Obscurities- In the Shadow of the Bat part 1
Obscurities- In the Shadow of the Bat part 1
In anticipation of the Dark Knight, I immersed myself in the Batman for a good 3 days. I read 7 graphic novels and watched 5 films. The films included Batman Begins, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and The Batman vs Dracula. The graphic novels I read were Batman Year One, The Man who Laughs, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, The Long Halloween and the Dark Knight Returns.
Batman Begins- Very little needs to be said about this film. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale rebooted the Batman franchise after the on film abortion that was Batman and Robin. Without all the Arnold Mr. Freeze Puns and terrible bat-nipples, you get a serious and realistic look at how the Batman came to be. Drawing slight influence from Batman: Year One, Begins was the best Batman film to date and arguably the best superhero movie ever, as Bale put it so eloquently quoting Frank Miller, “its about time we give Batman his balls back.”
4.5/5
Batman: Gotham Knight- In a way this was the Animatrix of the Batman universe. By allowing various Japanese Directors to animate stories that are supposed to occur in between Batman Begins and the Dark Knight you get 6 interlinking and unique stories that interpret the Batman in different ways and we even get a battle with Killer Croc. Gotham Knight is an excellent little rent or purchase for the avid Bat-fan, your bound to like at least one tale and at least one art-style.
4/5
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm- The best of the Batman animated films, this movie tells the story of the mobs involvement in Gotham and of Bruce Wayan’s ex-fiancée Andrea Beaumont. The Batman has to deal with The Phantasm a new villain that is picking off the Mob heads leaving the Bat to the Blame. He also has an interesting encounter with his archenemy along the way.
4/5
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker- Set in the futuristic Batman Beyond Universe, Bruce Wayan has long since retired, but the world is still in need of a hero. Terry McGinnis, a high school student, dons the mantle of the bat in a suit provided to him by the original Batman. Wayan serves as his mentor when he comes face to face with an enemy long thought to be dead. The Joker has evil plans for Gotham and a supporting gang that can help him achieve his goals against the modern Batman.
3.5/5
The Batman Vs. Dracula- A play off of the graphic novel that came before it, this takes a light hearted and heavy handed approach to the subject matter. Instead of murdering people, they simply become Vampires that aren’t dead. The Penguin and the Joker both have an important role in the film as supporting films, with the films climatic villain being the Dark Lord Dracula.
3/5
Next time I’ll have a review for the Graphic Novels, I’ll start by saying of the seven I read, five are considered the best Batman Stories ever according to IGN.
