Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Week of June
21 - July 3/4, 1999
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key
coarse language and occasional griping"
THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "DONATE $$$ TO
OUR NEWSLETTER OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO HOLD THE WORLD RANSOM FOR...*DRAMATIC
MUSIC*...ONE MEEEEELION
DOLLARS!"
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another issue of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter".
Enjoy!
___________________________
SPECIAL
NOTE
This issue of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter" is being
delivered two days earlier than usual because editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
will be away for a period of time between now and when is due out, for
July 5th. If at all possible, if any current subscribers have any queries
or comments on the newsletter between now and then, (aside from problems with
the delivery of the newsletter), mail those starting in July - you wouldn't get
a response prior to that date, anyway. Take care! See ya'll in two weeks (plus
two days)!
Other special note: As of TODAY,
June 18, 1999, we have FINALLY HIT OUR 1000-SUBSCRIBER MARK! EEEEEEYAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!! *DANCE OF
JOY*
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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.
KidsWB will soon be shown on a new channel
called "WeB" - I know little about this - but if you can get that channel, I'm
pretty sure the WB shows would be on.
'ONCE BURNED'
Batman Beyond #14?
Air Date:
1999-2000 season
Ten returns to rekindle her love for Terry, and
the Royal Flush Gang returns to once again kill Batman - but then again, is
there more than meets the eye this time?
'THE DEMON REBORN'
Superman #44?
Air date:
Fall of 1999
BATMAN'S FINAL CURRENT-DAY ANIMATED APPEARANCE!
This episode features Batman and Superman teaming up to take down Ra's Al Ghul,
who has plans to send the world back to its natural, pre-human state. WOOHOO!
THE BAT IS BACK! Airs in May or September.
'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #48,
49?
Air date: Fall of 1999
This two-parter features the final
showdown between Superman and Darksied in which he strips Superman of his memory
and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth. Now it seems this won't
air until September! Argh!
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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.html
PS - Remember that "Batman Beyond" airs 30
minutes AFTER "Batman/Superman" is over, because "Men In Black" has been
squeezed in between.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 6-21-99: Batman
#66
Sideshow
Superman #36 Warrior Queen
Tue 6-22-99: Batman #69
Avatar
Superman #29 The Hand of Fate
Wed 6-23-99: Superman #24 Solar
Power
Batman #87 Sins of the Father
Thu 6-24-99: Batman #98 Mean
Seasons
Superman #34 Heavy Metal
Fri 6-25-99: Superman #14 Blasts from the Past
(Pt.
1)
Superman #17 Blasts from the Past (Pt. 2)
Sat 6-26-99: Superman #26 Monkey
Fun
Batman #102 Old Wounds
B-BEYOND #11 A Touch of Curare
NEXT WEEK:
Episode schedules for the week of
June 28 to July 3 were unavailable at the delivery date of this
newsletter. For current schedules, go to Brian Cruz' site, mentioned
above.
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 BTAS, as well as both animated
movies. BTAS airs Monday-Friday at 6pm (ET) and then repeated again at midnight.
If our schedule listings is not complete or up to date then please go to
TOONZONE for the complete episode schedule at:
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":
<BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES>
THE DEMON
WITHIN
Story by Rusti Bjornhoel
Written by Stan Berkowitz
Directed by
Atsuko Tanaka
Animation by TMS
Original air date: May 9, 1998
My
rating: ***
Another episode with awesome animation but a
story that severely lacks in several places.
This episode introduces a new hero to BTAS, Etrigan, more commonly known as the Demon. Centuries old, this demonic
creature has fused himself deep inside a man named Jason Blood, which, in turn,
keeps Blood from aging. Whenever Blood recites a verse, Etrigan is
released and comes to life to do one's bidding. To date, the Demon has
only been used for the purposes of good - until...
The episode opens at an auction that Bruce Wayne
and Tim Drake are attending. I long metal prod of sorts is being auctioned
off, and a young, quite queer-looking boy bids on it - Blood, also in attending
the auction, bids higher - the boy, named Klarion, bids again - Blood retalliates. The feud continues until Bruce Wayne steps up and bids a
tremendously stupid amount - $1,000,000 - for the prod. Blood smiles - we
soonafter learn that Bruce and Jason have known each other for a while now, but
we never learn of their history together. Problem #1.
Next scene is at Blood's quarters, where Tim
sees a bust on a table - Blood tells us that it is the Demon's mask and goes on
to tell us what the Demon is all about. Unfortunately, I feel that he
didn't describe it thoroughly enough, and I was oftimes quite confused of the
Demon's motives and origins throughout the remainder of the
episode.
Klarion the Witch-Boy arrives at Blood's
residence sets loose his cat, to snatch the prod - Blood sees this and calls
upon the Demon to appear and fight Klarion and retrieve what is rightfully
his. Klarion takes the prod and stabs Etrigan in the forehead with it -
with the marking on his forehead, a large M, Etrigan becomes Klarion's slave and
bodyguard - though he doesn't want to, he must. (This is why Bruce and
Jason tried to keep the prod out of Klarion's hands.)
