Warning: SPOILERS for Detective Comics #1013

Batman isn’t the only Gothamite with wonderful toys, and now thanks to billionaire supervillain Lex Luthor, he isn’t the only one with a themed assault vehicle either. Raising frozen Hell in the pages of Detective Comics #1013, ice-metahuman Mr. Freeze faces off against the Dark Knight with a new arsenal, including nanobites which allow him to exist outside his famous cryo-suit… and a super-sized Freeze-mobile.

Resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mad Max style snowmobile tank from the 1997 camp-fest Batman and Robin, the king of cold gives the caped crusader a taste of his own medicine with a high voltage shock from one of the vehicle’s anti-breach traps. With LexCorp money and tech backing him, it would seem Freeze is more than a match for Batman when fighting on an even financial playing field. After all, acquiring funding for your projects can’t be easy when you’re a mad scientist.

Tying into DC’s Year of the Villain event, Detective Comics #1013 shows a more powerful, more sinister Victor Fries than seen in previous comics. The rogue doctor of cryogenics is closer than ever to reanimating his wife Nora, whom he has in a medically induced cryo-sleep to keep from succumbing to a fatal illness. But in order to synthesize a cure given to him by Luthor, Freeze has kidnapped women throughout Gotham as expendable test subjects. After beating down some henchmen Batman uncovers Freeze’s plans and dons a new fire-powered bat-suit–complete with flame rifle–to rumble with the ice man, before discovering Victor has a few new tricks of his own, courtesy of Superman’s greatest adversary.

Mr. Freeze isn’t the only villain to benefit from Lex’s newfound generosity. Taking place after the events of Dark Night’s Metal, the Year of the Villain saga has Lex reviving the Legion of Doom and offering his vast resources to other super-criminals like an evil Oprah Winfrey. This wouldn’t be the first time the menacing mogul has funded an anti-Justice League. In 2005’s Villains United, Lex formed a cabal of bad guys dubbed the “Society.” This time, however, Luthor has his sights set on godhood–and will achieve his goals by any means necessary.

Detective Comics #1013 has all the elements of a good Tomasi comic: lots of fast-paced action, high stakes dialogue, and creepy monsters. Mahnke’s artwork is both gorgeous and disturbing, and really pops off the page thanks to colorist David Baron. The story is full of ghoulish excitement, which is complimented by the eye-catching visuals. At one point in the story, Batman faces off against a horde of ice zombies. Perhaps Batman should have called in Jon Snow for backup?

  • DETECTIVE COMICS #1013 (2019) Written by: Peter J. Tomasi Art by: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza Cover Art by: Doug Mahnke Variant Cover Art by: Tyler Kirkham Mr. Freeze is so close to reviving Nora but Batman can’t let it happen. Mr. Freeze has never been more vicious or more deadly. There’s nothing more dangerous than a desperate man with a cold gun and Gotham City is going to learn that firsthand!

Detective Comics #1013 is available now from your local comic book shop, or direct from DC Comics.

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