Batman: 15 greatest Batman movie villains of all time
By Mark Lynch
Photo: Batman & Robin / Warner Bros. Studios Image Courtesy Fathom Events Press
14. Mr. Freeze (Batman and Robin)
Actor: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Let’s set the scene. Mr. Freeze is attempting to steal from the Gotham Museum. When we see the museum, there are a lot of artifacts covered in ice. The security guards run in and attempt to take out Mr. Freeze. They shoot him, but the bullets just bounce off his armor.
Freeze slowly walks down the steps and he uses his gun to freeze them in solid ice. Incredibly cool (pun 1). This is the moment where Victor Fries is supposed to say something cool and cold-blooded (puns 2 & 3). He opens his mouth and says, “The Iceman cometh!” Wait, what? It was at this moment where I’m certain people walked out of the theater and asked for their money back.
Why was Arnold Schwarzenegger cast as Mr. Freeze? He’s a box office draw. Especially back in the 1990’s. But this made no sense. To make it even worse, the explanation we got gave me a brain freeze (pun 4). They said he was a two-time Olympic decathlete and that was supposed to be the reason. They were better off not explaining it at all.
Personally, I loved Mr. Freeze. He was incredibly goofy. If Batman and Robin was promoted as a comedy, people may not have given the movie the cold shoulder (pun 5). That said, we can all agree that we should forget the butterfly wings. It wasn’t the ice age that killed this movie.
Memorable moment: Every pun.