Batman Beyond the series and Return of the Joker

Despite my love for Batman The Animated Series, I never watched Batman Beyond until recently. I had already been pretty disappointed with the direction The New Batman Adventures had taken with the change in design and general tone of the episodes, so when they introduced Batman Beyond, I just couldn't get behind the concept that when Bruce got older, Dick and Tim wouldn't be around to take over for him. Who was Terry McGuiness and why should I care about him?

Honestly, having now watched the show I still kind of feel the same way. I know the show has its fans, but beyond a handful of episodes this version of Batman just didn't appeal to me. Terry lost his father, but past the first season we barely ever hear about how that affected him. He still has his mom and kid brother, but beyond the token "Terry never does his chores" comments, there's no real drama or touching moments to be found there. And Bruce constantly keeps Terry at a distance all throughout the series so that they at most only ever develop a sort of quiet respect for each other. Bruce as father figure to Dick Grayson and Tim Drake and Alfred as a father figure to Bruce is a core element that makes the Batman mythology appealing to me. This version is just plain stripped of that.

But yet we do have to be reminded a couple times that Bruce and Barbara were lovers. They attempt to make that less disgusting by making Bruce look a lot younger than he actually was during the original series but I'm sorry, I'm not buying it. He's noticeably older than her in the actual episodes, you can't change it via flashback later on. He's old enough to be her young uncle if not her father.

Terry's peers are not particularly interesting either, for the most part. His relationship with Dana becomes tedious from the very beginning, with her constantly whining about how he never spends time with her but he can't explain to her that he's Batman. Then in season 3 she's magically okay with it, realizing that he's built a relationship with Bruce Wayne who depends on him. But working for Bruce Wayne has been the cover from day one, so why was she so unable to understand he had to work a job back then? It just makes her look bad.

Max had a lot of potential to be a more interesting character. I even like the way she jokingly refuses to be called Robin. She's essentially his Oracle, but the constant "you can't join in on the fighting, it's too dangerous" is just really annoying. Why can't she fight? Because she's a girl? Get over it!

Not a single one of the new villains they introduced appealed to me. I think it's pretty telling how weak and uninteresting most of them were since a lot of them appear once and never again. I'm really glad they dropped everything being about Derek Powers after the first season, because he was such a boring one note villain. The Royal Flush Gang had a slight amount of potential, but that was mostly because of Ten and Terry's romance. But isn't that just a rehash of the Batman/Catwoman attraction? Just like Inque is essentially Clayface? Of course since the Mr. Freeze episode is basically the best of the series, I can't blame them for trying to basically mimic the real thing.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (contains spoilers) 

And speaking of, the direct to video film they made does that once again by bringing back the Joker. The feature is a slight improvement over the series itself, as the longer length allows them to explore things a little more. It feels a lot like a primer to the series, as it touches on Terry's relationships with Dana and his family, and also mentions his past where he had trouble with the law. He tells Bruce that the main reason he wants to be Batman is to make up for the sins of his past, and while that was briefly touched on in one episode of the series, I wish they would have explored it more often.

I also think the mystery element was much stronger in the film than in the show, where often a process of elimination was all that was needed to figure out the villain. Here it was much harder to guess, but of course, that's because they pretty much cheated. Having the Joker living inside Tim in a Jekyll and Hyde fashion was just too overly silly. Also, did the microchip have to be so visible? Are you really going to tell me that wasn't noticeable to Bruce, Barbara, or Leslie when she was treating Tim? That his wife never asked "Hey, honey, what's the weird black dot on your neck?" Not to mention the absurdity of having a microchip somehow completely transforming your body, but the "science" in Batman Beyond is often so warped that you just have to accept it.

It was nice to see Harley again.  Her warped logic of how raising a child with the Joker would fix everything is so very her, but even better was her appearance in the epilogue.  That was a Harley who had moved on with her life, and isn't that what we really want for her most of all?  Though its sad that they actually wanted to kill her off and Dini had to insert that extra scene in because he refused to kill his baby.

Perhaps worst of all for me was the constant teases of Dick Grayson and Nightwing with no appearance of him at all. It happened so frequently, and with the added detail that originally when Joker trashed the Batcave, it looked like the Nightwing uniform was missing, that I started to think that it might have been Dick who had become the Joker, that in this reality he had become so bothered by Bruce that he wanted revenge on him. I could also see him convincing Tim to join his side possibly, with their mutual history of trouble with Bruce. Of course, if that had been the big reveal I probably would have blown a gasket complaining about how Dick could never, ever be a villain, so this slightly underwhelming variant is the better alternative. It just pisses me off that he never once showed up through it all. You're going to bring back all the other major players from the original series, but not him? It's a slap in the face. Apparently Nightwing eventually appeared in the Batman Beyond comics, but reading about what happens there doesn't make me feel any better.

On the bright side, Tim's transformation as a child was well handled.  His Joker smile and staring eyes were creepy, and the insane laughter, killing the Joker, and then breaking down were heartbreaking.  I don't want to give the impression that I hated everything about this film.  There are things that were handled well.  I just have a severe problem with the concept of the series as a whole, and it bleeds frequently into the details with reasons why.

Basically, I can't enjoy Batman Beyond because it seems to exist in a future of the darkest timeline. It features a Bruce who is a complete asshole, who supposedly doesn't truly care about anyone or is at least incapable of expressing it anymore. And that's not my Bruce or my Batman. The joke is that this is a continuation of the original Batman: The Animated Series, and that version is my Batman. I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that these two are one and the same.

Obviously, this is a very personal and biased review.  The series and the film are both well loved by many.  If you're a Batman fan and have never watched it, it's worth checking out.  I'd say the film is a good way to introduce yourself to the series if you're curious but aren't sure if you want to invest the time in watching three seasons of the show.  Go into it expecting a much darker and far out sci-fi version of Batman, and you could end up really enjoying it.

Harley Quinn (video review)

All this Batman talk and yet I couldn't talk about my favorite girl since she never got her chance to be in the films.  Nevermind, let's celebrate her animated series appearances!



I fully realize that the sound suddenly changes in quality at the 2:00 mark.  Next time I promise I'll set it right from the beginning.  I'm learning.

The Dark Knight Rises

Leading up to the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed by what I had seen.  From behind the scenes photos of Catwoman's costume to the trailers, there really wasn't anything there that made me excited about the film.  However, given that the only film of Nolan's I've had problems with was Inception, and that was mostly just the ending, I was fairly confident that this would be a good one.

As far as I'm concerned, my confidence was well placed.  I was very impressed with how he took those underwhelming individual pieces and turned them into a great film.  Lots of great action scenes, good tension and character moments, and once again Nolan showing that he has a feel for just what Batman is all about as a character.

My biggest complaint is definitely Bane's voice.  I understand that a character with a mask over his mouth isn't going to speak clear as day, but it really seemed like there were moments where you could understand him fine, and others where I was "squinting my ears" to try to figure just what was coming out of his mouth.  For the most part it was just him preaching or showing bravado, so I didn't miss any key plot points or developments, but it's annoying to know that I'm probably not going to fully understand him until I turn on the subtitles on the Blu Ray.  Beyond that I really enjoyed the character and the changes they made to him.  It was nice to have a calculating Bane after that pathetic stupid grunt we saw in Batman & Robin.

More than anything, I really loved this Catwoman.  Michelle Pfeiffer's version will always be dear to me from a nostalgic perspective, but Anne Hathaway was fantastic.  She was really like the Irene Adler to his Sherlock Holmes and I loved the change we saw in her over the course of the film. 

I have spoiler oriented thoughts, but before I get to those, for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet - I highly recommend it.  Nolan has managed to create a fantastic trilogy that tells both three separate stories and one complete overarching one about Batman and the many characters that surround him.  Even if you don't love it as much as I did, I think you'll really enjoy it.

FROM HERE ON THERE BE SPOILERS

First off, Miranda Tate, who I swear I didn't even know was going to be in this film.  I think I may have read ages ago that another woman would be Bruce's love interest, but then I clearly just forgot about her.  How interesting then that near the beginning of the film I was thinking "I don't think I trust her" and then about halfway through I decided I was just paranoid.  Silly me, of course she was Talia!  All this talk of Ra's Al Ghul's heir, and I'm just accepting the movie on its word that it's Bane?  Come on!  I was smacking myself on the inside for not catching that one.  Of course this was from the man who directed The Prestige, so he knows all about misdirection.

Speaking of misdirection, it wasn't much of one to have Blake's first name be Robin.  He was clearly meant to be a sidekick of sorts, and he was a blend between Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. So it's probably no surprise that I absolutely loved him immediately.  I loved watching him learn and grow and eventually reject law enforcement for vigilantism.  While I doubt we'll ever see a film with him as the new Batman, I'd love to see it.

