries every scene he is in. I just wish they had produced more episodes about him.