Heart of Ice

Many moons ago, as a young teenager, I saw this episode and, more so, felt it. I immediately recognized the genius of the writing, story and depth of the character. The moment I saw it, I was changed, as if a spiritual, alchemical transformation had occurred. This episode forever stayed with me, and its profound lessons have echoed on in my life, my character and my actions. The Spirit guided the hands of the creators of this masterpiece.

To those that don't feel a certain affinity to this episode, I highly encourage you to do some serious exploration and see just how this narrative echoes the truth about the enemies we face and how sincerity will always aid in our guidance to adversity; especially when facing the most worthy adversary we will ever face, our Self.

Heart of Ice has a reputation for being considered the best episode of Batman: The Animated Series as well as redefining Mr Freeze into that of a man driven to his criminal actions due to those who wronged him. An episode like this thrives on pulling at the audience's heartstrings and making you sympathise with the villain (a trend that most of the best episodes in this series have) in this case Victor Fries who's wife was frozen due to an incurable illness. But what makes this standout compared to the other emotional character pieces that this series offers us? If you ask me its the poetic and subtle dialogue. While this isn't my favourite episode in the animated series (we'll get to that later) I wholeheartedly believe Heart of Ice is a masterpiece in storytelling and shouldn't be underestimated just because it's part of a show for children. 10/10.

Revenge is the key here, with a flashback to a Mr. Freeze origin story. The wealthy industrialist whose company he worked for interfered with an experiment, causing it to go disastrously wrong, killing a scientist's wife and forever altering him to need cold temperatures to survive. Mr. Freeze comes into being.

Now Mr. Freeze is out for revenge against his former boss, and he doesn't care who he hurts in his lust to provide a similar fatal fate to the industrialist that his wife suffered.

Who can blame him? If someone did that to MY wife, I'd be out to take MY revenge, too. Unfortunately, Batman can't let innocent lives be lost, or even that of the guilty taken. And so the battle of wits begins ...

One of the best episodes of one of my all time favorite shows, "Heart Of Ice", gave us one of the darkest and most emotional episodes in the series. If you're a fan of the villain Mr. Freeze, I highly recommend this episode. It gives us a great back story for him, and it turns a cold villain into a sympathetic character. It is simply fantastic.

'Heart of Ice' was one of my favorite TAS episodes in the early '90s because of the window dressing; Mark Hamill in a non-Joker villainous role, the cold theme (I was into ice as a kid), and Spectrum Studios animation - it's lavishly rendered. But as an adult, the story structure stands out, what with Hamill's soulless CEO Ferris Boyle balanced out with Mr. Freeze.

But Paul Dini really plays on the tragedy of Freeze as a villain and that's what makes this a series best. He's an extremely well realized character (proficiently so, given the time constraints) who opposes Batman only because some jerk corporate exec imperiled his wife and confined him to a cold suit. The thirst for revenge can consume any of us, even those without a sadistic bone in their body. Batman feels pity for Freeze and shows a certain level of empathy towards him (a little like his supportive relationship with Harvey Dent's struggles with Two-Face). The characterization really does deepen this show to an astonishing degree and 'Heart of Ice' is Exhibit A.

10/10