Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
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| Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | |
|---|---|
| |
| Written by | Screenplay: Alan Burnett Paul Dini Martin Pasko Michael Reaves |
| Directed by | Eric Radomski Bruce Timm |
| Animation by | Dong Yang Animation, Inc., Spectrum Animation Studio |
| Air date(s) | December 25, 1993 |
| Running time | 76 min. |
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was the first movie based on Batman: The Animated Series, released on December 25, 1993.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Batman is now the terror of Gotham's underworld, but a new vigilante who does not refrain from killing is on a vengeful rampage. Batman must take down the Phantasm.
[edit] Present Day
While Batman is busting one of his illicit operations, gangster Chuckie Sol attempts to make his getaway on wheels from a high-rise parking garage. He is confronted by a shadowy figure in a cape, which he assumes to be Batman. However, it is instead a different costumed figure, with a deep, echoing voice, a death's head mask, and a vicious blade on the end of one arm. A frightened Chuckie tries to run down the new threat, but as his target disappears into a cloud of smoke, Chuckie instead smashes through the wall of the parking structure and into an adjoining building. The mobster is dead on impact as witnesses note Batman's arrival on the scene, and most jump to the conclusion that the vigilante has finally let one of his normally non-lethal pursuits go too far.
The Batman is still a mysterious and frightful figure to much of the public at this time. Fueling the anti-Bat bias is councilman Arthur Reeves, a vocal opponent of the Batman's methods and a major thorn in the side of Commissioner James Gordon. Reeves goes over Gordon's head to recruit police officers who share his distaste for the Dark Knight's activities. Andrea Beaumont flies into Gotham City, contacting her old friend Reeves, who asks Andrea about an old acquaintance of hers: Bruce Wayne. She dismissively calls the relationship "ancient history," but a flashback tells a different story…
[edit] Before the Bat
In the year preceding Bruce Wayne's first appearance as Batman, a younger (likely between age 18 and 22) Andrea Beaumont is the only child of Carl Beaumont, a high-powered Gotham businessman with some unfortunate ties to the mob. Carl has indebted himself deeply and dangerously to Salvatore Velestra, who at this time may be the most powerful crime boss in Gotham. Andrea visits her late mother's grave regularly, speaking to the deceased woman as if she was alive, until one day she is overheard by another cemetery visitor: young Bruce Wayne, recently returned to Gotham. The two strike up a conversation and eventually begin dating. The relationship grows serious, far more serious than Bruce intended, for he has a secret that even Andrea cannot know: Bruce has spent the last fifteen years of his life training himself to fight injustice, and is now very close to beginning the fight.
But Bruce is hampered by the fact that a simple ski mask is not an image that would intimidate criminals. He needs a symbol. While still planning his secret crusade, Bruce is now completely enamored of Andrea Beaumont. He meets Carl Beaumont (and Carl's assistant, a young Arthur Reeves) and receives the old man's stamp of approval even as the meeting is interrupted by Sal Velestra. While leaving the office, they are watched by Sal's enforcer, Jack Napier.
[edit] Back in the Present
The mysterious vigilante has struck again, killing Buzz Bronski near Sol's grave. And once again, the only witnesses finger Batman as the killer. Sal Velestra confronts Arthur Reeves, and it is now obvious that Reeves is in league with the mob. Reeves escalates his aggressive anti-Batman stance even as he tries to strike up a relationship with Andrea, a relationship he had desired since his days as Carl's assistant until Bruce Wayne had appeared. Batman spies on Reeves and Andrea over dinner, and Andrea claims to be closer to her father than ever.
[edit] Birth of the Bat
Flashing back to the past, Bruce Wayne has all but abandoned his crime fighting aspirations in favor of a happy life with Andrea (to Alfred's delighted relief.) Andrea eagerly accepts his marriage proposal. But at the same time, Sal Velestra demands immediate recompense from Carl Beaumont. Carl begs for an extra 24 hours to liquidate the necessary funds, but as Sal leaves, Carl tells the just-arrived Andrea to pack their things; he can't really get the money and now the two Beaumonts must flee. Andrea protests that she and Bruce are planning to marry, but Carl is adamant: Velestra will kill her if she stays behind. Andrea writes Bruce an apologetic farewell and leaves Gotham, presumably forever. Bruce Wayne's heart closes once more, and he has found his symbol. Deep within the caverns below Wayne Manor, Batman is born.
