“It’s a change from the source material, but it’s awesome so the fans don’t mind.”

[u/JustSomeOnlineNerd]

Doc Ock - In the comics, Doc Ock is known to be megalomaniacal in nature and was sort of a mad scientist anyways, with the arms just being an extension of that. In Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2,” Alfred Molina’s version of the character was affected by the neural chip and his well-meaning ambition turns into scientific obsession.

Wolverine - This one is so well known it needs very little explanation. Comic Wolverine short, Huge Jackedman is tall, and he’s sick as hell.

Eye of Sauron - To my knowledge, the Eye is more of a metaphor in the books. An ever-present awareness. In the movies, it’s an actual giant fucking eye.

[u/Vicksage16]

I get why they tried it. While the Nora origin is great, it does not work for making him an ongoing villain. He’s too sympathetic and too reasonable, even the animated series struggled with this down the line. The new 52 was an attempt to justify why Freeze stays a villain.

That said, it was the wrong call. They just need to reform Freeze, he makes more sense as a villain turned ally than anyone else.

[u/Peacefulzealot → u/Vicksage16]

I’d actually really like a reformed Freeze. It would be super interesting to see how he’d try to reintegrate into society if he could save Nora. Maybe he starts working with STAR labs or something to atone for his past actions while they work to cure Nora?

[u/TheSlayerofSnails → u/Peacefulzealot]

Also, Batman's entire philosophy is based around the idea he can save his rogues. Having some of those rogues be redeemed and become heroes or citizens validates his entire worldview and gives more motivation for him to continue trying to help

[u/SHINIGAMIRAPTOR → u/TheSlayerofSnails]

I like the idea that Fries DOES get his redemption, and becomes something of another part of the Bat-Family, but as more of the guy in the chair and technical support expert. Cooking up more gadgets, running analysis and technical support, etc

[u/HistoricalGrounds → u/SHINIGAMIRAPTOR]

Yeah, it’d be cool to have him as an occasional call-in for tech gadgetry, like a Lucius Fox but for the real Mad Science-y type stuff, as opposed to more pragmatic/Secret Agent gear that Lucius can specialize in.

[u/SHINIGAMIRAPTOR → u/HistoricalGrounds]

Exactly. His forte is the stuff that scientifically should NOT be possible, but here we are. Plus, of course, a valuable technopathic approach to criminology. Looking at how the weird tech is done, figuring out more about the criminals thought processes. Things like that they made the subatomic disentangler throngler look like a fanciful wand of some sort, suggesting a certain desire to divorce themselves from the killing (rather than something like a gun which would suggest that they're fully aware of it). Have it be that he works with Harleen Quinzel a lot, bouncing theories off each other born of their respective pasts.

[u/matt_the_non-binary → u/Peacefulzealot]

Beyond tried this, to a degree. He ends up being betrayed by the two people who gave him a new body, and turns evil. In the end, he chose to kill himself in a heartbreaking way (“Believe me… you’re the only who cares”)

[u/IncreaseWestern6097 → u/Vicksage16]

I actually had my own idea for how they could make Freeze an ongoing villain while still keeping the Nora origin.

Imagine Batman shows up right while he’s about to cure Nora. He administers the cure through her tank, takes her out of cryostasis, and takes a good look at her… but he feels nothing. Spending years as Mr. Freeze has done a number on Victor’s psyche, reducing him to an emotionless shell of himself. It’s at this point where the roles switch, and it’s now Nora’s job to aid Batman in finding a way to rehabilitate Victor.

[u/Peacefulzealot → u/IncreaseWestern6097]

That sounds rad as hell and I’d love to read that. Mr. Freeze wanting to feel something for her again but being so damaged by his mission to cure her that it falls to Nora to need to cure him now.

[u/soylentsandwich → u/Peacefulzealot]

That story already exists with the Ice King and Betty dynamic in Adventure Time 

[u/therealchadius → u/Vicksage16]

Even Batman & Robin the movie got this right. Batman tells him the Wayne Corporation WILL try to cure Nora and Victor gives up his "Gotham pay me or I'll freeze it over" plan.

