Recap: The Batman: "The Big Chill"

Batman: The Animated Series = Zig

The Batman = Zag

I keep saying this, I know, but I think it bears repeating here. This episode was inevitably going to be one of The Batman's biggest challenges. To be sure, reinventing the Joker was certainly going to be difficult after Mark Hamill's legendary run, but Batman: TAS reinvented Mr. Freeze in such a way that changed the way his comic portrayal was handled forever.

Mr. Freeze was a joke villain before Paul Dini and Bruce Timm got ahold of him.

A nobody.

A C-lister.

He was a one-dimensional gimmick villain who was largely abandoned after the Silver Age. So much so that before B:TAS, he once showed up as a resident of Comic Book Limbo, where all the forgotten characters disappear to; a strange realm filled with such residents as the Red Bee, the Boy Billionaires, and the Space Canine Patrol Agents.

His spot in Limbo was probably taken by Walker Gabriel.
If you just thought “Who?” then you’ve illustrated my point.

So today, The Batman has two choices

1. Imitate Batman: The Animated Series and hope that the new Mr. Freeze holds up.
2. Go in a direction other than the wildly-successful B:TAS did… and hope that the new Mr. Freeze holds up.

So let's see how Choice B worked out for them.

Also to be referred to as Operation: Zag.

The episode opens up on, surprisingly enough, not yet another beautiful technicolor night sky in the city of Gotham, but the middle of the day in the middle of a heatwave. A radio DJ calls it "hot, hot, hot" at a scorching 102 degrees with no end in sight. That night, underneath an oddly-night sky-looking night sky, some snooty rich people have themselves an uppercrusty white party on a yacht in the Gotham harbor. But the first mate spots something odd on the radar and decides to report it to his superior officer.

First Mate: "Uh, Skipper?"

No, no, no; "Skipper" was a big, round guy who called his first mate "Little Buddy."

First Mate: "What's our procedure in case of an iceberg?"
Skipper: "An iceberg? In Gotham Bay, in this heat? (Laughs) Little Buddy..."

"Little Buddy"? Wait, this is the Skipper!

And I guess some kind of blonde Gilligan as well?

Anyway, the, uh, the Skipper tells Blonde Gilligan here that there can't possibly be an iceberg ahead of them. Which is a problem, since they're currently heading straight for an iceberg big enough to screw over, like, fifty Titanics. Or alternatively, big enough to keep a thousand Captain Americas in cold storage.

The Skipper sounds the red alert as Blonde Gilligan attempts to steer the boat away, but they slam the side of the boat into the icy wall anyway. Suddenly, ice forms around the boat to keep it in place as the frosty gentleman behind this aquatic attack (Clancy Brown) decides to make his presence known.

???: "Weather's a bit... muggy."

A millionaire, who keeps with the theme started by the yacht crew by sounding like Jim Backus, tells this guy that he's not welcome, whoever he is.

???: "Freeze will do."

Mr. Howell here starts to confront the stranger, but he gets blasted into an ice block for his troubles, leaving Mrs. Howell and a redhead (that I'm presuming to be a movie star) on deck.

You know, between Bane being a Red Hulk Transformer and Kirk Langstrom drinking Ninja Turtle Ooze, I should really stop assuming that things that appear to be happening aren't actually happening. I mean, we're 73 seconds into this episode, and we've already seen Gilligan, the Skipper too, the millionaire, his wife, the movie star…

So, presumably, the Professor and Mary Ann are going to show up at some point.

Anyway, Mrs. Howell asks what this Mr. White Christmas wants. 

Mr. Freeze: "Ice."

What, you don't have enough of it? Even his new hostages are confused.

Ginger: "I don't understand."
Mr. Freeze: "Think about it."

I thought this was Mr. Freeze, not the Riddler?

But when he threatens the frozen millionaire with a heated up icepick, they realize he's referring to their diamonds. So they pony up. Everybody on board does. And with his ill-gotten booty, Mr. Snow bids them adieu.

Mr. Freeze: "Have an ice evening."

Lame ice puns. Wouldn't be Mr. Freeze without 'em.

Anyway, Mr. Icicle walks away on a path of frozen water as the teaser ends. Back at the Batcave, Alfred is apparently concerned that Bruce Wayne is going to end up chopping his way through a mansion door to murder him.

Alfred: "All work and no play make Master Bruce an extremely dull boy."

At least, that's how I'm interpreting his statement.

Alfred: "Even the Batman deserves to go on holiday once in a while, wouldn't you say?"

Bruce is one of those people who goes a bit nuts with nothing to do, and the thought of lying on a beach doesn't exactly appeal to him.

Alfred: "Which is why I've arranged for an athletic retreat. A way to hone the Batman's body and reflexes. Not to mention escape this heat wave."

With skis at the ready and reservations booked, Bruce decides to throw Alfred a bone by going. That is, until the Bat-Wave alerts him to the earlier jewelry robbery in the harbor.

Reporter: "Little is known about the bizarre perpetrator calling himself 'Mr. Freeze.'"

