Batman: White Knight Presents: Von Freeze #1

Batman: Curse of the White Knight

by Sean Gordon Murphy, Klaus Janson (Penciller)

The world of Batman: White Knight expands with this standalone tale! 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.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

After breaking into the industry at a young age, Sean Gordon Murphy made a name for himself in the world of indie comics before joining up with DC. In his tenure, he has worked on such titles as Batman/Scarecrow: Year One, Teen Titans, Hellblazer, Joe The Barbarian, and the critically acclaimed miniseries American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest and The Wake with Scott Snyder. Murphy also wrote and illustrated the original graphic novel Offroad and the popular miniseries Punk Rock Jesus.

Reviews

[Brandyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique and powerful interlude to the Curse of the White Knight Saga that can be read on it's own.

In the original Batman: White Knight story we learned that Victor Fries in this universe, not a villain but instead a man working at Wayne Industries with a close tie to Bruce's parents was connected to the Nazi's, but we didn't know much outside of that. This story gives us the origin of Victor Fries in this universe, the story of his time in World War 2 Germany.

Victor's father was a scientist in Germany before the events of World War 2 with a Jewish business partner. With Hitler's climb to power Victor's father decides to hide his business partner and friend away along with his family. The two continued to work on their medical Cyrotech in secret, but as Nazi Germany grows in power, Victor's father is forced to do horrible acts to keep his experiments going and his friend safe. A rift is driven between the two men and Victor is caught in the middle of a feud between his father and the man who loved him like one.

Outside of the freeze tech the affair isn't dramatized, it's a shockingly realistic showing of a struggle I imagine many German families had to go through, the struggle to keep appearances without actually participating in the crimes and racism expected of them. To help ground the story is Klaus Janson's art. It's still noticeably "comic book-y" since the man is one of the old guard and is pretty much the most famous inker in the business, but in the afterword it's mentioned that a big part of the reason that this story was even made was because Janson's own family had escaped WW2 and that he has his own share of German guilt, and it shines through in how restrained it all is. The book is also highlighted by a constant palette of blues, really highlighting the coldness of the world Victor grew up in.

It may not have much to do with the main Curse of the White Knight story, but it's absolutely required reading for anyone wanting to exploring this universe.

[Kay ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept incorporating Nazi’s. Also amazing artwork. The ending felt kind of bleak, so I may have to read The White Knight series.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para começar, esta é uma edição diferente da minissérie Batman: A Maldição do Cavaleiro Branco. Ela tem várias singularidades a respeito do resto da narrativa dessa serialização. Primeiro, ela se descolada da narrativa principal e volta no tempo para contara mais sobre o passado de Victor Fries, o Sr. Frio e suas motivações para ter se tornado um aliado da família Wayne. Depois, que este número tem mais páginas e conta com a arte de Klaus Janson, que é descendente de alemães que fugiram da Segunda Guerra Mundial, palco dos eventos dessa edição. Preciso admitir que gosto muito mais de Janson como desenhista do que finalista da arte dos outros. Com esse domínio total, ele consegue no inserir dentro da trama com a atmosfera necessária para cada sentimento que cada cena exige. A história é bem articulada e fica um passo além em qualidade se comparada com as demais histórias que a minissérie Batman: A Maldição do Cavaleiro Branco vinha trazendo. Por fim, vale dizer que esta história se encaixa cronologicamente na minissérie anterior por Sean Gordon Murphy e não nesta segunda "temporada". Mas o aproveitamento é o mesmo: 100%.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Batman: White Knight, so naturally, I freaked out when I saw that there was going to be a solo issue focused on one of my favorite Batman villains. My expectations for this issue were fairly high, and I've got to say...this issue held up.

Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze was not at all what I expected. And yet it was dark and fascinating, rooting Freeze's history alongside some well-known characters. It was also a reminder of the life Freeze had before he became the man we all know him as. And it was fascinating to see him before that point. I'm actually a little bit sad that this was only a solo issue. But you've gotta take what you can get, right?

