One of the more beloved episodes of the entire Batman: the Animated Series run was the retelling of Mr. Freeze’s origin, Heart of Ice. The story was action oriented at times, while also featuring sleuthy detective work, however it was mostly known as a heart-felt tale of love lost. The final scene of the episode is especially note worthy; Dr. Victor Fries, alone in his cell, sadly weeping because he can no longer be with his love, Nora Fries.
Amazingly enough, this scene is not only crucial to the plot and the defining moment of the character, it was also the first scene written for the episode! Heart of Ice was “secretly” written backwards. Paul Dini, Batman writer extraordinaire, originally conceived of this final moment weeks before sitting down to flesh out the entire saga. The details he noted as being most important were Victor’s tears freezing into snowflakes as they rolled off of his face. As the camera zooms out, the cell where he is locked up appears to be snowing from the inside — a display of how much the sympathetic villain is crying.
Only the best writing can make you feel bad for the bad guy!
Check out some more images of Mr. Freeze after the break
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