Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of March 8 - 13/14, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language"
THIS WEEK'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "THE ALT.ANIMATION.BATMAN NEWSGROUP IS UP AND
RUNNING. VISIT! VISIT!"
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another action-packed issue of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter"!
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
NOTE: "Batman: The Animated Newsletter" will be delivered at weekly intervals,
and not bi-weekly - this is to compensate for the "Batman Beyond" episodes which
are being aired every weekend now. This is also to shorten the newsletter, so all of our
subscribers with free/limited e-mail providers can read the newsletter. This means that
all of our features from our writers, such as comic reviews, toy reviews, and editorials,
may not appear in every issue. We may go back to the bi-weekly format in May, but for the
time being, this is it. Stay tuned!
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DC'S ANIMATED LEGACY
In early 1990, in the aftermath of the blockbuster "Batman" film, ideas began to
form about an animated Batman series. This task had been attempted in the past, from the
60's to the 80's, but the series were, moreover, a disappointment. However, in September
of 1992, when "Batman: The Animated Series" debuted, it became a financial and
critical success - seen as the best non-comics interpretation of Batman in history.
After 65 episodes, season two began in 1994 with a new name for the series - "The
Adventures of Batman & Robin". Like all other aspects of the Bat-mythos in that
year, things lightened up a bit - mostly due to Robin playing a heavier role in the
series. In 1995, the series passed away silently with 85 episodes, a feature-film, and 4
emmy awards under its Bat-belt.
In 1996, the BTAS team moved on to work on a series for DC's other major hero, Superman.
After 13 episodes, the season got off to a shaky start, but when it was paired up with
Batman in the fall of 1997, it got the exposure it needed and began to thrive. In this
year, Batman was renewed and 24 more episodes (including a number of crossovers with
Superman) were given the go-ahead.
Just as the 1998/99 season of Batman/Superman was drawing to a close, the WB team
surprised us once again with a new animated series - a futuristic version of Batman
entitled "BATMAN BEYOND". The season has just begun and it's already a hit! This
is the episode the WB team will be working on until the end of the 1999/2000 season. What
will follow? Rumor right now is...MORE BATMAN (the regular one)! Woohoo!
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NEW EPISODE(S)
This section will just basically give an insight into what the new episodes are about and
hopefully a synopsis of the episode. This section will feature both new Superman and new
Batman episodes.
THE LOSS OF THE WB ON WGN: Beginning this fall, the WB will no longer be carried on WGN-TV’s national feed to avoid conflicts with other WB affiliates. WGN-TV will
continue carrying the prime time WB in the Chicago area. If you’re outside the
Chicago area and know of no other way to pick up the WB, you may call them at
(818)977-5000 for more information. This is taken from the info section of the WGN
website,
http://www.wgn.com . Thank you for Peter
Destructo for pointing this out.
'SHRIEK'
Batman Beyond #10
Air date: March 13, 1999
Powers hires another villain named Shriek (who uses sound-waves as a weapon) to nix the
Bat.
'DEAD MAN'S HAND'
Batman Beyond #06
Air date: March 20, 1999
The Future Knight takes on the Royal Flush Gang - and one of them develops a crush on
Terry. Rumor of a Catwoman appearance of sorts.
'DEMON REBORN'
Superman #??
Air date: ??
BATMAN'S FINAL CURRENT-DAY ANIMATED APPEARANCE! This episode, originally entitled
"Rise of the Demon", features Batman and Superman teaming up to take down Ra's
Al Ghul. One parter, probably - WOOHOO! THE BAT IS BACK! This'll probably air in May.
'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #??
Air date: ??
This two-parter, featuring the final showdown between Superman and Darksied, will be the
season finale, airing this May.
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
This section of the newsletter highlights the schedule and times that WB airs The New
Batman/Superman Adventures. For most affiliates it airs Monday - Friday at 4pm (ET) and
Saturdays beginning at 8am (ET). WGN airs Batman/Superman Monday - Friday at 10am (ET) and
Sundays beginning at 8am (ET). There's a chance that your local WB channel airs it at a
differant time. To find out when, we recommend you follow this URL (provided by Toonzone):
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/stations/index.htmlPS
- Remember that "Batman Beyond" airs 30 minutes AFTER
"Batman/Superman" is over, because "Men In Black" has been squeezed in
between.
Mon 3-08-99: Superman #45 Knight Time
Batman #101 Animal Act
Tue 3-09-99: Batman #18 Beware the Grey Ghost
Superman #18 Livewire
Wed 3-10-99: Superman #06 The Way of All Flesh
Batman #84 Deep Freeze
Thu 3-11-99: Batman #75 Bane
Batman #100 Cult of the Cat
Fri 3-12-99: Superman #37 Little Girl Lost (Pt. 1)
Superman #38 Little Girl Lost (Pt. 2)
Sat 3-13-99: Superman #52 Little Big Head Man
Batman #108 Beware the Creeper
B-BEYOND #10 Shriek ----NEW!!!
Note: All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES while
the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) episodes.
