Just why do you do what you do? It doesn't seem like the sort of lifelong dedication that one makes arbitrarily! Is that what it's all about, Batman? A personal vendetta from your own tortured past? 
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #121 is an issue of the series Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1999.
Synopsis for "Power Play"
Batman arrives at Gotham City's Chinatown and finds that several gang members are frozen in solid ice. As he is examining the scene, a rival gang appears and attacks Batman. With ease and lecturing the thugs in the art of fighting, Batman defeats all of them and questions the last man standing about the frozen victims. The thug tells Batman that they were attacked by Mister Freeze when they showed up in his territory and the man also tells Batman about Freeze's location near the power plant.
Batman goes to the power plant and discovers that Freeze has built an ice castle at the side of the plant and that he is using some hired help to run the power plant and supply Chinatown with energy, but he is doing so by burning stolen furniture. Batman devises a way to get inside the plant and then he moves on to Freeze's castle.
Mister Freeze is alone, remembering his deceased wife Nora Fries and how he holds Batman responsible for her death and he swears in her name that all he is doing was in her name. Batman hears that and tries to prove Freeze wrong, but he attacks Batman with his cold gun. Batman dodges the attack and then the two of them star at each other trying to figure out what their next move will be. Freeze attacks again with his gun and Batman avoids it's touch. Freeze questions Batman about the motives behind his vigilantism and while Freeze is speaking Batman lures him to a narrow corridor. Batman then uses a Batarang to disarm Freeze. The gun falls several feet down below but Freeze dives, catching the gun in mid-air, uses it to create a pat of ice to reach Batman and then freezes him with the cold gun. Freeze thinks it is all over, but the castle starts to crumble. At first Freeze believes it is another earthquake but then he realizes that the power plant is overheating and the pressure valves have exploded. The vibrations help Batman out of the ice and then he tells Freeze that he caused that reaction in the power plant. They begin fighting again in the middle of fire and ice and a few seconds later the power plant explodes and both fall into the river. On the surface, Batman tells Freeze that it is over but Freeze is mounted on a block of ice from the castle, floating in the river. Batman watches how Freeze slowly moves out of reach and his castle is destroyed. Freeze warns Batman that he will return and the Dark Knight replies that he will be waiting.
Appearing in "Power Play"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mr. Freeze (Flashback and main story)
- Ghost Dragons (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Nora Fries (Dies in flashback)
Locations:
- Gotham City
- Gotham City Chinatown
- Power Plant
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The events of this issue take place after JLA #32. No Man's Land continues in Batman: Harley Quinn.
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: No Man's Land Vol 3 and Batman: No Man's Land (2011/2012 Edition) Vol 2.
Trivia
- In the flashbacks, Mr. Freeze's suit is the same as the one featured in his animated counterpart.
- The flashbacks also stablished that Nora Fries died when a blast from Freeze's gun struck her frozen body and destroyed her into pieces. In an editorial mistake, she was brought back to life in later stories.
- There is a reference to the Iliad. Batman used the same tactic know as the Trojan Horse to enter inside the Gotham Power Plant.
- There are also references to the game Chess during Freeze and Batman's fight and also to Mary Shelley's creation Frankenstein.
See Also
- Cover gallery for the Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight series
- Images from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol 1 121