That is what sets up the story of Klarion
letting the Demon loose on Gotham, to destroy the city. Why? Just
because he feels like it. He is going to create his own michievous fun at
Gotham's expense - and then Batman gets involved, while Jason and Tim try to
control the Demon through the use of sorcery and witchcraft from Blood's
residence.
Good points: the animation in this episode is
top-notch, and there is even a hint of CGI effects in all the magic and
spell-casting used. The sound quality is very good, too. All the
voices are done well, and I like the character designs of both the Demon and
Klarion - who looks like a little hell-child, complete with horns in his black
hair (he looks much like Professor Milo from "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Moon of
the Wolf", but Tim Drake's height). Klarion's motives for tearing up the
town are elegant in their simplicity - he just wants to have fun. He's a
spoiled little brat and uses the Demon to do his bidding - tearing apart ice
cream trucks for food and blowing up subways to reduce noise (notice the
irony). The in-jokes like the spoofing of Arnold Schwarzenegger films and
the name of the cake store, Kirby Cakes, Inc. (the Demon was created by the late
Jack Kirby) are quite nice.
Bad points? With all the magic and action
sequences, there is little time left for character development. At the
end, we still feel we don't know much about Jason Blood's past. The
sorcery used in this episode, while wonderful to look at, oftimes leaves me
confused and hard to follow - simply because you don't expect to see something
this far-fetched in a Batman episode. The other major problem? It
ended too quickly - but seeing Klarion locked up in his room sitting in the
corner like a punished child (which he is) was a nice touch.
Batman and Tim summarize all my thoughts at the
end of the episode:
TIM: "Uh, about what happened
tonight..."
BATMAN: "Don't ask. Just don't
ask."
They're just as confused as
I.
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EDITORAL #1
(by Laura Hysert, aka "Phoenix")
Ms. Hysert was unable to submit an editorial in
time for delivery of this premature issue of "Batman: The Animated
Newsletter". I guess it's my fault for delivering it early? Bad Timmy,
bad...
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EDITORIAL
#2
(by Michael Mandeville)
batboym@wtp.net
Again and again I turn to my
favorite show series on Kids' WB!, Batman Beyond and their toys. I've said
enough on how much the variation toys suck and are basically a piece of crap
unless you're like a friend of mine who tortures his figures and throws them
down into his "bottomless abyss" jail of his (Then they're considered all-time
convicts that deserve to face the ULTIMATE punishment: being cut up into pieces
and THEN being thrown into the bottomless abyss. I have some sick friends). But,
getting back to the REAL topic, I'm here to talk about the UPCOMING Batman
Beyond toys (ACTION FIGURES). So, here are some of the upcoming
toys:
Inque
It's about time KENNER made her
figure. I'm guessing she will have a pre-posed look that you can't change (and
probably come with an ultra-backpack and landskiff that let's her hover over the
land) and can't stand up.
Golem w\ Willie
Watt
This is unconfirmed. But if it does come out you can expect to see it in
a box (like the EPISODE 1 Podracers and other vehicles are). I would also like
to see these figures talk... Nahh.
Spellbinder
Only as a last resort (retort, remort, heck, I don't
care)
The Royal Flush
Gang
King, Queen, Jack, Ten,
Ace
Probably in different packages with their "nifty" flying hover-cards and
super-powered jet packs (which never appeared in the show but KENNER will
obviously create something of the like). Or maybe they'll have neon suits and
special lightning powers, what kid wouldn't want one of those?
Me.
Bruce Wayne
Yeah, right. "Get the Old-Man
Bruce Wayne figure with cane and special shin-kicking action. Also comes with
problematic ureba, loyal crime-fighting dog Ace, heart-attack pills, and bedpan
accessory! Hunchback opens to reveal high-powered missile launcher and comes
with special COMMTECH Chip that says, "Oh, my back! I think it just went out
again!"! But, seriously, I wouldn't mind a computer chip that says, "I was
Batman." that reacted with a Terry McGinniss chip that said, "Your
Batman!"
Terry McGinnis quick change to Batman
figure
Are we ever going to see a REAL McGuinniss figure? A NORMAL one? Or,
how 'bout a normal Batman? Did anybody ever think of that? Kenner's reaction:
"Well, um... no."
An now the moment we've all
been waiting for: MORE BATMAN VARIATIONS! Yay!
One with Ace, the Wonder-dog,
crimefighting Bathound.
One deluxe (that looks like Bruce's old
Bat-suit, the high-tech one from disappearing Inque').
Millions others (That
Kenner THINKS kids will like).
And one fighting Blight? (I'm not sure about
this one, but I have heard rumors) this will probably an anti-radiation suit, IF
they make one.
For the next Batman Beyond Season:
I really want
to know what new villains there will be.
