Book Review: Batman Adventures: Riddle Me This! ed. by Joan Hilty

Batman Adventures: Riddle Me This! edited by Joan Hilty

This book presents several adventures from the Batman comic set in the Batman: The Animated Series world. From the title, obviously these stories have The Riddler as the enemy. While he does come up with clever riddles, Batman and Robin are always more clever, resulting in a bit of an inferiority complex for The Riddler. His happy-go-crimey style is interesting, especially when he orchestrates the crimes and riddles from inside of Arkham Asylum (which is weird, right?). I enjoyed the stories as some light, escapist fare straight out of the best Batman incarnation.

Recommended for Bat-fans.

Book Review: Batman/Deadman Death and Glory by Robinson and Estes

Batman/Deadman Death and Glory by James Robinson and John Estes

Batman is fighting the Joker when he suddenly shifts to a restaurant with piles of dead bodies...and he seems to be the killer. Commissioner Gordon is extremely upset because a close friend was killed in the massacre and he blames Batman. He even sets out to kill Batman. At the Batcave, Batman can't figure out what happened. Alfred suggests a supernatural angle, so Batman summons Deadman. Deadman is a former circus acrobat who died in a performance and is cursed to wander the Earth search for his killer. In the mean time, he fights crime as a spirit of can possess people. He's a natural to have the scoop on what might have possessed Batman.

The slightly convoluted premise slowly unpacks over the course of the story. I found the plot only mildly interesting. The art is quite incredible, much better than the story that is being told. Without a good story underpinning it, the art is not enough to carry the rest of the book.

Not recommended.

Batman Vol. 2 by S. Snyder et al.

Batman Volume 2: The City of Owls written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and illustrated by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, Rafael Albuquerque, and Jason Fabok

After barely surviving a fight with one Talon (an especially enhanced assassin) from the Court of Owls, Batman has to fight dozens of Talons that the Court resurrects to wreck havoc on Gotham. He gets the other members of the Bat-family (Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, etc.) to protect the Gotham elite who are targeted by the Court. The fight reveals more of Bruce Wayne's history, along with some of Alfred's. The book ends with two one-off stories involving an electrician who taps into Batman's Gotham surveillance and a new origin story for Mr. Freeze.

The wrap-up of the Court of Owls story is mostly satisfying. I was a little underwhelmed by some of the vagueness and the origin of Alfred which does not quite line up right with the timeline as I understand it. The Mr. Freeze story was also underwhelming as it undercut the Batman: The Animated Series much better take on the character.

Mildly recommended--if you read the last volume, you'll want to finish the Court of Owls story (which is 95% interesting).

Batman Vol. 1 by S. Snyder et al.

Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls written by Scott Snyder, penciled by Greg Capullo, and inked by Jonathan Glapion 

In this New 52 reboot of the DC universe (which happened in 2011), Batman protects Gotham from the super-criminals while Bruce Wayne finances a lot of reinvestment into housing and industry. He's even working with a new mayoral candidate who shares his vision for a better Gotham. A vicious and highly competent assassin is hunting Gotham's elite and makes a threat against Bruce Wayne life. The killer has an owl theme to his costume and there's a local nursery rhyme about a "Court of Owls" that has been ruling the city behind the scenes for hundreds of years. Bruce says there's no such things as a Court of Owls but as the story proceeds, there is clearly a hidden cult that is after both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

The story leans into the noir roots of Batman, giving him a voiceover describing how desolate the city is and how it could be a better place. He also describes the Wayne family's historic investments in developing Gotham, especially Alan Wayne who financed many skyscrapers in the early 1900s. Those turn out to have "nests" for the Owls hidden inside. Snyder has crafted some interesting new lore for Gotham and Batman's history making an intriguing story. I've enjoyed it enough to continue on.

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Batman: The Long Halloween The Sequel: Dark Victory by J. Loeb et al.

Batman: The Long Halloween The Sequel: Dark Victory written by Jeph Loeb and art by Tim Sale

Just when you thought the Calendar Murders were solved, a new holiday-themed killing spree erupts in Gotham City. This time, cops are targeted. The hung bodies all have a bloody "hang man" game attached to them, written on files from ex-DA Harvey Dent. Dent was splashed with acid and became Two-Face in the previous story. He was locked up in Arkham Asylum but a break-out happened and a lot of villains, including Harvey, are on the loose. Can Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and new DA Janice Porter, who has her own dark secrets and past with both Dent and the crime families of Gotham, stop the murderer or murderers?

