Mr. Freeze (Victor Fries) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by writer Dave Wood and artist Sheldon Moldoff, the character first appeared in Batman #121 (February 1959), where he was known as Mr. Zero. Mr. Freeze is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. In the most common variation of his origin story, he is a former cryogenics expert in Gotham City who was involved in a laboratory accident while attempting to cure his terminally ill wife Nora Fries. The disaster lowered his body temperature to the point that he must wear a cryogenic suit in order to survive, and he utilizes a "freeze gun" that freezes its targets solid.