I was a little disappointed in how things played out with Bruce and Alfred though, I must admit.  It was definitely a way to get Alfred out of the city when all the chaos went down, but I hope we weren't meant to believe that Bruce planned it that way.  Also, it seems incredibly cruel to make the man who raised you believe you are dead.

I'm not ashamed to admit that when Batman told Gordon his identity, I got tears in my eyes.  It was such a sweet and wonderfully handled moment.  I also love that Gordon got his own story arc throughout the series, acknowledging that he's just as essential to the safety of Gotham City as Batman is.  What a fantastic performance by Gary Oldman.

I feel like I could just keep writing about this movie forever and I know I'll have even more to say after I watch all three movies together. For now I'll just save further discussion for the comments.

The Dark Knight

It seems like there are two types of people.  Those who think this movie is incredibly awesome, and those who think those other people are exaggerating and ignoring a lot of flaws.  I'm afraid I'm one of those who thinks it's awesome, and yes, I am ignoring the flaws, because I don't think they're as important as all the good stuff that happens. But I can still be sensible enough to acknowledge that they do exist.

Once again, the beginning of the movie is a little slow.  We see the Joker's heist, which is fantastically executed and shows just what kind of ruthless criminal we're dealing with, and then we cut to Batman fighting at night. It works really well, as it both fulfills Batman's promise to Gordon at the end of Batman Begins that he would catch Scarecrow, but it also shows us that Gotham is being affected by the Batman with these sudden copycats popping up.  I have to wonder where they got such accurate masks.  Do you think it was the big costume for Halloween that year?  Probably.  The "not quite as realistic as you think" theme pops up here when Batman bends the gun nozzle of one of  the fakers as if it was made of wire rather than metal.  Seriously, is he Superman all of the sudden?

But then the movie slows down a bit in the name of set up.  We're introduced to all the gangsters as they meet the Joker, Lau runs off with their money, and Batman goes all the way to Hong Kong to get them.  Similar to the beginning of Batman Begins, I'm hard pressed to say these scenes should be taken out of the film, but they do feel largely pointless as you're watching them.  Nolan Batman films, it seems, take a lot of investment and trust in the beginning that what you are seeing will in fact pay off in the end, and I think everything here does.

I didn't really have time to mention Lucius Fox in my previous review, but there's no denying how much Morgan Freeman brings to this series.  He's essentially Q from the James Bond series, but he's also got his own distinct personality.  I love that in this film he has no problem telling Bruce when he disagrees with his methods and isn't afraid to just walk away.  The sonar, by the way, is also definitely in the realm of unrealistic, though I suppose if we pretend this is somewhere in the not too distant future, you can just run with it.

But I think we all know this movie is really all about the Joker, with a bit of Harvey Dent/Two Face added in.  Heath Ledger manages to bring something completely new to the character that also just feels right to me.  He's unsettling, he's psychotic, and he just doesn't care.  I just love watching every scene he is in.  My only problem is that he claims to be an agent of chaos, but the fact is he has a large amount of order in his plans and schemes.  Though I suppose you could say that was just lies he was telling Dent to manipulate him.

I love that they took inspiration from The Killing Joke but twisted it so that instead of trying to corrupt Gordon, Joker corrupts Dent, who us Batman fans know is just a little too susceptible to such things.  His turn is handled fantastically by Aaron Eckhart, as I think we can all sympathize with what he's been through even if we can't agree with his decisions.  Once again, those special effects are amazing.  He's truly horrifying to look at, and while once again, not that realistic, it is a good way to bring that look into the real world.

Once again, I find Rachel Dawes to be largely forgettable.  Maggie Gyllenhaal is a better actress than Katie Holmes, but there just isn't much to say about the role.  She's there to tease the idea that Bruce could have a normal life, but none of us truly believe that could ever happen.

Alfred seemingly has changed his mind from the last film, now convinced that Gotham needs Batman and that Bruce can't give it up.  I suppose there's nothing wrong with a character changing his mind, but bookend this with the other two films and it's a little confusing.  I love Michael Caine and I think his performance is great, it just seems like his feelings change with the wind on  this subject.

This movie manages to be both a really fun time with lots of action, and also really smart.  The two boats pitted against each other toward the end creates a great amount of tension, and I love when the big burly prisoner definitively throws the detonator out the window.  I love that Joker's plan fails here, because sometimes, people really are that good and it's the kind of thing we need to be reminded of.

More than anything else, I love the ending of this movie.  It gets me every single time.  It gets right to the heart of what Batman is, why he is a vigilante and not an agent of the law, and it makes me giddy with excitement.  It is quite possibly why I'm so willing to overlook the various flaws of the film, because Nolan seems to know how to get to the heart of what Batman stands for and presents him in a way that even non-comic book fans can understand.

Batman Begins

After the mess that was Batman & Robin, I don't think anyone was too upset when they announced they would reboot the Batman franchise.  It had been eight years, and the previous series of films had shown that changing directors and actors and yet trying to continue on really wasn't the best route.

I remember enjoying this film quite a bit the first time I saw it, but strangely I never actually owned this film until I went to do this marathon.  Watching it again, I think I know why.  It's a very serious film and it takes a while to really get started.  It jumps around a lot in time, which while never confusing, does slow down the story a bit.  And while his origins and training are essential to the plot, we technically don't even see Batman until one hour into the film.

I like that unlike the previous films, we actually get to know Thomas Wayne and what kind of man he was before he's murdered.  Though I can't help but be frustrated by the fact that Bruce's mother Martha doesn't seem to have any significance beyond the pearls she wears.  She's even portrayed in a slightly negative light as she seems to be a little annoyed when Bruce's fear of bats causes them to leave the opera early.  It's a strange choice for a woman whose murder is about to scar our protagonist for life.  Even as the movie goes on, it's always "your father" or "your parents" being referenced as a whole.  I suppose given the time period we're supposed to figure that Martha couldn't play a large role in the politics of the city or maybe even have a steady job, but still, it bugs me quite a bit.

Beyond that, the scenes of Bruce's early life are touching and heartbreaking, and I love seeing Alfred with young Bruce.  I'm a bit divided on their relationship in this and the later films though, as Alfred seems very much against Batman from the start.  It makes perfect sense that he's worried about Bruce's well being, but you would think he could also appreciate what he's trying to do for the city.

Katie Holmes is perfectly average as love interest Rachel Dawes.  She's not a particularly interesting character, but she's not annoying or offensive either.  The only complaint I have is that I don't really see her and Christian Bale of being around the same age, which is odd because they're only four years apart in real life.  She just has a very young look to her, I guess.

Gary Oldman's part as Sergeant Gordon is fairly small, but I love that we also get to see his beginnings in the police force alongside Batman's development.  Seeing him get to drive the Batmobile (or Tumbler, if you prefer) and play such a large role in saving the city is also great.

Cillian Murphy's portrayal of the Scarecrow is fantastic.  He's just this perfect mix of smarmy and wicked that I really enjoy.  The effect they used on his mask when people are under the effects of the gas is also great.  Once again, I would have liked to see  him play a bigger role and to see more of what he's doing at Arkham, but fortunately this isn't the last we'll see of him.

The reason why we don't get to see too much of the two above characters is because the focus is largely on Ducard/ Ra's al Ghul.  I'll admit I was genuinely surprised when the reveal happened the first time I watched it.  Liam Neeson's performance also reminds me a lot of the Ra's al Ghul I'm familiar with from the animated series, so I enjoy it.  But I still feel like we spend an awful lot of time on it than maybe we need to.

Perhaps the best thing about this version of Batman is that we're finally seeing a Bruce Wayne who is drastically different from Batman.  This is essential if we're going to believe that no one will figure out Batman's identity.  There were glimpses of this in the 1949 serial, where that Bruce acted generally lazy and didn't care about what was going on around him, but this Bruce goes all out.  He's a tabloid headline mess of a celebrity, a male version of Paris Hilton.  It brings some much needed comic relief to the film's otherwise serious story, and it's just plain believable.  We also get to see the pain Bruce experiences when playing that role doesn't allow him to keep friends and has people generally regard him as a failure compared to his father.  It's the classic device of doing all the work but getting none of the credit.

One thing I feel I need to bring up is that people always stress about how Nolan's Batman films are heavily grounded in reality.  While they're certainly more realistic than the previous films, they're not that realistic.  The most obvious moment in this film is when Batman presses a button on his boot that somehow summons bats to his current location.  Does anyone think that is a real thing you could actually do?

