Batman: The Animated Newsletter

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LITTLE FACTS AND BLOOPERS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)

Here is a section that just points out various little facts and bloopers 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:
1) In "Joker's Wild", in the scene where Bruce is playing Blackjack with the Joker, his hand has cards with the numbers 9 and 3; however, when he puts the cards down (and thereby winning the game), the cards are an 8 and a 3. Whoops! Someone wasn't doing their math in this episode...

2) The Laughing Dragon statue in "World's Finest" (the one made of Kryptonite that the Joker stole) is only 30 years old, which Alfred states. Only 30 years old? So why is it for sale in an ANTIQUE store? My understanding was that the word "Antique" meant at least over a century old!

CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Matt")
1) In the BATMAN BEYOND episode "Hidden Agenda", Terry's little brother is playing with two spaceship toys; one is superman's one-man pod, the other is the space shuttle you always see in Superman, used by the other people.

(by "CKent15")
2) In the episode "Almost Got 'Im," Harley reads from the phone book to make the gas-induced audience laugh, while Batman is hooked up to the electric chair. She is reading from the "A's"... yet she is open to the middle of the book?!

(by "Ultros")
3) In the episode "Joker's Wild", when the Joker steals the Jokermobile to escape Batman's advances, he throws a sign out from within. The sign reads the following: "WAN THE CIRIN QNAL JOKERNOODLE". What the hell does THAT mean? Hmmm.
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone that wants to contribute)

You'd think that with all this Bat-merchandies overcrowding our stores that we'd have SOMETHING to write about here, huh? Hmmm...we'll get an article in here soon, we promise!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)

Mr. Maurer was unable to submit a review for the printing of this newsletter, so editor Tim "Two-Face" Leighton is here to fill the void.

BATMAN BEYOND (ongoing)
ISSUE: "Grounded" (#1)
WRITTEN BY: Hilary J. Bader
PENCILED BY: Craig Rousseau
INKED BY: Rob Leigh
ISSUED: September 20, 1999 (Cover date is Octber)
RATING: **** (out of 5)

    As I turned to page one of Issue #1 of the ongoing BATMAN BEYOND series, I knew something had changed: this story was going to be good.
    I didn't have very many nice things to say about Bader's original BEYOND minsieries. It was poor. Really poor. Nothing really interesting happened, it was far too wordy, the art wasn't terribly intense, and many of the plots were too far-fetched and/or convoluted for my taste. This issue was different, and was a definate crowd-pleaser.
    Terry McGinnis seemingly goes insane, so Bruce Wayne has to come out of retirement (a la THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS) and has to go head-to-head with the "other" Batman (a la KNIGHTFALL) to fix things up. Half the appeal of this story was to see Bruce in the Batsuit again - but I also felt that the characterization given to Bruce and Terry, and more importantly their relationship with each other, was developed quite significantly. I would even go as far to say that this was a landmark event in their relationship.
    Downside? Yes, BATMAN BEYOND is still filled with many tiny flaws, the most prevelant of which being a plethora of under-developed villains. Spellbinder is one of those villains. He's an interesting character, and has an even more interesting gimmick, but it takes more than that to keep my interest for an extended period of time. All of the great Bat-villains have deep, disturbing origins; Spellbinder's just a guy who's mad that no one has ever given him gratitude for his counselling at Hill High. What's that? Where's the tragedy? This character, along with many other BEYOND villains, really needs something deeper to scar his psyche.
    Overall, I say that this was a terrific issue. I have faith in Hilary J. Bader once again!

;-Y
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COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS

   This section gives a little bit more indepth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
   The price is $1.99 in the US and...grrrrr...a whopping $3.25 in Canada. (Both our editors and many subscribers are Canadian, hence the "grrr".)
   If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being released, just check out "DIRECT CURRENTS" at http://www.dccomics.com for details.

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #20
November 3rd
Synopsis: Poison Ivy makes a comeback in a story featuring none other than...breakfast cereal?
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/
comics/covers/download/dbmbga20.jpg

NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: A young girl has been kidnapped and the only "eye witness" is a blind jazz musician. Can even Batman, the world's greatest detective, use the information the old man provides to find the girl before the kidnapper takes his revenge?
Cover: Unavailable

BATMAN BEYOND #3 (ongoing)
November 24th
Synopsis: The Terrific Trio returns.
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/
comics/covers/download/dbmbd3.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #4.
Synopsis: The Royal Flush Gang returns.
Cover: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/
comics/covers/download/dbmbd3.jpg

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #39
November 10th?
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable

NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS

ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-Terry Beatty has been and will be selling Gotham Adventures and Batman Beyond original art on ebay. His Seller ID is: wlee@muscanet.com Do yourself a favor and check out some great art!
-An 8-page preview of the NO MAN'S LAND novel will be found in DC#741, which hits shelves on December 15. This will bump up the already large issue to 48 pages; it will cost $2.50 American, and presumably $3.75 Canadian.

