Winter is coming to Gotham and according to a new teaser trailer released by Fox, it's going to bring a hard freeze to the city — that is, as in Mr. Freeze.

The new teaser begins with a fire inside a metal barrel. As the camera pans out, a cold spell takes over the city. Snow falls over Gotham's skyline (including Arkham Asylum) and begins to become ice. The teaser ends with a frozen version of Gotham's logo, with "Rise of the Villains" underneath.

This is obviously a clever trick by the network to tease the arrival of Victor Fries, aka classic Batman villain Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow), to the series. The character turned up in the final minutes of Gotham's midseason finale earlier this month.

Now, it seems fans will get a proper introduction to the man who just might be responsible for the ice storm that is about to grip Gotham City.

As in the comics, Fries is a scientist desperately trying to save the life of his terminally ill wife, Nora (Kristen Hager).

"Victor has one central intimate human connection, and that's with his wife," said Darrow to USA Today. "There's something really, really interesting and vulnerable and difficult about that. Of course, that is threatened by her illness. In some of the research I did on the character as he has evolved in the comic book, he has a more tenuous connection with humanity and his own humanity, and she's it. He is applying all his talents and skills and energies to maintaining that."

On Gotham, Fries works for Wayne Enterprises, but his mission is a "special, independent project" to save Nora. This is also what will, ultimately, lead to Fries becoming a villain.

"When somebody has a great need, or let's say they have all of their investment in one thing and that thing is threatened or even destroyed, how does one go on?" asked Darrow. "Maybe somebody pulls back or finds something else to care about. Or maybe that person gives in to a chaotic response that then really widens the rules of their life. I would maybe propose that villainy, as we're talking about it, is a way through extreme difficulty or is oddly a way to have things matter."

Other DC Comics villains putting in an appearance on Gotham next year include Mad Hatter and Clayface.

Gotham returns Feb. 29 to Fox.