Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero

• Directed by Boyd Kirkland
• March 17, 1998
• Based on Batman: The Animated Series. Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Voice Cast

• Bruce Wayne/Batman-Kevin Conroy
• Dick Grayson/Robin-Loren Lester
• Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze-Michael Ansara
• Barbara Gordon/Batgirl-Mary Kay Bergman
• Alfred Pennyworth-Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
• Commissioner James Gordon-Bob Hastings
• Dr. Gregory Belson-George Dzundza
• Veronica Vreeland-Marilu Henner
• Dean Arbagast-Dean Jones
• Summer Gleeson-Mari Devon
• Lt. Renee Montoya-Liane Schirmer
• Det. Harvey Bullock-Robert Costanzo
• Det. Galpern-James Smith
• Mariko-Lauren Tom
• Koonak-Rahi Azizi
• Additional Voices-Townsend Coleman, Brian George, Ed Gilbert, Carl Lumbly, Tress MacNeille, Neil Ross, Randy Thompson

Desperate to save his wife after her cryogenic pod is damaged, Dr. Victor Fries kidnaps Barbara Gordon to serve as an unwilling organ donor. YIKERS!

It has been ages since I last saw Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero and I forgot what a great opening this has. What Batman: TAS did well was blend comic book aspects with things you could expect in reality making for the surreal or just a lived in feel to it all. Here it is the casual life Mr. Freeze is living in the frozen North with it disturbed by a surfacing submarine.

What we would see as weird or strange is treated as normal. Yes, it can be shocking but it is just another day in the life of a Gothamite and that’s one thing that the live action movies can’t do well if at all. They may be shocked at the unexpected arrival but not in a way that would be all that different from encountering a traditional criminal.

Despite being released as a tie-in to Batman & Robin, this is much more indicative of Batman: TAS but it’s not inaccessible to a viewer that had never seen the show. You do not need any knowledge of Heart of Ice to get what is going on since there is enough here that there is no confusion.

I did realize after watching this we never know what disease is killing his wife-real or fictitious. That leaves narrative room to do all sorts of things like kidnapping Babs Gordon to harvest her organs since she has a rare blood type. Not everything needs to be explained but you need to know what to skip.

Mr. Freeze was perhaps one of the most sympathetic villains of Batman: TAS. He wasn’t necessarily evil. His crimes were connected to his wife and saving her. Taking an organ from a live donor that would kill the donor is messed up, but I think we can all on some level understand going to great lengths for someone we truly love. Even Batman understood he wasn’t purely bad. May be a little messed up, but not a threat in the way of The Penguin or The Joker were.

The animation of Subzero is a more polished version of what you would get from the TV show which is the same trap Mask of the Phantasm fell into. Divy this up in half hour segments and it wouldn’t stand out all that greatly from other episodes of TAS. What is different is the use of computer graphics for cinematic shots that either were not possible or not done for Phantasm. Sweeping panning camera movements that hand drawn an animation can’t do.

Mr. Freeze may be willing to kill but he only does so when it comes to threats to his wife or her potential healing. Beyond that he does have a code of ethics/emotions even if ice has chilled his heart. Knowing that time is running out he seeks out former colleague Dr. Belson who is in financial troubles with the promise of an untapped vein of gold in the Frozen North being his salvation.

Dick Grayson should’ve been a little more front and center in this. After all by this time him and Babs were dating in and out of costume. The relationship does get some depth but only once does he take the lead in trying to save her and that is when she’s initially kidnapped.

Superhero movies today often focus on a fate of the city or the world storyline. They know of no way to make personally big stakes. Here they are trying to stop a madman from killing their friend and conversely saving his wife. Each side has something big to get by succeeding or to lose by failing. ‘Epic’ and ‘big’ is not world or city threatening. ‘Epic’ and ‘big’ is affecting the world of the characters in a significant way. The consequences must be serious and high for those involved. Making a story big that doesn’t involve a threat to the masses is tougher but more satisfying.

This occurred at a time before superhero movies needed to be quippy or self-referential meaning none of that crap is here. There are jokes and cute moments but nothing that makes it condescending. It’s aimed at adults and children and pushes things as far as I can go, but never does anything that you couldn’t show your kids.

The climax introduces a mild ticking clock element. Not only must Fries act quickly or his wife will die but Batman learns that an organ transplant with Barbara as an unwilling donor is coming soon so he must move fast. Barbara is no damsel in distress. It wouldn’t have made sense if she got captured and couldn’t at least cause trouble if not outright escape. How could a woman that couldn’t get free from a jail cell beat up multiple attempted muggers in Gotham Central Park?

The cute kid aspect we get in this doesn’t necessarily hurt. Freeze has an adopted Inuit son named Koonak. I think he’s not given enough uncertainty when confronted with the reality that Mr. Freeze may be not quite as nice as he assumed the man to be. An extra five minutes worth of time to do something with that was called for. He is more to show Mr. Freeze was not completely without feelings and to add a bit of a shortcut for Babs. 

Even with my issues, I enjoyed Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero. I think with a few tweaks here and there it should’ve been released in theaters as an animated feature over Mask of the Phantasm. It’s epic and great superhero action in a story with a villain whose motivations are understandable even if his actions are in the end horrible.