Regardless, I do really enjoy this approach as it reminds me greatly of the animated series' style.  It's also the first that I feel really seems to respect the original comic source material and adapts those into something that really reflects the spirit of those storylines while also creating something new. Was there any better way to end this movie than to tease us with that Joker card?  I think not!

Batman & Robin

I remember being really mad when they announced that Val Kilmer would not be returning as Batman, and that George Clooney would be playing the role instead.  I didn't particularly care for Clooney at that time and I definitely didn't think he had the proper look to be Batman.  I can't remember exactly how I felt about Batgirl being introduced, but I know I really disliked her in the animated series, so I can't imagine I was too excited.  I also honestly can't remember if I saw this movie in the theater or if I waited for home video.  I think my brain may have tried to block out as much about the experience as possible.

However, the entire point of this marathon is to fairly appraise every Batman film, and so I was not going to skip this one.  I would watch it again, and give it a fair shot.  My Strangers from the Internet co-host Bethany recently said she liked the film because it reminded her of the 1960s TV show.  So maybe there was something I could glean from this film that could be enjoyable?

This film's structure follows Batman Forever's pretty closely.  We start off with an immediate action scene of Batman and Robin going up against Mr. Freeze.  Arnold Schwarzenegger actually received topped billing in this film over Clooney.  Every single line out of his mouth is a pun.  Usually featuring "cold," "ice," "freeze," or some other variant thereof, but even when they couldn't fit that in, he still makes a corny joke.  And he's grinning through nearly all of it, to the point that you can just tell Arnold was having the time of his life playing this role.  To his credit, when the very few times come around for him to get serious, he handles those scenes well too.

Watching this opening scene, you would expect to be watching an extremely cheesy comedy with some action elements.  Batman and Robin both surf or skate over various surfaces, and when Mr. Freeze's henchmen show up as evil hockey players, the two of them nod at each other knowingly and pop ice blades out of the bottom of their boots by clicking their heels together.   It's absurd.  It's perfectly understandable why so many of us were angered by this movie from the get go - despite the silliness of the previous films, this one is above and beyond.

And I could accept that we all just had the wrong expectations and try to appreciate this film for what it is, but the fact is it doesn't know what it is.  After that first scene we cut to the origin of both Poison Ivy and Bane, and it's all about on par with Batman Forever.   John Glover plays Dr. Woodrue in these scenes, and he voiced The Riddler in Batman The Animated Series, so that's a nice crossover.

Barbara is then introduced as Alfred's niece, who strangely has no English accent despite being English and living in London up until recently.  There's then all this serious talk about how Batman thinks Robin is too reckless and takes too many chances, and Robin thinks Batman needs to learn to trust him, and Alfred scolds Bruce while Bruce keeps seeing images of Alfred raising him as a small boy.

Then Ivy starts using her phermones on the men, and we're back to absolute ridiculousness all over again.  There's madcap adventure and silliness until - oh, by the way, Alfred's dying.  It's just way too many sudden turns in tone and it just doesn't work.  Schumacher has claimed that the studio wanted a family friendly film and that's why things turned out the way they did.  But then why does Ivy use so much innuendo?  I suppose you could argue that it might fly over the heads of children, but it feels obvious to me.  And the whole thing with Alfred should really be upsetting, but it happens so quickly, and we're also dealing with the fourth guy to portray Bruce Wayne, so I'm just not feeling a closeness between them at all.

I wouldn't say that George Clooney makes an awful Batman, but he's not a notable one either.  Once again he barely has a storyline, and the ones he is involved in don't have much meat.  We see he's been successfully dating some woman for over a year, which is a little strange considering that every other relationship he's been in in previous films in the series was all about how he couldn't balance that.  But then she basically disappears after giving him a marriage ultimatum so I guess it doesn't matter.

There are glimmers of potential here.  The conflict between Bruce and Dick could have easily led into him becoming Nightwing in a future installment.  I like this portrayal of Ivy for the most part and I could see her easily carrying a film as the main villain, though if I'd like to see her use more plant creations than seduction in the process.  You also could have made a zany short film with just Freeze and the ultra-silliness and it would have been a great comedy.  But unfortunately we get them all mashed together instead, with Alfred Headroom in the computer adding Batgirl into the mix and it just doesn't work.  It's a complete mess.  It's very easy to see why this essentially killed the series.  At least we got a pretty good Smashing Pumpkins song out of the deal, with a decent alternate version as well.

I was laughing hysterically during the opening scene, so afterwards I thought it might be fun to film my reactions as I watched the movie.  I ended up getting a good sampling of the range of feelings I felt throughout:

Batman Forever

If I had been excited leading up to Batman Returns' release, I was absolutely giddy waiting for Batman Forever.  There was one word alone that lead to this giddiness, and that word is "Nightwing."  I bet you expected me to say Robin, didn't you?  But no.  While I had already been ridiculously excited about the fact that Robin was going to be introduced into the films, it was the preview clip where Dick Grayson says "I don't know.. Batboy, Nightwing, what's a good sidekick name?" that made me jump up and down in fangirlish glee.  It was a teeny, tiny detail, but for me it was a moment where I first felt I was in on a secret joke.  I knew exactly what they were referring to, and the fact that they had taken the time to acknowledge comic book fans in that moment was enough to make me really happy.

I was also 14 and therefore at the appropriate age to like Chris O'Donnell and be happy with the choice.  I also may have been young enough to overlook some of the goofier aspects of the film.  So having not really watched the film in years, I was very curious to see if I would still love this film as much as I used to or be a bit embarrassed by the fact that I still own the Batman, Robin, and Riddler mugs that McDonald's sold. No, I don't know why I don't have the Two-Face mug either.

Overall, I'm not ashamed.  While the movie is definitely more about action and humor then drama or emotion, it excels at those two elements for the most part.  The action scenes may completely defy the laws of physics, but they're fun enough to watch that I find myself unable to care.  Everything is a mix of blacks and neons, and while certainly a very different color palette from what Burton was previously using, it still looks really nice.  While some of the humor is a little stretched, the rest is over the top silly fun that can make you smile.

The stretched humor lies with Jim Carrey.  While there's certainly a Frank Gorshin influence in his Riddler, there's also a lot of Ace Ventura there.  I think being a former fan of his allows me to tolerate this style now, even though I definitely can't say that I like it much anymore.  I imagine individual opinions on that are going to dictate just how someone feels about this film today.

But if you can ignore it, I think you're in for a treat.  Tommy Lee Jones plays Two Face with the kind of gleeful psychotic mayhem we're often used to seeing in Joker portrayals, but then every now and then Harvey Dent surfaces and he's suddenly so serious and somber.  It's unfortunate that he mostly plays second billing here to Riddler.  I think a movie that would have shown us more than the abbreviated version of his story would have been really great.  There is of course also the fact that Billy Dee Williams had previously portrayed Dent in the first film, but this isn't the first or last time a character has been recast through the course of a film series.  And considering that Batman was also recast, it's very easy to overlook.

I appreciate the fact that Kilmer seems to have at least tried to create a distinction between Batman and Bruce Wayne, even if this Bruce Wayne isn't the bungling playboy we're used to in other adaptations.  He's a little closer to Adam West's Bruce Wayne I think.  But I like that he at least tries to change his voice a bit when he's Batman to disguise his identity.

This is also the first time in this series that I feel like we're getting a real story arc for Batman himself - both in dealing with his repressed memory of his youth and the fact that he's finally found a female who understands him in a way the previous two didn't.  Chase Meridian is a little too forward for my tastes at times, but there's no denying that she's a strong woman who knows exactly what she wants.  The only thing is when you've got Bruce Wayne coming to you about the trauma of his past, and you fully acknowledge that Batman must have had a trauma in his past... you shouldn't have to wait until you kiss both of them to figure it out.

But let's face it, this move is still all about Dick Grayson for me.  I feel like they gave him a little bit more attitude than necessary, but I guess with the older age and the fact that he's currently reeling from the death of his family it's excusable.  I'm also fairly certain that the main reason he has a brother is just because most acrobatic acts are in fact made of four people, but I could be wrong.  Considering that he dies along with his parents I don't think it is a horrible change.  I really enjoy the dynamic between Dick and Bruce, and how it's very obvious that even from the beginning, Bruce truly cares about him.  Alfred's push to have Dick become Robin reminds me a lot of A Lonely Place of Dying,  where Tim Drake and Alfred both insist that Batman needs a Robin, until eventually the latter hands the costume over to the former to take on the role. 

