Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gotham Goons

Post by Jabroniville »

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GOTHAM GOONS
Role:
Mooks
Mental Problems: Greed
Voice Actor: Various
Finest Moment: Occasionally gave Batman some serious trouble
PL 5 (46)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+6)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Car, Tommy Gun), Ranged Combat 4

Equipment:
"Tommy Gun" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Tommy Gun +5 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +3, Will +0

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (46)

-The goons in Batman: TAS are actually quite powerful by normal standards, though this is more prominent in the early episodes, where Batman is seen taking upwards of 1-3 minutes to take out even a small group of guys. They are about 50/50 for taking "Minion Rules" in M&M terms, sometimes going down to only one shot, but taking a couple "rounds" in other episodes. Gotham Goons aren't terribly bright, and have the usual "Stormtrooper-Style" aim, where they never hit anything important- to be fair, this is because they're usually using Tommy Guns at full capacity to either lay down covering fire, or trying to hit a single, moving target (short bursts are prefered to going full-auto).
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Faiza Hussein! Forge! Marvel- The Lost Generation!)

Post by Jabroniville »

catsi563 wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:36 am
The man who killed batman: where an average schnuck of a criminal seems to kill the batman then has to survive everyone including the joker ending with him in jail but getting loads of respect he never got before because he ""took down the bat""
"Dear Friends, Today is the day that the clown cried... And he cries, not for the passing of one man, but for the death of a dream. The dream that he would some day taste the ultimate victory over his hated enemy.

For it was The Batman that made me the happy soul I am today. How I AGONIZED over the perfect way to thank him for that. Perhaps a cyanide pie in the face.... Or an exploding whoopie cushion playfully planted in the Batmobile!

But those dreams were dashed, by the WEASELY little gunzel sitting there in our midst! The cowardly insignificant gonif probably got lucky when Batman slipped on the slime trail this loser probably left behind him! This mound of DISEASED hyena filth who's not fit to lick the dirt from my SPATS!... but I digress.

The time for sorrow has passed. It's time to look ahead to a future filled with smiles. And I'll be smiling again... just as soon as we take THAT MAN THERE... and slap him in THAT BOX THERE. And slide it into that vat of ACID THERE! (dumps Sid the Squid in a vat of acid while Harley plays a kazoo) .... Well, THAT was fun! Who's for Chinese?"
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Penguin

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Welcome, Batman- To my AVIARY OF DOOM!"
(Joker, in the real world) "...Your what?"
"Um... my Big Birdhouse."


THE PENGUIN (Oswald Cobblepott III)
Created By:
Bill Finger & Bob Kane
First Appearance: Detective Comics #58 (Dec. 1941)
Role: Deformed Villain, The Aristocrat, The "Legitimate Businessman"
Mental Problems: Greed, Desperation (For Respect)
Voice Actor: Paul Williams
First Episode: "I've Got Batman In My Basement."
Group Affiliations: None
Finest Moment: Nearly killed Batman by discovering his Batmobile mechanic.
PL 8 (115)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+3)
Close Combat (Blades) 4 (+11)
Deception 12 (+12)
Expertise (Criminal) 10 (+13)
Expertise (Business) 9 (+12)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 8 (+8) -- Flaws: Limited to Birds
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+6)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Firearms) 2 (+11)
Stealth 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Benefit 3 (Wealth), Connected, Contacts, Equipment 5 (Assorted Gear), Improved Critical (Umbrella Blade), Improved Critical (Umbrella Gun), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Disarm, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Well-Informed

Equipment:
"Array of Umbrellas"
"Umbrella Gun" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18) -- (22)
  • AE: "Umbrella Blade" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
  • AE: "Sleep Gas" Affliction 6 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud) (12)
  • AE: "Umbrella-Copter" Flight 2 (8 mph) (Flaws: Distracting) (2)
  • AE: "Acid Umbrella" Damage 6 (Feats: Reach) Linked to Weaken Toughness 5 (Feats: Reach) (Extras: Affects Objects) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Umbrella Sword +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Umbrella Gun +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- The Penguin is a criminal, plain and simple.
Reputation (Freak)- The Penguin has a long nose, strange teeth, short stature, and flipper-like hands. As such, he cannot pass for an ordinary human, and is constantly stared at and made fun of.
Responsibility (Man of Wealth and Taste)- The Penguin understands the finer things in life, and is a bit of a snob.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 26 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 15 (115)

