History Recap / BatmanBeyondS1E7Meltdown

* AssholeVictim: Given the fact that prior to her murder at Freeze's hands, she treated him as a guinea pig and eventually decided to kill and dissect him for further study with absolutely zero remorse -- turning up the temperature in test chamber Fries was locked in and watched with [[LackOfEmpathy complete and total indifference]] as he was slowly dying and fruitlessly begging her for mercy -- it's ''really'' hard to feel sorry for Dr. Stephanie Lake even when

* DespairEventHorizon: Apparently, after he regressed to his previous condition and his hopes for normal life have been dashed, Freeze saw no more reasons to live beyond taking vengeance on people who tried to tried to kill and dissect him (and murder everyone who simply got in the way while he's at it). When Batman tries to get him to escape after his suit was crippled and the entire facility is about to collapse on him, Freeze has only this to say:

* DownerEnding: Mr. Freeze's story gets a very bitter end: his lover betrays him so he can be turned into a lab rat, he's driven back to murderous revenge, and finally he allows himself to be killed by falling ice, claiming that Terry is the only one who cares.

* CurbStompCushion: Despite being largely overwhelmed by Blight, Freeze is able to get the last word in, and knock Blight away.

* TaughtByExperience: Possibly with Mr. Freeze's final suit -- specifically the Freeze Gun(s) now being built directly into the gauntlets rather than being wielded as separate firearms. As SF Debris [[https://www.sfdebris.com/videos/animation/bbs1e05.php points out]], this seems like a pretty wise precaution given how many times Freeze has clashed with Batman, i.e. a guy who ''loves'' to knock firearms out of their wielders' hands with his Batarangs. It's a bit difficult to do that if the guns are now integrated into the suit, innit?

* MuggingTheMonster: During his rampage, Fries tries to freeze Derek Powers in the belief that he's just a CorruptCorporateExecutive, not a radioactive superpowered freak not unlike Fries himself. It takes Derek less than a minute to melt through the ice and confront Fries in his new "Blight" persona.

* PetTheDog: In his first public appearance in his new body, Fries saves a little girl's cat from being hit by a train.
-->'''Terry:''' [[SarcasmMode Yeah, there's a real menace to society]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: When Victor's body starts reverting to his previous condition, Dr. Lake tries to biopsy his organs to find out what the problem is. Without warning, she locks him in a room and turns up the heat to knock him out. Victor thinks she's trying to kill him and this is the final straw that pushes him back to becoming Mr. Freeze. This could have been avoided if Dr. Lake, you know, told him what was going on.

* PunchClockVillain: Dr. Stephanie Lake and Powers' other scientists, who seem somewhat ignorant about Powers true actions and nature.

-->'''Terry:''' Just because he ran off doesn't mean he'll come back.
-->'''Bruce:''' He'll be back. Count on it. He lives for revenge.
-->'''Terry:''' Not the Victor Fries I met.
-->'''Bruce:''' What you met was a ghost.

-->'''Batman:''' (''sadly'') Oh, Fries...

[[caption-width-right:350:Freeze returns for one more round]]

* IronicEcho: While his mind is being transferred to his new body, Dr. Lake tells Fries, "Remember, there may be some momentary discomfort." He later uses the same line on her [[PreMortemOneLiner before he kills her]].

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The episode title can refer to either the return [[BackForTheDead and death]] of Mr. Freeze or the debut of [[ILoveNuclearPower Blight]].

* RoleReprise: Michael Ansara reprises the role of Mr. Freeze for the first time since the conclusion of TNBA. This episode also marks Ansara's final performance as Victor within the canonical DCAU (as Ansara would later reprise the role one more time for the TNBA-inspired video game ''Batman: Vengeance'').

* DeathSeeker: Freeze, after reverting back to his old form and being betrayed by Dr. Lake, sets out to destroy the entire facility that he had been cloned in, [[TakingYouWithMe taking everyone else out with him]].

* RoleReprisal: Michael Ansara reprises the role of Mr. Freeze for the first time since the conclusion of TNBA. This episode also marks Ansara's final performance as Victor within the canonical DCAU (as Ansara would later reprise the role one more time for the TNBA-inspired video game ''Batman: Vengeance'').