Once again, this isn't a great film.  It's far more campy than the 1960s show ever was in some ways. It's silly and generally played very over the top.  A lot of the dialogue sounds more like something written to aid the movement of the story rather than how people would actually talk.  There are nipples on the Batsuit, and Riddler might as well be Ace Ventura or The Mask.  But I feel like it manages to strike enough of a balance that this is still a fun film to watch.

By the way, I find myself completely unable to fairly comment on whether or not the soundtrack is dated or appropriate.  See, I purchased it even before the movie release and it got a lot of play from me.  I love nearly every song on it.  Even Method Man's "The Riddler." So if anyone else has opinions on whether Brandy, The Offspring, and The Flaming Lips belong in the midst of a Batman film, I'd be interested to hear it.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

I'll admit that I almost didn't include this movie in my marathon.  I was thinking that since it was an animated film, I could skip it.  But it is a theatrical release and therefore does count, and really why miss an excuse to talk about my favorite version of Batman?

The movie begins with yet another variation on Danny Elfman's Batman theme.  In an effort to make the opening titles more epic, they included choir voices and the tall buildings we normally see animated in 2D on the show are now CGI.  Unfortunately, all it really does is make me want to watch the normal opening credits again instead.

I had another disconnect as the movie began, as the voice actor playing Chuckie Sol in the opening scene would return to the show again later to voice Boxy Bennet.  He even literally uses a line that Boxy will use in "Harley's Holiday" - "This time I've got you, you lousy stinkin'-" and then he's cut off before he can finish it.  There's no way this wasn't something they did intentionally.  They must have really loved his voice and the way he executed that line and so they brought him back.  And now I've probably revealed just how freakishly well I know this series, that I can actually recognize that.  Oh well.

I had forgotten that this movie had a bit in common with Batman Begins, in that we see Bruce preparing to fight crime before he actually takes on the Batman persona.  Given that we have already been spending time with this Batman for one season of the show, it's nice to go back and see this younger version.  I also love that in the early scene when he faces down the thugs, he's using a gruffer voice but not the Batman voice yet.  It's a credit to Kevin Conroy that he's able to use that voice in such varying degrees.

They also take advantage of the fact that they're making a movie rather than being stuck on television.  Bruce tells another character "you know where to stuff it," Batman and Joker both bleed in their final fight, and Batman even has sex.  This latter part completely flew over my head when I went to see it when I was 12.  The only way I found this out was as we were leaving the theater.

Dad: "Man, they really pushed the limits with that movie.  Batman had sex."
Me: "What?  No he didn't."
Dad: "She was wearing his shirt the next morning.  That means they did it."

Me: "Oh....."

And that's how I learned to always look for that silly trope in movies and TV.

Unfortunately the main plot of the film with the Phantasm mystery and the love story just isn't terribly interesting.  Watching it now, it's pretty obvious that Andrea is the killer, though I'll admit as a kid I was fooled by the false voice she uses and took her on her word.  It makes Batman look a little naive, but then this is a woman he was deeply in love with, so you can understand why he might ignore the obvious evidence in front of him.

But the movie is saved by the fact that Jack Napier used to work for these gangsters, and therefore we get to include the Joker in the film as well.  I love that when Salvatore Valestra (voiced by Abe Vigoda, by the way) comes to the Joker for help, Joker gleefully messes with him for a bit, then kills him but leaves the trap to try to catch Batman committing these murders.  And when he realizes it's not Batman, he knows who the killer is almost immediately.  Mark Hamil will always be my Joker, and this film shows why.  He'll laugh at anything, with a gleeful enthusiasm that is somehow both unsettling and infectious, but he's also got that temper that makes him turn into a truly frightening psychopath at any moment.  So wonderful.  I really love that final fight between him and Batman in the miniature of Gotham because the props just make the fight so much more interesting.

Remember how I said I love Michael Gough as Alfred?  I do,  but I have to say I love Efrem Zimbalist Jr. so much more.  He has such a wonderful dry sense of humor, and he also has such a great relationship with Bruce.  There's one point toward the end of the film where he calls him "sir" and then by his first name from one sentence to the next, and while it should sound awkward it doesn't.  You just really see what a complicated but also wonderful relationship these two characters have with each other.

This movie is basically a slightly longer two part Batman the Animated Series episode, with a bit of edginess thrown in to earn that PG rating.  There are better episodes of the series than this film, but this still ranks pretty high in terms of quality.  There were two direct to home release sequels made after this movie, Batman & Mr Freeze: SubZero and Mystery of the Batwoman.  I've seen both and they're of pretty decent quality.  There was also a Batman Beyond film that's technically set in the same universe, but I haven't seen it since I haven't watched that series yet.

Batman Returns

My main memories of Batman Returns revolve around a lot of the hype that preceded the film's release.  I remember watching behind the scenes moments with Michelle Pfeifer talking about how she had accidentally hit Tim Burton with her whip in one scene.  Despite not really caring about the first film, I was pretty excited for this one.  Batman The Animated Series was probably the main culprit.  And while this film is probably just as ridiculous as Batman is, for some reason I remember it much more fondly.

While both Burton films are remembered for being dark, this one definitely takes a much grimmer turn than the original.  Only Tim Burton can start off a Christmas film by showing parents throw their baby away.  (I'm sure everyone knows by now that it's Paul Reubens playing the father, but I still grin whenever I see him here.) The film is primarily about its villains, with Batman/Bruce Wayne taking more of a backseat role, and that probably explains just how twisted it is.  In a lot of ways this movie is all about the Penguin, with just a side story for Catwoman that intersects at certain points.

Perhaps that's why I don't really care for Michael Keaton as Batman.  After watching both of these films, I have to admit that he barely has any real screen time as Batman where he isn't just fighting or driving one of his vehicles.  As such, I see no true distinction between his two personas.  We're mostly told about his issues with duality far more than we ever see it.  He's also absolutely terrible at concealing his identity, though Alfred isn't helping either.  The way Alfred just let Vicky Vale into the batcave last film really bugged me, and I like that we get a throw away line here to point that out.  But then of course Bruce goes and rips his mask off right in front of Max Shreck at the end, so he has no room to talk.

Speaking of Alfred, there wasn't too much in the movie last time for me to really mention him, but Michael Gough is just awesome in these movies.  He's witty, he's a concerned father figure, and he's quite technically adept for a man of his age.  I don't know how you couldn't love this version of Alfred, really.

After having such a cookie cutter female in the last film, I really love that we swung in the opposite direction this time around with Selina Kyle.  She starts off so timid and weak, but she still has this wonderful sense of humor when she's alone that you can't help but like and sympathize with her.  She then goes through being killed and somehow surviving, and to this day I always get this big smile on my face when she changes the sign from "Hello There" to "Hell here."  Sure, it's obvious and why would anyone have "Hello There" in neon hanging in their room to begin with, but it's such a simple action that shows her current state of mind.  She's too cruel toward the female victim in the alley that she saves, but I think it's easy to see that she's mad at her old self and therefore projecting it onto that woman.  I also can't give enough props to Michelle Pfeiffer here for portraying Selina's divided emotions so perfectly.  That scene under the mistletoe where she gives out that crazy laugh is just great, and her sad "Does this mean we have to fight now?" really gets me.

The movie is entirely absurd and has no logic for most of its situations.  Somehow, a bunch of cats walking over her and licking and biting her manages to give Selina nine lives, or at least make her really hard to kill.  The penguin somehow manages to hack into the batmobile security system and rewire it, and he's got plans hanging on the wall as if he could just pick up a batmobile blueprint at the store somewhere.  He also managed to secure tons of missiles and develop little mind control devices for his many penguin friends at the zoo.  But I'm willing to overlook all this because the film is fun in its own dark twisted way and never feels like it drags over its running time.

The Penguin is just so weird and so disgusting.  His oddly shaped body, his flipper hands and jagged teeth, and apparently his saliva and blood are green besides.  The Penguin I'm familiar with from the cartoon was a very polite individual, but this one doesn't hesitate to bite off the nose of a guy who makes fun of the way he looks.  He's incredibly over the top, but Danny DeVito plays him with such sincerity that you really believe it.  That moment at the end, when he comes out of the water and slowly heads toward Batman, and Elfman's music swells and then he's dead with that sudden choking gasp and the penguins escort him back into the water... I really hope I'm not the only one feeling a little sorry for him at that point.

I think I prefer this film so much more than the previous because they really fixed a lot of the previous one's errors.  There's no cheesy music added to the soundtrack, the romance actually makes sense given the two characters involved, and beyond the Penguin's tech, we see enough about both villains to understand their motivations and capabilities.  This isn't a great film, but it's a fun film and therefore one worth watching.