This story is fairly grim as both Gordon and Batman deal with their guilt over what happened to Harvey Dent. Harvey has his own scheme, gathering the freed criminals in the sewers, though his objective is not clear. The Falcone family, now headed by Sofia Falcone, is bent on revenge for her father's death and her own wounding at the hands of Catwoman in the previous story. Catwoman drops out of the story for her Roman adventure (the When in Rome graphic novel) though she returns at the very end of this book. Dick Greyson shows up late the volume and becomes Robin at the very end. He almost seems shoe-horned in but he is yet another character trying to find a place in the world after a traumatic displacement, like Harvey and Gordon and the Falcones and Catwoman and Batman. Bruce Wayne hopes to provide a better opportunity to Dick than he had as a child (oddly enough, so does Alfred the Butler). A redemptive undertone fills the book.

While the plot wasn't as tight and focused as in The Long Halloween, it is exciting enough and has plenty intrigue to keep readers engaged. Sale's art is very particular and fits the dark, odd tone of the story. 

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Batman: Year One by F. Miller et al.

Batman: Year One written by Frank Miller, illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, and colors by Richmond Lewis

A twenty-five year old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City at the same time as James Gordon arrives, taking a lieutenant's job with Gotham's finest. Only the police force can hardly be called "the finest" since it is rife with corruption. Gordon left Chicago after blowing the whistle on a corrupt cop there. His new co-workers are less than enthusiastic about his righteous ways. Gordon is also under stress since his wife is pregnant with their first child. Meanwhile, Bruce is trying out various ways to fight crime on the street, often winding up injured and having a hard time keeping his anonymity. He finally hits on a way to strike terror into criminals (including organized crime elites in Gotham), dressing as a bat and using special gadgets to instill fear in his enemies. Gordon's and Wayne's stories easily collide as they both fight crime and corruption in Gotham.

This gritty and realistic imagining of Bruce Wayne's first year as a crime fighter has been popular and influential since its initial 1986 publishing. It opened the way for Tim Burton's films and was clearly an inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Miller does a good job keeping the action realistic while introducing fantastical characters like Batman and Catwoman. Wayne works his way up from a vigilante who is determined but not fully in control. Selina Kyle works as a streetwalker until things get too hot, then she switches to cat burglary, including the cat costume. Kyle and Wayne have less interaction here but Miller sets up their future collision just as much as he does the collision of Batman and Gordon. The art has a dark, noir style that enhances the storytelling. This is a classic for a reason.

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Batman Adventures: Nightwing Rising by H. Bader et al.

Batman Adventures: Nightwing Rising written by Hillary Bader and illustrated by Bo Hampton

This graphic novel follows the adventures of Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who gets fed up with Batman's heavy-handedness and lack of compassion. Dick quits being Robin and then roams the world, learning new skills from monks and gurus in hidden communities on other continents. He comes back to Gotham City as Nightwing, a new hero who occasionally checks in with the Caped Crusader. Meanwhile, Tim Drake has joined Batman as the new Robin. Once Dick is back in the city, they have a few adventures as a sort of "Bat-family."

The art style follows Batman: The Animated Series. I didn't watch enough to know if this is just a port over from the tv show or an original storyline. It's interesting enough as an origin story and develops Dick Grayson as a character. The book ends with a preview of The Lost Carnival, a graphic novel about Grayson's life before Batman.

Mildly recommended--more for Bat-fans than the general public.

The Sequel Was Better? Batman and his Return

The Sequel Was Better? is a series of reviews looking at famous movies with sequels that are considered, rightly or wrongly, to be better than the original movies. Typically, sequels are a step down in quality, acting, and/or production value. But not always. See other reviews here.

Batman (1989) directed by Tim Burton

A couple with a young boy leave a theater in downtown Gotham. The dad can't get a taxi and he slowly leads them into a worse neighborhood (are there any good neighborhoods in Gotham?). They go down an alley and are mugged by two thugs. The thugs go to a rooftop to split the haul. One thug is nervous about being up there because of all of the rumors about "The Bat" who has been throwing criminals off roofs. The other thug thinks it's baloney but then Batman (Michael Keaton) shows up and beats them up. He tells the baloney thug to spread the word that Batman is in town. The cops show up at the mugging and discover the criminals. Ace reporter Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) also show up and asks about "The Bat," his journalistic obsession. Police Lieutenant Eckhart (William Hootkins) blows him off while an injured thug goes by on an ambulance gurney mumbling about a six-foot bat. 