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4 of 5 for a nice story from White Knight expanding character of Mr Freeze)
I liked the White Knight and I liked how Murphy depicted the character of Mr Freeze, made him more colourful, even in sad and pitiful colours. So I enjoyed this addition which should take place between issues 6 and 7 if there would be space for it. I like the origins of the characters even if they are usually not that original. This is also the case, but I must admit even the plot is rather common, Murphy did a great job of working it out. Also, I liked that "behind the scenes" note, it gave me a bigger perspective where this story came from.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent story mucked up with tiresome and trite Nazi garbage.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

WW2 stories are sometimes really good. Here it's placed in the Batman universe, but the comicbook technology doesn't take away from the drama lived by the Jewish people in those days.

Victor Fries is working on Thomas Wayne's cryogenics lab. One night when Thomas and Martha are visiting the lab, Martha begins having convultions. Victor realises the only way to save her and the baby is to use the cryo technology. While preparing Martha for surgery, he tells the story of his father Baron von Fries and his business partner Jacob Smithstein.

The latter is Jewish, so Nazi Germany wants him gone. The Baron joins the SS, hoping his research can proceed unhindered, but Jacob sees this as a betrayal. His feeling is confirmed when he finds that the Baron was using Jewish prisoners as test subjects, though the Baron claims they have afflictions he is trying to cure with the cryotech. Jacob decides to take his family and leave, but soon German soldiers find them. The Baron tries to cover for them by claiming they are his test subjects. Jacob grabs the commanding officer's gun, but the Baron tries to stop him and ends up accidentally shooting him. With his dying breath he asks Victor to care for his new-born, Nora. In the end, the Baron saves Jacob's family by using the cryo gun they developed against their German guards and then drives them to France and safety.

Back in the present, Martha's birth proceeds with no issues. Later on, when Bruce, now a man, meets Victor, the latter returns a pocket watch given to him by Thomas. It's a touching moment for Bruce who is reunited with an item owned by his father.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I haven’t read Batman White Knight. Therefore, I don’t know the full context of this story. I do know it is a DC Black Label publication, so I should expect DC characters doing atypical things.

This is a short origin story about Victor Von Freeze (normally known as the villain “Mr. Freeze”). However, in this one, he’s not a villain. Rather, he works for Wayne Corp. In fact, he even delivered Bruce Wayne into the world!

The back story is set in Nazi German. Victor’s father, Baron Von Freeze, is a scientist in Germany. Thomas Wayne helps him escape to the United States.

Batman is nearly a hundred years old at this point. You would think the mythos would be exhausted at this point. Yet, time and time again creative thinkers find new ways to make fresh stories of the Batman universe.

[Cameron Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An origin story not only about Fries but also his father and the beginning of his business and work with cryotechnology in this one shot that ties in to the White Knight universe. I would rate this more of a 4.5 but I'll give it 5 starts on here since Mr. Freeze is my favorite Batman villain.

[Jamie Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only a one-shot but I wanted to rate it cause it's awesome. Superb art and great little backstory.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A desperate time, an impossible choice, and a promise that will not ripple through generations...
On the night of Bruce Wayne's birth, the secret history of Victor Fries and Wayne Laboratories is revealed."

[Brunò · Rating 2 out of 5]

English/Spanish review:

I was so excited when I saw that there was going to be a comic with Mister Freeze as a lead. Then, I got even more excited when I realized that it was a White Knight title because I saw what they'd done with Joker and I was like "hey, they might finally pay some attention to him and do some kind of different twist to his character since he's so unexplored!" And I was wrong.

I don't want to criticize a comic for what it isn't but I was really expecting some Batman against Mister Freeze or so, since, this is a Batman title but I got a story about Mister Freeze...'s father.

Von Freeze is an okay-ish story about how his family came to Gotham, (as seen on Batman: White Knight) and how his dad's life was in Germany and it wouldn't be that bad if this had anything to do with Batman or Victor Fries but 98% of this ain't related to them. Victor's there, yeah, but he's a kid and Idgaf about a facet of him that's barely similar to the one I know.

TBH I don't think making Mister Freeze related to Nazi Germany adds anything interesting to the character. It doesn't make sense that it was added and a bit unnecessary.

