History Main / FreezeRay

* The Arborians' ice arrows in the {{Filmation}}'s ''FlashGordon.''

* ''War Fron: Turning Point'': an earlier example. The [[RedsWithRockets Soviet Union]], with their can deploy air-dropped [[SovietSuperscience freeze bombs]] and "[[FreezeRay Ice Spitter]]" Tanks in advance of an attack force; the metaphor used in-game is ''"canned Siberian weather"''. Like in {{Red Alert 3}}, frozen units recover after a time, but are very vulnerable to damage and immobile.

* The appropriately named Cryocopters and later Cryo legionnaires in ''CommandAndConquer: {{Red Alert 3}}''. There is also superweapon version cryoshot/cryoblast/cryogeddon. These are [[HarmlessFreezing mostly harmless]], but frozen objects will [[LiterallyShatteredLives shatter]] if hit with the slightest damage, and for air units (done by cryo legionnaires garrissoned in a multigunner turret/IFV) the result is not something to laugh at since they will immediately come crashing down when frozen.
* ''War Fron: Turning Point'': an earlier example. The [[RedsWithRockets Soviet Union]], with their "Ministry of SovietSuperscience", can deploy air-dropped freeze bombs and "Ice Spitter" Tanks in advance of an attack force; the metaphor used in-game is ''"canned Siberian weather"''. Like in {{Red Alert 3}}, frozen units recover after a time, but are very vulnerable to damage and immobile.

* ''{{Adventurers!}}'': Tesla, the party's gun-wielder, gets a freeze gun at one point (she refers to being in the party as "the Gun-of-the-month Club"). It shoots flames. Karn doesn't see what the problem is.

* The appropriately named Cryocopters and later Cryo legionnaires in ''CommandAndConquer: Red Alert 3''. There is also superweapon version cryoshot/cryoblast/cryogeddon. These are [[HarmlessFreezing mostly harmless]], but frozen objects will [[LiterallyShatteredLives shatter]] if hit with the slightest damage, and for air units(done by cryo legionnaires garrissoned in a multigunner turret/IFV) the result is not something to laugh at since they will immediately come crashing down when frozen.

The mechanism varies from gun to gun. Some freeze rays operate by spraying a target with a sheet of ice or snow, like an icy version of a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]]. Some spray a stream of liquid, e.g. liquid nitrogen. Most commonly though, freeze rays fire blasts of coldness as FrickinLaserBeams to freeze the target. Note that coldness [[YouFailPhysicsForever doesn't quite work that way]]; coldness isn't energy, but rather low amounts of thermal energy. Likewise, you can't transfer coldness; you make things cold by transferring heat away from them. But, [[MST3KMantra it isn't really worth getting into]] [[IncrediblyLamePun heated debates]] over the mechanics of the FreezeRay. So what if it's another example of writers giving [[NoConservationOfEnergy Conservation of Energy]] the [[IncrediblyLamePun cold shoulder]]? They've been getting along just fine over the years thanks in part to the {{Rule of|Cool}} [[HurricaneOfPuns Cool]].

Frequently toted by AnIcePerson, and can be a form of KillItWithIce.

* The Ice Beam from ''{{Metroid}}'' games.

* Mr. Freeze from ''Batman'' (restating it because Mr. Freeze as we currently know him was created for ''[[BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Batman: The Animated Series]]'')

* First edition ''DungeonsAndDragons'' had an evil humanoid race called "Frost Men'' who could shoot a "cone of cold" as an [[EyeBeams eye beam.]]

* The ''[=~Pokémon~=]'' games have Ice Beam, as well as other attacks such as Blizzard which can also freeze the target.

* ''SpaceGhost''. The title character used one in "Lokar - King of the Evil Locusts" against Lokar's metal-eating locusts.
* ''DannyPhantom'' has an interested version of this in the form of an energy blast.