-I find that The Penguin, part of the Trifecta of the biggest recurring Bat-foes in the comics and one of the bigger enemies he faces, has a difficult role to play. Ideally, he's used as the "generic villain"- an elite crimeboss, but still "fantastic" enough for a comic book. You can tell your typical NON-crazy superhero stories with him, moreso than nutsos like The Joker & Two-Face. But as this type of story got less and less popular in the crazy-themed Bat-books, Penguin shifted to a more "White Collar" type criminal, making money through illegal fences and go-between type stuff from his "Iceberg Lounge". The whole "legit criminal" thing is kind of unique among Bat-villains, and often gets used in other media (even the '60s series used a lot of "Penguin Goes Straight, but is actually faking" plots), including Batman Returns.

-Penguin got a similar "Generic Villain" role in the show. Generally, any time you needed a typical villainous situation, a random scheme, or something bad in general to happen, Penguin was your guy. He found out who built the Batmobile and threatened him, he poisoned Bats, he took over gang territory, etc. He was just the guy to go to for all of that stuff, when some random mobster wouldn't do. I actually prefer his look here to his other versions, where he's freakishly ugly, but not as deformed as Batman Returns or some comic appearances (such as Tim Sale's- arguably his only failure with the Rogues). Plus, it was good for Batman to have a foe with some class and dignity; one who used proper grammar and had a flair for irony and good old-fashioned villainy. It made him different from the rest of the crazy-pants Rogues Gallery.

-That said, Penguin episodes were... rarely great. There's a Batman in my Basement is a legendarily-forgettable episode, and other ones featuring ol' Oswald were either using him as a "Generic Baddie" (the one about the Batmobile's origins really just uses him as a means to an end as a token villain), or kind of "bleh" (one where a rich couple uses him as a "Mascot" to amuse them at their high-class functions). Whereas some of the Two-Face, Mister Freeze & Joker stuff was among the best uses ever for those characters... nobody was really crazy for the Penguin episodes. The show notably redesigned him in the New Adventures era, arbitrarily transforming him into his "1980s" self- a glorified "Mr. Peanut" with a pointy nose and taller, bowling pin-like shape.

-The Penguin is another mostly-weaker villain with some extra oomph as far as points spent goes, like most Batman foes. His Umbrella array is actually quite dangerous, as he can switch from an automatic rifle to a stream of acid to a big cloud of Knock-Out Gas, which is one of Batman's big Achilles Heels (hence the gas-mask being a HUGE part of his Animated Series Utility Belt). He, like most Bat-villains, has tons of Minions, often including animals (birds with drug-tipped beaks, lethal Cassowaries, etc.). With Penguin, like most Bat-villains, it's all about the scheme- the quest to GET to the villain, as he's still going to lose to Batman in anything resembling a fair fight- PL 8 isn't THAT bad (especially with a PL 9 Batman), but he's only PL 8 with the Gun- he's PL 7 with the Blade and PL 4 Unarmed, and only PL 6 Defensively.

About the Performer: Huh- Paul Williams Jr. is actually an Academy Award-winning SONGWRITER, having been a composer for much of the '70s & '80s, where he wrote the theme to "A Star Is Born" and got an Oscar for it, then co-wrote a lot of big Muppet songs (including "The Rainbow Connection"). Also, most spectacularly, he was the shrimpy, wimpy Swan in Brian De Palma's magnificent "The Phantom of the Paradise" (which he ALSO co-scored). I really had no idea this guy played The Penguin- that's neat.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Alfred! Man-Bat! The Penguin!)