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
"Yabba Dabba Doom"
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive rights to 52 episodes of the classic
Batman: The Animated Series, as well as MASK OF THE PHANTASM and SUB-ZERO. If our schedule
listings is not complete or up to date then please go to TOONZONE for the complete episode
schedule:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
Mon 3-08-99: #29 Eternal Youth
Tue 3-09-99: #31 The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy
Wed 3-10-99: #34 Night of the Ninja
Thu 3-11-99: #35 Cat Scratch Fever
Fri 3-12-99: #36 The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne
NOTE #1: MASK OF THE PHANTASM will be airing on CARTOON NETWORK again at 8pm (ET) on March
13th. It also looks like Kids'WB! won't be airing MASK OF THE PHANTASM at all.
NOTE #2: BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO will be airing again on CARTOON NETWORK on May
22nd at 8pm (ET) as apart of their CARTOON THEATRE
NOTE #3: CARTOON NETWORK will be having a BATMAN 'SUPER-CHUNK' on May 29th. The 3 hour
BATMAN Super-Chunk will be from 4pm-7pm (ET). The 'SUPER-CHUCK' means that we'll have
three hours worth of BATMAN episodes.
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
All of Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton's reviews of the new-style BTAS episodes and
BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links, which link to "Two-Face's Tower of
Tranquility and Terror":
MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html
<BATMAN BEYOND>
BLACK OUT
Written by Robert Goodman
Directed by Dan Riba
Animation by Dong Yang
Original air date: January 30, 1999
My rating: ****
This episode, while not carrying the emotional baggage introduced in "Rebirth"
is still an awesome episode is terrific foreshadowing of forthcoming episodes.
In Future Gotham, various Foxtecha facilities are being sabotaged, causing a great amount
of suspicion. (Foxtecha is a company founded by Lucious Fox (remember Bruce's ol' buddy?),
one of the few companies in Gotham that Derek Powers doesn't own.) We soon learn that a
"liquid spy", known as Inque, is the saboteur. She works for Powers, who is in
competition with Foxtecha to have the government grant them allowance to build some sort
of space station; Powers must win, so he cripples his competition, to make them uneligible.
Terry (the "new" Batman) is then sent out by Bruce Wayne to combat Inque. Bruce
(who is connected to Powers' dealings, for his company is named "Wayne Powers")
does not want to be connected to these acts, and still holds ties to the Fox family;
besides Inque endangering innocent lives, this is why Bruce feels this villain should be
blotted out ASAP.
The finale of the episode takes place in...the Batcave, of all places. Inque sneaks in,
and there is a huge fight in which nearly every character ever introduced to the
Bat-mythos is referred to in some way.
Awesome episode. First off, Inque is just really cool to watch. Dong Yang's animation is
superb; Inque's shapeshifting is very reminiscent of Clayface's, but while he was a big
hulking mass of mud, Inque is sleek and glimmering. (Comparing abilities, though, Clayface
still has the edge, cuz Inque can only change shape, while Clayface can change his voice, colouring, etc...) Inque really likes to hide out in the shadows, and is lightning quick.
Her dialogue is minimal, but that is OK, because she makes up for that with all of her
cool shape-shifting. That alone makes the episode fun to watch.
The Batmobile is introduced. It's more like the Batwing, though, but hey, it's there - the
interior is very Frank-Miller-ish, like the Batmobile seen in BTAS' "Legends of the
Dark Knight" episode.
We also get to see Barbara Gordon at the GCPD, and learn she hasn't spoken to Bruce for
ages. This is foreshadowing for things to come.
Derek Powers' character is also expanded, as we learn that after the nerve-gas situation
in "Rebirth", he has to wear a protective skin to hide his radioactive body. The
catch is that this skin only lasts 24 hours, and then flakes off; we get to see it flaking
in this episode, and scares the bejesus out of Inque. Ugh.
In the finale of the episode, we finally get to see a large portion of the Batcave's
trophy room. In BTAS, we saw only Two-Face's giant penny in "Over the Edge", and
then in "Rebirth (Pt. 1)" we saw that, in addition to the Joker card, Calendar
Girl's dinosaur, Harley's costume the Scarface puppet, and the costumes of all the
"heroes". Here we see all this and more, including the full costumes of the Gray
Ghost, Catwoman, the Riddler, the Penguin, Firefly, the Mad Hatter, and Mr. Freeze. Bruce
should be counting his blessings for running into Freeze, for it was through the use of
his freeze gun that allowed Terry to defeat Inque before she escaped into Wayne Manor.
The most astounding part of the episode, however, was when Inque first attacked Terry in
the Batcave - she went down his throat! EWWW! But it looked awesome, just about as awesome
as when he threw her right back up. That was pretty disturbing, actually...but cool.
It's also nice to note that Terry is never referred to as "Batman" here - and
that's a good thing. Bruce is the only Batman! ONLY ONE! So there.
Anyhow, great episode. The relationship between Terry and Bruce is strengthening, the
animation was terrific, and it looks like the new rogue's gallery is off to a great start.
Must see it! 4 stars outa 5.