Batman (1989)

A lot of members of my generation really love Tim Burton's Batman film.  Guys especially, I think, remember it being a really big deal and probably where they first fell in love with Batman.  While I do remember some of my brother's friends being really excited about the film, it was not something that we rushed out to see in theaters.  What I distinctly remember was that one of my mom's friends let us borrow the VHS so we could watch it.  And I'm sorry boys, but I wasn't too impressed back then.  When I watched it again later as an adult, I really, really didn't like it.  But for the sake of this review, I tried to go into it as fresh as I could and give an honest critique of the film.

Given my memory, I was honestly shocked to find myself really enjoying the first forty minutes or so of the film.  I liked the fake out that makes us think we're seeing a young Bruce Wayne, but we're not.  Instead, we immediately see a fully developed Batman going after criminals.  It's still early in his career, where he's mostly just a rumor on the streets of Gotham, but I actually really enjoy the fact that Burton trusted us to know enough about Batman to not have to spoon feed it to us.

It all has this wonderful noir look and feel, with the mobsters, the crooked cop, the reporter and the dame photographer.  Jack Napier shows no signs of madness yet, but he's a decent enough bad guy who makes the mistake of betraying his boss and being set up for death.  The build up to his transformation is also great, from the face off between him and Batman before he's plunged into the acid, and that great moment afterward where the plastic surgeon unwraps him.  Unfortunately, it's not long after this that everything goes downhill for me.

I really don't like the design of the Joker's face.  The comic influence is obvious, but it just looks far too cheesy in real life.  The prosthetic is impressive for the time, but it's still just too obvious that he's got something in his cheeks and I just hate the way it looks.  I could deal with that if it wasn't for the fact that his characterization is so tacked on and strange.  We saw him playing with a deck of cards before his transformation, but no sign of being a real jokester or liking clowns, so his sudden over the top personality seems like a different person.  However I'm also willing to excuse that, because seeing your face so horribly changed into this clownish appearance could also make you bonkers enough to embrace it.  It also helps that this is essentially just every character Jack Nicholson has ever played before, but with lots more laughing.

No, what's worse is that we're told he's an artist and a chemist through one line exposition and so that's why we need to just accept that he's capable of making poisonous chemicals and why he wants to destroy works of art and turn people into twisted creations that mirror himself.  I don't really see why there couldn't have been some kind of set up in the beginning to make this all worthwhile.  Especially since a lot of movie time gets wasted after this on how awesome and desirable Vicky Vale is.

Seriously.  I feel like the movie just slows completely to a crawl once Joker sets up a date with Vale.  He thinks she's beautiful, he appreciates her camera work, he wants her to take pictures of his creations.  Meanwhile Bruce Wayne is also totally in love with her, but is heavily divided by his commitments to being Batman that he doesn't know if he can open up to her.  I know Kim Basinger was considered pretty hot back in the 80s, but seriously, this character is no where near interesting enough to have these two men basically fighting over her.  It also makes her a little too generic damsel in distress.  Beyond one scene where she basically tells Bruce to fess up his feelings or leave her alone, she's a weak character pining for a man who by all outside appearances sweet talked her into a one night stand and then kicked her to the curb.  The fact that she's right and he does have feelings for her doesn't change that.

This movie has another element that leaves me completely and utterly divided - the music.  The score by Danny Elfman is incredible and gives me chills.  I know that main theme by heart thanks to the animated series, but they use a slightly different arrangement here in the film and it was a treat to hear it this way.  The score remains awesome throughout the film.  But we also have two Prince songs being used.  Please understand that I absolutely love Prince.  I had a love affair with his song "Seven" when it was released, and I've grown up listening to all his classics.  It just feels so wrong here and ages the film in a way that is hard to ignore.  Only in the 80s would someone think this is a good idea.  The song during the parade scene is a little better, but the one in the museum is just absolutely cringe-worthy.

That said, the film does have a decent payoff.  I like how the Wayne deaths are incorporated in a way that makes sense, and I like that both Batman and the Joker created each other even if it's not comic canon.  The ascent up the bell tower has good buildup, and the final fight is well done.  Though it's very interesting to see a Batman who willingly lets multiple people fall to their deaths.  One of the few things I do remember from my first viewing as a child was being really creeped out at that final moment with the Joker lying there motionless with the laughter going off, and it's still creepy to this day.

So while I do think this movie could probably stand to have its romance subplot removed and replaced with a better Joker origin, overall I have to admit it's a pretty good action film.  I didn't even mind Michael Keaton as Batman like I had thought I would.  Though I may change my mind after the next one.

Batman (1966)

My first encounter with the Batman television show was after having already seen both the Burton Batman films and falling in love with Batman The Animated Series.  As such, I was pretty confused about why this Batman was so overly silly, and figured it was related to people not taking comic books seriously back then.  However, it was still characters I was very familiar with and I was able to enjoy it for what it was.  I don't think I saw this film, which was made at the end of the first season, until some time later.

If anyone had any idea that this was meant to be a serious action movie rather than a comedy with action elements, I'm sure those thoughts were quickly dispelled the moment Batman gets a giant rubber shark attached to his leg that can only be removed with shark repellant. You have to love how gleefully aware of itself this film, and the show itself, really was.  Of course it's silly and goofy and stupid, that's the whole point.

The main difference between this film and the TV Show is that they clearly had a bigger budget, and they took full advantage of that.  We see the batcopter, batboat, and batcycle alongside the batmobile, and the Penguin has a "pre-atomic" submarine that he paints to look like a penguin.  I put pre-atomic in quotes because in one scene the characters tell us several times that's exactly what it is.  We also find out in that scene that the military in this universe isn't too bright, because when a Mr. P. N. Guinn came to purchase a submarine, they let him have it without even getting a physical address from him.  It's an interesting jab at the military's expense considering that this Batman is a deputized agent of law enforcement rather than a vigilante.

The other advantage of the larger budget is that we get four villains all paired up together, and they're all the biggest villains of the time - Cesar Romero as Joker, Burgess Meredith as Penguin, Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, and Frank Gorshin as The Riddler.  Lee Meriwether was replacing Julie Newmar here, but honestly I didn't even realize she was a different actress until I went to look up the cast.  Granted, it has been a while since I watched the show.  Anyway, I think Penguin and Catwoman end up getting a bit more screen time over all, but Joker and Riddler are still used well, and it's great to hear their laughs if nothing else.

The plot is fairly simple - they're joining together to take over the world, and they figure kidnapping a millionaire will get the Batman to come after them, and once they've killed him they can take over.  The only trouble is they decide to kidnap Bruce Wayne, and they use Catwoman, pretending to be a Russian reporter, as bait to trap him.  This ends up in a classic storyline by now, where Batman and Catwoman are romantically involved while neither has any idea of the other's true identity.  Though in this case, I don't think Catwoman has any true interest in Bruce Wayne.

But of course this movie isn't so much about the plot as it is about the gags, and there are plenty.  For what is essentially a superlong episode of the TV show, it doesn't feel too slow or full of filler.  Basically they just took everything fun and included it.  We see Batman and Robin "climb" a wall, run through the streets (actually running in place with the projection screen behind them), we see the sound effects when they fight in the final scene, and there are so many great bits and sight gags I can't list them all.  "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!" is probably the most well known by now, and it deserves it, as it reminds me of something on par with a Looney Tunes sketch.  I was also particularly tickled by the Riddler's riddles and the answers Batman and Robin come up with.

"What has yellow skin and writes?" Batman asks.
"A ballpoint banana!" Robin answers, while actually holding a No. 2 pencil in his hand.
"The only obvious answer, Robin." Batman agrees.

The only bit that doesn't really age well are the moments where we see the "United World Security Council."   They are seen constantly arguing, which is a nice parody, but it's the ridiculous accents and mannerisms which are a little too stereotypical.  Though it is funny that when Batman puts them together again (they were dehydrated by a gun the villains had) and they are all speaking the wrong language, Batman claims this will lead to them understanding each other better and declares his job finished.  Of course this is all pretty mild compared to that 1943 serial, but it still felt a little wrong by modern standards.

Since it doesn't look like we're going to get an official home release of the television series any time soon, this film is your best bet if you want to own a piece of the show.  I highly recommend it as a silly and wonderful good time.

Batman and Robin (1949)

I hope you paid attention to that year in the title, because we're not quite at that other Batman & Robin film just yet!  This is the second serial created, and fortunately being made in 1949 means we're past WWII and can just focus on telling a hero story.

This serial does share some things in common with its predecessor however.  The budgets are low, which means that the costumes look fairly cheap.  Batman fairs even worse in this one, as his bat ears are a little too pointy and off center.  His cape seems to be made out of some kind of material that almost always seems to get in the way during the fight scenes. For the time period however, those fight scenes are usually pretty good.  Lots of different things going on at once with lots of back and forth action.

