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Celebrate Christmas with Batman
With Christmas just around the corner, I can think of no better way than
to celebrate with Batman! The following episodes of the animated series, New Batman Adventures, Justice League, and Brave
and the Bold are Christmas themed.
Christmas with the Joker (Batman the Animated Series)
The Joker takes over the air
waves on Christmas Eve and puts on a Christmas special all his own, featuring toy soldiers, presents, and a very special rendition
of “Jingle Bells.”
Holiday Knights (The New Batman Adventures)
The episode is divided into three
separate stories that take place between Christmas and New Year’s. Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn go shopping, Bullock
dresses as Santa, and the Joker has a killer plan for New Year’s Eve.
Comfort and Joy (Justice League)
Although Batman doesn’t
appear in this episode, we see how Superman, J’onn, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Flash spend their Christmas vacations.
Invasion
of the Secret Santas! (Batman the Brave and the Bold)
Batman and Red Tornato have to stop Fun Haus’ villainous plot to
ruin Christmas.
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The Joker's Real Name
For whatever reason, some people want us to operate under the
notion that the Joker's real name is unknown. This just isn't the case. The viewer is told twice in the Animated Series that
the Joker is really Jack Napier.
The first time this happens is in the episode "Dreams in Darkness" when
Batman is committed to Arkham. Dr. Bartholomew lists three of Batman's enemies, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Joker and then says
their real names. He calls the Joker Jack Napier.
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| Police report from "Joker's Wild" |
The second instance is in the episode "Joker's Wild" when Batman breaks
into the office of Cameron Kaiser. He finds a police report on the Joker and it lists his real name as Jack Napier.
Jack Napier is, of course, the identity of the Joker in the 1989 movie "Batman."
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Celebrate Halloween with Batman
October is here and that means Halloween is just around the corner. From
ghosts to zombies and Dracula to exploding pumpkins, celebrate the season with these 5 Halloween themed Batman episodes!
Almost Got ‘Im (Batman the Animated Series)
While the entire episode doesn’t
apply, Poison Ivy’s tale is set on Halloween.
Grundy’s Night (The Batman)
The Halloween legend of Solomon
Grundy comes to pass and the swamp zombie goes on a rampage through Gotham to enact his revenge.
The Batman vs. Dracula (Movie from The Batman)
The Penguin accidentally resurrects
Count Dracula, putting into motion a terrifying plot to turn all the citizens of Gotham into vampires.
Strange
New World (The Batman)
Dr. Hugo Strange has turned all the citizens of Gotham into zombies and
only Batman and Robin can prevent the transformation from becoming permanent.
Dawn
of the Dead Man! (Batman the Brave and the Bold)
Following a battle with Gentleman Ghost, Batman must turn himself into
a ghost and team with Deadman in order to stop the creation of a skeleton army.
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Gotham City Revealed
By reading the computer
screens in "SubZero," it is revealed that Gotham City is in the state of New York. While this is hardly news to most Batman
fans, I do find it interesting that this factoid is revealed and confirmed in the animated world.
Another fun fact: The zip code of Gotham State University is 10025. This is a real zip code in New
York and Columbia University resides in it.
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Bruce Timm: The Cool
Moments
After
252 episodes and 4 movies, the Bruce Timm Batman universe is very deep. Gathered below are some of the moments that gave me
goose bumps and made me laugh. These are recurring characters from past series, strange things you'd never expect, and recurring
themes.
Granny
Harley
(Batman Beyond: Return
of the Joker)
At the end of the film,
we see the grandmother of the Dee Dee twins bailing them out of jail. In actuality, it isn’t just any old woman, but
grandma Harley, Harley Quinn!
Coffee and Sleep
(Justice League)
Episode: “Only A Dream”
In the episode, Batman can be
seen doing very un-Batman like things such as listening to the radio, humming, stopping to get coffee, and sleeping in public.
Little Kid Batman
(Justice League Unlimited)
Episode: “Kids Stuff”
Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are transformed into
children and it’s amusing to see how Batman acts as a child.
Batman Sings
(Justice League Unlimited)
Episode: “This Little Piggy”
The episode sees Batman do something
so shocking, that you may need to see it twice to believe it. The Dark Knight sings.