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THE ORIGINAL 85
(by E. Nygma)
E. Nygma was unable to submit his reviews for the printing of this letter, but fear not,
he will return shortly!
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EDITORAL
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Laura will be back.
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TO INFINITY AND BEYOND
- a column dedicated to "Batman Beyond"
(by Ed Wiser)
ewiser@iglou.com
Mr. Wiser was unable to submit an article for this column at the printing of this
newsletter. But fear not, he WILL return shortly!
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections, where I get to boggle the minds of all our readers!
*EVIL LAUGH* This trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal with ANY
aspect of the show or comics. Some are easy, some are not. Now have fun - let's see how
well you do! Answers are provided in the following section.
Last week I had the idea to do a quiz entirely based on cameo appearances of certain
characters. Soooo...heeeeeeere's the quiz!
81. Ra's Al Ghul made a cameo appearance at the end of WHAT episode in this list?
A: "THE DEMON'S QUEST (Pt. 1)"
B: "OFF BALANCE"
C: "ETERNAL YOUTH"
D: "REBIRTH (Pt. 2)"
E: "THE DEMON WITHIN"
82. Doctor Leslie Thompkins has only made one appearance on TNBA - a cameo. What episode
was it in?
A: "SINS OF THE FATHER"
B: "WORLD'S FINEST (Pt. 2)"
C: "TORCH SONG"
D: "CHEMISTRY"
E: "CULT OF THE CAT"
83. Which of the following villains made a cameo appearance in "TRIAL", but
never said a word?
A: KILLER CROC
B: RUPERT THORNE
C: THE RIDDLER
D: THE MAD HATTER
E: THE PENGUIN
84. Two-Face has made more cameo appearances than anyone, probably, but usually only as
Harvey Dent. In which of these non-Two-Face episodes did he actually appear, as Harvey
Dent, even if it was just for a split-second?
A: "HEART OF ICE"
B: "HOUSE AND GARDEN"
C: "THE WORRY MEN"
D: "PRETTY POISON"
E: "VENDETTA"
85. Prior to becoming Batgirl, Barbara Gordon made appearances on BTAS. In what of the
following episodes did she appear, but only as a cameo?
A: "I AM THE NIGHT"
B: "HEART OF STEEL (Pt. 2)"
C: "IT'S NEVER TOO LATE"
D: "WHAT IS REALITY?"
E: "ON LEATHER WINGS"
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #81: 'B'
Answer to #82: 'D'
Answer to #83: 'C'
Answer to #84: 'A, B, E'
Answer to #85: 'A'
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LITTLE FACTS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various little facts that we have noticed while
watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to
do so! Enjoy!
CONBTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
-None by the staff this time. Gotta go check the retinas, I guess...
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(Rahat Husain)
1) Batman's birthday is on February 19. Whoever knew that, raise their hand! (This was
apparently made known in a DC calendar in 1976...anyone have one?)
(Matthew D Schultz)
2) When Darcie is first introduced in "Obsession" there is a pan across the
various reporters there for the event. With some super observation (or slo-mo) you can see
that one of the reporters is undeniably Billy Batson, the child alter-ego of SHAZAM (or
Captain Marvel). I thought it was a great way to work in a small and logical (Billy Batson
was a reporter as well) cross-over into the larger DCU.
(Kelly Tindall)
3)In "Where There's Smoke", the villainous Kurt is a homage to Nick Fury, a
Marvel character. The suits of Kurt's henchmen resemble those of AIM, the Advanced Idea
Mechanics, villains of Captain America. Jack Kirby created the Captain, and worked on all
three. Jack Kirby is one
of series designer Bruce Timm's idols.
4)In "House and Garden", Poison Ivy's cactus-man poisons Daniel Mockridge, the
man responsible for creating the Riddler.
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BATMAN: THE ANIMATED FIGURES
(by Kevin Smith)
ktsmit2@ilstu.edu
Oh_Ho77@hotmail.com
BATTY ABOUT TOYS
I was thinking about the Batman Animated toyline one night (ok, so I couldn't go to
sleep), and I was thinking about this column (how it's been a while since I've written new
stuff for it), and thinking about how I *really* want to get my claws on a Mr. Freeze with
removable head
figure. (Insect Body Mr. Freeze).
And what should pop into my head, but the thought of the old series Mr. Freeze figure. T.O.S. Mr. Freeze and the Phantasm have been my favorite two figures, and Harley Quinn
comes in third. Fourth would be the New Adventures Two-Face (they did a nice job of
detailing on him). I guess I'd place Combat Belt Batman in there as fifth.
I thought about how Mr. Freeze, in my humble opinion, looked more like his design from
the show than any other figure. I also thought about the New Style Riddler figure set to
come out this year, and I decided that if there was one figure that I wanted made, it
would be a New Style Catwoman in a pose like her design by Bruce Timm (not another funky
in-step pose like
TOS Catwoman and Poison Ivy).
So, in all this, I'd thought I'd pose the question to readers - what figures rank in your
top 5, and what one figure would you like to have made? This is your chance to have your
opinion
heard! I will include responses in the following issues.
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