Post by Jabroniville »

My pic with the adorbz Elena of Avalor:

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These girls just look SUPER-young, though. You have to be eighteen to be a Face Character, which means I must be HELLA-old if I'm viewing these girls as impossibly young. When I showed this pic to someone online, he was like "Yeah, she's a beauty, but I still think I'd be more comfortable taking out her older sister", lol.
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman: TAS! Batman! Alfred! Man-Bat!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 7:35 pm
HalloweenJack wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:17 pm hunh. you gonna be doing Candice too?
Nah- she doesn't actually DO anything. She just sits there. Though I love that scene where guys are flying all around her, and she gets noticeably excited ("WILD!").
I dunno. She was pretty cunning. Looked like arm candy, but she bluffed Two-Face's fiance so that Thorne could track him down, and was seducing Bane to overthrow Thorne.
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Alfred! Man-Bat! The Penguin!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

also Paul Williams would have been a great live action Penguin as well back in the day. And I love the guy in Phantom of the Paradise, where his Faustian deal made him a pretty good threat via his influence, money and worldly experience.


I like the Penguin overall. He always strikes me as the villain with delusions of sophistication.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Baby Doll

Post by Jabroniville »

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Baby-Doll: (Looking at her adult reflection) That's me in there. The real me. There I am. But it's not really real, is it? Just made-up and pretend, like my family and my life and everything else in it. Why couldn't you just let me make-believe?

"I... I didn't MEAN to..."


BABY-DOLL (Mary Dahl)
Created By:
Paul Dini & Dan Riba
First Appearance: "Baby-Doll"
Role: Unfortunate Villain, Fame-Seeker
Mental Problems: Need for Fame & Attention
Voice Actor: Alison Laplaca & Laraine Newman
First Episode: "Baby-Doll"
Finest Moment: The size of a three-year old, and she actually gave Bats a bit of trouble
PL 6 (48)
STRENGTH
-3 STAMINA -1 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+1)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Acting) 1 (+3)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 3 (+4)
Insight 3 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Daze (Deception), Equipment 3 (Dolly Gun), Ranged Attack 6

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-3 Damage, DC 12)
Mr. Happy-Head +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness -1, Fortitude +0, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Fame, Family)- The happiest time in Dahl's life was when she was a famous actress with her own TV show. A decade later, she realizes that she wants to go back to it (despite throwing it all away years before).
Disabled (Hypoplasia)- Mary Dahl was born with a disease that permanently halted her growth, making her resemble a toddler even into middle age. She cannot pass for an ordinary person, and is easily-recognized.

Total: Abilities: 14 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (48)

-TV is always at it's most fascinating when its ABOUT Television. Episodes like The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show (a Simpsons episode about how networks try to "shake up" old shows, and how they invade TV production with idiotic "hip" characters) and Baby-Doll (the episode that debuted this character) are extremely interesting to me, as they have TV writers explaining to audiences the inner-workings of the television industry. Fleeting fame, falling ratings, how producers intrude and alter things based off of focus-groups, etc... it's really neat stuff. There's a handful of books out there by Bill Carter that explain just HOW the Television Industry operates that I'd recommend to anyone- two of them feature the Late Night TV Wars of the early-90s and late 2010s, and another deals with the era around Desperate Housewives and Lost coming to air (the hoops shows have to jump through to get aired make me more amazed that ANY good Television has ever been produced), as well as NBC's faltering TV line.

-Baby Doll was a creepy, sad addition to the Batman Rogues, being introduced as a minor threat (at best), and more of a detective story trying to find the heart of the problem. A former child star, Mary Dahl was cursed with a disease that halted her growth, but turned it into a successful run on a gimmicky sitcom Love That Baby. However, much like the child stars of old, she was unable to replicate her fame once the show had ended. A failed turn as Lady Macbeth finished her career, and so the obsessed, distraught woman-in-a-child's-body spent a huge amount of money trying to force her old family (including a Cousin Oliver-like late addition to the cast to boost ratings- PLAYED BY THE REAL COUSIN OLIVER- this show ruled) into re-enacting the show. Once Batman & Robin solved the problem (by beating her unusually competent female henchman), there was a sad moment at the end, where Mary reverted to her "adult voice" (instead of the childish high-pitched one she used as part of her act), and used her old catchphrase "I... I didn't mean to" to the somewhat sympathetic Batman.

