Batman Annual #1 Preview/Discussion SPOILERS

[TZDEKA]

Not trying to start another, separate argument but I still wish I could ask Snyder what exactly Bruce is obsessed with in his opinion. I agree Bruce is obsessed with something, but Snyder never really elaborates on what he thinks that is.

[Patroklos]

How did Mr. Freeze (who knows zilch about any form of martial arts) catch Damian Wayne (a child prodigy trained by the League of Assassins) by the arm out of thin air just like that? It just doesn't connect.

The cold slowed Damian down...? I agree that it's a strange scene, if Freeze had been in a full body suit instead of this new tank top thing I guess it could have been explained.

So far, it's looking that way. He was addressed as Dr. Schivell on the Batman TV show.

Btw, here's his first comic book appearance after the TV show (his second comics appearance in total and the first in which he's called Mr. Freeze)--



And here's a nice little article about his history...

http://ifanboy.com/articles/dc-histories-mr-freeze/

(It's wrong in one regard though: Freeze returned to comics in 1968 (the issue depicted above), not 1973.

That's some good research!

[Cowtools]

I thought this issue was great. I loved the art. Sort of a mix between Gary Frank and Patch Zircher. Freeze was a badass. Nightwing and Damien showing up was a nice twist too.

I think the new origin worked for two reasons:

1) His wife being sick made Freeze a tragic figure, sure, but it locked him into a limited story. Either he kept on killing people in his quest to find a cure, in which case our sympathy is eroded each time he kills, or he finally manages to cure his wife and... then what? This way, with his 'love' being based on a delusion, he can continue to develop as a more dangerous villain.

2) He's still a tragic figure, only now the tragic element comes from his mother's death. It's pretty clear that his mother's injury, and him having to kill her, messed Victor up royally, and his experiments with animals and eventual insanity developed from that. The fact that he never even met Nora makes him pitiable too. So now Freeze's backstory is a mix of tragedy, pity and horror - a good mix for a long-term villain.

And I have no problem with Bruce refusing to let him thaw out Nora. Only her next of kin has the right to decide when and how she is unthawed. That's basic medial ethics.

One question: what was the deal with his mother's bandaged hand? Was it just frostbite that resembled an apple, or was there some significance to it I missed?

[Global Honored]

Read this yesterday. It was a solid issue and great way to bring Freeze into this New Universe, honoring his past backstory whle adding a new twist to it. I personally liked the new look. And the art was terrific. Look forward to seeing more of Fabok's work.

[edge007]

He's STILL all about love, the change made here is that the love comes from a dark, weird and unpleasant place in his mind... Working to save a "real" Nora might evoke more intuitive sympathy, but I actually think this origin makes Freeze even more pitiable, how horrible it must be to be trapped in his delusion of all-conquering love for a frozen body he's not even met! That being said, I prefer the Heart of Ice origin as a story, but Snyder's and Tynions origin keeps almost all of the key points from that story while still freshening it up and adding new spice to it.

IDK, it seems to me that this new origin is just an attempt to invalidate Timm's origin, personally. And I still can't get behind the idea that the new origin makes him more sympathetic. At least before he was someone worthy of love. Now he just creates illusions in his mind because no one could possibly love anyone that creepy.

[edge007]

Snyder weighed in on a iFanboy debate on Ann 1:



My reaction: The two versions aren't mutually exclusive to me. It could have been this simple: Because Nora was lost when Freeze's job was shut down, he then desires to freeze the world, make it as cold as his dead wife or his heart or whatever.


http://ifanboy.com/articles/ifanboy-...tman-annual-1/

Yeah, it shoulda been simple as this, really.

[TZDEKA]

One question: what was the deal with his mother's bandaged hand? Was it just frostbite that resembled an apple, or was there some significance to it I missed?

It was also supposed to draw comparisons between the apple and the goggles he was forced to wear.

[Captain Jim]

I have to say, I'm really surprised that there's been so much negative reaction to what (in my opinion) was a pretty minor tweak. And, at the same time, very little reaction to what I see as a much more substantive change to Harley Quinn's origin.

[jgiannantoni05]

I have to say, I'm really surprised that there's been so much negative reaction to what (in my opinion) was a pretty minor tweak. And, at the same time, very little reaction to what I see as a much more substantive change to Harley Quinn's origin.