[edit] The Wild Card
Back in the present, Sal Velestra is terrified for his life. He goes to the last person he would ever want to ask for help: the Joker. The Joker entertains Sal at his hideout: the old Gotham World's Fairgrounds, and initially refuses Sal's offer: vast sums of cash to keep Velestra safe from the supposedly murderous Batman. The Joker is less than intrigued, and likens the job to "pest control." Velestra becomes angry, grabbing the Joker by the shirt and telling the villain that the Joker's hands are just as dirty as Sal's if not dirtier. Joker is momentarily enraged, shoving Velestra away, but he quickly returns to cheerfulness, promising Sal that his old pal would have nothing to worry about and that all he wants to see is a "nice big smile".
Batman has connected the vigilante killer to the Beaumonts, suspecting Andrea is providing an alibi for Carl as the elder Beaumont exacts revenge on Velestra and his men. He confronts Andrea, who has figured out his secret due to a chance encounter at the cemetery while Bruce (as Batman) stops by his parents' grave during the investigation of the Bronski murder. Later, the killer arrives to dispatch Sal Velestra at the gangster's home, but finds Sal dead in his chair; a grinning, grotesque victim of the Joker's Smilex toxin. The Joker's wired the house for video and sound, and makes it clear that since the killer isn't the Batman, Joker now knows exactly who the vengeful vigilante really is.
Joker poisons Arthur Reeves with a slow-acting form of Smilex in order to confirm his suspicions, and to lure Batman and the new vigilante out into the open. Batman is cornered by Gotham Police and is nearly captured without his mask before Andrea arrives just in time to spirit him to safety. She confirms his suspicions: Carl Beaumont is taking his revenge on the underworld. But Andrea is lying...
[edit] Final Flashback
Following their hasty departure from Gotham City, Andrea and Carl Beaumont have been secretly living in Europe (probably a year or so after the Batman's first appearance.) However, as Andrea comes home from shopping, she is alarmed to see a familiar face leaving her father's home: Sal Velestra's top hitman. She protests that Carl had paid his debt, but to Sal Velestra it was no longer about money but the principle: Carl publicly stiffed Velestra, and that could not be tolerated. Carl Beaumont is dead, and Andrea would seek to avenge her father's death by killing the killers.
[edit] Final Act
Batman is still studying the murders and comes across an old photograph of Carl, Sal, Chuckie, and Buzz. In the background, Batman sees something chilling: Velestra's old hitman is a dead ringer for Batman's greatest enemy. The wheels turn in Batman's mind and he sees the connection: The Joker is the last name on Beaumont's hit list. He visits the convalescing Arthur Reeves, now driven to fits of painful laughter by the Joker. Reeves reveals that he had asked Carl Beaumont (who was still hiding at the time) for a loan to help Reeves's run for city council. Beaumont would not lend the money, so Reeves instead sold Carl Beaumont's secret location to Sal Velestra. According to Reeves, Velestra claimed to only want his money back, but Reeves later found this was not the case. Batman goes to Andrea's apartment, hoping to find a clue as to her whereabouts, but the Joker is looking for her as well--with explosives. Andrea's apartment is torn apart by toy-airplane bombs, but Batman has figured out the Joker's hideout: the fairgrounds.
