Movie Talk - The DCAU Batman Movies

Come on, Bruce! At least look like you're having fun! I know I would be.

Now that I’m at the end of Batman Month, I can finally get back to the animated universe created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini. While they churned out good shows like Batman: the Animated Series, Justice League, and Batman Beyond, they also did some feature-length animated movies set in Batman’s animated universe. Unlike today, it was rare when we got movies like these. One of them even got released in theatres. So, let me see what I can remember about them.

I remember when Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was released in theatres. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it there. I ended up renting it on VHS. The rest of their movies ended up being direct-to-video. I only saw their second feature, Batman vs. Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero, on TV when the WB aired it one Saturday morning. I rented their third feature, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, from Movie Gallery. I ended up getting the unrated version on DVD a few years later. Finally, I rented their last one, Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman and I’ve only seen it once. Since I haven’t seen most of these movies in along time, I watched them all over the weekend.

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Batman #156

When it comes to Batman in the 1960’s, I know little. I get Superman’s weirdness during that time because he’s one I’ve tried to look into. With Batman, I know even less. I’ve only read a couple of stories from this era. I also remember seeing some episodes of the Batman TV show from way back in the day.  I know that show was somewhat influenced by the comics of the day. One of Linkara’s earliest reviews was of a Batman comic where Batman turned into a baby and still fought crime. Yeah… luckily, the story I have for today isn’t that strange. 

Batman #156 came out in 1963. I also found this story in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told trade. The writer is Bill Finger, the co-creator of Batman. Sheldon Moldoff handles the pencils. I also wonder if “Moldoff” is his real name. It sounds like a cleaning product. Charles Paris handles the inks and I don’t know who handled the colors. So, let’s see what happens when Batman watches Robin die!

Batman #156 – “Robin Dies At Dawn!”

Writer: Bill Finger

Penciller: Sheldon Moldoff

Inks: Charles Paris

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Batman #251

The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge… Nope, you won’t get any innuendoes out of me!

Welcome to the 1970’s. The music ranged from good to “Disco Duck” (seriously, that happened), the clothing styles were weird, and comics started to get a little darker. In the 70’s DC tried to revitalize most of its characters like Batman and Superman. While some of Superman’s changes didn’t stick, a lot of Batman’s changes stuck and still stick to this day. From what I’ve read, the 60’s was full of wackiness for Batman. In order to save the character, the editors decided to bring Batman back to his pulpy, grim roots.

In 1973, they decided to bring the Joker out of retirement as well in this story. Batman #251 was released around September of 1973. I first read the story in a hardcover of Neal Adam’s work on Batman. I’m actually pulling this story from “The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told” trade. The writer is Dennis O’Neil. The artist is Neal Adams. You might have heard of these guys since they made names for themselves during the 1970’s. They revitalized Batman as well as a other heroes for DC. So, let’s see how Batman fares up against this deadlier Joker.

Batman #251 – The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge

Writer: Dennis O’Neil

Artist: Neal Adams

Editor: Julius Schwartz

TV Talk - Batman: The Brave and the Bold

If one ever has qualms over knocking out a woman who’s trying to kill you, just remember that Batman says that “the hammer of justice is unisex.”

Well, it’s another day and another Batman TV show. We’ve had a lot of these in the last 20 years, haven’t we? This one is no different, I think. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a show where Batman teams up with another hero from the DC Universe. Instead of being dark and grim, the show is pretty lighthearted and campy. It premiered in 2008 and had 65 episodes in its three seasons.

I was pretty off and on with the show during its run. I did watch some episodes on TV, but I usually missed some since I was in college. I also missed it when I was out of college and when I started to work during the week. I was able to see its finale though. When I found out that Netflix had the whole show, I waited until they included the final season. I took a while, but I was able to watch them all with an exception or two. That being said, I liked it a lot.

Favorites - Top 11 Batman Villains

When it comes to the best rogues’ gallery, Batman has almost everyone beat. Most villains in his gallery are well-known and there’s a lot of diversity with them. Some challenge Batman’s mind while other challenge his physicality. They’re also quite crazy at times too. Well… they’re usually crazy. That's kind of Batman's thing these days. So, here are my 11 favorite Batman villains. I stuck with 11 because it’s a cool number that will risk his neck for the brotha’, man!  I will say that Killer Moth, Catman, Maxie Zeus, and Eraserhead didn’t make it to the list. Sorry.

11. Killer Croc – Most of Batman’s villains really don’t pose a physical threat. You can pretty much knock out most of them with one punch. You might need more than a hand or foot to stop Waylon Jones from probably eating you. Born with a horrible skin disease, Jones eventually turned to a life of crime as Killer Croc. While he isn’t the brightest of the bunch, his enhanced strength and durability is definitely a match for Batman. I really liked the way he was used in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: TAS.