Eckhart has more important problems--he's on the dole with Grissom (Jack Palance), the head crime boss in Gotham. Grissom wants one of his loose-cannon underlings, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), out of the way. Part of it is jealousy over girlfriend Alicia (Jerry Hall) who is involved with both men. Grissom has a meeting with his lieutenants (the mob ones, not the police on the payroll) to discuss Axis Chemicals, a front for the mob that is being targeted by the uncorrupt police, led by Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams). Napier suggests breaking in and stealing all the records. They can pass it off as industrial espionage. Grissom makes Napier lead the raid, something Napier does not want to do.

Meanwhile, Knox has returned to his paper where fellow reporters mock his interest in "The Bat." At his desk, he discovers Vickie Vale (Kim Bassinger), a photo-journalist also interested in the Batman story. She is serious and teams up with Knox. They want to talk to Commissioner Gordon (Pat Hingle) to find out if Batman is secretly part of the police. She has an invitation to a party at Bruce Wayne's home, a fundraiser for the failing 200th anniversary party for Gotham. People don't want to go downtown to celebrate because of all the crime and expenses are getting out of hand.

At Wayne Manor, the commissioner, the mayor (Lee Wallace), and Harvey Dent all blow off Knox. Bruce is fascinated by Vale but is called away by Alfred (Michael Gough), who is aware that the police are doing something big. Grissom has made an anonymous tip about the Axis Chemicals job and Eckhart has taken the lead. Gordon knows Eckhart is dirty and wants to stop him from killing Napier rather than taking him in custody. 

At Axis Chemicals, Napier finds the vault of files empty and knows something is up. His guys try to shoot their way out past the bad cops. In the middle of the fight, the commissioner shows up and demands that Napier not be killed. Batman also shows up and fights all the bad guys. Napier spots Eckhart and shoots him in revenge. Then Batman fights Napier. Napier shoots him but the bullet ricochets and hits Napier in the mouth. Doubled over in pain, Napier falls over a railing. Batman grabs him but after a tense moment loses his grip and Napier falls into a vat of chemicals, presumably killed. The commissioner demands Batman stay for questioning but Batman makes a quick exit. Outside the factory, a deck of cards and a pale hand come up out of a toxic lake where the chemicals have been dumped. Napier has survived.

Bruce has an awkward date with Vickie Vale at Wayne Manor but they sleep together anyway. Meanwhile, Napier has gone to an illegal surgery where the doctor removes the bandages. Viewers don't see the results but Napier does when he looks in a mirror. He starts laughing maniacally. He goes back to Grissom's and kills him after declaring he is now Joker. Later, he meets with Grissom's other associates and tells them he is taking over. After killing one of them brutally, the others fall in line. Joker then starts a plan to kill people in Gotham by tainting products with Smylex, a drug that induces death by laughing with the same rictus grin that Joker has. Joker even broadcasts on TV, explaining that the chemicals are in a variety of products already on the market, though only certain combinations cause results. Batman sees the broadcast and looks for the combination of products that causes the negative reaction.

Vale is lured to the Gotham art museum by an invitation to dinner from Bruce, but it is really the Joker who invited her. When he shows up, he and his henchmen vandalize the art. He tries to convince Vale he is an artist too. Batman arrives and rescues Vale. He takes her to the Batcave where he gives her all his research on Smylex. He then returns her to her apartment.

Bruce goes to Vale's apartment planning to reveal that he is Batman but the Joker arrives and interrupts. Joker shots Bruce. Bruce has hidden a serving tray under his shirt so he survives, disappearing while Joker blathers on at Vale. Later, Alfred brings Vale to the Batcave in hopes of Bruce being happy with her. Bruce decides he needs to fight Joker, who has promised to have a parade for the 200th anniversary at which he will give out free money. 

At the parade, Joker does give out money but he also releases Smylex gas from the parade balloons to kill the crowds. Batman shows up in the Batwing, steals the balloons, and is shot down by the Joker. The Batwing crashes at Gotham Cathedral. Joker takes Vale hostage and climbs the cathedral's bell tower. Batman follows, fights Joker at the top of the tower, resulting in the death of the Joker and the rescue of Vale.