There's also a nice heavy dose of pseudo-science that has to make you laugh.  The villain here, called The Wizard, has stolen a machine which was designed to remote control vehicles from a distance.  It's powered through diamonds.  Let's stop and think about that for just a moment.  I suppose a remote control vehicle is supposed to be useful because you wouldn't need a driver, but you'd need someone to control it remotely, so you're really not saving man power.  Then you power it with one of the most expensive and rare substances on earth - how is this going to be helpful to anyone but a villain?  Really they were not thinking about this one at all.

The Wizard also has some kind of blinky eyes in his mask that allow him to hypnotize people for some reason.  It's hysterical.  Apparently mind control was a really big plot device in the 1940s, because Dr. Daka in the previous serial put special headpieces on people to control them from a distance too. Eventually he also gains the ability to turn invisible.

We have a few more familiar pieces of Batman history being incorporated here.  The batcave is back, and is now full of lots of high tech gear.  Commissioner Gordon heads the police force, and Vicky Vale is Bruce Wayne's love interest.  Batman is once again a vigilante and not secretly working for the army.  We even see the batsignal for the first time, though how that tiny little light manages to be visible in the sky, I have no idea.

This serial includes a few mystery elements, as we have multiple possible identities for The Wizard, from the old man who invented the machine and also apparently has a device which charges him up and allows him to get out of his wheelchair and walk again, as well as a radio newscaster who always knows what The Wizard's crimes are going to be before they happen.  That last one is rather ridiculous - Gordon has his men speak to him, but when the newscaster says "trade secrets!" they let him get away with it rather than taking him into custody.  However the question of whodunnit keeps your interest and makes you want to come back for more far better than those overly silly cliffhanger endings do.

You might think that a serial would be fast paced and nonstop action, but you'd be wrong.  The episodes are generally about half slow plot development and half fight scenes leading to a cliffhanger, and I found it pretty hard to watch too many in one sitting.  But this one is definitely much more worth watching than the previous serial.  If you have an appreciation for a more classical style of film making, I recommend it.

Batman (1943)

In preparation for the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, I figured it was time to do a Batman movie marathon!  While most people tend to think of Tim Burton's Batman being the first, there's actually a few theatrical releases that proceed it, the first two being serials rather than full feature films.  As the blog title tells you, the first one was made in 1943.  Unfortunately.

I say unfortunately because this means that it aired right when America was in the midst of fighting in World War II and is therefore chock full of propaganda.  Batman isn't a vigilante, he's a secret agent for the army.  Racism against the Japanese is prevalent in the serial from the very beginning when our narrator gleefully tells us that all the Japanese Americans in Little Tokyo have been rounded up and put in detention camps "where they belong" though our main villain Dr. Daka has somehow escaped their clutches.  Daka is of course not actually played by an Asian man but the Irish J. Carrol Naish in full stereotypical ethnic portrayal of the time.  This really isn't so much a Batman story as it is a Pro-American Anti-Japanese film starring guys dressed in Batman and Robin costumes to play the heroes.

I usually have a fascination with this type of stuff.  I'm a firm believer that those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it, and I tend to enjoy it as a learning experience.  Here in New Orleans we have the excellent World War II museum, and the section dedicated to propaganda is fascinating, as it shows propaganda from both sides of the war.  But I really don't need to be reminded every single episode that the Japanese are trying to build an evil empire, the Americans are strong willed patriots who will always prevail, and that apparently the English are a little bungling and silly.  Both Alfred and another English character are shown in a silly light, and all I can imagine is that this was some kind of sentiment related to believing that the  English weren't capable of winning the war on their own and desperately needed us?  It's rather head scratching.

However, you can't deny that this film is important to Batman continuity as a whole.  While referred to as "The Bat's Cave" this is the first appearance of the Batcave and would lead to it being established in the comics as well.  Also, Alfred here is very thin with a mustache, while previously in the comics he had been more portly.  In a move we're all now incredibly familiar with in recent Marvel films and comics, Alfred went off to a health spa and came back looking more like William Austin's portrayal in this serial.

As a serial that means that every episode ends on a cliffhanger, and all I can think of is Annie Wilkes from Misery. She tells author Paul Sheldon that pretending Misery had never really died in the previous book was a cheat like the old serials she watched as a kid.  We see a car careen off a cliff and explode with the hero stuck inside, but then the next episode starts and we learn that he actually escaped the car just before it went off the cliff.  Well, Annie, I'm with you.  It is a cheat, and Batman didn't get out of that cockadoodie car either.  I can just imagine how incredibly tired people got of seeing heroes seemingly blow up, fall to their deaths, almost get run over by trains, etc. in cinema back then.  Seems like every serial I've ever seen uses those tricks.

However this silliness also led to another important part of Batman history - that being the 1960s TV series.  It's easy to see that series as a direct parody of this and the later serial, with tongue planted firmly in cheek all the while.

So I can't really recommend this serial for anyone other than the die hard fan, or perhaps someone who is a really big fan of WWII propaganda films.  But I am glad I at least checked it out.  It's available pretty cheap on DVD these days, so if you're curious, I say go for it.

Batman: The Animated Series - Scarecrow Episodes

The structure of Batman: The Animated Series makes it difficult to review in season order. It was originally a M-F afternoon series, and as such the first season contains sixty five episodes. The second season contains only twenty because the show was renamed The Adventures of Batman and Robin and aired on Saturday mornings. Instead of attempting to try to sum up my feelings on either of these seasons in one big entry, I thought it might work better to break it down. After all, the strength of an episode is usually largely related to the villain involved. For no particular reason beyond my mood, I decided to start off with the Scarecrow.

There were a total of three episodes starring the villain, and they are all from the first season. My hunch is that the reason he didn't get any attention in season two is because one of these episodes includes Robin already, and season two was all about adding in more Robin episodes.

"Nothing to Fear"

This episode is not quite an origin story, but more our and Batman's introduction to the Scarecrow. He's shown to be crazy from a very early age, always enjoying scaring the daylights out of people for no good reason. It made me wonder how a man like this could ever get far enough to be a professor conducting experiments on people, but I guess we're not supposed to think about all that. The best thing about the episode is that Batman gets exposed to a slow release fear toxin that reveals his greatest fear: that his father would not be proud of him. It's a perfect angle for Bruce, given the playboy image he shows to the public and also perhaps a kind of doubt that he's going about this the wrong way. There is a very touching moment where Alfred assures Bruce that his father would be proud, because after all, Alfred is proud of him.

The main issue I had was that Batman feeds a strip of cloth he pulls off the Scarecrow into the batcomputer for analysis, and it conveniently takes most of the episode to figure it out. When it does tell him that the cloth has residue from a chemical, he asks the computer to cross reference the chemical suppliers with Gotham University (since all the attacks have been there). The computer immediately tells him that about Professor Jonathan Crane being fired and how he had a specialty in phobias who also owns one of the chemical plants. Wouldn't just checking the university's records for fired professors have already gotten him this info? It's clear they were just delaying Batman finding out the answer for no good reason.

Also, how does Batman conquer his fears? By shouting: "I am vengeance. I am the night. I am ... Batman!" As much as I love that wonderfully overdramatic line, how does that prove his father would be proud of him?

"Fear of Victory"

This is the Robin episode of the bunch, and therefore one I really enjoy. This time around the Scarecrow is using a fear toxin that activates when the person exposed to it gets an adrenaline rush - he's using it to throw sports games in his favor by making the star athletes panic. Since Dick Grayson's roommate is the star quarterback of the university's football team, he also gets exposed to the toxin. It makes Dick afraid of heights, a particularly illogical fear for a guy who was once an aerialist in the circus. Robin does manage to conquer his fear in time to save the day.

What is done best in this episode is that the climactic scene occurs at a football game, and the announcer's words and the cheers of the crowd happen to perfectly correlate with what is happening between Batman, the Scarecrow, and Robin above the game. I also enjoyed seeing a Batman in this episode who has a bit of a sense of humor, adding to that idea that Batman needs Robin to mellow him out a bit.

"Dreams in Darkness"

This one is fairly unique compared to a lot of BTAS episodes in that it is mostly a flashback story narrated by Batman. It definitely sets a different tone, if nothing else. The Scarecrow once again has created a slow release type gas that is making Batman hallucinate. His delusions get him locked up in Arkham while the Scarecrow has snuck out and is about to poison Gotham's water supply with the very same chemical. The plot is beyond simple - the Arkham doctors don't believe Batman, but then eventually do go ahead and check the Scarecrow's cell anyway, and sure enough, Batman was right and he gets past the orderlies in order to stop Scarecrow and save the day.

