Absolute Batman’s New Mr. Freeze is Chillingly Horrific (Review)

DC’s Absolute line of comics has been ruling the sales charts, all kicked off by Absolute Batman. Absolute Batman is the best Batman series in years, taking the Batman mythos and completely changing them for this new universe. Fans have gotten to see amazing new versions of Batman, Alfred, and many of Batman’s foes, as well as learning the history of Bruce Wayne and how different it is. The book’s first six issues pit Batman against the Black Mask, but the book’s next storyarc is all about Mr. Freeze. Mr. Freeze is something of a Batman icon, with fans loving the villain for his tragic origin. However, Absolute Mr. Freeze isn’t Batman: The Animated Series‘s Mr. Freeze, something Absolute Batman #8 makes perfectly clear.

Writer Scott Snyder is many Bat-fans’ favorite Batman writer of the 21st century, and this issue shows off why. Snyder tells a story on multiple levels in this issue — we get the horrific Mr. Freeze capturing “Matches Malone”, really Batman in disguise, while the issue gives a flashback with Batman and friends talking about their friend Matches and why he was the way he was, paying homage to him after his death, while also showing scenes from when Alfred was training Bruce. Snyder is dealing with three distinct time periods in this issue, and does an excellent job of moving back and forth between the three periods in order to heighten the tension of the story, as Freeze drops Batman into tube of coolant. It’s beautifully paced, giving the issue a lot of narrative heft.

Snyder has always been amazing at taking what you expect from Batman stories and subverting it, and he does that beautifully with Mr. Freeze. There is a lot of baggage to using Mr. Freeze, because fans have a lot of expectations about a Mr. Freeze story. In a lot of ways, Mr. Freeze is one of Batman’s least intimidating villains. It’s not that he’s not dangerous or tough, it’s that his whole deal — the obsession with his wife Nora — make it easy for fans to like the character. Snyder throws all of that away with this new version of Freeze. This isn’t the somewhat cuddly villain of the main universe, this is a monster, and Snyder does a beautiful job of showing us that we aren’t going to get what we expected with this version of Freeze. One of the greatest strengths of the Absolute Universe so far has been the way it constantly surprises readers with the new versions of familiar characters, and this Freeze is yet another example of that.

RELATED: Absolute Batman Just Got Bruce Wayne’s Best Alter Ego Killed

However, Snyder’s new Freeze wouldn’t be nearly as special without the art of Marcos Martin. Martin does a beautiful job of making this version of Freeze into something terrible. The lanky, tightly muscled body, the blue veins everywhere, and the horror show face are all examples of Martin’s wonderful eye for design. One of the coolest part of the book is the way Martin keeps Freeze’s face in shadow for so much of the issue, building up this mythic sort of facelessness for Freeze. This is perfect villain art; Martin takes all of Snyder’s ideas for this new Mr. Freeze and brings them to life beautifully.

Martin’s art, with color artist Muntsa Vicente, is beautiful throughout. Martin’s page layouts are a key part of Snyder’s pacing, combining the different time periods, sometimes all three on the one page. I love the title page — with Bruce’s frightened eyes, with blue veins racing along his face, in the word “Zero”, a neat little way of showing Batman’s fear. Martin’s linework is sensational, his detailed pages really capturing Batman’s terror as he tries to escape Freeze’s trap. The book’s action scenes are sensational as well, as he battles against what can only be described as Freeze’s ice zombies. Regular Absolute Batman artist Nick Dragotta, left some big shoes to fill, and Martin does a tremendous job of not only filling those shows, but making the book his own. Vicente’s colors are gorgeous. He understands how to use color to set the scene, and that helps bring Martin’s art to the next level. This issue’s art is gorgeous.

Absolute Batman #8 has a lot riding on it, and it impresses with every page. It’s hard to imagine a world where a comic from Scott Snyder and Marcos Martin could be bad, because it’s definitely not this one. Absolute Batman #8 is a suspenseful masterpiece with art that needs to be seen to be believed. This is a perfect way to introduce Mr. Freeze to the Absolute Universe, and it fits into the horror vibe that Snyder and Dragotta built in the book’s first story arc. Absolute Batman has a lot of competition in the Absolute line, but this issue shows that the book isn’t ready to give up its crown any time soon.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published by DC Comics

Released on May 14th 2025

Written by Scott Snyder

Art by Marcos Martin

Color Art by Muntsa Vicente

Letters by Clayton Cowles

What did you think of Absolute Mr. Freeze? Sound off in the comments below.