The movie ends with Gordon revealing the Bat-signal, a spotlight to summon Batman in times of need. Alfred takes Vale to Wayne Manor, explaining Bruce will be late because of other business. She says she is not surprised. Queue the credits.

Batman Returns (1992) directed by Tim Burton

The Cobblepots have a newborn son who is horrifying to them. By Christmas, they are ready to toss the child off a bridge into Gotham's sewers. The baby carrier floats down the river like Moses's basket, into the sewers under Gotham Zoo where the child winds up with penguins at the arctic exhibit. 

33 years later, it's Christmas again. At the Gotham Square Tree Lighting rumors abound about a penguin-man in the sewers. Local tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is planning on building a new power plant for Gotham, claiming the city is about to run out of power. He has a meeting with the mayor trying to bypass permits and paperwork to get the project started. As she is filling their coffees, his secretary Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) wants to pose a question. The men condescendingly laugh her off as the mayor refuses to support Shreck's plan. They still have a presentation at the tree lighting, posing as friends. During his speech, Shreck is kidnapped by the Red Triangle gang, a bunch of ex-circus folks who have been terrorizing Gotham. Batman is summoned and he fights the gang members but they still get away with Shreck. Batman saves Selina from a clown menacing her with a stun gun. She takes the gun and hits the unconscious clown, revealing a less than healthy mindset.

The circus gang take Shreck to the derelict zoo where The Penguin (Danny Devito) demands Shreck help him return to Gotham society. He wants to live among the humans and find out who his parents are. Penguin has records of Shreck's business misdeeds including the toxic waste from one of his properties, so Shreck has little choice but to accept. Shreck realizes Penguin could help with the mayoral situation.

Selina goes home to her empty apartment (except for her cat and her childish decorations) and has a bit of a pity party for herself, complaining that her cat is having more fun than she is. She checks her messages--her mother wants her to come home for Christmas, a guy dumps her, a robo-call tries to sell her perfume that will make her irresistible. She's also left herself a message reminding her to get a file on Bruce Wayne to prep for a meeting the next morning. She's forgotten and has to go back to the office.

At the office, she collects a lot of files and information about the power plant, including the fact that it will take and store power off the Gotham grid rather than provide power. Shreck comes back from zoo and discovers her and what she knows. He tosses her out a window to keep her from telling anyone else. She falls to the snowy ground. Feral cats swarm over her and she comes back to life with a wild look in her eyes. She returns home, tears up the apartment, creates a costume, and takes on a new identity--Catwoman.

At another speech by the mayor, a member of the circus kidnaps the mayor's infant son. He goes down a manhole where Penguin is waiting. Penguin takes the child back to the mayor, becoming a celebrity in the media. Penguin asks for access to Gotham's city records to find out who his parents are. At the hall of records he writes down a lot of information, more than just his heritage. This is all part of the deal between Shreck and Penguin.

Bruce Wayne, in the Batcave, researches the circus gang, trying to find a connection to Penguin as Penguin visits the grave of his parents. He accepts his human identity as Oswald Cobblepot and forgives his parents. At the same time, a woman is mugged and a masked vigilante saves her. The vigilante is Catwoman who complains about women waiting around to be saved by Batman rather than taking care of themselves.

The next day, Bruce Wayne meets with Shreck. He also sees through the ruse and will not support the power plant plan. Selina show up, surprising Shreck and his son Chip (Andrew Bryniarksi). She escorts Mr. Wayne out and they strike up an uneasy romance. Shreck visits Penguin and convinces him to run for mayor, so he can grease the wheels for the power plant project. He even has an election office set up in spite of Penguin's objection that elections were last month. Shreck has some people try to polish up Penguin's appearance. Penguin bites the nose of one of the aides and gropes one of the female volunteers. Shreck puts everyone back to work while they discuss Penguin's ascension. They plan an attack by Penguin's circus gang to discredit the mayor's tough-on-crime stance.

The attack works, causing chaos in the city and plenty of work for Batman. Catwoman takes advantage to vandalize Shreck's department store. Batman finds Penguin in the area when Catwoman comes out of the department store and it explodes. Penguin flees, leaving Batman and Catwoman to fight, both injuring each other. 