What is far more interesting are Batman's hallucinations. He watches his parents head into a dark alleyway, and then the alley transforms into a giant gun that drips blood. Don't ask me how they got that past the censors, but it's awesome. Later, Batman starts seeing all of his Rogues gallery - the Penguin swells to enormous size, and then his head pops like a balloon and Two Face's head is underneath. He's then tied down by a Poison Ivy/Clayface amalgam while Robin and Alfred mock him. Try and tell me that isn't something you want to see.

All three of these episodes can be found on Batman: The Animated Series, Volume 1 if you want to see them for yourself.

Batman Character Spotlight: Dick Grayson

Sometimes I feel like less of a Batman fan and more of a Dick Grayson fan. As much as I love the Dark Knight, I don't think I would be so heavily endeared to him and his many incarnations if it wasn't for Dick. I fully expect a lot of giggling in the peanut gallery for this post, but sometimes you can't help the unfortunate name you've been given, alright?

As I said before, it's Batman the Animated Series that is my ideal Batman, and so logically, that is where my ideal version of Dick Grayson also resides. And at the age of 13, I fell in love with him hard. His looks, his sense of humor, his abilities, he was the perfect guy as far as I was concerned. I hated Barbara Gorden out of simple and pure jealousy. She couldn't have him, he was mine!

There's no doubt that a large part of what created those passionate feelings for me was the two part origin episode for Dick, "Robin's Reckoning." It is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of what made this show so great. Apparently I am not alone, as it won an Emmy.

The episode begins with classic Batman and Robin - Robin makes jokes to try to keep the stakeout they're on from being too boring, while Batman is all business. When the criminals finally arrive, Robin excitedly springs into action and continues to crack jokes while taking down the foes. The mood changes dramatically, however, when one of the hoodlums mentions a name. It means nothing to Robin, but clearly Batman knows it. He promptly orders Robin to leave, and once the kid is gone, he threatens the hoodlum to tell him everything he wants to know.

Robin is angry and confused by being shut out by Batman, but unlike Jubilee, he's not whining about it. He takes matter into his own hands and uses the detective skills that Batman has taught him to get down to the bottom of it. The name is an alias for Tony Zucco, the man responsible for Dick's parents' death. This segues into a flashback scene where we see exactly how it occurred. The death scene is appropriately heartbreaking and shocking without being graphic, and the pain in young Dick's voice often brings tears to my eyes.

Dick's origin really is perfect for a self insert character. He shares a similar tragic past to Batman, meaning they can have something in common, but he's also got a really cool life. He gets to grow up in the circus, and when that comes to an end he gets to go live in a huge mansion with a rich guy who leads a secret life as Batman. Not a bad consolation prize for being orphaned.

The main storyline of this episode is actually very similar to Robin's story in Batman Forever, and may go a long way in explaining just why I loved that film at the time. Dick wants revenge, but Bruce wants to find Zucco first. We find out through the flashback sequences that Dick once did the very same thing as a kid. In that instance, Bruce had a choice between catching Zucco or saving Dick's life, so Zucco got away. Now that Dick has grown up, he assumes that Bruce is afraid he will go too far and try to kill Zucco - but in reality, Bruce tells him he couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and he kept him home to keep him safe. It is incredibly touching and sweet. The voice talents of Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, and Joey Simmrin (who plays young Dick) cannot possibly be understated here. They sell this entire episode and make you feel for these characters.

It's no wonder to me that all this had such a deep effect on me and made me so attached to the character. I also have the novelization of this episode in the form of Shadows of the Past. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a short quick read, but an excellent adaptation of both this episode and another, "Appointment in Crime Alley," which touches a lot on the death of Bruce Wayne's parents. I used to read it repeatedly.

Coincidentally, the time that I started reading Batman comics was also when the Prodigal storyline happened. That was when Dick Grayson took over as Batman for the first time. In that instance, it was meant to be temporary. I loved this story for two reasons - it was great to see Dick's mindset in being under the cowl and what that meant to him, and it was also great to see him interact with Tim Drake. This interaction remained after Dick returned to being Nightwing in the comics, at least for a little while. I got bored with most of the Batman comics shortly after this storyline ended, but I kept collecting Robin. I don't think I would have accepted Tim Drake half as much as I did if it hadn't been for the solid interaction between the two of them - very similar to a brotherly relationship. I plan to review both the Prodigal storyline as well as some of those Robin comics at a later date.

It's kind of frustrating to me that at the time I was collecting, Nightwing didn't have his own book. He got a one shot where he rescued Alfred and then a mini series, but his ongoing title didn't start until after I had stopped collecting. Being such a huge part of both Batman's universe and even the DC Universe as a whole thanks to his leadership of Teen Titans, it didn't seem fair for him to get pushed aside like that. I collected a few Teen Titans back issues to get my fix, but I wasn't too crazy about a lot of them. His failed wedding to Starfire in particular bothered me, as I felt like I really didn't know the hothead character being shown in that book. He wasn't the Dick Grayson I knew and loved.

I know shortly after I stopped they did in fact give him his own ongoing title which lasted for quite a while. I've read a few spare issues here and there, but am otherwise largely unaware of how good or bad they are.

I have been enjoying Dick's recent return to playing Batman though, especially his relationship with Damien. It doesn't seem right to demote him back to Nightwing like they plan to do in the upcoming reboot, but at least he'll still have his own title.

How Do You Like Your Batman?

I've had that blog title sitting in my head for months if not years now. I think I've been putting off writing it for so long simply because I feel like I can't possibly put everything I'm feeling into words. However, I don't think it's right to start off my recurring Batman posts without at least first giving you an idea of where I'm coming from.

I'm not sure if there has been any pop culture icon who has been reinvented and changed in so many ways over the year as Batman has. His compatriot Superman has seen a lot of adaptations, but beyond tweaking his powers here and there, I don't think the character varies all that much. Mickey Mouse is drastically different from the original prankster he started out as, but the squeaky clean reinvention of his personality has largely stayed the same, even if the way he's drawn changes. Every character changes at least a little bit with the times, but Batman seems to take it to a whole different level.

The early Batman comics were targeted towards children, and the movie serials that ran at the same time were also for kids. The sixties television show rocketed Batman to greater fame than he had ever achieved before, and it is best known for being overly campy and silly. By the eighties, we started to see a grittier side of Batman, particularly in the comics with Frank Millar's The Dark Knight Returns and the many others it influenced. Tim Burton's Batman films were similarly gritty and dark, though they had a larger than life, cartoonish feel to them as well. When Joel Schumacher took over, he clearly tried to inject a feeling a little more similar to the sixties television show or the four color comics that proceeded it though in nineties DayGlo tones. Not long after the Burton films began, Batman: The Animated Series was created. It also had a dark tone but treated Batman just a little more seriously, and introduced many more characters than the movies had time for. Batman & Robin's failure killed the movie series until Nolan came along with his reboot, Batman Begins, that took Batman a little closer to the real world. It took themes that had been used in the comics and put them into movies that even people who didn't previously care for superheroes could enjoy. And of course all during this time Batman evolved in the comics, even letting other people take on the role, to the point that we now have Batman, Inc. where multiple people are all Batman at once. Until the September reboot, anyway, where Bruce Wayne will be the only person left under the cowl again.

These drastic changes combined with the immense popularity of the character means most people have their own favorite version. It stands to reason that if the sixties show was your first experience with Batman, you may not enjoy the seriousness of The Dark Knight. It's kind of amazing to think that Adam West and Christian Bale are playing the same character. Sure, you can see similarities in the costume and the names are the same, but it ventures off pretty far otherwise.

So how do I like my Batman? Thanks for asking! Like most children of the eighties I first watched Batman through the Tim Burton film. (It's hard to say the first time I heard about him.. Batman as an icon is just sort of ever present in at least Western culture.) I remember most of my younger brother's friends praising it immensely. We eventually borrowed a copy of the film from someone and honestly I didn't see what the big deal was. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. Like a lot of stuff around that time period, I had more fun playing with the action figures with my brother and the stories we would make up for them instead. I got excited for Batman Returns because of Catwoman's appearance - I've always had an interest in females in action roles for as long as I can remember, but I didn't actually see the film until it came out on video. Before that video release, Batman: The Animated Series premiered on television and changed everything for me. Since the X-men cartoon had just come out, I was aching for more superheroes, and this show delivered.

I originally loved Batman for most of the reasons that we all love Batman. He's intelligent, strong, and although he has no superpowers he is able to get himself out of any difficult situation. He has a tragic past and uses that as fuel to make a difference and stop criminals.

