Book #163: Batman & Robin by Michael Jan Friedman

 

Batman & Robin

Michael Jan Friedman

 Released: June 6th, 1997

My 29th book for 2026 was Michael Jan Friedman’s Batman & Robin.

I could write a whole thing about how terrible the movie was, but the first of infinite reminders…this is supposed to be about the book.

In this one, Batman faces Mr. Freeze, a mad scientist who has devoted his life to crime in order to fund research that will save his wife who is suffering from an advanced stage disease with no known cure.  Adding to this is another disgruntled Wayne Enterprises employee who becomes Poison Ivy.  A woman who wants to take over the world with violent plants.  Adding to this, Bruce Wayne faces a dying Alfred who has come down with the same disease as Mr. Freeze's wife, but in an earlier stage.  He also quarrels with Robin and encounters a new ally in Barbara Wilson who while visiting Uncle Alfred, becomes Batgirl.  On top of that, he is conflicted about the direction of his life with his relationship and trauma.  

The book follows the movie quite well.  The only notable difference I feel I saw was Bruce discovering the AI Alfred before Barbara does.

The story isn’t terrible, and if the film had better direction, it might have not left the franchise in shambles for 8 long years.  Unfortunately, Joel Schumacher got his hands on it.  

Some of the the funniest reviews I ever read were because of how rough the film was.  Here's a few examples: 

“Batman Forever is a shame of a movie, but but NOTHING compared to what this piece of garbage is.”
- fjhuerta-2, August 13, 2000

"Everyone involved brings shame to their families."

"Even those who thought he embarassed the franchise with the light-hearted BATMAN FOREVER were taken aback.

- ReelCheese, May 7, 2006

While the story works, some other things do not.  Bane is the most glaring error.  When I was a kid, I thought Bane was supposed to be a henchmen.  Once I got older and saw The Dark Knight Rises, I now understand Bane is meant to be an incredibly difficult villain in the Batman world and he holds a victory against the caped crusader when he broke his back.  In this one, he looks like (as another reviewer stated) “…an extra from an 80’s fetish film.”  Two questions.  Why did they not cast Arnold as Bane?  And why did they bastardize the character?  Such a waste.

Poison Ivy is a classic Batman villain, but here she is a bit too much.  She waltz’s all over the place with a commanding presence but it’s mainly Bane clearing her pathway for her.  The deadly lips is a neat little trick, but also annoying that all the characters become the Tex Avery wolf over her (especially Commissioner Gordon).

Mr. Freeze works better in the book than the movie.  He's looking for a cure for his wife who is suffering from the same disease as Alfred.  He has the cure for Stage 1, but she has reached more advanced stages, and this is what drives his criminal activities.

Alfred plays a larger role in this one while being sick.  This subplot is what brings Batgirl into the fold, and help Bruce and Dick to reflect on family values, even to those who you are not blood-related.

Batgirl/Barbara had the craziest change up.  Everyone who knows Batman lore is aware that Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Commissioner Gordon.  Making her Alfred's niece was a weird reinvention of the character.  There was no explanation or reference as to why this change was made.

Robin/Dick struggle like a young child in this one.  He is constantly seeking independence and freewill to fight crime on his own.  We definitely see shades of his later alter-ego Nightwing.

Batman/Bruce Wayne faces mortality issues.  He realizes that he is getting older and acting more like a father to Dick than a brother.  Alfred seems to be dying a slow death during the story, and it leads Bruce to realize just how impactful he was to his life.  He also struggles in his relationship.  Bruce has commitment issues after the previous women left his life, and his latest partner feels he is wasting her time.

The problem with this one is there are too many character subplots and no real plot.  The book made more sense as to what the writers were going for, but anyone who saw the movie first will either have a horrendous taste in their mouth reading it or might think it's all the same.  I mean think about it, Poison Ivy wants to team up with Mr. Freeze on a plan that will kill all living plants on Earth as he creates an endless winter.  Out of these frozen ashes, she wants to rebuild the earth with her deadly plants.  She better have a really good facility in place to preserve those plants.  This concept seems to get lost in the movie, where the book lays it out better.