Penguin announces his mayoral run. Back in his lair above the election office, Catwoman shows up and makes an uneasy deal to destroy Batman. They are just as menacing to each other as they are to Batman and Gotham. Catwoman almost swallows Penguin's bird while Penguin threatens her pet cat. They come to an agreement where Penguin plans to discredit Batman.

Bruce Wayne and Selina run into each other on the street and set up a date at Wayne Manor. The date goes well until they discuss problems with duality (which they both have). Things get romantic but they each realize their battle injuries are hard to explain and the stop making out. Also, the TV shows the new tree lighting where Commissioner Gordon is explaining that the Ice Princess, who is supposed to light the light, has been kidnapped, apparently by Batman. Bruce and Selina separately race downtown to deal with the situation.

The mayor tries to make the best of the situation. The circus gang sabotages the Batmobile while Batman find the Princess in an abandoned penthouse. Catwoman shows up, fights Batman, and drags the Princess away. On a rooftop, the Princess is on the edge. Penguin throws an umbrella full of bats at her. She falls off before Batman can save her. Batman is blamed for killing her. Batman and Catwoman have another confrontation winding up under mistletoe and having a cute line. Batman flies off to his car. Catwoman meets the Penguin on another roof where she complains about killing the princess. Penguin hits on her but she has none of it. Frustrated, Penguin get rid of her with a trick umbrella. Then he goes to a trailer where he can remote-control the Batmobile. Batman is trapped in his vehicle as Penguin causes a lot of chaos with the Batmobile. Penguin also taunts Batman and makes fun of Gotham's citizen while he crashes the vehicle into crowds and police. Batman eventually disables the remote control by breaking through the floor and removing the broadcaster. Back in control, he leaves the area.

An even more frustrated Penguin goes to make a speech but Alfred and Batman hack into the sound system and broadcast the insults Penguin made about Gotham while he was controlling the Batmobile. The crowd turns against him, throwing eggs and vegetables and forcing Penguin to flee in despair. He returns to the zoo lair where he plots to kidnap all of Gotham elites' children and kill them while their parents party at Shreck's Max-scerade Ball. One of his goons objects to the plan and Penguin kills him without batting an eye.

Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne both go to the ball (without masks since their true identities are when they wear masks). They dance together. He reveals that he's there for her; she reveals that she's there to kill Shreck. He tries to calm her down as they discover some mistletoe. They repeat the cute line that Batman and Catwoman shared, realizing who they really are. They hold each other closer in a desperate moment. Then Penguin attacks the ball to kidnap Shreck's adult son. Shreck demands he be taken instead of his son. Penguin agrees since he wants revenge on Shreck. 

They go back to the zoo. Penguin's minions are too slow rounding up the others and Batman saves the children. He sends a note to the sewer, so Penguin sends out the actual penguins with missiles on their backs to destroy downtown Gotham. Batman tracks the signal and races through the sewers in a Batboat. He passes the penguins and reaches the lair. Meanwhile, Alfred hacks into the radio controls on the penguins. He manages to turn them around and head them back to the zoo where they will attack. Before they arrive, Penguin's allies abandon him. Penguin tries to flee but Batman arrives. They fight, the penguins show up and start firing on the zoo. Batman beats Penguin who falls into the waters.

Shreck escapes his cage in the lair but Catwoman shows up. Batman tries to stop Catwoman but she can't quit. Shreck has a gun and shoots her several times. She counts down her nine lives as she is hit but he runs out of bullets before she runs out of lives. She pulls out the stun gun and grabs a hanging electrical wire, then kisses Shreck using the stunner as a conduit. He bakes to a crisp as they are buried under rubble. Batman comes to find them but only discovers the charred remains of Shreck. Penguin rises from the waters he has fallen into and tries to use one last umbrella to kill Batman. It is a cute one, so he fails. He drops dead and the penguins take him in a funeral procession to a watery grave.

Alfred takes Bruce Wayne away from the zoo in a limo. Bruce thinks he sees Selina's shadow in an alleyway but she is not there. He picks up a cat, takes it to the car, and drives home. Alfred and Bruce wish each other a merry Christmas with the least conviviality possible. The camera pans up to the rooftops, where the Bat-signal is visible and Catwoman looks up at it. Queue the credits.

So is the sequel better? Let's look at some points of comparison.

