10 Darkest Endings In The DC Animated Universe

5. Mister Freeze's Sacrifice - Batman Beyond

Of all of Batman's villains, Mister Freeze is certainly the most tragic. Batman: The Animated Series reinvented the character perfectly, turning him from a Silver Age goof into a man hardened by others' cruelty - and one determined to save his wife from an incurable disease.

It looked as though Freeze had managed to find a happy ending by the conclusion of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, but that proved to be short-lived. When The New Batman Adventures picked up Victor's story, it revealed that the accident that had confined him to cold temperatures was actually destroying his body, reducing him to a head with robotic spider legs.

A presumed death and forty years later, and it was revealed that Freeze's head was being kept on ice at a Wayne-Powers storage facility. It's... really rough - especially for a character that was already robbed of his happy ending once before - but there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, with Derek Powers financing an operation for Victor's consciousness to be transferred into a new body. Powers has his own motives of course, as he's also trying to escape his own destructive body. But still, a win's a win for Victor, and he seizes the opportunity with both hands.

Sadly, the procedure isn't successful. Victor's condition deteriorates, and Powers tries to have him killed. He once again assumes his mantle as Freeze, all the while Bruce Wayne and the new Batman, Terry McGinnis, try to save him.

It wasn't to be though. In his final confrontation with Powers - now Blight - Freeze brings down the Wayne-Powers facility and prevents Batman from coming to his aid, adding that the Dark Knight was the only one that cared for him, before getting crushed to death as the building collapses. Poor Victor.