Batman Christmas memories...

[DisneyBoy]

Over the years, B: TAS, TBA, TNBA, TB+RA and B: GA have treated us to some wonderful Christmas stories, and with today being December 1st, I thought I'd look back over the issues I'll be re-reading in the next 25 days...


Ok, offhand I don't remeber all the title or issue numbers but I think you'll remember...

The Batman Adventures issue in which Harley goes to Arkham disguised as a German Doctor to entertain her puddin' through the holidays? I Fell off my chair when the doctor kissed Joker!!! I was so small, I never picked up on the clues the writer left pointing out that the Doc was Harley!!! And they were so obvious! H+J written on Joker's cell, the candy cane bit (LOL), him calling her Harley the whole time!!! I was so surprised!!! :D Great memories! :D

Rather than run through all the Holiday issues myself, tell us, what was your favorite Batman Christmas story?

[James Harvey]

I have a VHS taped with CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER and HOLIDAY KNIGHTS taped in SP format. Granted the episodes aren't Batman: TAS at it's best, but it's been a tradition for me since the CHRISTMAS WITH THE JOKER episode premiered in 1992. Every Christmas Eve I'll watch those episodes, I'll also break out BATMAN ADVENTURES: HOLIDAY SPECIAL, BATMAN ADVENTURES #28, and BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #3, and (now) BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #33.

[DerekPowers]

well, i dont have christmans w/ the joker on tape, but ive had holiday knights on tape since it premired so every christmans (not quite xman eve, but once schools out and its close to christmas) i always watch it along w/ my other toon holiday special, like charlie brown, garfield, pinky and the brain, and a bunch others. but holiday knights is always my fav to watch, espcially the sceen where harley and ivy and dancing and fooling around in the mall to that christmas music, that scene never fails put me in a christmassy mood.

then just for an excuss to watch it again, i always watch it again before new years, since the last part is a new years scene. yep, good old holiday knights.

[Joker85]

I watch, like many of you, Christmas With The Joker and Holiday Knights every year. I also enjoy the comic Holiday Knights was based on! Oh, and I liked the Long Halloween Christmas issue. :)

[Barb Gordon]

I actually talked about Christmas With The Joker with a friend of mine at school yesterday. It really made me want to see it again, it's a fun episode. My friend had mentioned something about "It's A Wonderful Life", and I was like, hey, there's a Batman ep that mentions that. And I went into the dialouge between Dick and Bruce abou Bruce never being able to get past the title. And then...I started singing Jingle Bells, Joker's batman version of it! I swear...sometimes I scare myself....lol

Barb^-^

[Karkull]

The best Batman: TAS Christmas story was the Mr. Freeze story from the Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1--where Mr. Freeze breaks out of Arkham Asylum just to make sure that it snows on Christmas Eve/his wedding anniversary.

Now, I know that it wouldn't have worked, but I'm sorry that it wasn't adapted for use in Holiday Knights (it was so sweet, [sniffle]).

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

Batman Christmas stories...well, the first thing that comes to mind is the thought of Harvey Bullock having to dig stolen goods out of Clayface. That was funny!

[DisneyBoy]

How about Harley having tricked Batgirl in Batgirl Adventures #1? That was a great one-shot! It had Ivy, Harley, Batgirl, Kit, and some really funny scenes with the Commish, Harvey and Montoya! And is it just me, or was Rick Burchett's art at it's best there? I loved it!

It was really a great twist to see Harley having planned ahead, knowing she had been released, but not telling Bratgirl! Ya gotta love Harley and Ivy! Batgirl rocks, but that goes without saying! And the whole thing was wrapped up in one big Christmas Bow!
I can't wait for the Gotham Girls miniseries!

Oh, and does anyone else know why on TNBA and B:TAS, they refused to acknowledge that Harley was Jewish? In the Holiday Special comic, Harley shouted "and Happy Hanuukah, chump!" right before knocking out Batsy, but on the Holiday Knights TNBA episode, they changed it to "and Happy New Year, chump!" That has always bothered me.

[James Harvey]

First off, the reason why WB didn't acknowledge Harley being Jewish is the same reason why they didn't acknowledge Maggie Sawyer being a lesbian. They totally avoided it to swerve from controversy or to prevent any hostility in their direction. Pretty dumb if you ask me, but sort of valid from an exec's P.O.V. It may bring up uncomfortable questions that some may not be ready to answer.

And I TOTALLY forgot about The Batgirl Adventures #1. That too is an annula reading event since it wa spublished a few years back. The oneshot got everything right, I believe. The art was great and the story was awesome. The coloring was also spot on! Plus the scene between Harley and Batgirl is one of the most hilarious sequences to come out of animated Batman.

[DisneyBoy]

Since I only collected the issues I deemed to be "good" (which still means I have about fourty issues!), did Superman Adventures ever have a Christmas Themed issue?

[James Harvey]

Nope, Superman Adventures didn't have one Christmas issue. I was sorta dissapointed in that...

[Karkull]

Originally posted by Dick Grayson
Plus the scene between Harley and Batgirl is one of the most hilarious sequences to come out of animated Batman.

Which scene would that be? The one where Batgirl asks Harley if she and Ivy are "an item," to which Harley replied "What? You mean like what people say about you and Supergirl?"