• SCRIPT--While both scripts provide interesting stories and characters, the second film is a lot more complicated narratively and thematically. Joker's origin is told in an interesting way while Batman's is relegated to a flashback (though the opening sequence is a bait-and-switch, with the same thing that happened to Bruce happening to an unnamed family). Penguin's origin and story arc is the central narrative of the second film. The uncaring treatment of his parents is paralleled with the uncaring treatment of Selina by her boss and herself. She is not quite aggressive enough as a secretary to rise up the corporate ladder. But the seeds of aggression are in there, seeds that bloom out of control as Catwoman develops. She wants to be a hero but her anger at men (understandable given her treatment) leads her down the wrong path. The damage caused by absent families is seen in the three main characters, with Catwoman starting down the road Batman has trod while Penguin is obsessed with his lost family and unrecognized humanity. Max Shreck, the outwardly most normal villain, has much stronger family connections (he and his son look out for each other). Even so, he's a bad influence on Selina and Penguin, using them for his own ends. The mutual exploitation between Penguin, Catwoman, and Shreck are contrasted with Batman and Alfred's mutual support. The story has some parallels with pre-World War II Germany and the visuals adopt a lot of the German Expressionist aesthetic also from pre-World War II Germany. Max Shreck is even named after the actor who played the Dracula character in Nosferatu. The second script is a lot richer. Advantage Batman Returns. 
• ACTING--Michael Keaton, a controversial choice for the character at the time of the first movie, provides fine performances in each film. Nicholson is great as the Joker, exuding menace and mayhem in every scene. He is over the top but so is the character. The performance fits well. DeVito as the Penguin is almost unrecognizable in his horrifying appearance and behavior. Penguin is very vulgar and unpleasant, even when he tries to be charming. Even so, his character is still somewhat sympathetic, at least to the film makers. His emotional moments are taken very seriously and his death scene plays like a highly tragic ending. Pfeiffer's character is also over the top but she manages to switch back and forth between the mousey Selina and the ferocious Catwoman seamlessly and gets her own level of pathos from the filmmakers. Her sexiness in the role distracts from the fineness of her performance. Advantage Batman Returns.
• ADVANCES THE STORY/MYTHOLOGY--The Batman franchise does not have a larger narrative arc (like Star Wars or Dune or the MCU), it is more a matter of facing different villains and situations as they come. Viewers don't get a deeper understanding of Batman or Gotham or other characters as the movies develop. No advantage.
• SPECIAL EFFECTS--The second film looks like it had a bigger budget. Some of the effects in the first film look dated, or at least more dated than the effects in the second film. Advantage Batman Returns.
• VISUAL STYLE--The gothic vision of Gotham in the first film changes into a German-expressionistic vision in the second. The larger than life statues and sets are reminiscent of Metropolis and other great silent German epics. While both Gothams are squalid, there is an even great oppressiveness to the second film's depiction. Penguin is especially repulsive, often drooling black bile and being sexually aggressive when he has no sex appeal at all. On the other hand, Catwoman oozes sensuality in a way totally inappropriate for a movie ostensibly aimed at kids. There was a lot of protests and complaints, especial from tie-in products like McDonald's Happy Meals. The second film is too gruesome and perverse in some moments, making it a mixed bag. Slight advantage to Batman.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While there are negative and positive things to say about both films, I still would rather rewatch Batman Returns over Batman. Even though sometimes more is less, in this case the second film has so much more going for it. It reminds me of the discussions about Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, where fans think that the first film is truer to Hellboy creator Mike Mignola's vision of the character and the second film is more of director Guillermo del Toro's vision. Batman Returns is much more a Tim Burton take on the characters than Batman is.

Also, Batman Returns was the topic on Unspooled #334, a film commentary podcast that is a lot of fun.

Book Review: Batman: Haunted Knight by J. Loeb et al.

Batman: Haunted Knight storytelling by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Before starting The Long Halloween, Jeph Loeb sold DC Comics on publishing some "Halloween Specials" featuring Batman. The natural pairing of Halloween and Batman hadn't been done before. Loeb worked with his long-time artistic partner Tim Sale. This series (three stories) was very popular. Here's a story-by-story rundown...

Fear--Scarecrow is blowing up electric relay station in Gotham, plunging neighborhoods into darkness. Scarecrow then loots and terrorizes the area. Batman works tirelessly to find the next target. Actually, he is getting tired, making him more vulnerable. He has some natural fear of failure that is enhanced by Scarecrow's toxins.

