BUSTED OUT: Mr. Freeze Looks Incredible. But, Arnold? Is that you?

Introduction

Whatever you think about 1997's Batman & Robin, there's no denying the ridiculous amount of detail that went into Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze costume. That thing was enormous, shiny, covered in mechanical parts, and looked like it probably weighed more than half the cast. It was practically made to become an action figure. And by all accounts, it was.

McFarlane Toys has brought Mr. Freeze back as part of its DC Multiverse Gold Label Deluxe Theatrical Edition collection, and this time you don't have to purchase four other figures just to put him together. That's already a pretty good reason to be interested, especially considering what the original figures are selling for these days. And after getting him out of the box, I've got more than a few things to say about both the good and the bad.

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Character History

Mr. Freeze made his comic-book debut in Batman #121 back in 1959, although he originally went by the name Mr. Zero. He eventually became Mr. Freeze, with the new name first appearing in the 1966 Batman television series before making its way into the comics. For years, he was another one of Batman's more colorful villains, running around Gotham with a freeze gun and a little more than a surface level issue with room temperature.

Then Batman: The Animated Series came along in 1992 and gave the character something he'd been missing. In the episode "Heart of Ice," we learned about Victor Fries, a scientist trying to save his terminally ill wife, Nora, by keeping her cryogenically frozen until a cure could be found. An accident left him unable to survive outside freezing temperatures, and suddenly Mr. Freeze became one of Batman's most tragic villains. That backstory became so popular that it eventually influenced the comics themselves.

Five years later, Arnold Schwarzenegger took over the role in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin. The tragic story involving Nora was still there, but the movie also gave us a mountain of ice-related one-liners and one of the most elaborate costumes in Batman movie history. Subtlety wasn't on the menu, but the costume certainly gave McFarlane plenty to work with.

Figure History

This isn't the first time McFarlane has released this particular Mr. Freeze. The original arrived in 2023 as the Build-A-Figure for the Batman & Robin wave. To complete him, collectors needed Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Poison Ivy, with each figure containing a different part. At their original $24.99 retail prices, you were spending just under $100 to put the whole thing together.

Trying to complete that original wave now is a different story. Poison Ivy alone has become damn near impossible to find at a reasonable price. She originally retailed for $24.99, but recent completed sales tracked by ActionFigure411 have ranged from $119.99 to $150, with an average of $133.33. That's more than the original retail cost of all four figures combined, and we're talking about just one of them. Unfortunately, she's also the one that came with Mr. Freeze's torso, so you couldn't exactly skip her.

That alone makes this new release such a welcome addition. McFarlane has brought Mr. Freeze back as a standalone GameStop-exclusive Gold Label Deluxe Theatrical Edition for $34.99. You get the character without hunting down four figures, dealing with inflated aftermarket prices, or trying to find somebody willing to sell you individual Build-A-Figure parts.

I also appreciate that McFarlane didn't decide to charge some ridiculous price just because this used to be a Build-A-Figure. Considering what collectors have been paying to assemble the original, $34.99 feels like a pretty fair deal.

Sculpt & Paint

The sculpt on this thing is absolutely insane. There is an incredible amount of detail throughout the armor, from the massive shoulder plates and chest design to all the little mechanical pieces running down his arms and legs. McFarlane captured the elaborate costume beautifully, and the figure looks phenomenal from just about every angle.

I also love the paint and coloring. The metallic silver works really well with the blue sections throughout the armor, giving the figure a look that stands out without losing all the sculpted details. Under the right lighting, this thing is going to look fantastic on a shelf. The clear plastic helmet is another nice touch, and I'm glad they included it.

Unfortunately, that helmet makes one of the figure's biggest problems even more obvious. The face looks absolutely nothing like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean, not even close. You've got this incredible recreation of the costume, complete with the clear helmet, and inside it is a guy who looks like he wandered onto the wrong movie set.

It's a shame, because the rest of the sculpt is so damn good. They went to all this trouble recreating the armor, and somehow the most recognizable part of Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up being the part they couldn't get right.

Articulation & Build Quality

All that impressive armor comes with a price, and I'm not talking about the 35 bucks. Mr. Freeze is a bulky figure, and that bulk seriously limits his articulation. The shoulders are particularly restrictive, so you're not going to get a tremendous amount of movement out of his upper body. That's understandable to a degree considering the costume design, but it still limits what you can do with him.

Now, the hands are an issue all their own. I could not get his hand to properly hold the main handle of the freeze gun. It simply wouldn't fit, and the only way I could see making it work would be heating the plastic and bending the hand enough to accommodate the weapon. I'm sorry, but that shouldn't be necessary. If you're going to include a weapon with an action figure, the figure should actually be able to hold the damn thing.

I eventually managed to get the smaller handle through his fist so I could take the pictures, but that's hardly an ideal solution. It's especially frustrating when the gun is such an important part of the character. McFarlane put an incredible amount of work into making this figure look right, but getting him to hold his own weapon shouldn't require this much effort.

Accessories

This is where McFarlane really delivers. The included ice effects are excellent, and they're a big part of what makes this release stand out. We get the ice effects that came with the original Build-A-Figure, and they add a lot more display possibilities than simply having Mr. Freeze stand around holding his gun.

I decided to try the effects on my theatrical edition Batman from The Batman, rather than the George Clooney Batman from Batman & Robin, who is still safely inside his box. The effects fit remarkably well, which was a real plus. Being able to use those pieces on multiple Batman figures gives them a lot more value, especially if you're somebody who likes setting up scenes with your collection.

The freeze gun has another little feature I love. The ice blast at the front is removable, so you can display the weapon firing or without the effect attached. It may seem like a small thing, but having that option makes a difference when you're deciding how you want to display him.

There is one omission that bothers me, though. Where's the collectible card stand? The figure includes the art card, but we're missing the holder that started coming with some of the earlier theatrical editions. McFarlane seems to have a strange habit of giving you certain accessories with one figure and leaving them out of another. I wish there were more consistency across these editions so collectors had a better idea of what they were getting.

I'm certainly happy with the ice effects, and I wouldn't want to lose them just to get a card holder. I'd simply like to see some standards when it comes to what McFarlane includes in these releases.

Should You Buy It?

Absolutely. This is an easy recommendation.

The Schwarzenegger likeness is terrible, the bulky armor limits the articulation, and the hands not properly fitting the freeze gun is something McFarlane should have caught. Those are legitimate complaints, and they keep an otherwise phenomenal-looking figure from being even better.

But there's still a hell of a lot to like here. The sculpt is outstanding, the paint looks great, and the ice effects give you some excellent display options. Throw in the fact that this is a former Build-A-Figure now available for $34.99, and it becomes an even easier recommendation.

I especially recommend it to collectors who weren't able to complete the original Batman & Robin wave. With Poison Ivy commanding the prices she does, being able to pick up Mr. Freeze on his own is a welcome opportunity. I'm glad McFarlane brought him back, and I'm even happier they didn't try to charge some enormous deluxe-figure price point for the privilege.

It's like a nice little send-off wave from the ToddFather.