-Baby Doll reappeared in The New Adventures, now with a new voice actress. She'd managed to find a decent career working in a hotel, but a rude guest recognized her, and grilled her about her past. Snapping, she found a kindred spirit in the freakish Killer Croc, and freed him from prison. The two staged a crime spree, but when she uncovered Croc planning on covering his escape with a blast that would level Gotham and kill HER, she realized that she was naiive.

-Mary's not much of a threat, especially without her gun, though pretty accurate considering how little she is (think- Batman is the equivalent of a twenty-foot tall target for her), so she's PL 6.

About the Performer: Alison Laplaca is a minor actress, having appeared in some 1980s sitcoms I've never heard of. Laraine Newman, the second actress to play her, is most famous for being the least-famous of the first three women on "Saturday Night Live", as Gilda Radner was a comedic genius and Jane Curtin was beautiful and a level-headed, talented actress in her own right. Newman was still good, mind you. She has had a long career in voice acting, usually in minor roles.

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Robin: (holding jaw, while on the floor) "Wow lady- you're GOOD."
Mariam: (nonchalantly, a little proud) "It's a living."


MARIAM
Created By:
Paul Dini & Dan Riba
First Appearance: "Baby-Doll"
Role: Henchwoman
Mental Problems: Greed
Voice Actor: Tasia Valenza
First Episode: "Baby-Doll"
Finest Moment: Nearly beat the crap out of Robin
PL 7 (89)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- "It's a living."

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (89)

-Her henchwoman, on the other hand, is the REALLY dangerous one, even getting Dick to go "Wow, lady... you're GOOD." in one of those funny mutual admiration things that martial artists get into. Even combined, it's more about the story/problem/skillwork than actually fighting, as Batman & Robin could make short work of them.

About the Performer: Tasia Valenza just did some background voicework on both "Batman" and "Superman".
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Alfred! Man-Bat! The Penguin!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

What I've read stated that it was Baby-Doll that tried to level Gotham after discovering that Croc was planning to leave her, but I'm not sure since it's been so long since I've watched the series.
Jabroniville
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Mister Freeze

Post by Jabroniville »

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"THIS is how I'll always remember you... surrounded by winter, forever young; forever BEAUTIFUL. Rest well, my love... the monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish... best served COLD.

"I have failed you. I wish there was another way I could say it. I cannot... I can only beg your forgiveness, and hope that you can hear me somehow... someplace... where a warm hand waits for mine..."


MISTER FREEZE (Doctor Victor Fries)
Created By:
Bob Kane, David Wood & Sheldon Madoff
First Appearance: Batman #121 (Feb. 1959)
Role: Ice Guy, Tragic Backstory Villain, The Stoic, Rescued Lame Villain
Mental Problems: Obsession With Revenge, Unemotional State
First Appearance: "Heart of Ice"
Voice Actor: Michael Ansara
Finest Moment: His final soliloquoy to his wife
PL 10 (183)
STRENGTH
1/6 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 5 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+13)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+17) -- Flaws: Limited to Cryogenics
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 12 (+12)
Perception 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Cold Gun) 4 (+10)
Technology 8 (+13)
Treatment 7 (+12)
Vehicles 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 3 (Trucks, Cold Gear, etc.), Fascinate (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Cold Gun) 2, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Ultimate Cryogenics Skill

Powers:
"Man of Ice" Immunity 4 (Cold, Aging, Disease, Poison) [4]

"Cryogenic Suit" (Flaws: Removable) (Feats: Restricted- Immune to Cold) [21]
Enhanced Strength 5 (10)
Protection 4 (Extras: Impervious 9) (13)
"Immovable" Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (2)
-- (25 points)

