Batman: The Animated Newsletter 
Weeks of September 20 - September 25/26
Volume 2,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"

THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "THANK YOU TO RIDDLERWB FOR SAVING US FROM THE WRATH OF THE
POKEMON!"
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SPECIAL IN THIS ISSUE
Nothing special...it's just that on the delivery date of the previous issue (#36), Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton turned the big 2-0...yep, twenty years under his belt. Who woulda guessed? 
Many say he seems only five, tops...*GRUMBLE* In keeping with that immaturity, GIVE 'IM PRESENTS! *COUGH* *AHEM* Well, he collects coins (no, I'm not just making a joke), so maybe, MAY-BEEEE....
It's nice to talk about yourself in the third person, ain't it?
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NOTICE (but it isn't too important)
1) VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE! YTV, a Canadian children's TV channel, has picked up BTAS, STAS, and BATMAN BEYOND for the coming year, airing ALL EPISODES!!! Check out the news/rumours section below for details.

2) Since Kevin Smith's toy column has been vacant for quite a while (it's not his fault - there aren't enough figures to write about on a biweekly basis) we've given his column a new purpose. Smith's column will now be about Bat-merchandise in general, not just action figures and such. In this issue we have Tim Wan, a fellow Bat-fanatic (with a kick-arse website) giving his two cents on the new BATMAN BEYOND CD.

3) In the evening of September 14, 1999, we passed our 1300 subscriber mark! WOOHAAA!

4) In I made an announcement about "Happy99.exe". One subscriber wrote me back saying that I was wrong about how it could erase hard drives. He DID give me this link, however - so check it out if you want to keep your computer safe.

http://www.bbbclub.com/news/happy99.html
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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: The WB is 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.

'EARTH MOVER'
Batman Beyond #14?
Air date: September 25, 1999
A new villain named "Earth Mover" - who has the power to create earthquakes - appears in Gotham to reclaim his human daughter from the man who is responsible for turning him into a mud creature.

'ONCE BURNED'
Batman Beyond #15?
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?

'LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)'
Superman #44, 48
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. This is being touted as the FINAL Superman episode EVER. However, I must say that I've read a synopsis of the
episode, and it's a doozie.
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)

THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs Mondays thru Fridays beginning at 4pm (ET). It also airs every weekend at 8am (ET). BATMAN BEYOND airs on the occasional weekday at 4pm (ET), sharing the time slot with THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. BATMAN BEYOND also airs every weekend at 9am (ET). Check your local listings for time and station in your area. If this newsletter section is not updated in time, please refer to either of these two links for schedule information:

http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/episodes.html
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/

THIS WEEK:
Mon 9-20-99: Superman #43 The New Kids In Town
B-BEYOND #08 Heroes

Tue 9-21-99: Batman #100 Cult of the Cat
Superman #25 Brave New Metropolis

Wed 9-22-99: Superman #13 Two's A Crowd
Batman #69 Avatar

Thu 9-23-99: Superman #34 Heavy Metal
Batman #83 Make 'Em Laugh

Fri 9-24-99: Superman #53 Unity
B-BEYOND #03 Black Out

Sat 9-25-99: Superman #52 Little Big Head Man
B-BEYOND #?? Earth Mover -----------NEW!!!

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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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BTAS/BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)

-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN on YTV then please go to http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.
-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to this http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN BEYOND in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.

BTAS will air at 7:30am on weekday mornings (in all time zones), and BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes; it is still unclear as to whether they'll be showing any of the new STAS or BEYOND episodes as of yet, but we'll 
keep you posted!

THIS WEEK:
Mon 9-20-99: BTAS #22 Joker's Favor

Tue 9-21-99: BTAS #13 The Cat and the Claw (Pt. 1)

Wed 9-22-99: BTAS #16 The Cat and the Claw (Pt. 2)

Thu 9-23-99: BTAS #05 Pretty Poison

Fri 9-24-99: BTAS #03 Nothing to Fear

Sat 9-25-99: BEYOND #03 Black Out

Sun 9-26-99: BEYOND #04 Golem

NOTE: It would appear that the YTV schedules are following the order in which new episodes aired on the FOX network back in 1992. Sometimes it will be impossible to get the YTV schedules in time for the delivery of this newsletter. We will notify you if this is the case; just follow example set by FOX. I shall put up a page at my website to show the order in which these episodes aired, as a rough guide to follow.
As for BATMAN BEYOND, at this point I'm just assuming that they'll be airing those episodes in numerical order.
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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:

http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html

NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz' site are currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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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: THE ANIMATED SERIES>
NEVER FEAR
Written by Stan Berkowitz 
Directed by Kenji Hackizachi 
Animation by TMS 
Original air date: November 1, 1997 
My rating: **** 

NEVER FEAR is the first new Scarecrow episode in 3 years and is quite easily the darkest. In this episode, the Scarecrow is producing a product which he calls "Never Fear" which does exactly that...when the victim...er...um...purchaser uses the product, all of their fears disappear. Fearless. This is quite a twist to the Scarecrow's M.O. Usually, he uses chemicals that scare the hell out of people to commit his crimes...here, he goes in the complete opposite direction. 

