- For other uses of the name "Nora", see Nora (disambiguation).
- "Are you sure you're not tired? We can go home."
"Dee, I want to breathe in the fresh air with whatever lungs I have left, and then I want to let it all go."
"You're giving up?"
"I've been dying my whole life, Dee. Instead of trying to stop time, this once, what do you say we enjoy the precious moments we have left?" - —Dee Smithy and Nora Fries[src]
Nora Fries is a former patient of Arkham Asylum. She is also the widow of the late Victor Fries and the sister of Dee Smithy.
Biography
Original multiverse
Early life
At some point, Nora married Victor Fries, a criminal active in Gotham City. Sometime later, Nora became a patient at Arkham Asylum. She was kept in a cryostasis chamber due to having MacGregor's Syndrome.[1]
During her time in Arkham, Nora was experimented on by Dr. John Deegan.[2]
The prison break
- "My cryostasis shut off when the locks did. I... I need to be cold. 'Below zero,' he said."
- —Nora Fries[src]
After Deegan released all of the patients to distract the heroes pursuing him, Nora was also released from cryostasis. She scoured the building in search of the freeze gun her husband used in order to get her body temperature back to 196 degrees below zero. She was interrupted by Caitlin Snow, who proceeded to turn into Killer Frost. Nora blasted her with the freeze gun, knocking her down. As "Oliver Queen" and "Barry Allen" arrive to her aid, Nora runs off, despite "Barry" using his superspeed against her. It is unknown if Nora managed to escape Arkham or was captured during the round-up of the patients.[1]
Anti-Monitor Crisis
During the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Nora Fries as well as everyone in the multiverse except for the seven Paragons, was killed in an antimatter wave by the Anti-Monitor on December 10, 2019,[3] only to be restored a month later, after the Paragons and the Spectre created a new universe.[4]
New multiverse
Cryostasis
Nora met and fell in love with Victor Fries. The couple had their first date in Gotham Park, and married some time later.[5] Afterwards, Nora was diagnosed with terminal MacGregor's Syndrome and subsequently put into cryostasis by her husband to prolong her life until he could cure her.[6] However, Victor died before accomplishing this.
Twenty years later, when the liquid nitrogen fueling her cryo-chamber ran out, Nora finally awoke. By this time, a cure for MacGregor's Syndrome had been discovered and doctors administered it to her. However, Nora was so disoriented from the twenty-year time gap caused by being in stasis that she was sent to Arkham Asylum.[5] For unknown reasons, she was once again placed in cyrostasis despite being cured of her long-term illness.[7]
In 2018, Nora escaped during the Arkham breakout and began living in hiding with her sister, Dee Smithy. As a result of the serum her husband invented to keep her frozen within the chamber, time began to catch up with Nora once she was freed. Although she had emerged from cryo-sleep as a 34-year-old woman, within three years' time since her escape from Arkham, Nora gained the physical appearance of an elderly woman and developed respiratory issues.[5]
Kidnapping and release
After Dee stole Victor's liquid nitrogen from the Gotham City Police Department, they were both kidnapped by unknown mercenaries so they could get notes on Mr. Freeze's works. With the help of Batwoman, Nora managed to escape and arrived at Mary Hamilton's clinic, where she was taken care of. Alice tried to threaten her life to get freedom but Nora no longer cared about her life, so Alice gave up. Nora said that she understood Alice's side as she had heard about her story in the newspapers.
Batwoman and Batwing managed to rescue Dee, but the mercenaries escaped with what they learned from the notes. Nora and Dee then head to the park where she had her first date with Victor. Mary then visited Nora at the park and Nora revealed that she wants to enjoy the rest of her life with her sister's support.[5]
Abilities
- Expert markswoman: Nora was able to use her husband's freeze gun without difficulty, being accurate enough to hit Killer Frost and knock her out briefly.[1]
Equipment
Former equipment
- Freeze gun: Nora Fries used her husband's freeze gun following her breakout from Arkham Asylum.[1]
Appearances
Arrow
Season 7
Supergirl
Season 4
Batwoman
Season 2
- "I'll Give You a Clue" (mentioned)
Season 3
- "Freeze"
- "Antifreeze" (mentioned)
- "How Does Your Garden Grow?" (mentioned)
Comics
EARTH-PRIME
- "Flesh and Mud" (mentioned)
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Nora Fries is the wife of Victor Fries and was diagnosed with MacGregor's Syndrome, prompting Victor to cryogenically preserve her to find a cure. His attempts failed and a lab accident caused him to become the ice villain Mr. Freeze. After she was exposed to a Lazarus Pit, Nora became the fire-conjuring supervillain Lazara. She debuted in the Batman: The Animated Series episode Heart of Ice (September, 1992), later being introduced to the comics in the one-shot Batman: Mr. Freeze (May, 1997).