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I introduced myself as simply 'Freeze.' 'Mr. Freeze' is my father.”

Bruce suits up and soon arrives at the scene of the crime, where Mr. Howell, under some heat lamps, recuperates as Detectives Yin and Bennett attempt to get some usable information.

Ellen Yin: "He walked on water?"

"Crap. The Chief said he'd bust me down to traffic cop if I put out an APB for Jesus. ...Again."

Luckily, Skipper and Gilligan explain that the guy froze the water first. Unfortunately, the path has since melted.

Ethan Bennett: "Trail went cold."

"Ethan, if you make another ice-related joke, I will make you eat this pen."

"...Can I make Frozen jokes?"

"Only if you'd rather eat my notepad instead."

Batman, who had been dropping some eaves on a nearby radio tower, gets the idea to do a thermal scan in infrared, resulting in some ghostly footprints on his scanner. He leaps back to the Batmobile to follow the trail, and I think he's looking at his screen and not the road because he drives like an utter maniac through the city streets.

Elsewhere in Gotham, Mr. Ten Below has just frozen some security guards at a jewelry store, and he follows this up by freezing and shattering the vault door. Having stolen his fill of diamonds, for now, he starts to leave, only to be interrupted by a batarang.

Mr. Freeze: "The Batman. I thought you'd never arrive."

What, no "Ice to see you"?

But perhaps Mr. Freeze doesn't think it's ice to see Batman. For you see, they've met before.

The fight begins, but Batman is at a disadvantage in the cold air. He quickly slows down as Mr. Freeze lowers the temperature. Hypothermia begins to set in, but Batman still manages to get a lucky shot at the ice surrounding Freeze's head. With the hard outer shell broken, Batman recognizes the man behind the ice.

Batman: "Victor Fries? But you're...."

Mr. Freeze takes advantage to Batman's surprise to freeze him in a block of ice.

Mr. Freeze: "If I'm no longer living, Batman, you're the one who iced me. Allow me to return the favor."

With Batman immobilized, it's time to monologue.

Victor Fries used to was a simple bank robber, until that fateful night. Such villainous transformations always require a fateful night of some sort. Or in some cases, just one very bad day.

Anyway, Mr. Fries, the future Mr. Freeze, had just stolen a buttload of diamonds and was driving through the streets of Gotham in an attempt to escape the Batmobile. But thanks to a homeless man crossing the road, he tumbles his car off the road. He manages to escape the burning car and make his way inside a nearby building, followed closely by the Batman. Once inside, Victor came across a cryonics lab, with several people in cryogenic suspension. He attempted to use the freezing chemicals as a weapon, but in the ensuing fight, he lost his diamonds. Leaping after them, he landed in an empty cryogenic tube. Some wires that were damaged in the fight electrocuted him at the exact moment the tube froze his body.

I know that this is supposed to represent his heart, but once you see it as an electrified turd in his colon...
I'm sorry for that mental image.

As for Batman... well, he just kind of left, I guess, because the story picks up later with some scientist examining Victor's body.

Mr. Freeze: "Was I still among the living? Presumably, the experts would determine that. But I made their job easy for them."

As Victor wakes up, he discovers his newfound powers and how easy they made it to threaten cryogenic scientists.

Mr. Freeze: "It didn't take much for me to motivate an expert in the field to produce a suit to contain my frosty disposition. Until I so choose to disperse it. Thank you for creating me, Batman."

Freeze whips out his icepick and prepares to kill the Batman once and for all, but it seems that he's spent so long talking that it gave Yin and Bennett a chance to show up.

Ellen Yin: "Freeze!"

That's his name, don't wear it out.

Mr. Freeze: "As you wish."

Now outmatched, Mr. Freeze decides to take a leaf from his 1966 TV counterpart's book by making his escape while he leaves Batman to his certain death. Bennett calls the paramedics to help Batman survive, but Yin just wants to know who's under the mask.

Ethan Bennett: "Can't say I'm not curious, Yin, but somehow, it doesn't seem right."

But Yin's not about to look a gift bat in the mouth. Batman's a vigilante. Therefore, Batman's a criminal. Therefore, she's taking him in. Luckily for Batman, he manages to activate a flare on his belt before sliding down the ice-slide Mr. Freeze used to escape.

"Whee."

Back at the Cave, Alfred has a nice, cold drink for Bruce, only to toss it out when he sees the hypothermic hero in the Batmobile. Alfred takes Bruce's temperature as he warms up in front of the fire, and it seems as though he's running a fever. So Alfred prepares some tea, Earl Grey, hot, but Bruce's cold-addled mind is blaming himself for creating the monster on the loose.

Bruce: "Yin was right. I'm not helping the law, I'm just breaking it."

Alfred prescribes rest, but Bruce is wondering if putting the Batsuit to rest permanently might be the proper course of action.

The next day, Mr. Freeze goes on a crime spree.

I mean, somebody had to hit this joint. That sign was begging for a costumed criminal to show up.

