WRITER'S CUT: Batman, The Animated Series, and the Phantasm

"WRITER'S CUT": A collection of previously-published posts that have been thoroughly reexamined and re-edited by yours truly. (The following piece was originally posted on February 19, 2017.) 

IN MEMORY OF KEVIN CONROY (1955-2022)

With The Lego Batman Movie as one of the most recent animated incarnations of Bob Kane and Bill Finger's classic comic book creation, many children today will have their first memories of Batman as a toy figure, as well as a self-aware parody of the character's mythology--as seen in 2014's The Lego Movie, and, of course, the campy T.V. series from the 1960s. Just as my parents' generation grew up with the latter, my generation grew up with the dark and serious version from the 1980s and 1990s.

Batman: The Animated Series was one of my favorite shows as a young boy. It was, first and foremost, a successor to Tim Burton's 1989 film, which was my first real introduction to the character. But this cartoon was more accessible for a kid and adult audience than for the latter crowd that the aforementioned film was really intended for. I vividly recall the opening segment where two bank robbers flee an explosion while the Caped Crusader gets into action and corners both criminals on a rooftop. The imagery of this intro alone was both thrilling and a bit terrifying, if only because of the titular character's iconic close-up where he squints his eyes.

Even so, I grasped in the many episodic adventures of Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne (both brilliantly and distinctively voiced by Kevin Conroy) as he battled his many adversaries, from Two-Face to the Riddler, the Scarecrow, the Man-Bat and, of course, the Joker (an unforgettable and scene-stealing vocal performance by Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill). The show's creator's were also inspired by the Max Fleisher Superman cartoons of the 1940s, which shows in the simplistic-yet-bold art direction of Gotham City. Since then, this arguably-definitive version of Batman has led to several other successful TV and movie spin-offs, including Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero (1997), Batman Beyond (1999-2001), Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), Justice League (2001-2004), and The Killing Joke (2016). But none would have been possible without the animated counterpart's first cinematic outing in 1993.

The trailer for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is one of the most exciting previews I've ever seen, on par with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). Like the trailer for the 1989 film, this advertisement was simple but extremely effective in its high-concept presentation of Batman's pursuit of both the Joker and a new villain known as the Phantasm. And although I never saw the movie in theaters, I did geek out when it came on home video.

The story follows a mysterious figure (think Death crossed with the Ghost of Christmas Future) who eradicates the head crime lords of Gotham, while Batman is framed for it. This impacts Gotham's view--or at least that of Councilman Arthur Reeves--of the character's role as a hero or vigilante ("He's just as bad as the crooks he brings in!"), even though Batman himself vows for justice over vengeance. Meanwhile, an old flame of Bruce Wayne's returns to town. And then the Joker shows up.

The film shows a side of Bruce that had never been seen prior to the animated series: human, traumatized, and conflicted about which life to live--as a costumed crime fighter, in honor of the vow he made over his parents' dead bodies, or as a married man. ("I didn't count on being happy," he laments.) Even the world of Gotham City, once seen as a promising future of hope a la Tomorrowland, later becomes a bleak and desolate wasteland far from what it could've been. By juxtaposing Bruce's backstory with the present (recalling The Godfather, Part II or Citizen Kane), the film is a thoroughly engrossing and tragic tale of vengeance, romance, and mystery.

With an untouched animation style and voice cast (including Conroy, Hamill, Dana Delany, and Abe Vigoda) that far exceeds the "cartoony-ness" of the medium, the film is rightfully rated PG, due to its dark and violent atmosphere, various fights, and off-screen deaths. Though tame compared with Burton's more haunting variations, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is recommended for older preteens and adults, showcasing the titular character as Kane and Finger intended him to be. It has also stood the test of time as one of the character's greatest (and most underappreciated) cinematic outings.