Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

Year: 1997

Actors: Carl Lumbly, Marilu Henner, Lauren Tom, Robert Costanzo

Duration: 70 min

The film begins in an animated title sequence in which a Batman emblem revolves out of an icy cavern before being frozen by a freeze ray, bringing the title "Sub-Zero" into place.Two Polar Bears, Notchka and Shaka, are shown swimming underwater. They are joined by a swimming Dr. Victor Fries who spears salmon. The three journey to Mr. Freeze's home in the Arctic where they meet Mr. Freeze's adopted Inuit son, Koonak. Mr. Freeze then brings a flower he found in the snow to his wife Nora Fries, sleeping in a cryogenic tank. Fries tells Koonak that his wife must be kept in cryogenic sleep until a cure to her terminal illness can be found. Suddenly, a submarine of explorers breaks through the ice below them and causes the tank to spill over and break open. Several explorers leave the submarine to investigate. They return to the cave sometime later to see the entire crew frozen into a huge wall of ice in terror. Just then, Fries appears as Mr. Freeze and freezes them to death as well.Two Weeks later in Gotham City, Batman and Robin stop a jewel theft and appear at a gala as their alter egos, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. At the party, blue-eyed Dr. Gregory Belson confronts his stockbroker Dean Abergast about his investment which has fallen through. Abergast explains he is unable to help Belson in his current predicament, and Belson storms off. As he drives off in the sweltering weather, the road ahead of him becomes a snowy ice dome, which causes his car to collide into an ice wall. He is confronted by an approaching Mr. Freeze who states that he has a patient who needs Belson's attention.At the current gala, Barbara Gordon arrives after stopping a domestic assault as Batgirl. She and Dick Grayson meet and agree to go to the Coast that weekend together. On his way home, Bruce and Alfred find their car stuck in a gigantic water puddle which had once been the ice dome. They find Belson's abandoned car. Dr. Gregory Belson, a former colleague of Freeze, studies Nora's injuries and conditions and discovers that there are no deceased organ donors for the tissue samples she needs to survive. Freeze insists that they find a live donor if that is the case. Belson only agrees to the promise of more gold from a vein Freeze discovered in the Arctic. They then discover that Barbara is the only live donor with a perfect match for Nora.Freeze arrives at a restaurant with his polar bears that Barbara Gordon and Dick are partying at. Freeze threatens some people with his bears until Barbara hands herself in to him. Dick tries to intervene, but despite his attempts, Freeze escapes with Barbara. Freeze takes Barbara to his secret hiding place on an abandoned oil rig. Belson approaches her as she awakens and tries to put her to sleep via pills but she stops him and escapes through a vent where she finds herself in a stasis room in which she discovers the hibernating Nora Fries. She confronts both Freeze and Belson as they approach, and agrees to give the "blood transfusion" in a public hospital, which Freeze denies. Barbara is captured by them and locked in a cell. Back in Gotham city, Gordon works tirelessly to find his daughter with the Gotham City Police Department. Bruce Wayne does his own investigating and discovers that Barbara's organs are a perfect match with Nora Freeze via the hospital's donor files.Bruce and Dick discover that Dr. Gregory Belson is also missing and they confront Belson's broker, Dean Abergast who tells them that Belson was doing some investing in a new medical drug that fell through, explaining his need for cash and collaboration with Freeze. Midway through the confession, Abergast receives a telephone call by Belson explaining that he will have money soon to pay off his debts. Batman and Robin discover that in the conversation that the location was somewhere around the sea from a ships horn. When the time for the operation comes, Barbara befriends Koonak who reveals that Freeze is not a monster but is concerned for Barbara's well-being. Koonak asks Freeze if they will not hurt Barbara, which Freeze lies about, promising she will be alright. However, as Barbara is being tied down and anesthesia is about to be put in her, Koonak fights Freeze and Belson indignant that Freeze lied. Barbara and Koonak flee with an enraged Belson pursuing them.Batman and Robin arrive in the Batwing and park the craft on the landing pad of the rig. Belson fires at Barbara with a hidden revolver and accidentally starts a fire which rapidly spreads across the rig. Freeze demands that Belson catch Barbara and conduct the operation but Belson refuses and betrays Freeze, attempting to flee on a raft. After dodging flames and falling debris as well as Freeze's bears, Batman and Robin rescue Nora with the help of Freeze. Robin starts up the Batwing and inadvertently cause the platform to fall apart and crash down upon Belson and his raft, crushing and killing him. Flaming debris falls upon Freeze and breaks his leg. Batman rushes to rescue Freeze by Freeze's helmet is cracked open by falling debris, exposing his sensitive face to heat as he falls from Batman's grappling cord into the water below. Batman, Robin, Barbara, and Koonak escape in the Batwing, gravely watching the rig go up in flames. As they fly off into the skies, the two polar bears begin swimming off, as Freeze's hand breaks out of the waves and clutches one of the polar bears.Sometime later, in a research base in the Antarctica, two men watch a television in which it is reported that Nora Fries was given the medical organ treatment she needed funded by Wayne Enterprises and is revived, now living peacefully in Gotham. Freeze appears outside the base, watching this through the window. He smiles and cries tears of joy. He turns and limps away with his leg bound in an ice cast. With the rest of the world believing him dead, Freeze goes on to living peacefully in the Arctic. He is last seen disappearing into a blizzard accompanied by his polar bears.

Genre: Action   Animation   Crime   Drama   Sci-Fi   Thriller