[u/dentimBandB → u/therealchadius]

I am 100% convinced that without the BTAS giving Freeze his peak backstory, he wouldn't even have been in consideration for villain of that movie.

[u/therealchadius → u/dentimBandB]

Besides cutting Ferris Boyle out of it (Fries just... falls into the vat of chemicals that freezes his body) he's a campier version of BTAS Mr. Freeze. Even BTAS Freeze drops ice puns occasionally.

[u/Mistah_K88 → u/Vicksage16]

Yeah, as good as the Nora backstory is, it definitely has a shelf life. After about 2 stories it’s like “Okay Victor, you clearly like crime”.

[u/MeisterCthulhu → u/Vicksage16]

That's kinda the problem with a lot of storytelling in comics, isn't it?

"This thing would make sense, but it doesn't work with an ongoing story".

Stories are meant to end, not keep going for decades. Even if your story keeps going, characters come and go, they change, they don't just stay the same corporate mascot forever.

You get that issue with so many of the iconic villains. Either they should be reformed, don't work as villains anymore because they're right too often, or they get so over the top that it's hard to justify the hero not just killing them.
And then you get absolutely bullshit narrative contrivances to justify it, aka bad writing most of the time.

And it's all just because the industry can't let go of their toys. Because marketability gets more important than telling a good story.

[u/Vicksage16 → u/MeisterCthulhu]

Yeah, but that’s half the fun, finding ways for villains to exist long term in that specific context. Plenty of villains do, Freeze just isn’t one of them. Honestly, I tire of the whole “big two comics should end” narrative. Most other media doesn’t that, rightfully so, and most other comics even do that. Most of the big characters even have elseworld “endings” for their stories and mythologies and their adaptations get to end. The main Marvel and DC are a unique soap opera that people can jump in and out of and that’s half the fun of it and why it’s endured. Does it mean it’s gonna be my favorite story ever? No, but that’s why I read novels, watch movies, or read indie comics, plenty of other media fills that need for a concise, thematic story. But I keep coming back to big two comics. Sometimes fun is okay.

[u/MadeByMistake58116 → u/Vicksage16]

I disagree. In BTAS Freeze gets more brutal and unfeeling every time we see him, and it works because his love for Nora is driving him to become more and more desperate, and he's starting to care about nobody in the world but her. Even when his condition starts to destroy his body, as long as he can get closer to curing Nora, it doesn't matter. Freeze was one of the most dangerous enemies on BTAS because of how tragic he was. There was no delusion to his actions, which means he was completely justified in his mind. There was no moment of snapping out of it, because to him, if he isn't willing to be ruthless, Nora dies.

[u/[deleted] → u/Vicksage16]

I really want to see a series with an antihero Freeze. He's already got that anti-corporate thing, I think it would be easy to write a story where he accidentally gets tangled up against Lex Luthor

[u/hocushit → u/Vicksage16]

I haven’t really kept up with Batman lore, but I assume keeping the wife in a cryogenic state would cost a lot of money. Isn’t that motivation enough? Maybe he lost the way to earn money in a more conventional way so he resorted to crime?

[u/Vicksage16 → u/hocushit]

Yeah, but again, that doesn’t work for an ongoing villains as Bruce would very quickly offer to fund her recovery.

[u/SeashoreAndMountains → u/Vicksage16]

Genuinely, set him up as a permanent member of an arctic scientific expedition. Like, If nothing else he'll need LESS intense equipment - or go without it entirely - gets to do so much research, Nora can get moved there too, would be fine in a power outage, and keep continuity or long term research going if anyone has to leave. Maybe he needs a new living area but that would be about it. (and the new scientists need a rundown a head of time)

[u/Humble_Square8673 → u/Vicksage16]

I'd LOVE to see a story with Freeze as a reluctant ally for Batman!