CTDB Special: Batman Annual #1

This week, Shaun reviews a comic that Trey DID buy.


It has been said that the Batman the Animated Series episode, “Heart of Ice,” is the single greatest Batman tale ever penned. In 1992, writer Paul Dini transformed Mr. Freeze from a generic homicidal maniac with an ice gun into a scientist who was trying to save the life of his wife. Dini’s version of the character saw Victor Fries the victim of corporate impatience with his methodical research to save his afflicted wife. In a brawl with his boss, Fries was exposed to chemical compounds that changed his physiology so that he needed a protective suit to keep him alive. For the loss of his beloved wife, Victor vowed revenge on the corporate goon. Of course along the way Batman got involved and there were fisticuffs. Just download the episode off iTunes, it is much better than the mess of a comic we have before us.

I’ll limit my frustrations with this comic to two comments. First off, it relies too heavily on said episode as a backdrop for the story Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV are telling. In a nutshell, it reads like “what-if” fan-fiction. I could be wrong, but I really feel that as they were plotting out this issue they were assuming that most of their audience was familiar with Dini’s episode. I believe that the reveal, which changes the relationship between Victor and his “wife” Nora, comes across too heavily as a “see how we overturned your expectations” moment. Instead of crafting their own tale about Victor’s obsession with finding a cure for his wife’s illness, they rely on Dini’s origin and throw a wrench in it at the last second. While many comic writers use the work of others to craft their own re-tellings of famous stories, this one just lacked the nuance I would have expected from a writer like Snyder. It was too self-indulgent for my tastes.

Secondly, Mr. Freeze is reverted into an unsympathetic character in this story. Whereas Dini’s story had Fries the victim of outside interference, Snyder and Tynion essentially have him be the author of his own downfall. This obsession began back in his childhood when he was that stereotypical nerdy kid with glasses. We haven’t seen that a million times have we? I also find it silly that in creating a fleshed out origin story for a character it somehow has to involve what they will become in their alternate ego. Victor is going to make a snowman at the beginning of this comic. Ooh foreshadowing...

All in all a good comic for internet fan fiction, not so much for a published story. Better luck next time guys.