"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
-BTAS/STAS will return in the fall of 2001 with NEW EPISODES, when Batman Beyond goes on hiatus.
-Then again, there is ALSO word that BTAS/STAS WON'T return. So which do we believe? Hopefully the first...

BATMAN BEYOND
-You can now catch BEYOND on the Canadian TV channel GLOBAL, every Saturday morning at 8:30 or so; check local listings for the exact times.
-An odd note: Global is really airing BATMAN BEYOND oddly. Myself, and two other Canadian companions saw different episodes of BATMAN BEYOND. We live in differant areas, and we all saw diferant episodes. Here's the rundown:
   OCTOBER 23, 1999
    Vancouver, BC: 'SHRIEK'
    Calgary, AB: 'DEAD MAN'S HAND'
    Ontario: ???
    Fredericton, NB: 'DISAPPEARING INQUE'
For anyone who lives in Canada, did you see a different episode? If you did, then please tell us! Post what episode you saw at the unofficial BATMAN BEYOND Board:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163115
-Shriek will re-appear in BATMAN BEYOND #5, in January.
-Synopses of episodes #17 through 36 have now been posted, thanks to the COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM. Check out of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER for a complete listing.

ANIMATED COMICS
-Poison Ivy will be appearing in GOTHAM ADVENTURES #20.
-Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon will be in the spotlight for of GOTHAM ADVENTURES.
-Lock-Up is planned to be used in the near future.
-Ty Templeton's upcoming two-issue stint on Superman Adventures will be co-written with Dan Slott.

OTHER COMICS
-DETECTIVE COMICS will be 40 pages long from January thru May (meaning a 30 page story); in June it will drop to 30 pages, 22 of which will include the main story. It will sell for $2.50 in the USA, and $3.50 (I'm guessing) in Canada.
-BTAN has a peek at what Gotham, as well as a few bat-gadgets, will look like when the revamp hits January 2000. Here are all the links:
BATMOBILE:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/batmobile.jpg
WAYNE MANOR:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/waynemanor.jpg
BATCAVE:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/batcave.jpg
BAT-GADGETS:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/batgadgets.jpg
GOTHAM CITY:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/gothamskyline.jpg
POLICE UNIFORMS:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/batpolice.jpg
GOTHAM RESIDENTIAL AREA:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/gothamesidential.jpg
SWAT TEAM UNIFROMS:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9910/29/batswat.jpg
-Two-Face and Solomon Grundy are the focus of DARK VICTORY #4, in January. Solomon Grundy is on the cover.
-Issue #5 of DARK VICTORY has Catwoman on the cover.
-Issue #6 of DARK VICTORY features the Penguin on the cover.
-Wanna read what Rucka and Grayson have set for the final two months of NML? There are some slight spoilers and ALOT of teasers! This article will no doubt make any heavy NML enthusiast very excited for the NML finale. The URL is:
http://www.anotheruniverse.com/comics/interviews/rucka101599.html
-DC has unveiled early sketches of the new Metropolis set to debut in January of 2000. Wanna see? Well check this link: http://www.anotheruniverse.com/comics/features/metropolis102999.html Expect sketches of new Gotham soon!

MOVIES
-Apparently the straight-to-video BATMAN BEYOND movie being released in December 2000 will reveal what happened to both Tim Drake and the Joker. It will be out by November 7, 2000. -There are two live-action movies in the works right now. One is the YEAR ONE movie we've been hearing so much about; the other is a live-action BATMAN BEYOND film, which Keanu Reeves was referring to a couple weeks ago. (We printed that story in this column.) After his work on THE MATRIX (parts 2 and 3) is over, expect to hear more about it.

TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-If you weren't already aware, Warner Bros. Stores have begun to receive the WB Miniature Classic Collection! There are 10 from the original BTAS: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Harley, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Poison Ivy!
-The new line of Batman bean bags have been out since September at least: Batman "Beyond", Riddler, Penguin, Joker, Harley.
-The SUPERMAN video game for Playstation will be out in the first quarter of 2000.
-The first issue of the Sega Dreamcast magazine says a Batman beyond video game is due out in 2000.
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THE ROAD THROUGH NO MAN'S LAND
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)

Yes, I know this isn't really an animated topic, but I thought, hey, it's Batman's 60th anniversary, and this is the big event that celebrates it, so I should have a section dedicated to this year-long crossover. Besides, so far it's been excellent in every issue. We have this section split up into two parts - the first saying what has already happened, the second previewing what's to come. Enjoy!