Jonah Hex
(Justice League Unlimited & Batman: The Animated Series)
Episodes: “The Once and Future Thing, Part 1: Weird Western Tales”
& “Showdown”
Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern chase a villain back in time and
end up in the old west. While there, they enlist the help of a band of heroes, one of them being Jonah Hex, the protagonist
from the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Showdown.”
The Creeper!
(Justice League Unlimited
& The New Batman Adventures)
Episodes: “Panic in the
Sky” & “Beware the Creeper”
A throw away character who starred
in his own episode during the New Batman Adventures, the Creeper was a strange hero and one I never thought would resurface.
I would be wrong however. In the massive fight that ensues in the Justice League Unlimited episode “Panic in the Sky,”
the Creeper can be seen taking out a few enemies.
The
Grey Ghost
(Justice League Unlimited
& Batman: The Animated Series)
Episodes: “Epilogue”
& “Beware the Gray Ghost”
As Amanda Waller is telling Terry
of the proposed creation of the new Batman, she discusses the exciting movie that would give young Terry the motivation to
fight criminals. The Grey Ghost is that movie. We can assume the movie Terry goes to see was based off of the TV show young
Bruce watched as a kid (with a slight spelling change), the same show that gave him the motivation to fight crime.
The
Phantasm Returns
(Justice League Unlimited
& Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)
Episode: “Epilogue”
The final event that was supposed
to turn Terry into the new Batman was the murder of his parents as Terry watched. The assassin Amanda Waller hired is none
other than Andrea Beaumont, the Phantasm from the film “Mask of the Phantasm.”
Bookends
(Justice League Unlimited
& Batman: The Animated Series)
Episodes: “Epilogue”
& “On Leather Wings”
While this tie may have been
missed by many, the sharp eyed fan probably caught it. The final sequence of “Epilogue,” which concludes season
1 of Justice League Unlimited, is very similar to the opening sequence of “On Leather Wings,” the very first episode
of Batman: The Animated Series.
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| "Epilogue" & "On Leather Wings" |
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| "Epilogue" & "On Leather Wings" |
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Batman: Arkham Asylum Animated
Even though the new Batman video
game “Arkham Asylum” isn’t in the animated style, that doesn’t mean there are no associations with
the animated Batman world. The talent sports some familiar names from Batman:
The Animated Series.
Kevin Conroy – Batman
Mark Hamill – The Joker
Arleen Sorkin – Harley Quinn
And who wrote the game's story? Why long time Batman writer and producer
Paul Dinni of course! Dinni has written many classic episodes including “Heart of Ice” and “Over the Edge.”
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The Lost
Episode
The
cut scenes in the 1994 Sega CD game, "The Adventures of Batman and Robin" combine to create what has been dubbed "The Lost
Episode". The original story and animation has been assembled by a YouTube user and can be viewed below.
There
are some gaps where it is obvious that the story was moved along during game play and the sequences are more violent and graphic
than anything that was on the TV show.
The
Lost Episode (1994)
Main Villains: Poison Ivy, The Riddler, The Joker, Clayface
After Batman foils Poison Ivy's attempt to rob a
bank, she informs him that Robin and Commissioner Gordon have been kidnapped. The Dark Knight rescues Gordon from
the Riddler and Batman is then told Robin is being held by the Joker. Once Robin is freed, the dynamic duo
attempt to find out who is pulling the strings controlling the night's events. Their search brings a confrontation with Clayface.
Part 1
Part 2
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Unused Designs: The
Penguin and Catwoman
The classic Penguin and Catwoman
from Batman: The Animated Series were originally slated to look very different, but marketing departments interfered with
Bruce Timm’s plans.
The
Penguin was first envisioned in the style of the 1940’s villain, but had to be changed due to the release of the film
Batman Returns. Catwoman, also envisioned as a tribute to an earlier stlye, had to be changed as well due to Batman
Returns related issues.
Seen here,
the Penguin reflects the Danny DeVido model from the film. The Catwoman model was based on the figure of Michelle Pfeifer,
who had been recently cast as Catwoman in Batman Returns. Timm wanted to put Catwoman in all black for the second
season of the animated series, but was denied by the toy company Kenner, as the Catwoman action figure had recently been released
and needed more exposure in the gray costume.
As we can see, Timm got exactly what he wanted when The New Batman Adventures premiered: The Penguin of the 1940’s
and Catwoman in all black.
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