From the very first issue of Batman: White Knight, writer/artist Sean Murphy made it clear he was re-imagining Gotham City, the Batman Family, and the villains with a purpose. That extended to a new origin story for Mr. Freeze, alluded to as a tale deserving of its own time in the spotlight. And now with Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1, that story will be told.
The original White Knight delivered a shocking twist when it was suggested that Thomas Wayne was either aiding or allied with former Nazi scientists. But in the end it was Victor Fries himself who set the record straight, explaining it was him who forged a relationship with Thomas, much to the disapproval of his own father--Baron von Fries. Now DC Comics has officially offered a preview of the standalone Von Freeze #1, taking readers a long way away, and back in time from the Gotham backdrop of Curse of the White Knight.--all the way to Nazi Germany.
Written by Murphy, comics legend Klaus Janson (Daredevil, The Dark Knight Returns) will provide the art with Matt Hollingsworth on colors, as readers return to the night Bruce Wayne came into the world--and learn how Victor Fries saved both Martha Wayne and the future Batman. Readers can enjoy the preview pages and the plot synopsis for the special one-shot below, and be sure to read our in-depth interview with Murphy and Janson ahead of Von Freeze's release:
- Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1
- Release Date: November 20th, 2019
- Written by: Sean Murphy
- Art by: Klaus Janson, Matt Hollingsworth
- Cover Art by: Sean Murphy
- The World of Batman: White Knight Expands with Von Freeze! The Curse of the White Knight saga expands in this special interlude issue! Sean Murphy is joined by artists Klaus Janson and Matt Hollingsworth to tell the tragic tale of White Knight’s Mister Freeze. On the night of Bruce Wayne's traumatic birth, Victor Fries must intervene to save the lives of Martha Wayne and the future Batman. As the evening unfolds, Victor distracts Thomas with the incredible tale of his own father figures—one a Nazi, the other a Jew—and their complex connection to Wayne Laboratories. As the Third Reich roars into power, the deep friendship and working relationship between the Baron von Fries and his research partner, Jacob Smithstein, is in crisis.
- Ordered by Himmler to speed development of their cryotechnology in service of world domination, Smithstein is forced to go into hiding and compromise his moral code in order to save his wife and infant daughter, Nora, from persecution and certain death. When the S.S. ramps up surveillance over the project, young Victor begins to question his father's true allegiance. Both families are driven toward an impossible choice and a sinister standoff, and Victor makes a pact with Smithstein that will ripple through generations.