UP UNTIL NOW...
JANUARY - APRIL: For synopses of what happened in the first four months of NO MAN'S LAND, go see Issues #26 and #27 of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan

MAY, JUNE: For synopses of what how things really heated up in the fifth and sixth months of NO MAN'S LAND, see of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan

JULY: For synopses of the many things that happened in the month that all of the other major players in Gotham broke back into the city, see of "Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan

AUGUST: For synopses of the many things that happened in the final full month of summer, see of Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan

SEPTEMBER: For synopses of the issues dealing with the set-up of the final crunch of No Man's Land, see of Batman: The Animated Newsletter". Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan

OCTOBER: Batman foils a scheme where some hoods promise citizens an escape from Gotham; meanwhile, Catwoman battles Maxie Zeus in New York City for the discs that are "vital to saving Gotham City". Azrael aids Catwoman in breaking back into Gotham, Superman pays Batman another visit, and things heat up *WINK WINK* between Nightwing and Oracle.
   Then, in NO MAN'S LAND #0, we learn that Batman abandonned Gotham for Monaco the day the bridges were blown, and Talia was the one that forced him to go back. We also learn the details as to why the Huntress became Batgirl.
   Then in NO MAN'S LAND SECRET FILES we see various congress reports, newspaper clippings, character bios (including Penguin, Harley, Ivy, Dr. Thompkins, and newcomers "Mute" Batgirl, Cain, and Echo). We also see a tale of a dying man during the day the bridges were blown, where he encounters the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and the Huntress.
   Killer Croc sets out to conquer the Penguin's territory; only Robin stands in his way.
   Two-Face then breaks into Commissioner Gordon's home, beats Sarah Essen to a pulp, and kidnaps Gordon; he brings him into his sector to hold a trial, claiming that Gordon is responsible for war crimes. Montoya's family is also reveals to still be alive, but imprisoned; apparently Two-Face has a crush on Rene. Meanwhile, the Penguin's pipeline to the outside is intercepted by Batman and Robin.
   Two-Face then puts Gordon on trial; then Montoya; then, himself. His two sides become angered at each other and he is self-defeated. Meanwhile, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Azrael have appeared, finally conquering Two-Face's gang. Sarah Essen IS still alive. Batman and Gordon agree to finally talk.

That's 65 issues of NML so far. For a complete list, e-mail us.

WHAT'S TO COME...
-November: Batman confronts Gordon. The "Outside Interest" is revealed. Bane assembles all the remaining villains - Joker, Penguin, and Harley - for a final blow-out. The Joker, realizing that Batman has totally neglected him since NML began, tries to get his attention in the worst way possible.
-December: NML concludes with the three-part "Endgame" story, and then a final reflection in the final issue of SHADOW OF THE BAT (#94). The hope of a new Gotham comes into view - which is when the event we've been waiting for finally hits. The Joker returns in a big way to "destroy hope"...by kidnapping and killing children. And this all happens during the Christmas season. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Oracle, Batgirl, and Huntress all have major roles. The outside interest makes his/her move.
-ONE OF THE MAJOR HEROES WILL DIE BEFORE "NO MAN'S LAND" ENDS. (This is in Detective Comics #741). TWO OTHER "NAMED" CHARACTERS WILL ALSO BE KILLED.
-See below for more.

AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Batman MIGHT reveal his identity to Gordon in November.
-Robin goes up against Killer Croc in Robin #72.
-Azrael faces off against the Joker AGAIN in AZRAEL #60 and 61 - both guest-starring Batgirl.
-The Huntress hangs out with Petit for the remainder of NML.
-Commissioner Gordon's trial, held by Two-Face, concludes in DC #739. Batman later confronts and reconciles with him in "Falling Back", LOTDK #125. -Tim Drake's father breaks into NML to retrieve his son from the ghastly warzone - in December.

AND AS FOR THE REMAINING VILLAINS...
-Killer Croc attacks the Penguin's territory in Robin #72, in November.
-Two-Face cuts his deal with Commissioner Gordon and promptly kidnaps him; he puts him on trial in the two-part "Jurisprudence", this October. Apparently he is the second-last villain to be defeated. (How fitting.)
-Bane re-appears, and the "outside interest" is revealed in SOTB #93, in November.
-Catwoman seeks refuge in the Penguin's territory in CATWOMAN #76, in November; she then faces Deadman in December.
-The Joker and Harley re-appear in November in the two-part "Shellgame", just as Gotham is beginning to be re-built. This leads directly into the three-part "Endgame" in December, during Gotham's Christmas season, just as NML draws to a close, to once and for all destroy Gotham and all of its citizens.