"Cryogenic Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [47]
"Freeze Ray" Affliction 10 (Dodge; Hindered & Vulnerable/Defenseless & Prone/Paralyzed) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative, Extra Condition) (40)
Linked to
Weaken Stamina 4 (Extras: Progressive +2, Ranged) (16) -- (18)
  • AE: "Create Ice" Create 6 (Extras: Continuous) (18)
  • AE: "Make Brittle" Weaken Toughness 8 (Extras: Ranged, Affects Objects Only +0) (16)
-- (58 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 17)
Suit +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Freeze Ray +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction & +4 Weaken, DC 20 & 14)
Make Brittle +10 (+8 Ranged Weaken, DC 18)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+8 Suit, +5 Impervious), Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Nora Fries)- Victor Fries lost his beloved wife, Nora, when an Evil Businessman (tm) shut down his experiments to save money. Now, his heart cries out for revenge.
Responsibility (Heart of Ice)- With Nora gone, Victor refuses his emotions, and specifes that he has "no more tears to shed". Of course, this means that he is the most emotional of Batman's Rogues.
Vulnerable & Weakness (Heat)- Mr. Freeze will rapidly die if left anywhere above zero degrees Celsius- overheating to death. He requires the use of his suit

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 24 / Powers: 72 / Defenses: 19 (183)

The Best Adaptation Ever:
-Mr. Freeze was a generic Batman villain, oddly fitting more with Flash or Superman Rogues given his nature as a cold-obsessed scientist. And his name used to be "Mister Zero"! Which is actually a remarkably cool name. The '60s TV series is credited with changing his name for whatever reason, though the character remained a Joke Villain for years. And so he would have sat for years, not really fitting in with Batman's gallery of weirdos and psychos... until Heart of Ice came out.

-This episode is probably the high water mark in the whole "TV cartoons can be ART" movement, and Batman: TAS in general. It was just INCREDIBLE. Given the chance to totally remake someone, the writers went to absolute freaking TOWN on the guy, creating the single best "Sympathetic Villain" of the entire show. Given a haunting vocal rendition by Michael Ansara, a reimagined Freeze is now a grieving widower- a scientist who lost his beloved wife to corporate greed and brutality. In a sense, he reflects a mirror image of Batman- both are fueled by rage, revenge, and grief. But while Batman is a creature of compassion, Freeze is now a remorseless killer, bragging about (and showcasing) a lack of a heart.

-One of the great character bits was when Freeze shoots his ice gun at Batman, and a henchman gets hit instead. The horrified thugs insist on rescuing their friend ("He's one of us!"), but Freeze coldly states "He should have been more CAREFUL; now he is paying the price for his INCOMPETENCE". Then suggesting that the others "SHARE his fate" should they insist any further. Batman, meanwhile, having just had all of these guys attempt to KILL HIM, calls off the chase and saves this dumb thug's life, allowing Freeze to escape. It's a great symbol of how two men can have the same origin, but go down completely different paths. Batman is as fueled by revenge and darkness as Freeze is, but ultimately never lets that turn him into a true monster.

-The best part, however, is how Freeze's emotionless exterior is just that- a FICTION. It's him ATTEMPTING to become inhuman- it's rendered him so numb to pain that he openly taunts others about it. But while he brags about a lack of emotion ("It would move me to TEARS, if I had any more tears to SHED!"), you can tell it's all just bottled up. His revenge itself is an act of fury. His hatred is all-consuming. And his grief never really leaves him. He acts all stoic about Nora's death when Batman finds out the truth ("I saw what happened to your wife... I'm sorry"), but when his revenge falls apart, and he's forced to come to terms with his failure, you realize just how many tears he had left. Ansara's delivery is like how Alfred Hitchcock described Grace Kelly- "Like a snow-covered volcano". His emotions were present in every bit of dialogue- you have to be EXTREMELY good to handle "emotionless" characters properly- it's why the best Star Trek actors are often the guys playing deliberately-stilted, dry characters like Data & Spock.

-The episode is legitimately HEARTBREAKING- you end up feeling all kinds of sadness for a man who's essentially a murderer who would sacrifice his own minions. Every single bit of dialogue Freeze has comes off with the intensity of poetry, given great line-readings, and more. And it ended up being so well done that it completely changed the character forever. Instantly, the comic book version of Mister Freeze was retconned into being a grieving husband. The character went from a "Villain of the Week" to a sympathetic "Anti-Villain"- a villainous character whom you nonetheless felt bad for. However, the influence of this episode also ended up WRECKING an aspect of the character as well- it was SO GOOD... that no later episodes had a hope of matching it. No comics, either. The voice was just too big a part of the character- without Ansara's emotionless-but-emotional delivery, it lacked the same impact.

