Batman has some of the most iconic comic book villains around. The Joker is in a league of his own, always finding new ways to push the Dark Knight to the edge and terrorize Gotham City, but characters like Two-Face and Penguin aren’t that far behind. Tim Burton knew as much when he started making Batman movies in the late 1980s. He brought in Jack Nicholson to play the Clown Prince of Crime, while Danny DeVito agreed to bring Oswald Cobblepot to life. After Burton left the franchise, it went through villains faster than it did Batman actors. The fourth film, Batman & Robin features three heavy-hitters from Batman’s rogues gallery: Bane, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze.
Batman & Robin has its fair share of issues, including the inclusion of ‘the Bat-Credit Card’ and nipples on the Batsuit. However, the villains don’t do the movie any favors because their plan is all over the place. Even after 30 years and seeing countless other comic book movies with ridiculous plots, I still can’t make any sense of it.
Poison Ivy Is the Strangest Ring Leader in Batman & Robin
Batman and Robin are at the top of the games in the 1997 movie, so when they come up against Mr. Freeze, they don’t think much of it. The villain is going after diamonds all over Gotham because his suit is powered by them (because, of course, it is). The titular heroes throw a party to get Freeze’s attention, which works, but they don’t anticipate Poison Ivy making an appearance and using her abilities to bend them to her will. She’s not happy because Bruce Wayne turned down an idea she had to help the environment using a telescope at the Gotham Observatory, and wants to take matters into her own hands.
Ivy decides to recruit Freeze to her side and ensures he doesn’t go anywhere by framing Batman for his wife’s death. All Freeze wants to do is cure her of a disease, and after he thinks she’s gone, he’s ready to burn the world to the ground (or, in his case, freeze it over). He turns the telescope into a freeze ray and takes aim at Gotham. Ivy’s fine with him wiping all of the humans out because she wants to create her own world full of monstrous plants. It’s unclear how they will survive in the freezing temperatures, but no one stops to ask questions.
Fortunately, the Dark Knight and his allies don’t let them complete their mission, and Ivy’s ruse comes to light. Batman also reveals that Freeze’s wife is still very much alive, which the villain should’ve double-checked before he went off the deep end. Regardless, it’s a mostly happy ending for everyone but Ivy, who ends up with Freeze in Arkham Asylum. It’s unclear what becomes of her after that, but it doesn’t matter because Warner Bros. did the right thing, rebooting the series and getting Batman’s villains back on track.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Villains Always Had Clear Motivations
The negative reception to Batman Forever and Batman & Robin forced Warner Bros. back to the drawing board. The hero sat on the shelf for a few years before Christopher Nolan decided to take the reins. Batman Begins came out in 2005 and replaced the campy tone of its predecessors with a more serious one, keeping the Dark Knight grounded. Batman finds himself up against two dangerous foes, Ra’s al Ghul and Scarecrow. The leader of the League of Shadows believes Gotham is beyond saving, so he has Scarecrow put his fear toxin in the city’s water supply. The plan is to have the city tear itself apart, and R’as nearly pulls it off. The only reason Gotham doesn’t go up in flames is because Bruce Wayne gets the better of his former mentor and leaves him to die.
Batman’s foes only get tougher as the Dark Knight Trilogy goes on, with the Joker causing the death of his love, Rachel Dawes, and Bane breaking his back and taking control of Gotham for a time. Nolan spends so much time fleshing out his villains that there’s little room for their plans to go off the rails, unlike Batman & Robin, which can’t be bothered to use a couple of lines of dialogue to explain Ivy’s real goal.
Batman & Robin is streaming on HBO Max.
What do you think about Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze’s plan in Batman & Robin? Does it make sense after nearly 30 years? Let us know in the comments below!
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