What really appealed to me though was that the show really took itself seriously, especially for something shown at a children's level. Much like the X-men cartoon, it understood that children didn't need to be talked down to in their entertainment. You can limit the violence and sex without sacrificing good storytelling. You could also tell that the creators were familiar with the comics and knew that Batman himself was not just kiddie stuff.

While I would eventually see all the movies, the sixties television show, and even dabble in the comics, the animated series remains my golden standard for what Batman should be. There's no doubt in my mind that the reason I find Nolan's movies to be far superior to Burton's is related to this, and the fact that the Batman: Arkham Asylum game was utter joy for me to play has a lot to do with the fact that I got to hear the voices of Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin in their proper roles once again.

I made a list of potential Batman related posts, and it is very nearly 50 items long. It includes movies, television shows, video games, comics, novels, and some character spotlights. I hope to do at least one a month, so it should be going for quite a while!

So now I'll ask you. How do you like your Batman?

My Top Ten Geek Moments of 2010

So it's that time of year where we look back and also look forward to the future. Instead of boring you with personal details, let's look at some of the geeky things I indulged in this year.

10. Star Trek The Original Series
I'm now 2/3 of the way through the original series. I'm enjoying the cast of characters immensely, even if some of the episodes just don't hold up. I'm learning that there are about two really bad episodes for every one really fantastic one. It's sort of amazing the series lasted as long as it did. The feature films are also about 50/50 in terms of quality, but the thing about this series is that when it's good it's really really good.

9. Castle of Cagliostro Dub
After years and years of searching, I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of the original Streamline dub on this movie. I did a comparison of the two dubs and found that they weren't as different as I was expecting them to be. It's still great to be able to hear the original movie I fell so deeply in love with all over again. This was also one of the more "professional" things I did for the site, taking the time to watch both in a row and compare them in what I hope is an informative and interesting fashion.

8. Big Bang Theory
After listening to Wil Wheaton talk about his appearances on the show, I decided to check out this series. The first season was completely hysterical, and so far seasons 2 and 3 are also great. My lack of cable service means I haven't seen season 4 yet. I have some occasional issues with the series and how it caters to stereotypes, but the actors and jokes usually make up for it, particularly Jim Parsons/Sheldon. I think the one joke that irked me the most is when Sheldon and Leonard couldn't answer any of the Trivial Pursuit questions Penny asked them. While geeks don't spend much time perusing gossip magazines, they definitely know their popular culture. Had she asked them sports questions, it might have made more sense.

7. Sherlock Holmes
I was actually a little nervous about this movie before I saw it. We're all so used to that older version of Sherlock Holmes that this looked like it was just another attempt to remake an old hero into something "cool." But in the same way that he managed to make us care about as boring a character as Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. brought a sexiness to Sherlock Holmes where we had never seen it before. I got the blu-ray of this for Christmas and I really need to sit down and watch it again.

6. Alice in Wonderland
People seem so divided on this movie - either you loved it or you hated it. Some seemed to not realize it was a sequel, and others seem to think the story was lacking. I loved it for what it was: a look into a fantastical world and the story of a young girl finding who she truly is.

5. Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn
Grant Morrison successfully made me want to read comics again. I try to keep up with whatever is going on with both Batman and the X-men, even though I hadn't read a comic from either one in years. A lot of what happens in the X-men storylines these days sounds like bad fan fiction to me, but the moment I heard my beloved Dick Grayson was assuming the mantle of the bat, I knew I had to read this. And it was amazing. I really need to pick up that second trade, now that's it's out.

4. Battlestar Galactica (Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4)
Oh, Battlestar. I'm so very glad I watched this after it was all over and didn't have to wait ages to find out what happened. I don't know if I could have done it. I wasn't crazy about some of the choices they made, but overall it was a fantastic series and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

3. Getting into horror (First post, Werewolves, Hannibal Lector, Hatchet/Gore, the start of my Dracula marathon)
Speaking of giving things a chance, I opened myself up to horror movies and discovered that I wasn't so much of a fraidy cat as I used to be. I'm having as much fun devouring the old classics as I am the more recent slasher films. The older movies appeal more to the side of me that has always loved fantasy. The slasher films are a new experience, one where more often then not you are actually rooting for the villain rather than the heroes. I suppose it allows us to indulge in our dark sides in a more healthy fashion. I'm looking forward to watching more next year.

2. Scott Pilgrim vs the World (movie, books)
I fell in love with this movie hard, and thoroughly enjoyed the books too. It hits right in that perfect spot of nostalgia and fun, and has lots of layers to it. The soundtrack is also fantastic.

1. Bill & Ted Marathon
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but this is one of the geekiest things I've ever done, and I'm really proud of it. I was proud enough to try to follow it up with my Dracula series, and I've already started work on another one. Bill and Ted were a huge part of my youth growing up, and the movies are just so much fun. I really loved getting the chance to check out and hopefully introduce others to some of the lesser known parts of this series. The comic book series is something I especially love, and I'm really happy that it seems to be the post that gets me the most Google hits these days. It makes me think there are others out there who are just as interested in it. Rest assured that if they do end up making the third film, or even a remake (UGH) I will add them to the marathon.

I did a lot of experimenting with the blog this year, and I think in some ways I'm still trying to find my exact niche. I hope you are enjoying reading it, regardless.

It looks like in 2011 I will be attending at least one real convention, quite possibly two. I'm not entirely enthusiastic about any of the movies coming out. In terms of superheroes both Marvel and DC seem to be covering characters I'm not particularly crazy about. X-men: First Class will be out in June, but after the lukewarm Wolverine movie, I just can't get excited about that right now. Of course there is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which should be well done. Am I forgetting anything?

Tell me what made you geek out this year and what you're most looking forward to next year!

Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn

I've been in love with Dick Grayson since the approximate age of 12. It started with Batman The Animated Series and quickly moved over to the comics. I even decided that if I ever found a guy in real life that was like him, I'd marry him.

I loved the Prodigal storyline that happened right around the time I was collecting. After all the Knightfall/Knightquest/KnightsEnd business, Bruce decided he needed more time off, and asked Dick to fill in for him. Dick was more than happy to put aside the Nightwing persona and do it for him. I haven't collected comics in ages, and honestly I stopped collecting Batman comics even before that. I do try to keep up to date with what's happening however. So when the death of Batman storyline came about, and they started playing the guessing game of who would replace him.. honestly there was no other choice in my mind. Of course it would be Dick.

Reviews of the Batman & Robin series were overwhelmingly positive from the get go, so I knew I had to get my hands on it. At this point in my life monthly visits to the comic shop just aren't practical, so I waited patiently for the release of the trade paperback. Actually, it's a hardcover. I didn't even realize they were releasing them this way, but I'm glad they did. It looks gorgeous and of course it's much harder to damage. I was afraid to take the sleeve off while I read it because I have a cat that loves to chew on paper, but the average person would have to try pretty hard to ruin the quality of these.

I enjoyed Morrison's New X-men run quite a bit, even though my thoughts on the whole thing were "Well, these aren't MY X-men, but I like the stories just the same.." I didn't get that feeling from this series at all. This is the Dick Grayson I've been in love with for more than half my life now. His thoughts and actions meshed perfectly well with the character I've known for so long. I can't count the number of times I smiled while reading this. In all fairness a general mention of Bruce and Dick as father and son is usually enough to make me all warm and fuzzy inside, so maybe I'm just easy to please in this regard. Damian Wayne was a completely new character for me, and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about him. On the surface these "child of famous hero" characters always smack of fan fiction being brought into canon, but I think he's handled very well and brings a new dynamic to the Robin character and his relationship with this new Batman. He's both a compliment and foil for Dick's way of doing things, and I enjoy him a lot. I also really like the hood on his costume.

In terms of villains, I enjoyed that so far the Rogues gallery is pretty much literally a freak show. This early on they could have gone the obvious route and had them take on one of the big names to try to drum up interest and I'm glad they didn't. While I hope that the villains aren't constantly this gritty, I think it fit the tone of the book really well.

As you can probably tell, the art in comics often takes a backseat to storyline for me. I was not a fan of Quietly's art on New X-men, but I think it worked much better here in a Batman book. Or perhaps he has just grown as an artist. I still don't care for his shading techniques regardless. I found Philip Tan's art in the second arc a bit more enjoyable. Maybe it's just been a long time since I've read a comic, but I was also really energized to see the way they incorporated the sound effects into the images themselves. BANG is written in blood as someone is shot, and CRACK appears in the cracks as someone collides with a wall. Just a great subtle touch that shows how you can really take advantage of the medium you're working with.

I can't believe I have to wait until November until Volume 2 is out! Highly recommended for any Batman fan.