It doesn't help that it's Halloween weekend. Bruce Wayne has a big costume party. One of the guests is a woman he does not recognize but who catches his attention. His fascination with her brings on another fear, the fear of missing out on a normal, happy life. Bruce wants to run away and get some rest with this new woman, to be the billionaire playboy he passes himself off as. 

The parallel plots work very well together. I haven't read many Scarecrow stories, this one feel very fresh and well thought out. We learn something of Scarecrow, a bit about Batman's relationship to Bruce Wayne, and even Alfred Pennyworth (Wayne's butler) gets some nice moments to shine.

Madness--The Mad Hatter is kidnapping kids on Halloween and one of his victims is a teen-aged Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Gordon and his daughter had a bit of a falling out over going trick or treating, resulting in her leaving the house without permission. Meanwhile, Batman has been pursuing The Mad Hatter with little success and a lot of flashbacks.

The story leans effectively into the Alice in Wonderland connection for the villain while also revealing a connection for Bruce Wayne. Gordon's struggles to be a good father add an interesting element and highlights a theme of how challenging relationships can be for parents and children. 

Ghosts--Bruce Wayne has an encounter with The Penguin on Halloween eve. Returning home after the capture, he gets the "Christmas Carol" treatment when he goes to bed. His father's ghost visits him carrying "the chains he forged in life" while he was so focused on being a doctor and not a father. He promises three spirits will come to show Bruce more.

This story was the weakest of the set. The transposition from Christmas to Halloween and from Scrooge to Bruce Wayne has a lot of potential but this didn't quite have the impact it could have. The creators stick to the form of Dickens's classic too much, giving a predictable ending. Bruce winds up in a happier place, though he's hardly as damaged as Scrooge was and he's hardly as transformed as Scrooge was. I was underwhelmed.

Overall, this is an interesting series and readers can easily see the origin of The Long Halloween, which is a classic in Batman storytelling.

Recommended, highly for Batman fans.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: Two-Face by M. Tamaki et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: Two-Face written by by Mariko Tamaki, art by Javier Fernandez, and colors by Jordie Bellaire

Harvey Dent/Two-Face is in one of his good phases. Gotham's mayor is willing to make him District Attorney as long as he behaves himself. Dent wants to be on the up-and-up but he has a hard time since he's made enemies on both sides of the law. This problem becomes more concrete when he receives a threat against his father. Dent Senior is turning 88 years old and retiring. He wants to have a big party. Dent enlists Batman to investigate the note, who in turn gets the rest of the Bat-family, including Batgirl and Batwoman, to help out. The investigation turns up nothing, leading the characters to beef up security at the party. Will some villain strike when the time comes?

I've always liked the conflicted nature of Harvey Dent/Two-Face and his strange, simplistic yet elegant use of his two-headed coin. The coin does not get much to do in this story. The focus is on the tension of the split-personality and how that divide may not be as even as it sounds. The "One Bad Day" series is based on The Killing Joke, where the Joker puts Jim Gordon through one bad day to test whether he will still do good even under the most stressful circumstances. That core idea is a bit lost when the "Bad Day" victim is a villain (which is what these modern takes on the classic Joker story focus on), since it is a lot more likely that a conflicted villain will give in to weakness or evil and make it a bad day for everyone else. This book is true to that formula and does not add any real interest or ideas to Harvey Dent/Two-Face as a character. I can see the potential here but not the actualization.

Not recommended--I really wanted to love this but it doesn't deliver anything above a less-than-average Two-Face story.

Book Review: Catwoman: When in Rome by J. Loeb et al.

Catwoman: When in Rome written by Jeph Loeb, art by Tim Sale, and colors by Dave Stewart

Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, travels to Rome with Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler, in tow. She wants to find out something very important to her--who her parents really are. She suspects she is the daughter of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, a top crime boss in Gotham City. Her investigation leads to a lot of other mafia (if there is such a thing) connections. She keeps having nightmares of Batman following her to Rome to "help" her. She really doesn't want help from the Dark Knight since she's dealing with enough problems for one plot line.

