Max Hodge (February 12, 1916 – August 17, 2007) [1] was an American television writer who worked on shows including The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. , CHiPS and Mission: Impossible , and is perhaps best known for creating Mr. Freeze for Batman . [2]
Hodge grew up in East Moline, Illinois and Michigan, later graduating from the University of Michigan then enlisting in the Navy during World War II. He then attended Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts and began his television career in the 1950s as a producer working on industrial shows for Oldsmobile. [2] In his time at University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, Hodge was chief editor of the student magazine the Gargoyle and president of the men's dramatic union, the Mimes.
His writing career spanned the 1960s through the early 1980s, with Hodge writing for Dr. Kildare , The Wild Wild West , Marcus Welby, M.D. , Ironside , The Waltons , The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan [3] in addition to the aforementioned ChiPS, Mission: Impossible, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and Batman. He also served as an associate producer on The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
Hodge is credited for creating Mr. Freeze for the Batman show, having taken the existing Batman comic character Mr. Zero which was created by Bob Kane and modifying elements to him. Mr. Zero first appeared in Batman #121 in February 1959, but Hodge took the character and introduced the trademark ice suit which he needed to survive, first appearing in the Deep Freeze episode. [3] Mr. Freeze is addressed once as "Dr. Shimel" by Batman in the episode. In the comics, Freeze's other identity became "Art Shivel" (apparently a mishearing of how he was addressed on "Batman"). His name in the comics was later changed to Victor Fries. [2]
Hodge died August 17, 2007 in Woodland Hills, California. He was 91 years old. [2] Most of his works, scripts, and related supplemental material(including his script for "Mr.Freeze") were donated to his alma mater and can be found in the Donald Hall Collection of University of Michigan.
Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | The Night Stalker | Screenplay By (Uncredited) | Television Movie |
1973 | A Dream For Christmas | Screenplay By | Television Movie |
Year | TV Series | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | Dr. Kildare | Writer | 3 Episodes |
Valentine's Day | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1966 | Batman | Writer | 4 Episodes |
1966-67 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Writer, Associate Producer | 29 Episodes |
1967 | Hondo | Writer | 1 Episode |
1968 | Mission Impossible | Writer | 1 Episode |
The Wild Wild West | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1969-76 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Writer | 4 Episodes |
1970 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Writer | 1 Episode |
Medical Center | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1971 | Mannix | Writer | 1 Episode |
Alias Smith and Jones | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1971-72 | Ironside | Writer | 5 Episodes |
1972 | The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan | Writer | 9 Episodes |
1974 | Apple's Way | Writer, Story Editor | 2 Episodes |
Cannon | Writer | 1 Episode | |
Maude | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1975 | Barbary Coast | Writer | 1 Episode |
Caribe | Writer | 1 Episode | |
1975-76 | The Waltons | Writer | 2 Episodes |
1976-78 | Police Woman | Writer | 3 Episodes |
1978 | Quincy, M.E. | Writer | 1 Episode |
1978-80 | CHiPs | Writer | 2 Episodes |
1979 | Supertrain | Writer | 1 Episode |
1980 | Eight Is Enough | Writer | 1 Episode |
1981 | Palmerstown, U.S.A. | Writer | 1 Episode |
Batman & Robin is a 1997 American superhero film based on the DC Comics characters Batman and Robin. It is the fourth and final installment of Warner Bros.'s initial Batman film series, a sequel to Batman Forever and the only film in the series made without the involvement of Tim Burton in any capacity. Directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Akiva Goldsman, it stars George Clooney as Bruce Wayne / Batman, replacing Val Kilmer, Chris O'Donnell reprising his role as Dick Grayson / Robin and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze, alongside Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, and Elle Macpherson. The film follows the titular characters as they attempt to prevent Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from taking over the world, while at the same time struggling to keep their partnership together. It is also to date the only live-action film appearance of Batgirl, portrayed by Silverstone, who helps the title characters fight the villains.