Subsequent Appearances:
-Mr. Freeze reappeared in a few other episodes, and even got a Straight-To-Video release (Sub-Zero). In the second, he's roped into the campaign of a Walt Disney parody, who wants Freeze to turn him into the same kind of everlasting Cryogenic Man. Freeze is robbed of some dignity here, dragged kicking and screaming out of a jail cell and working for basically an EPCOT riff, as Not-Walt wants to create an idealized future-society. The themes of grief really don't come up as much, but the character's "Anti-Villain" thing was capped off by him turning on the guy in the end. Sub-Zero retcons in Nora's survival- her body was apparently never discarded nor destroyed, sitting in storage for however long (despite the funding of the program being cut). The concept of the first episode comes back a bit, as Freeze's obsession lets him do incredibly immoral things, as he kidnaps Barbara Gordon in order to harvest her organs- her "match" for Nora makes her ideal to cure Nora's condition. In the end, a tearful Freeze cries with joy as he watches a video of a living Nora make her return (she'd been cured another way)- but unable to be with her, he goes off on his own. That's enough for him. It was a very good cap-off to the character's arc, at least.

-Of course they kind of boned it later. Both Batman Beyond and a New Adventures episode dealt with him losing even more of his body, becoming a "Head on Stilts". Here, he acts with abandon and rage, again freaking out over his lack of humanity. But the character's revenge worked best when it was FOCUSED- now he was just lashing out at the world as a whole, so the arc came off a lot weaker. But Heart of Ice created such a gold standard that the SHOW barely ever matched it, much less any sequel episodes- it was just too good.

-What's funny about Freeze too, is that he's the only one of Batman's Rogues who absolutely would not fit in with the others. He's got aspects of crazy, sure- but he lacks the glee, the reverant love of destruction, or the permanent grudge against the Bat, and is way too serious. That's why all Mr. Freeze episodes tend to be stand-alone, and don't involve the rest of the mythos too much.

Freeze's Power:
-Mister Freeze is one of the more powerful (PL 10) Bat-foes, by virtue of his Cryo-Gun. It's a very powerful Snare, as well as causing a delayed Weaken effect (Batman got a very bad cold from it, and a henchman almost died). Fries himself isn't a great combatant, merely being PL 8 on Defense, as he (like many other super-strong Bat-foes) is very slow and plodding in combat, making him more of a Jason-like stalking-killer than a quick fighter like Firefly or Two-Face. Of course, his great strength, durability, and Cryogenic Gun make him an almost unstoppable physical threat to Batman, who is decidedly human. Like most other strong Bat-foes, he has a great number of weaknesses, as well. His helmet is a Weak Point on his Armour (which normally makes him very hard for a non-Power Attacking Batman to hurt), and exposure to the normal room temperature outside messes him up BADLY, to the point where he can't even go on. He can also Stunt stuff like Freezing an exploding fire hydrant to let him "Leap" into the air.

About the Performer: Michael Ansara is little-known to modern audiences, and was already in his SEVENTIES when he played Mr. Freeze for the first time. Of course, like a lot of actors, he only got better with age- lines became spoken as if they contained all history with them- something only an elderly actor can do. Of Lebanese descent, he started working in a lot of "Indian" roles in the 1950s and '60s, ultimately playing the role of Cochise on the "Broken Arrow" show. There, he met and fell in love with BARBARA FREAKING EDEN, marrying the "I Dream of Jeannie" star. His career largely stalled after the 1960s, and he played supporting roles after that. Mr. Freeze was one of his final roles. He died in 2013 at the age of 91.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Alfred! Man-Bat! The Penguin!)

Post by catsi563 »

stalled out my foot the man played in Star Trek as Kang one of the lead Klingons and would reprise the roll many years later in DS9 he would also appear in B5 as one of the lead techno mages explaining to Capitan Sheridan about who they are where theyre going while also scaring the pants of of londo to teach him a lesson.

