Humor is subjective. Puns, in particular, tend to be a mixed bag. They’re either very clever or positively painful to hear. The sheer amount of puns that drip fromBatman & Robinborders on the insane. It’s not a good movie in the traditional sense, although thefilm’s comedic valuehas undeniably rescued it from obscurity.
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The vast majority of the puns inBatman & Robinare delivered by Mr. Freeze, one of the film’s principal antagonists. Played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Freeze is either the most hilarious or cringe-inducing villain ever to grace the silver screen.
16"Very Niiiice"
Starting things off with a bang, Arnie delivers this line while examining one of his precious diamonds. While holding it in his hands, he utters this quote. The pun, of course, stems from Freeze’s overemphasis of the word “nice.” It sounds like he is saying the word “ice.”
Although it’s certainly not comedy gold by any stretch of the imagination, the quote fits quite nicely with the rest of his ridiculous character.
15"Adam & Evil"
This one is difficult to defend, but it’s possible someone might get a kick out of it. Theother main villain of the movie, Poison Ivy, teams up with Mr. Freeze in an effort to defeat the Dark Knight and Robin. Mr. Freeze, regrettably, calls this newfound union “Adam and Evil.”
The name Eve is replaced by the word “evil,” when Freeze describes Poison Ivy. Hard to defend, to be sure.
14"Always Winterize Your Pipes"
Mr. Freeze is eventually captured and sent to Arkham Asylum. Comically, it turns out to be a very short stay within the grossly inept institution. Aided by Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze breaks out of his cell by busting open his sink and freezing the gushing water.
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It’s a joke (albeit not a terrifically clever one) that references how pipes in people’s homes often freeze during particularly bad winters.
13"My Condition Has Left Me Cold To Your Pleas Of Mercy"
With the grace of a bowling ball, the film drives home the fact that Mr. Freeze isn’t a nice individual. At the beginning of the movie, as a security guard pleads for his life, Arnie delivers this quote. Afterward, he freezes the guard solid with his massive gun.
Mr. Freeze is a cold person in both the literalandfigurative senses. Just in case anyone missed it.
12"Tonight! Hell Freezes Over"
This particular pun takes its cue from a popular idiom. Mr. Freeze announces this line when he’s about to enact his plan to freeze the entire city. The expression “when hell freezes over” denotes something that has a very slim chance of occurring.
Mr. Freeze enjoys creating hell all around him by freezing things. Get it?
11"Alright Everyone! Chill"
This line is delivered in front of a confused and terrified crowd of partygoers. Arnie doesn’t tell the assembled guests to freeze. That would be too easy. Instead, he tells everyone to “chill,” which is another way of saying “relax.”
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Mr. Freeze is always “chill” considering he can’t survive above sub-zero temperatures. Yet another example of questionable comedy.
10"The Iceman Cometh"
At one point, Mr. Freeze unabashedly refers to himself as “the Iceman.” It makes sense, considering his whole backstory and appearance. The pun itself, however, is actually an allusion to a famous piece of literature.
The Iceman Comethis the name of a play originally published in 1946, written by Eugene O’Neill. Unsurprisingly, it has nothing to do with the DC villain.
9"You’re Not Sending Me To The Cooler"
Words like “chill” and “ice” have already been covered. But Mr. Freeze has plenty more cold-centric adjectives up his sleeve. In this case, the word “cooler” possesses a double meaning. As the reader obviously sees, the word “cool” is the subject here.
“Cooler” is an alternative term for jail. Mr. Freeze isn’t going to prison without a fight. Batman has other ideas…
8"Stay Cool, Bird Boy"
Readers would be wrong if they thought that was the end of the “cool” puns. In the midst of their fight, Robin falls victim to Arnie’s freeze ray. He gets (non-lethally) frozen solid in the process. Mr. Freeze, of course, delivers one of his patented zingers.
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HowRobin somehow manages to survivethis ordeal is perhaps a better question to ask. The joke is readily self-evident.
7"Allow Me To Break The Ice"
This is yet another famous expression that Mr. Freeze has repurposed. Remember how it was stated previously that Arkham Asylum is grossly inept? Two guards think it’s a good idea to approach this highly dangerous criminal without taking any safety precautions at all.
Mr. Freeze breaks the ice by painfully introducing the guards to each other when he slams their skulls together rather effortlessly.