[DisneyBoy]

I'm not sure if that was the scene DG was referring to, though it was funny, but here's a question:

When Batgirl puts her two fingers together, is she asking if Harley and Ivy are a " couple ", as in lesbians, or simply friends? The first time I read that, I thought, "Why would Batgirl be embarassed by Harley saying that people think she and Supergirl are friends?", but now I'm thinking the conversation was more geared to address the issue of orientation. Am I right?

[James Harvey]

Yup - it is definatly a refernece to a lesbian relationship. That is what made the scene so hilarious. I don't think I ever laughed so loud in my life when I read the scene. Absolutely priceless.

[DisneyBoy]

Kudos to Dini for at least trying to address the issues of orientation and religion! Boy, does that page have an entirely different meaning now! Man, I am so slow! That took me, what, three years to figure out?!?! :D LOL :D

[James Harvey]

WB just avoided the whole lesbian (Maggie Sawyer) and Jewish (Harley) thing completely to basically avoid any controversy. Well - I got alot of material to watch and read for Christmas this year. I can't really think of any good mainstream Batman stories besides an old Frank Miller Batman story (from the 80's) called Santa: Wanted Dead or Alive.

[Karkull]

Originally posted by Dick Grayson
Yup - it is definatly a refernece to a lesbian relationship. That is what made the scene so hilarious. I don't think I ever laughed so loud in my life when I read the scene. Absolutely priceless.

Yes, it was. It was certainly better than the old "are Batman and Robin gay?" debates back in the 60s! More fun to debate, too.

[RAMPAGE]

Santa:Wanted Dead or Alive? What was that story about?

[James Harvey]

Originally posted by RAMPAGE
Santa:Wanted Dead or Alive? What was that story about?

It was in a hardcover called The Frank Miller Batman Collection. An ex-con decides to help for charity and dress as Santa. Little does he realize some crooks he swindled in the past are out to gfet him. So, Batman has to help the Santa clad ex-con escape some crooks from his past. And it's all done completely on the level. I haven't read this in a year or two and I'm trying to find where I left it...

[GrayGhost]

Batman + Christmas =

Jingle bells, Batman smells. Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost its wheels and the Joker got away!

[James Harvey]

Let's see...our complete list for animated Batman viewing/watching is:

"Holiday Knights"
"Christmas with the Joker"

Batman Adventures #28
Batman & Robin Adventures #3
Batman: Gotham Adventures #33
Batman Adventures: Holiday Special #1
Batgirl Adventures #1

Makes for a good holiday...:)

[ZorBrak]

Hmmm I was a we lil lad back when chritmas with the joker aired, I think I was about to turn 7 when it aired, I was old enough to work a VCR sure, but the recorder never worked, I just got a new VCR only 2 years ago as my parents NEVER cared to tape things, but I am different Ill be sure to get it this year to watch for next Christmas Oh well at least I do have some Batman holiday material :: pops Batman Returns into the DVD player ::

[Dark Knight]

Not an animated story, but probably one of my favorite christmas stories was the end of "No Man's Land" 3 parter called "Endgame." Not the most uplifiting holiday tale but there is some heartwarming stuff in there before the cool but tragic end.

[James Harvey]

That was possibly the best conclusion to any Batman crossover arc. The art was great and, while heartbreaking, it was great seeing Gordan as the site of his wife's grave. Touching stuff, folks.

[The Game]

Don't forget- Batman Returns is a Christmas movie too. :)

[DisneyBoy]

What an awesome Christmas movie it was too! I'll have to watch it when school ends next week!

To revamp the thread a little, what kinds of Bat-memorobelia did you recieve for your holiday celebration of choice? Simply put, what were the best Batman things you ever got at Christmas/Hanuukah/etc? Do you go back and open up a big box of toys every year and revisit your childhood? Tell us how Batman plays a part in your Holidays!

;)

[DisneyBoy]

Well, I have a story to tell.

My sister, who normally gets me the cool gifts (movies, comics, things I hope for), one year surprized me with two action figures-

Harley and Machine Gun Joker! It was a great treat, especially since I'd never had a Joker figure before...

This year, although I haven't been a good boy, I hope to get the Lois 4pack...but I haven't told anybody. Doesn't it kinda make you guys feel bad to ask or suggest anything for the Holdiays as a gift you'd want? I'm starting to value just having my family and health...

I started this post to help people get in the spirit of the season...
SO POST!!!! :D

[RAMPAGE]

I have several memories of Batman toys on Christmas.

When I was around ten, my big brother gave me MOTP joker that came with a jetpack.

When I was even younger, my aunt sent me a Batman Returns model Batmobile, along with Batman, Joker, and Bob the goon. Funny enough, Bob is the only one that remains.

Hmm... that's about it.

[DisneyBoy]

I just remembered that a few years ago, I went to my first comic convention. It was quite the experience, though no big names were there. What I was able to do, though, was pick up some of the back-issues I was missing to my Batman Adventures collection. Among those I bought were the Gordon vs Thorne story, the Batgirl and Robin vs the campagning mayor issue and the Lady Talia vs Darkclaw (Marvel/DC cross-over) book. The only catch my father insisted on, was that since he had payed for them all, I would have to wait until Christmas to read them!

After about a month, I woke up on Christmas morning, opened that (Heavy) box, and read them. That was a really great gift, even though I already knew what it would be! :)

[James Harvey]

Batman gifts...hmm...let's see...I got a remote control Batmobile ages ago. I also got a bunch of action figures every year. I got a wicked Batman animated arlm clock which I still have, though only for show. The last Batman/Superman related gift I got was a SUPERMAN MASTERPEICES set two or three years ago.