The victims of this gas include a man who's wreaking havoc at Gotham Times Square (the same area seen in the climax of Harley's Holiday, much like New York's Times Square), and an overworking, underrecognized employee at Wayne Enterprises. Seeing what harm this product does, 
Bruce Wayne attends a showing of the product to the public: he sneaks into the restricted areas of the building to remove the supply before the chemicals are sent, but it is too late...Scarecrow enters and whacks him with his scythe, knocking him out. 

One commercial break later, we see that Scarecrow has thrown Bruce Wayne into a death-trap...he's surrounded by alligators and has been fully affected by the "Never Fear" chemicals. It is here that we first get to see the new Scarecrow design. Long gone is the straw and his red costume. Now he wears a thin hit (much like Joker's, but it's black), a trenchcoat, and ragged clothes of brown, beige, and black colours underneath. He wears a noose around his neck, and carries a large wooden stick (like a bladeless scythe). His face is truly terrifying...we can only really see a faint glow of his empty eyes and few pale teeth under the shadows of his ragged, baggy clothing. He still possesses his infamous gangly body-shape, but his shoulders are huge...making him look larger than life, but still like a thin little mad...just like the character that inspired him, Ichabod Crane. The man providing Scarecrow's voice is new, too...it's pretty much the same, except this Scarecrow doesn't do the cowardly screaming like the original did (like when he's exposed to his fear gas in Nothing to Fear and Dreams in Darkness. Instead, he lets out these moans and groans and gasps from beyond the grave, kinda like something you'd hear in the PC game "Quake". Truly scary...Scarecrow's never been laughable, but now he's really a horrifying villain. 

Well, Bruce escapes the trap (I won't tell you how!) and then goes after the Scarecrow in the Batwing, with Robin in tow this time. The viewer will immediately notice that Batman is flying very recklessly through Gotham, nearly hitting hundreds of skyscrapers along the way...it is only here that Robin learns that Batman has been affected by the gas...but Batman says that he can handle it. 

Batman and Robin arrive at the warehouse where the chemicals are being kept again and they run into Scarecrow's gang. After a quick fight, Batman grabs one of the members and hangs him out the window, interrogating him. After getting the information he wanted, he cuts the rope, letting the man fall to his death; Robin catches it, saving the man, but Batman gets away. 

It is in this scene that we see how much of a bad-ass Batman can be. He's not even afraid to kill any more because of his exposure to the gas. He even starts talking mean to Robin...nothing coarse, but you can really see how he's annoyed with Robin's boy scout ways (kinda like Superman) when he keeps telling Batman not to kill the man...if this were the Dick Grayson Robin in his place, we'd probably see some type of fist fight (a la Batman & Robin) break out. 

Batman returns to the Batwing, now knowing Scarecrow's whereabouts and the location of his gas supply. Robin sneaks up on him and tied him up, going after Scarecrow alone, realizing that Batman cannot control the gas. You can really feel the tension in these scenes. Just like in those memorable tense scenes between the heroes in Robin's Reckoning two-parter. 

Robin interrupts a ransom broadcast the Scarecrow is making to Mayor Hill in the subway; Scarecrow is planning on releasing his "Never Fear" gas in the subways (thereby reaching all points of the city) - a city full of raving, fearless lunatics (just like in The Last Laugh). Robin is then caught and tied up...meanwhile, Batman arrives just as the subway train containing the gas leaves. Batman jumps on board and quickly throws all of Scarecrow's chromies off of the train (they should be dead, but hey, it's just a cartoon). He then attacks Scarecrow in the cockpit of the train and clamps down on his neck, forcing the air circulation off to his lungs and... 

I won't tell the ending. It's easy to guess how wins and all, but the question is how. 

My favourite line of the episode is this: 

Scarecrow: "You fool! You're going to kill us both!" 

Batman (on the NEVER FEAR gas): "You're not trying to scare me, are you?" 

AWESOME episode. One of the best ever. But again, the ending that follows the final fight ends far too quickly.
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