Detective Comics #373
Detective Comics #373 (March 1968) holds a specific and verifiable place in Batman history as the issue where the villain formerly known as Mr. Zero formally rechristens himself 'Mr. Freeze' in print — his second comics appearance overall and his first in a decade. The name change was a direct acknowledgment of the wildly popular 1966 Batman television series, which had introduced the 'Mr. Freeze' moniker across three separate two-part episodes before the comics caught up. The issue also pairs that landmark villain moment with a self-contained Elongated Man/Riddler backup story, making it a dense, two-threat Silver Age package under Julius Schwartz's editorially tight Batman line. Though Freeze would remain a second-tier antagonist in comics for another twenty-plus years, this issue is the foundational comic-book document of the name every subsequent adaptation has used.
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Both stories in the issue were scripted by veteran Silver Age writer Gardner Fox, working under editor Julius Schwartz — credits confirmed by Schwartz's own editorial records later provided to the Grand Comics Database by DC Comics. The lead Mr. Freeze story carries a pencil credit paid to Bob Kane, but scholarship is unanimous that the actual pencils were drawn by Chic Stone ghosting under the Kane byline, with inks by Sid Greene; Schwartz's records confirm the inks but note the pencil-payment discrepancy. The backup Riddler story is penciled by Gil Kane with inks also by Sid Greene, and the cover was drawn by Irv Novick. The issue's indicia lists the publisher as National Periodical Publications Inc., the corporate name DC operated under throughout the Silver Age.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: March 1968; publisher listed in indicia as National Periodical Publications Inc. (DC Comics).
- First use of the name 'Mr. Freeze' in comics: the character had previously appeared only once, in Batman #121 (February 1959), under the name 'Mr. Zero'; the name change mirrors the 1966 Batman TV series, which had already used 'Mr. Freeze' across three two-part episodes.
- The story openly hints within the narrative that the villain's name change was prompted by the Batman television program of the 1960s.
- Lead story — 'Mr. Freeze's Chilling Deathtrap!' — scripted by Gardner Fox, penciled by Chic Stone (ghosting under a Bob Kane byline), inked by Sid Greene, lettered by Gaspar Saladino; credits confirmed from Julius Schwartz's editorial records.
- Backup story — 'The Riddler on the Roof!' — also scripted by Gardner Fox, penciled by Gil Kane, inked by Sid Greene, and features Elongated Man (Ralph Dibny) defeating the Riddler in Gotham City while Batman is briefly out of town.
- Cover art by Irv Novick; cover lettering by Ira Schnapp.
- The lead story has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 3 (DC, September 2008) and Batman Arkham: Mister Freeze (DC, July 2017), as well as in several international editions shortly after original publication.
- Statement of ownership printed in the issue records an average print run of 665,000 copies with average paid circulation of 426,300 for the prior year.