Milton Finger, known professionally and personally as Bill Finger, was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator of the DC Comics superhero character Batman. Despite making major contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world builder and illustration architect, Finger was often relegated to ghostwriter status on many comics—including Batman, and Green Lantern. While Kane privately admitted in a 1980s audio interview with his autobiographer that Finger was responsible for "50–75% of all the creativity in Batman," for decades he publicly denied Finger had been anything more than a subcontractor executing Kane's ideas. As a result, Finger died in obscurity and poverty while the Batman brand—and Kane—amassed international fame and wealth. In the 2000s, Finger biographer Marc Tyler Nobleman's research uncovered previously unknown heirs. At the urging of Nobleman, the online comics fan community and others, Finger's granddaughter revived the fight to restore his lost legacy, which continued for years. In 2015, DC Comics' parent company conditionally agreed to recognize Finger's intellectual property claim as co-creator of the Batman characters and mythos, officially adding his name, going forward, to the "created by" credit line Kane had gotten contractually guaranteed in 1939.
Sam Kieth is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl.
Alan Grant is a Scottish comic book writer known for writing Judge Dredd in 2000 AD as well as various Batman titles from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. He is the co-creator of the characters Anarky, Victor Zsasz, and the Ventriloquist.
Steve Englehart is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
The Batman Adventures was a DC Comics comic book series featuring Batman. It is different from other Batman titles because it is set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series, as opposed to the regular DC Universe.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero is a 1998 direct-to-video animated superhero film, the second film in the DC Animated Universe, the second based on Batman: The Animated Series and a standalone sequel to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Kevin Conroy and Michael Ansara, reprise their respective roles from the series as the two title characters. Loren Lester also reprises his role as Robin and Mary Kay Bergman replaces Melissa Gilbert as the voice of Batgirl. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and animated overseas by Koko Enterprises and Dong Yang Animation in South Korea. The film won the Annie Award for Best Home Video Animation.
The New Adventures of Batman is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with Warner Bros. Television.
The DC Animated Universe is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated television series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The shared universe, much like the original DC Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
Nora Fries, also known as Mrs. Freeze, is a fictional character appearing in media published by DC Entertainment, commonly in stories featuring the superhero Batman. She is married to Batman villain Mr. Freeze, and was introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, before being adapted into the comic books. Across most versions, Nora suffers from a terminal illness and is kept cryogenically frozen until a cure can be found. Nora doesn't play a major role in most stories beyond serving as Freeze's motivation for turning to a life of crime, which is to cure her illness by any means necessary. However, the character has also been depicted as a supervillain, under the alias Lazara.
"Heart of Ice" is the fourth episode of the American animated television series Batman: The Animated Series, first aired on September 7, 1992, written by Paul Dini, and directed by Bruce Timm. This episode features the first appearance in the series of Mr. Freeze. In the comics, Freeze first appeared in Batman #121 in February 1959, with this episode providing a complete overhaul of his character, going from laughing stock to tragic villain. The episode also introduces Freeze's wife Nora Fries and his motivation to find a cure for her terminal illness, both of which were later carried over to the comic books.
Sheldon Moldoff was an American comics artist best known for his early work on the DC Comics characters Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and as one of Bob Kane's primary "ghost artists" on the superhero Batman. He co-created the Batman supervillains Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, the second Clayface, and Bat-Mite, as well as the original heroes Bat-Girl, Batwoman, and Ace the Bat-Hound. Moldoff is the sole creator of the Black Pirate. Moldoff is not to be confused with fellow Golden Age comics professional Sheldon Mayer.
Captain Stingaree is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe, and a minor foe of the Batman. He first appeared in Detective Comics #460, and was created by Bob Rozakis, Michael Uslan and Ernie Chan.
Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Dave Wood and artist Sheldon Moldoff, he first appeared in Batman #121 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Zero, but he was soon renamed "Mr. Freeze".
"Rats Like Cheese" is the eighth episode of the Batman television series in its first season. First broadcast on February 3, 1966, and re-aired on May 19, 1966, it continues and concludes the story that began in "Instant Freeze".
Victor Fries, commonly known as Mr. Freeze, is a fictional character who appears in Joel Schumacher's 1997 superhero film Batman & Robin. Based upon the DC Comics character and supervillain of the same name, he was played by Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger received top billing ahead of George Clooney, who portrayed Batman.
Mr. Freeze was originally a comic book character and Batman's adversary, but has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including feature films, television series, and video games. The character has been portrayed in live-action by George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach in the Batman television series; by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1997 film Batman & Robin; and by Nathan Darrow on the Fox crime series Gotham. He has also been voiced by Michael Ansara in the DC Animated Universe and by Maurice LaMarche in the Batman: Arkham video game franchise.
Events in 1922 in animation.