Español:

Estaba tan emocionado cuando vi que iba a haber un cómic con Mister Freeze como protagonista. Entonces, me emocioné aún más cuando me di cuenta de que era un título de White Knight porque vi lo que habían hecho con Joker y dije "che, finalmente podrían prestarle un poco de atención y hacer algún tipo de giro diferente a un personaje tan inexplorado!" YYY... estaba equivocado.

No quiero criticar un cómic por lo que no es pero realmente esperaba algo de Batman contra Mister Freeze…o algo sobre Freeze ya que este es un título de Batman pero obtuve una historia sobre Fries…padre.

Von Freeze es una buena historia sobre cómo su familia llegó a Ciudad Gótica (como se ve en Batman: White Knight) y cómo la vida de su padre era en Alemania, cosa que no sería tan mala si esto tuviera algo que ver con Batman o Victor Fries pero el 98% de esto no está relacionado con ellos. Víctor está ahí, sí, pero es un niño y me chupa un huevo una faceta de él que es apenas similar a la que conozco.

TBH, no creo que hacer que Mister Freeze esté relacionado con la Alemania nazi agregue algo interesante al personaje. No tiene sentido que se haya agregado y es un toque de mal gusto.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

De todas las grandes reinvenciones de la Batmitología que Sean Murphy realizó desde su 1º entrega del Whiteverse. Su Victor Fries se presentaba como una de las más fascinantes de abordar en las primeras derivaciones de esta reinvención de Gotham y su Caballero Oscuro. El personaje pasó de la noche a la mañana a ser un estrafalario ladrón más de la ciudad de Batman a indagar mejor en la razón de sus crímenes monetarios. Su trágico romance con Nora Fries fue mostrado de forma inolvidable desde la serie animada 90", marcando un gran punto y a parte para el personaje al que siempre acudir. Pero sí que es cierto que el background histórico de esta versión ofrece un soplo de aire fresco (sic.) para presentar otro relato emocional que derrita el gélido hielo. Esta vez, desde los inviernos de la alemania nazi, de la que Victor forma parte por herencia paterna. Será con este giro argumental y la relación más estrecha con los padres de Bruce Wayne, que Sean Murphy encare este one shot cediendo el arte a Klaus Janson. Formando un equipo que lleva estas páginas a un lugar más universal que el lúdico relato superheroíco. Klaus parece trasladar sentimientos muy arraigados a su conexión con ese oscuro pasado de la historia reciente y Murphy ya menciona que su situación familiar de aquel momento también acabó exorcizándose de alguna forma en este proyecto. Y aún sabiendo esto, es cierto que siento una oportunidad perdida en no encarar mejor esta historia en torno a la tan importante relación de Victor con esta Nora. La cual es cierto que tiene relevancia en las páginas pero a modo de núcleo emocional del relato y cameo de rigor. A día de hoy no parece que Sean Murphy tenga planes de realizar una continuación directa de este one shot. Pero espero que sí teniendo en cuenta que Victor Von Freeze sí que sigue estando presente en el estado actual del Whiteverse.

[Comics Instrucciones de uso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spin off de los buenísimos comics de Batman White Knight, que se enfoca en un personaje clave del primero tomo: Mr. Freeze, que aquí remonta sus orígenes hasta la Alemania Nazi, involucrando de paso al padre de Bruce Wayne. Sean Murphy ha dicho que originalmente esta historia la pensaba incluir como digresión en el segundo tomo, pero se fue agrandando hasta que tuvo de aplazarla. Se trata de una historia de origen (cómo surgió Mr. Freeze, cuáles son sus motivaciones, etc.), que, naturalmente -estos son comics de superhéroes-, se remontan a traumas de infancia. No esta ni cerca del nivel de los comics de los que parasita, pero está bien, se lee con agrado y rapidez. Dibuja la leyenda Klaus Janson, quien muestra cuánto le debe su trazo a esa otra leyenda llamada Frank Miller.

[Philmore Olazo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does it really take to be a hero? Sometimes people misunderstanding your intentions, sometimes being hated and sometimes giving up all that you have.