Following that, Freeze goes on a rampage and starts freezing the city, pausing only to flash-freeze the homeless man that made him crash his car on that fateful night.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce continues to mutter that he should give up. As much as Alfred would like that, he tells Bruce to wait until he's regained his faculties before making that decision. But Alfred's words don't quite reach him, as Bruce has decided that it's time to stare at his parents' portrait and hallucinate for a bit.

He flashes back to that night.

You know, that night.

The alley. His parents.

He tries to pull them away from the mugger, but the mugger suddenly turns into Mr. Freeze, who makes stock laser sound effects at them. The portrait of the Waynes freezes over and shatters. And Bruce wakes up in, appropriately enough, a cold sweat.

If you believe the fan theory regarding Tim Burton's Batman (and I do), then this isn't the first time Batman has projected his current enemy onto the mugger that killed his parents. Unfortunately, this show doesn't much dwell on Bruce Wayne's inner turmoil and duality, which could explain why this dream visibly affects him as much as it does. Other Batmen probably have dreams like this every night. You know, between the dreams of alien beings taking over the planet. ...Or maybe that's just one Batman in particular.

Anyway, Bruce's fever is broken, and his iron will is repaired. He heads down to the Batcave and finds Alfred waiting for him with a brand new Batsuit, and... now, wait just a dang minute!

That's neither Anti-Freeze Batman, nor Ice Escape Batman!

On this internet of ours, it seems to generally be agreed that this show was designed to sell toys. In my first Recap of this show, I mentioned that this was the case.

Well... perhaps that's not entirely fair?

Every cartoon is made to sell toys. The real money comes from merchandising. Batman: The T-Shirt, Batman: The Lunchbox, Batman: The Flamethrower....

You can't fairly single out The Batman when all the other cartoons are doing it. Batman: The Animated Series had its own line of toys that was filled with oddly-colored Batmen. When I was but a lad, I got an orange one for Christmas who came with a street luge and a big red decoder batarang that acted as both luge bumper and batwings. I have since lost the luge, but I still have the Batman.

He was not Neon Talking Super Street Luge Batman, before you ask.
He was Street Strike Batman.

And Batman: TAS was not the only DCAU show to do this. As a commenter on my "Riddled" Recap mentioned, Justice League Unlimited was just as guilty of merchandising action figures only loosely based on the source material. And I have an OMAC to prove it.

I think one of the reasons that people single this show out to blame is that every single part of it looks like it could be a toy, from the Batmobile to the gadgets. (In the biz, this is called being "toyetic.") I mean, you take a look at Batman's new winter suit, and it's easy to assume that they only included it to sell toys of it. And yet, unless I overlooked something when I found listings of every figure in the toy line for The Batman, there aren't any toys of this suit specifically. Maybe the plans to sell toys of this specific Batsuit fell through, maybe there never were any plans, and this was just a knowing nod to the existing merchandise. Maybe an executive wanted the show to be more toyetic. I don't know.

All I do know is that I can no longer find it in my heart to criticize this show for looking like it was merchandise-driven when two great DC shows were canceled because they didn't have thriving toylines. ...Among other reasons.

Anyway, with a new suit, a timely Batwave bulletin informs Batman that Mr. Freeze entered the park and the cops that chased him in there haven't come out. So Batman wears his white suit and prepares to go.

Batman: "Let it snow."

Ehh... 5/10. Any one-liners from you, Alfred?

Alfred: "Now, don't forget your cough syrup."

2/10.

Over at the park, the whole place has been encased in an icy dome. Bennett plans out a rescue mission with another cop, but he says they'll need arctic survival gear. Luckily, Batman arrives, saving the police a trip to Menards. He drives the Batmobile right into Mr. Freeze's ice palace and passes some frozen cops on his way to confront the icy villain.

Mr. Freeze is on his frosty throne, lamenting how easy it was to simply rob the place. He considers setting his sights a bit higher than petty larceny, but Batman has had enough. He's got his new Batsuit, he's got his explosive batarangs, and he's got his ninja moves.

The fight goes much better for Batman this time, thanks to his built-in skis, and he wins the day by... well, cheating. Using the remote control for the Batmobile, he maneuvers his car into position.

After keeping Mr. Freeze at bay with his Batman: The Flamethrowers.

A good blast from the rear of the Batmobile is enough to knock him into the main support structure of his dome, hoisting him by his own petard. As the Batmobile speeds off into the night, Mr. Freeze is left for the cops to deal with.

Ethan Bennett: "Batman may be a criminal, but he's my kind of criminal."

Batman returns to the Cave to find Alfred waiting for him.

Alfred: "Hot tea and a lozenge, sir?"
Bruce: "Cold drink and a warm beach?"

Alas, the Batwave goes off, and Batman knows what he has to do. Man, don't you hate it when you have to drive somewhere right after getting home?

Bruce: "Tahiti will have to wait."

What a shame. I hear it's a magical place.

And with Batman driving off to save the day for the second time today, the episode ends.

Review to follow this Saturday!