Delivering some of the most epic speeches in the process as well.
We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner, holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ and we know many things."
Elric, The Geometry of Shadows
Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

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Ares
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Re: Mister Freeze

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:11 am Image

MISTER FREEZE (Doctor Victor Fries)
Created By:
Bob Kane, David Wood & Sheldon Madoff
First Appearance: Batman #121 (Feb. 1959)
Role: Ice Guy, Tragic Backstory Villain, The Stoic, Rescued Lame Villain
Mental Problems: Obsession With Revenge, Unemotional State
First Appearance: "Heart of Ice"
Voice Actor: Michael Ansara
Finest Moment: His final soliloquoy to his wife
PL 10 (183)
Freeze: The snow is beautiful, don't you think? Clean, uncompromising...
Batman: ...and cold.
Freeze: Like the swift hand of vengeance.
Batman: I saw what happened to your wife. I'm sorry.
Freeze: I'm beyond emotions. They've been frozen dead in me.
Batman: That suit you wear—a result of the coolant?
Freeze: Very good. A detective to the last. I can no longer survive outside a sub-zero environment. Tonight, I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life. Our lives...
Batman: Even if you have to kill everyone in the building to do it?
Freeze: *Freeze nods his head* Think of it, Batman. To never again walk on a summer's day with the hot wind in your face and a warm hand to hold. Oh, yes... I'd kill for that.

Mr. Freeze was kind of interesting, in that almost any supervillain who would have been in his situation would have gotten ice powers from the accident. Instead, Freeze ends up with what can only be called a debilitating weakness which only rarely has any benefits (he can survive in arctic temperatures casually), and instead needs to use technology to compensate for it. It's a weird kind of Tony Stark thing where both men suffered a near fatal accident and used technology to keep themselves alive, then further used that technology to get the equivalent of superpowers.

Freeze also shows how NOT invincible early Batman was, as Freeze was basically a slow moving guy in a suit of armor that only gave him very mild superstrength (in the 1 ton range tops), yet even without his gun he was slapping Batman around like nothing. Batman in the later seasons would mop the floor with that version of Freeze.

Mr. Freeze also showcases the issue with characters like Magneto, only dialed up to 11. These guys are sympathetic, to the point where if you make them act to villainous you lose the sympathy that's kind of integral to the characters. If you push them too far over the line then their motivations are no longer justified and they're simply just another supervillain who is deluded into thinking they're justified in what they do. Freeze is even worse than Magneto because Freeze initially had only one goal: Get revenge for his dead wife. It was a story that only worked for that one episode, otherwise every other appearance would be Freeze repeating himself, trying to get back at the same guy over and over.

Thus the choice was then either never use Freeze again, or do what they did: reveal his wife hadn't died and could be saved. Thus Freeze is now dedicated to seeing his wife cured. Which would create an interesting scenario where Freeze is committing crimes and atrocities to save his dying wife, which would make for an interesting dilemma. Though that would have basically turned Freeze into someone who is either A) Trying to steal money to finance his research, B) Kidnapping people who can help his research or C) Stealing technology that can help his research. Again, he's basically pigeon holed into a limited number of stories.

Which is probably why the guys made the Sub-Zero film where his wife was cured, giving her at least a happy ending . . . but then leaving the question of what to do with Victor here. In a truly bizarre move, they decided to turn him into a head in a jar with spider-legs, his body now a robotic shell, and given a general "I will make EVERYONE experience the same loss I have". The re-design and motivation change were both so terrible it wasn't until Batman Beyond that he finally got a more decent send-off.

The comics ran into a similar issue when they tried to adapt Freeze's animated origin to the books. They want to keep the best aspects of Mr. Freeze from the show, but also want to keep him around as villain they can use whenever they want. Thus they had to do things to make Freeze less sympathetic. Like, in one telling, Freeze accidentally shot his wife's cyrogenic storage pod during a fight with Batman, killing her. So he blames Batman and Gotham for her death, and basically does what he does for revenge. Another telling made it so that Nora has actually been dead all this time and Freeze is deluding himself into thinking he can save her, robbing to continue his research and doing general revenge schemes for a woman that is already dead.