White Knight aluded to some relation between the freeze tec and the Nazi regime. Now we get a story that tells us exactly what that connection was.

You see the father of Victor Fries was a scientist working with chryotecnology. When the war began he helped hide his partner and family in his laboratory in order to keep them safe.

Things got much more complicated when he had to accept being part of the regime in order to continue protecting them. Even if they misunderstood his intentions.

It's a pretty good story on its own, explaining where the technology that Mr. Freeze uses comes from.

It's a short story that works only to elaborate more on a passing by comment on the White Knight storyline.

[Amber Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief one-shot comic is a thoughtful bridge between Murphy's Batman: White Knight and Curse of the White Knight mini-series. In the original Batman: White Knight, reflections on Victor Fries' past are noted, but not fully explained beyond relationships having existed. Throughout the one-shot, Murphy goes back to WWII-era to analyze this relationship further in Nazi Germany. One of the most enjoyable facets of the story line is more information about how the cryotech came to be. Although three different timelines are present in the comic, it was clear where the focus was at each point and that it was leading into the follow-up Curse of the White Knight series.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this, in White Knight Freeze’s father is portrayed very negatively (being a member of the Nazis makes that pretty simple I suppose) but this short story shows Freeze’s father as being human and providing background to how and why he joined up. And how Freeze, his father and his father’s business partner and family all came to America. And it was very touching.

Back in the ‘present’ of the White Knight comic, Freeze’s animosity towards his dad is certainly understandable but this story makes it much more bittersweet.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW, this was pretty good (and shocking). At times a bit confusing, but for most good to follow. Interesting to add WWII/Nazis/Jews to the mix, but it did fit. Seeing more about Victor, his father, the family they were friends with, how the best friend of his father was more like a father to Victor. Then there is Nora. See Bruce's father + mother. The art was great. And I liked the ending, so happy for Bruce/Batman.

[Catherine Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story and found it quite surprising. I prefer Sean's art and found this one a little jarring which did hinder the story for me a little. I think also putting this in the middle of curse, when the story was really revving up, felt weird. I still enjoyed it though and would recommend.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story with Nazi villains and lots of emotion, the best thing about this book is the art with Klaus Janson. It's visceral and doesn't pull any punches.
Though I can see why they couldn't find a place for it within the pages of White Knight. If Batman didn't randomly appear in some pages, it could have been a random sci-fi story.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first "White Knight" side story, focusing in on the reimagined Mr. Freeze (with a page or two taken from Magneto in the process). Though perhaps the Operation Paperclip backstory is a little cliched by now, it still serves to build a solid sympathetic backstory for one of the most beloved Batman anti-villains.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different than the typical superhero + Nazis comic. Rather than just the usual fighting against Nazis with supernatural/advanced weaponry, this one is a more personal tale of a conflicted German forced to join the party despite personal and business relationships with a Jewish family. A rather short one-shot, but an enjoyable quick read.

[Kajos1717 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jako milovník Batmana jsem si tohle nemohl nechat ujít. A musím říct, že jsem to sežral i s navijákem. Silný příběh o rodině, přátelství a ještě zasazeno do nacistického Německa. Kresba úplně v pohodě a už se nemůžu dočkat až si přečtu Curse of the white knight.
Seane jen tak dál.

[Alysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as part of The White Knight series where it was included as a bonus. This was a super interesting and unique back story for Freeze. Really enjoyed the spin on his origin story. I only wish it could have continued on to be honest.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’ve forgotten the white knight elseworld, i vaguely remember harley being in love with bruce? and dick wearing a motorcycle jacket? and i guess von freeze is meant to be good...as evidenced by this short.

[Redwan Orittro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice retelling of the origin of Doctor Freeze. Waiting for the next issue to come out.

[Collin Katrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic one shot

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one shot story. It was emotional and powerful storytelling. There were a few panels that felt out of place as if the quality of art fell a bit, but otherwise it was great!

[Ozan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best back story ever written for Mr. Freeze. I’m really looking forward to see him included in Batman’s story.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this mix of history and Batman lore.. They did an incredible work tying Mr. Freeze into the Wayne family.