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From the time of his first appearance in 1960 onward, Mr. Freeze was portrayed as one of many "joke" villains (see also, Killer Moth , Mad Hatter), cast as stock enemies of Batman. The producers of , however, resented this lighthearted treatment, and in their "Heart of Ice" episode, created a backstory and motivations that led to a complex, tragic character. This version of Mr. Freeze was enthusiastically accepted by fans, and has become the standard portrayal. The following is Mr. Freeze's origin as established by "Heart of Ice" and subsequent episodes.

Victor Fries was fascinated with freezing animals as a child. He was sent to a strict boarding school by his father. Victor there met Nora, an attractive girl, and subsequently they got married.

Unfortunately, Nora got sick, and started to die from a disease. He took on a job working for a large company, working on cryogenics. Victor did not like the job but did it because he needed the money to help Nora.

Victor discovered a way to freeze Nora and did so, not wanting to lose her until a cure could be found. Victor's boss, Ferris Boyle, angry at what Victor was doing, came to stop him from keeping Nora frozen. Victor then took a gun from one of the security guards and pointed it at his boss, calling him a monster. Boyle said that they could work things out, but when Fries lowered the gun Boyle kicked him into a table full of chemicals and as a result, Victor became exposed to them. This had a strange effect: his body temperature was lowered, yet he survived, and found that he could only live at sub-zero temperatures. As a result, Victor had to wear a special refrigerating suit to keep him cool. Mr. Freeze was born.

Mr. Freeze's crimes tend to involve freezing everyone and everything he runs into, rather nasty and pointless, except they seem to satisfy his urge to get even with a hard, cruel world. He also hardly ever forges alliances with the other criminals in Gotham City. He prefers to work alone.

In the 1960s Batman television series, Mr. Freeze was played by George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. In and its spin-offs, Mr. Freeze is voiced by Michael Ansara . He was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Batman and Robin.