The comics actually based on the animated series actually did something interesting, where Nora rejected the happy ending of the animated series (she had married one of the doctors that helped treat her after she was cured), finding out said doctor had lied to her about something. Instead, she became as obsessed with Victor as he had been with her. When Victor gets lost in a cave in in the frozen north, she's shown to be hunting for him to rescue him.

Overall, the visual design of Freeze for the show is just about perfect, the voice acting was amazing, and his first appearance was one of the greatest episodes in an exceptional series. They just probably should have left Freeze as a one-shot character given what followed.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Mister Freeze

Post by Woodclaw »

Ares wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:42 pm Freeze also shows how NOT invincible early Batman was, as Freeze was basically a slow moving guy in a suit of armor that only gave him very mild superstrength (in the 1 ton range tops), yet even without his gun he was slapping Batman around like nothing. Batman in the later seasons would mop the floor with that version of Freeze.
When I worked on my own build, years ago, I noted that there was also another element to Freeze that made him a real tough customer. In most battle, Batman has a sort of emotional upper hand: mooks are scared of him and he knows how to emotionally manipulate most of his foes, but Freeze's cold attitude and tragic backstory robbed him of this advantage. The only other character from this rogue gallery that had a similar advantage was Two-Face, but only because Bruce and Harvey Dent were so close that Batman couldn't help but felt guilty about what happened.
Ares wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:42 pmWhich is probably why the guys made the Sub-Zero film where his wife was cured, giving her at least a happy ending . . . but then leaving the question of what to do with Victor here. In a truly bizarre move, they decided to turn him into a head in a jar with spider-legs, his body now a robotic shell, and given a general "I will make EVERYONE experience the same loss I have". The re-design and motivation change were both so terrible it wasn't until Batman Beyond that he finally got a more decent send-off.

The comics ran into a similar issue when they tried to adapt Freeze's animated origin to the books. They want to keep the best aspects of Mr. Freeze from the show, but also want to keep him around as villain they can use whenever they want. Thus they had to do things to make Freeze less sympathetic. Like, in one telling, Freeze accidentally shot his wife's cyrogenic storage pod during a fight with Batman, killing her. So he blames Batman and Gotham for her death, and basically does what he does for revenge. Another telling made it so that Nora has actually been dead all this time and Freeze is deluding himself into thinking he can save her, robbing to continue his research and doing general revenge schemes for a woman that is already dead.

The comics actually based on the animated series actually did something interesting, where Nora rejected the happy ending of the animated series (she had married one of the doctors that helped treat her after she was cured), finding out said doctor had lied to her about something. Instead, she became as obsessed with Victor as he had been with her. When Victor gets lost in a cave in in the frozen north, she's shown to be hunting for him to rescue him.
I think that the whole head in jar idea was just terrible and I really wish they never even considered that episode. Sub-Zero was a great final moment (although the Batman Beyond episode was pretty good as well) for Freeze and the comic book epilogue with Nora was pretty damn good in its own right.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

The strangest adaptation of Freeze I've seen is defintely the infamous Batman & Robin version, where there are just so smany strange design choices. They gave him the tragic backstory of the animated version, but ALSO made him played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (who is great, but just doesn't fit for this role. seriously, why not make him one of the various powerhouse villains? Even casting him as Bane would have worked better than whatever they were going for in that movie)
, and made him a massive goofball who constantly makes ice puns.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Spectrum »

The 2017 Batman and Harley Quinn had a great scene in a villains club that revisits a lot of the great thugs from various parts of the Batman series.

Actually, the entire movie is thick with Easter eggs and is still considered to be part of the DCAU.

Highly recommended, but not sure if its kiddo safe. Hopefully, most of it would just fly over their heads.
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Tattooedman »

Batman TAS is a total throwback to happy times for me since I was in the prime age group it was meant for, added to the fact I was already into comics. I enjoyed the hell outta it.....until I became aware of girls at least. So I missed the last couple seasons.

Still makes for a great nostalgia trip, so thanks for that Jab.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
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