I don't agree that it was minor tweak. Significant change to Freeze's origin IMHO.

And I can account for my lack of any reaction to any change or news about Harley Quinn: I hate Harley Quinn. Except for Dini/Timm's Mad Love, I don't care about her stories or character developments.

[Fate's Faith]

My verdict, good story. I might be different than some but I like my villains on the psychotic side. To me, Mr. Freeze was a limited use character. Basically give him Nora and the means to find her cure and he's done as a villain. Nora was always the key to ending him. Now, she's an obsession but curing her doesn't stop Mr. Freeze if they ever allowed it. I really liked that he never knew her. That's just the right sick to me. A more 'neutral' Mr. Freeze in my mind would eventually, if he had any decency, commit suicide. You don't just keep going to Crazyville, killing people to save your wife and remain a sympathetic character to me without finally realizing that its you that needs to be 'cured'. So just simple bad guys that like being bad I just don't get. Suicide should always be a possibility to those that seek to change their evil ways but I can't think of any villain that did more than apologize for all his wrongs (and usually just go right back to doing the same again). So much like from me and I wouldn't mind seeing this Mr. Freeze again. I did have my worries when I read the name Nora. Thinking, gee, this again? But definitely wasn't the same old same old.

One thing I wasn't so impressed with was the childhood scenes. I think this was meant to show his first infatuations with cold but don't think that was as well done. The cold saved his mother in the first part even if she's lost a bit of mind but she was alive. So, right there could be the beginning of his seeing value in cold. But the last scene didn't fit the first. The cold doesn't really help him except to serve as giving her peace which a nice soft pillow would have worked as well. Maybe it wasn't supposed to bookend in that way but then the cold fascination seems misplaced since it really didn't save her for him. I dunno. Just a little off I think.

About the Night of the Owls tie in. I thought it was already explained that the Court put their Talons in storage because they were working on ways to bring them back for some future reason instead of just disposing of them. But Mr. Freeze finally unlocked the means they had been searching for. So that connection doesn't bother me. So, Mr. Freeze is indirectly responsible for more deaths pursing a way to awaken a woman he's never met. I kinda really love that. I can see why there might be some sympathy with Nora being his wife or even with her not being his wife. In either case, he again ended the lives of more people for entirely selfish reasons which he lays at her feet in the name of love. Makes me wonder again why a more decent Mr. Freeze wouldn't take himself out or at least Nora since she seems to be the reason so many must die.

I think a fairly big change but definitely an improved one.

[darkseidpwns]

Thank you Snyder,you've done the impossible...made Freeze even more one dimensional than he already was.Man I hope these writers never touch my favorite characters.

[BarryAllen5K]

I love Snyder's stuff but this was just ok. It certainly wasn't an improvement on Freeze. I did like the creepy kid moment with the mom. I'm not a huge freeze fan so maybe that's why I'm just meh about the whole thing. How'd Robin thaw his arms so fast? Did I miss something? Woulda been cool if he broke them loose over Freeze's dome. Has there ever been a story where Freeze actually brought Nora back? I feel like there was one where she came back and died...

[Captain Jim]

Finally had a chance to read this the other night. I should say at the outset that I have never been a big Mr. Freeze fan.

I thought the story was fine, no problem with the actual writing. Fabok's art was beautiful; he definitely needs more assignments. The tweaking of the origin neither bothered nor thrilled me;
it was just okay.

Actually, one rarely gets a knockout story in an annual nowadays, especially when it's not by the regular creative team. In comparison to some of the turkeys we've seen over the years, though, this wasn't bad. Whether it was worth five bucks or not may be a different question.

It really shouldn't have been labeled as a "night of the owls" book though. Yeah, it technically took place on the same night (though it wouldn't have needed to). But it was barely connected to the owl storyline.

[CommanderSteve]

I thought the issue was fine. The origin change was alright with me, I mean, they changed a lot of other things in the universe. And was I the only one whose jaw dropped when Batman said the revelation about Nora?

[a13506]

Thank you Snyder,you've done the impossible...made Freeze even more one dimensional than he already was.Man I hope these writers never touch my favorite characters.

Exactly. Poor choice Mr. Snyder, very poor choice.