Here is what I learned:

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• Bruce Wayne and his parents saw Zorro at the theater the night they died.
• Thomas Wayne was the best surgeon in town.
• Bruce has an Uncle Phillip.
• Alfred’s passion is theater.
• Bruce is a world-class competition in the javelin toss.
• Bruce learned Martial Arts and patience in Korea.
• Bruce learned Street Smarts from Ducard in France.
• Bruce learned Fencing in the Soviet Union.
• Bruce learned Auto Racing in Rome.
• Victor Fries won the decathlon in the prior year’s Olympics.
• Bruce drinks Château Lafitte Rothschild ‘56.
• Batman and Robin have fixed the vehicles damaged by Two-Face and The Riddler in Batman Forever.
• 10:47p was the hour and minute Bruce’s parents were murdered.
• The Gotham Museum has a new antiquities exhibit.
• This includes the Second Sun of the Sudan on loan from the British Museum.
• Robin’s superhero vehicle is the Red Bird motorcycle.
• Clayton Krupzic is a farm boy from a small town called Waumagansett Falls.
• Clayton is a security guard at the Gotham Museum.
• There is no record of an earthquake in Gotham’s history.
• Gotham Museum features exhibits such as World of Lizards, Hall of Man, and Wonders of the Weather.
• Batman and Robin have skates built into their boots.
• It takes 11 minutes to thaw out one of Mr. Freeze’s victims before it becomes fatal.
• Pamela Islay is a scientist.
• Pamela is Poison Ivy.
• Prison Morte means “Prison of Death”.
• Her boss is Dr. Jason Woodrue.
• She is working on an animal-plant crossbreed.
• Pamela’s mother has a flower shop in Seattle.
• Dr. Woodrue usually works in the Gilgamesh Wing.
• Antonio Diego is a serial killer serving a life sentence in an Argentine prison.
• He becomes Bane.
• Dr. Woodrue wants to sell a muscle growth venom to the world’s militaries beginning at $10 Million.
• Pamela realized Woodrue’s experiments would kill her plants.
• Woodrue attempts to kill Pamela.
• Dr. Victor Freeze is a two-time Olympian.
• He was also a Nobel Prize winner in molecular biology.
• Freeze was hit by a blast from an exploding cryogenic solution, giving him his tolerance for cold.
• Bruce is still a novice in the ways of family.
• Poison Ivy’s blood is aloe.
• Freeze’s hideout is into an abandoned ice cream factory.
• Barbara Wilson is Alfred’s niece.
• This is a change from Batman lore where she is Barbara Gordon, the commissioner’s daughter.
• Alfred hasn’t been to England in 2 years, 3 month, and 4 days according to Barbara.
• Margaret Clark was an old flame of Alfred’s.
• Barbara’s parents were killed in an auto accident 10 years ago.
• Alfred has been supporting her since.
• Barbara attends Oxbridge Academy.
• Oxbridge is Alfred’s Alma mater.
• Babe becomes Poison Ivy’s henchmen.
• Alfred’s brother Wilfred is the first butler to the Maharajah of Mirajanpore.
• It is a floating court across India.
• Alfred has been trying to reach him for some time without a response.
• Peg is Alfred’s nickname for Margaret.
• Wayne Enterprises is donating the world’s most advanced telescope to Gotham City’s Observatory Restoration Project.
• Nora is Mr. Freeze’s wife.
• The Gotham Charity Flower Ball is being held at the Gotham Botanical Gardens.
• Bruce Wayne owns the Heart of Isis Diamond.
• Batman bid $1 Million for Poison Ivy.
• Poison Ivy uses Pheromone Dust to entrance men.
• It does not work on the cold-blooded.
• "You see, death and chance stole your par-ents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. To stack the deck in your favor. For what is Batman if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world? An attempt to control everything-including the specter of Death it-self?"
• Barbara knows Judo.
• The Mad Hatter and Scarecrow are also in Arkham Asylum.
• Julie Madison wants to marry Bruce.
• It costs 2.5 coin to street race bikes.
• The Gotham Knights are a professional baseball team.
• Chuckie Kochman is a security guard at Arkham Asylum.
• His favorite show is The Munsters.
• The Riddler makes a cameo.
• Freeze wears his belts a size smaller to make him look slimmer.
• A Sesame Chicken frozen dinner unlocks a secret room in Mr. Freeze’s hideout.  Because…Open Sesame.
• Nora Freeze suffers from McGregor’s Syndrome.
• Mr. Freeze punches Commissioner Gordon.
• Ivy has a new hideout at the Turkish bathhouse on Blossom Street.
• “I will blanket the city in endless winter.  First Gotham…and then the world.”
• Alfred is also suffering from McGregor’s Syndrome.
• Alfred’s password is “Peg”.
• Bruce discovers Alfred’s computer simulation unlike Barbara in the movie.
• Bruce calls Dick his brother.
• Batgirl debuts.
• Freeze already has a cure for Stage 1 McGregor’s Syndrome.

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Overall, the book is a lot better than the movie.  There are some goofy moments and odd things here and there, but I enjoyed the story more than the way it was brought to life on screen.  If you like Batman, you'd probably like this book, but you have to separate novel and movie to truly enjoy it.

Not Recommended

On to Book #164: Saturday Night Dead by Richard Rosen.

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Batman Forever.