Warning: This article contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1015!
Batman has finally learned that Mr. Freeze's wife, Nora, is actually more dangerous than her husband. The story of Victor Fries is a tragic one; he was a scientist who froze his beloved wife in cryogenic suspension in order to keep her alive. Unfortunately, ever since he's struggled to treat her illness and bring her back from the brink of death, and he's proved willing to go to any lengths to achieve it.
As part of DC Comics' "Year of the Villain," Lex Luthor has finally given Mr. Freeze the technology he needs to cure and resurrect Nora Fries. A scientist through-and-through, Mr. Freeze has tested the process and confirmed that it works. That done, he's brought Nora back - but, to Mr. Freeze's horror, it really doesn't go the way he thought it would. Detective Comics #1015 confirms that the female really is deadlier than the male.
The issue opens with Mr. Freeze and his wife going on an icy rampage, stealing cash in order to continue Mr. Freeze's experiments. But it doesn't take long for Nora to decide that it's time she took control of her own life, and she seems to like the idea of continuing her crime spree. When Mr. Freeze objects, she turns his own freeze-gun on him and steals his car. "It's time to stop dancing for you," she tells him, "and start dancing for myself."
Writer Peter J. Tomasi offers a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between Victor and Nora Fries. As romantic as Mr. Freeze's story is often portrayed, in truth he's always been portrayed as a controlling force. It was Mr. Freeze, after all, who decided that his wife should be frozen cryogenically for years of her life rather than be allowed to die naturally. As far as she's concerned, she no longer has a life of her own; everything she is, everything she does, and everything she experiences is under his control. And Nora has had enough of living that way.
What's more, it's quite clear that she enjoys a life of crime and violence. Artists Doug Mahnke and Jose Luis present Nora Freeze as someone who's reveling in the adrenaline rush of doing evil. Everything Mr. Freeze did had an agenda, but Nora's only agenda seems to be the thrill of living again. Denied control over her own life for years, she's now delighted to exert control over the lives of others. That makes her infinitely more dangerous than her husband - as Batman swiftly realizes.
Detective Comics #1015 is on sale in comic shops now.