Gotham just brought its enjoyably cheesy and melodramatic Season 1 to a close last week, but the news about Season 2 has been popping up for a while now. A handful of villains have already been confirmed to rear their heads on Fox next season, and now we know that the coolest member of Batman’s rogues gallery – pun definitely intended – will also play a part in the action. That’s right, we’ll all be able to welcome Mr. Freeze into our lives as Detective Jim Gordon presumably gives him the cold shoulder. Somebody stop me!
For this week’s network upfronts, Fox execs confirmed that The Joker and Mr. Freeze will show up in Season 2. Considering showrunner Bruno Heller already stated The Joker’s origin story was definitely going to kick the storyline off next season, the tragic villain Mr. Freeze is definitely the bigger news here.
Mr. Freeze began life as Dr. Victor Fries, a cryogenics scientist whose attempts to cure his terminally ill wife Nora end in an accident where he must wear a cryogenic suit in order to stay alive. It’s a tad more complicated than just “a guy who waddles like a penguin,” sure, but we all know that Gotham is a series meant for over-the-top personalities and situations.
A tortured character’s virtuous efforts backfiring to a near-fatal point is indeed a perfect way to introduce someone to this world, although there will probably be some weird twist to the backstory to keep things interesting for fans who know Mr. Freeze’s perils too well at this point. Maybe he’ll be working in a meat locker, or he’ll be an ice sculptor or something equally ridiculous. (If he’s a Zamboni machine operator, I will eat my cowl.) Should he become a major baddie for Season 2, perhaps Mr. Freeze will be accompanied at some point by Caitlin Snow’s Killer Frost, which would present a solid-as-ice opportunity for Gotham to crossover with The CW shows The Flash and Arrow.
The hunt for an actor suitable enough for the role should be an important one, as it’ll be a tough task to wipe the taste of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s goofy performance out of everyone’s memories, 18 years after Batman and Robin hit theaters. Freeze was played memorably in the 1960s Batman series by George Sanders, Otto Preminger and Eli Wallach, and was later voiced by Michael Ansara for Batman: The Animated Series and other animated projects.
Season 2 will also give us the rise of The Riddler, as well as the introductions of both Clayface and Mad Hatter. We got to said goodbye to some of the legit crime bosses in Season 1, so it’s absolutely becoming a great time to be a wacky ass unorganized villain in Gotham City.
Gotham will return to Fox’s schedule on Monday nights this fall.