10. Catwoman – Catwoman gets this spot mostly because I don’t know if she’s that much of a villain. Now, I know she was back in the day, but in recent years, she been less of a villain and more of an ally. Still, when she’s used as a villain, she’s used to good effect.  She’s a thief and she’s good at it. She and Talia Al Ghul are really the only villainesses who can really get under Batman’s skin. I highly doubt Batman would let the Joker kiss him… Ew. Anyway, I thought their relationship was best handled in the movie, Batman Returns. She was also cool in the animated series and The Dark Knight Rises.

9. Carmine “The Roman” Falcone – While he’s not one of the crazy rogues, Falcone is not one to forget. Falcone was the main Mafia boss in Gotham City when Batman started his crusade. Before the crazy rogues, Falcone was his main threat. The guy has the Mafia on his side, so who can’t love that? He was awesome in Batman Begins and he was cool in Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween. He’s even made a comeback in Batman Eternal.

8. Poison Ivy – Poison Ivy’s a weird but good choice. She’s literally the crazy plant lady. Because of a lab accident, she has the ability to control plants. Since she loves plants and hates humans, she provides a nice threat to Gotham. She’s also a scientist, so she knows how to mess someone up. I’d say she also looks nice, but I’m not into plant people. As always, the 90’s animated series did her well and she was a pretty cool boss in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

7. Mr. Freeze – “The Iceman Cometh,” indeed! Yes, I know Batman and Robin is a horrible movie but those puns rule. After a lab accident turned his body into a living ice cube, Victor Fries went into a life of crime. With his high-tech weapons, he provides a nice threat to Batman. Personally, I’m more of a fan of Freeze when he’s trying to cure his wife from an incurable disease. We saw this in the animated series and even Batman and Robin. I’m not exactly a fan of “Crazy!!!” Freeze since Batman has enough of those. That is one of the only things about Scott Snyder’s run I’m not a huge fan of.

6. Bane – He is one of the only villains who truly broke Batman. Mind you, Batman wasn’t in his best shape, but Bane still did something that many haven’t done. Raised as a child in prison, Antonio Diego was experimented on and given a drug called Venom. The drug enhanced his strength greatly. Not only is he a capable fighter without the Venom, he’s also pretty smart. The guy was able to trick Batman, so you know he has to have a brain. To me, he’s been best used been in the movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman: Arkham Origins.

5. Two-Face - He’s the man with two faces. Because of an accident that scarred the left side of his face (or body in most iterations), District Attorney Harvey Dent developed a personality disorder. His every decision is linked to his double-headed coin. Because of his disorder, he commits crimes that involve the number two. Dent is probably one of the more sympathetic villains. He was a good man that lost it all when he was damaged. As always, Batman: TAS did him well and The Dark Knight used Dent well if only for a little bit. Also, read The Long Halloween if you want more Dent.

4. The Scarecrow – No, Dr. Jonathan Crane wasn’t inspired by The Wizard of Oz because he would probably be a character who’s obsessed with brains. Crane was always fascinated with fear. He developed his own fear toxin in order to spread havoc all across Gotham. He can make anyone relive their fears including Batman. The villain was pretty was pretty cool in Batman: TAS, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Batman Begins.

3. The Riddler – That Edward Nygma is a bit of a nut, ain’t he? The man is obsessed with riddles to the point of madness. He also likes to use elaborate traps in order to get what he wants. His intellect makes him a worthy villain for the Batman. He’s greatly used in all of the Arkham games. He was also well done in Batman: TAS and a couple of other animated series.

2. Ras Al Ghul – Next up is the Head of the Demon, Ras Al Ghul. As leader of the League of Assassins (or Shadows in other places), he has a mission to bring order to the world. He’s also over 500 years old because of his regular dips in the Lazarus Pits. He’s pretty smart and is one of the only villains that can really stand toe-to-toe with Batman. If Joker is Batman’s opposite, then Ras is what Batman could be if he wasn’t averse to committing genocide for the greater good. Besides, the guy has legions of ninjas to do his bidding! That’s cool in my book. The villain was done well in the animated series and Batman Begins.

1. The Joker – He’s the Clown Prince of Crime, an agent of chaos, and a dude that apparently had a bad day. After he took a bath in chemicals, the Joker became one of Batman’s greatest threats. Not only is he smart but he will do anything for a laugh. He’s truly unpredictable and has dealt serious blows to Batman and his allies. He even has help in the fine form of Harley Quinn. Of course, the animated series and the Arkham games did him the best. The 1989 Batman movie and The Dark Knight also did the character justice.

Well, that’s all I got.  I know there were a lot of villains who I didn’t list. If you have any other favorites, let me know.