Andrea is already there. The mysterious vigilante is no longer mysterious as the Joker flaunts his knowledge in front of Andrea. She unmasks herself and states her intention to kill him. The Joker retaliates in madcap fashion, unleashing modified fair automatons after Andrea and even attacking her with a bologna loaf. Batman arrives and the truth is finally confirmed. Batman implores Andrea to halt her mission of vengeance, but she counters by pointing to Bruce's own obsessions. The Joker does not sit idly by; as the former lovers debate, he tries to kill them both. After a brutal fight with Batman and the ruination of his escape plan, the villain sets off a chain of explosives that begin to tear the fairgrounds apart. Andrea grabs the beaten Joker by the collar and says a sad farewell to the love of her life. Before Batman can stop Andrea and the Joker from disappearing, the bombs shatter the ground below, and the hero falls into the underground sewers.
The Joker and Andrea Beaumont have disappeared, but Bruce Wayne finds a glimmer of hope in the Batcave. Andrea herself has set sail for new shores, but in Gotham City, the Batman continues his lonely work with renewed determination as the story comes to a close.
[edit] Continuity
- During the party at Wayne Manor, a woman splashes Bruce Wayne with wine. This woman is Veronica Vreeland, who appears in several Batman: The Animated Series episodes.
- Daniel Mockridge, the man the Riddler attempted to kill in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", is visible in the background at the Wayne Manor party.
- The Phantasm would not reappear in DCAU continuity until the Batman Beyond-era Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue," in which Amanda Waller tells the tale of an agent she hired to kill the parents of young Terry McGinnis. Though the assassin is never named, the silent depiction of the event clearly shows the Phantasm stalking the family. However, a visibly aged Andrea Beaumont refuses to complete the assignment, citing the respect for life that Bruce Wayne apparently was finally able to instill within her. Andrea angrily berated Waller for the very idea of linking a deliberate murder to Batman's legacy and was never seen again in the DCAU.
[edit] Background Information
[edit] Trivia
- The movie serves as an origin story of sorts for the Batman of the DCAU. Though much of the story is original, there are many plot elements derived from the character's classic DC Comics origin stories. Besides the origins given by creator Bob Kane, there are tributes to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, and Mike Barr's Batman: Year Two, particularly the latter's ill-fated romance between Bruce Wayne and a young woman linked to a murderous vigilante (the Reaper) who greatly resembled the "Phantasm" character.
- The name "Phantasm" is not used in any way, shape, or form within the context of the storyline. Without the credits of the movie, Andrea Beaumont's alter-ego would be practically nameless.
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was not a theatrical success. However, it was very well-reviewed, with some critics going so far as to suggest it as the most accurate depiction of Batman that had yet existed outside of the comics world. Upon release on home video, the video found a wider audience and is now considered something of a "cult classic."
- According to the (unofficial) DCAU timeline, Dick Grayson should have already moved into Wayne Manor at the latter part of the story's timeframe. However, it is unclear if the Robin identity yet exists, and Dick Grayson does not appear in the movie at all.
- The comic adaptation of the movie shows Dick in college.
- The Joker obviously escapes death, though it's never clear exactly how he managed to escape Andrea's wrath.
- A DCAU comic expanding on the movie's events provides an explanation: Andrea drags him into the sewer below, but hesitates, and an explosion from above knocks him into the water, where he is carried away by the current, laughing himself breathless the whole time.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kevin Conroy | Batman/Bruce Wayne |
| Dana Delany | Andrea Beaumont |
| Hart Bochner | Arthur Reeves |
| Stacey Keach | Phantasm and Carl Beaumont |
| Abe Vigoda | Salvatore Velestra |
| Dick Miller | Chuckie Sol |
| John P. Ryan | Buzz Bronski |
| Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. | Alfred |
| Bob Hastings | Commissioner Gordon |
| Robert Costanzo | Detective Bullock |
| Mark Hamill | The Joker |
| Jane Downs | Additional Voice |
| Pat Musick | Additional Voice |
| Vernee Watson | Additional Voice |
| Ed Gilbert | Additional Voice |
| Peter Renaday | Additional Voice |
| Jeff Bennett | Additional Voice |
| Charles Howerton | Additional Voice |
| Thom Pinto | Additional Voice |
| Marilu Henner | Additional Voice (Veronica Vreeland) |
| Neil Ross | Additional Voice |
| (Arleen Sorkin | Bambi) (uncredited) |