[[caption-width:330:He won't be screaming long... but that's a very cold comfort.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrfreeze_7548.png

[[{{Batman}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MrFreeze03_757.jpg]]
[[caption-width:300:That's just ''[[IncrediblyLamePun cold]]''.]]

* The appropriately named M-116 Avalanche heavy weapon from ''MassEffect2'' is essentially a hand held ice ''cannon''.

Real world physics experiments which require extreme cold near absolute zero use [[FrickinLaserBeams lasers]] to perform 'atom trapping', slowly punting the target with photos to stop it bouncing around uncontrollably. If your target isn't a blob of supercold gas comprising a few dozen atoms though, you'll find this technique less than useful.

* ''Tekkaman: The Space Knight'' has... '''''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MURDGxx7FJo OH NO! A FREEZE RAY!]]'''''

* Captain Cold from ''{{Flash}}'' comics.
* ''[[http://en.dcdatabaseproject.com/Batman_and_the_Outsiders_Vol_1_6 Batman and the Outsiders #6, "Death Warmed Over!"]]''. The team battles the Cryonic Man, a villain with a backpack full of liquid nitrogen attached to wrist-mounted sprayers that he uses to freeze the Outsiders solid.

* ''Danny Phantom'' has an interested version of this in the form of an energy blast.

[[AC:RealLife ([[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer yes]])]]

...unless of course, you choose to get on a deep molecular level, and use a laser to perform Atom Trapping, IRL.

--> "In this universe, there's only one absolute... everything freezes!"
--> -- '''Mr. Freeze''', ''[[BatmanAndRobin Batman & Robin]]''

An ImpossiblyCoolWeapon-- [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]]. A RayGun that almost always generates [[InstantIceJustAddCold Instant Ice]]. Sometimes causes HarmlessFreezing, sometimes not.

The mechanism varies from gun to gun. Some freeze rays operate by spraying a target with a sheet of ice or snow, like an icy version of a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]]. Some spray a stream of liquid, e.g. liquid nitrogen. Most commonly though, freeze rays fire blasts of coldness as FrickinLaserBeams to freeze the target. Note that coldness [[YouFailPhysicsForever doesn't quite work that way]]; coldness isn't energy, but rather low amounts of thermal energy. Likewise, you can't transfer coldness; you make things cold by transferring heat away from them. But, [[MST3KMantra it isn't really worth getting into]] [[IncrediblyLamePun heated debates]] over the mechanics of the FreezeRay. So what if it's another example of writers giving [[NoConservationOfEnergy Conservation of Energy]] the [[IncrediblyLamePun cold shoulder]]? They've been getting along just fine over the years thanks in part to the [[RuleOfCool Rule Of]] [[HurricaneOfPuns Cool]].

* In David Gerrold's ''{{The War Against the Chtorr}}'' series of novels, the protagonist is scouting with his commander. The commander has a flamethrower while the protagonist has a weapon that shoots liquid nitrogen. Which comes in handy as they're trudging through huge dunes of alien plant dust. The spray weapon is able to compact the dust so they can walk on it. The flamethrower, as it turns out, has a more explosive reaction to that environment.

* In ''{{BioShock}}'', one of the plasmids your character can pick up is called Winter Blast, which allows you to temporarily freeze an enemy, allowing you to shatter him with another weapon, although usually you [[DisadvantageousDisintegration won't be able to take any items they were carrying.]]

* The appropriately named M-116 Avalanche heavy weapon from MassEffect 2 is essentially a hand held ice ''cannon''.
* In ''{{Crysis}}'', the [[spoiler:aliens have freeze rays, and Prophet makes a human-usable weapon out of one of them. In addition, the Ice Sphere flash-freezes the island, creating a cold wasteland.]]

* Using directed energy to ''lower'' temperatures may sound absurd, but on a molecular scale, cold is just slowness. Lasers have demonstrated an ability to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_applications#Laser_cooling produce cold, given very '''very''' specific circumstances]]. See: Atom Trapping.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MrFreeze03_757.jpg