The mystery is intriguing. Selina is enough of a person (at least in this story) to hold her own as a lead. The conflicted nature of her character comes through. The art still has the dark and brooding style typical of Batman comics. She does appear scantily clad several times, so this particular story isn't for little kids. The narrative is good and Loeb has a great sense of how Selina/Catwoman talks. Another Loeb trademark shows up--a lot of other Batman characters are thrown in to the story to provide obstacles for Catwoman. She gets about what she deserves by the end.

Recommended for Batman and Catwoman fans.

Book Review: Batman and Robin Vol. 1 by G. Morrison et al.

Batman and Robin Volume 1: Batman Reborn written by Grant Morrison and art by Frank Quitely and Philip Tan

Bruce Wayne is gone so Dick Grayson steps up as Batman. Robin's shoes are filled by Damian Wayne, son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul. Damian was raised by his mom, who was part of her father's (Ra's al Ghul) terrorist organization. So he has fighting skills but a more brutal, less moral attitude than previous Robins. They face up against a sinister physician called Professor Pyg, who is transforming people through drugs, lobotomies, and weird masks into drone-like slaves. Pyg is part of a larger organization, the Circus of the Strange, that causes a lot of trouble for the new dynamic duo. But not as much trouble as Jason Todd (another former Robin), who returns to Gotham as Red Hood. Todd's plan is to be a next-level Batman, fighting crime by killing the criminals.

I did a little reading around before starting this since I wanted to try out the Grant Morrison run on Batman. He had a few story arcs before this, but from what I read, this was a fine jumping on point and a little lighter in tone than previous material. Well, the previous stuff must have been very dark. Pyg's M.O. is grim and unsettling, leaving a lot of people horribly scarred and mentally unbalanced. Damian is hot-headed and vicious, not the sort of Robin you would ever imagine if your first exposer to Batman was the 1960s TV show. The plots were okay and the art is nice, but the overall tone was too bleak and miserable for me.

Not recommended.

Book Review: Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue?

Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue? written by various authors and illustrated by various artists

This collection of seven tales provides a scattershot view of Catwoman, the famous foe and friend (and romantic intersest) of Batman. Some of the stories feature their relationship, others just hint at or nod to it. She is an expert thief who often uses her skills for good causes but not in good ways. Her moral ambiguity is interesting and well presented. One story has her attacking a beauty products company because they use animals, especially cats, unethically in experiments. Her noble motivation is skewed by her operating outside of, and occasionally against, the law. Such behavior naturally brings the interest of Batman, who is debatably also acts outside of the law for noble motivations.

The art follows the style of Batman: The Animated Series, with its noir overtones and sharp contrasts. A lot of different authors and artists worked on this, it is surprising how tonally and visually united the set is. Though Catwoman is romantically interested in Batman, she is not drawn provocatively or graphically and readers see nothing more than a modest kiss, making this okay for kids to read. Batman is less interested in her (or less aware) and sticks to his code of honor. He's no perfect role model (something Catwoman points out more than once). They do make a fascinating pair.

Recommended.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze by G. Duggan et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze written by Gerry Duggan and art by Matteo Scalera

Robin has a Christmas present for Victor Fries, better known as the villain Mr. Freeze. When the dynamic duo take down Freeze, instead of carting him off to jail, they take him to a secret lab. Victor was a brilliant scientist who froze his wife when she contracted an incurable disease. He hoped to find a cure while she was "preserved." Robin convinced Batman to set up the lab so Freeze could work on the thawing process for his wife. Can Victor keep himself together and find what he really wants? 

The story is okay. The plot is set up to show Victor's warped relationship to his wife. Victor has suffered a lot concerning his wife, as if he didn't have just "One Bad Day" but a bad lifetime. She is shown as the mentally-healthier member of the couple. She doesn't have enough influence on her husband to pull him back from going bad, which in his case is going selfish. The ending of this story is surprisingly upbeat and happy, not at all what I was expecting.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman by G. Wilson et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: Catwoman: No Small Scores written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Jamie McKelvie, and letters by Clayton Cowles

Selina Kyle's latest burglary scheme is for a highly valuable pendant--a bird freed from a cage that was created after World War II by a world-renowned French jeweler. An auction house is starting bids at twenty thousand dollars. The pendant is even more valuable to Selina since it was her mother's. Her mom sold it to a pawnbroker who said it was a fake even though mom said it was given to her by her French mother. They only got two hundred dollars for it, barely enough for rent. So the heist has a little revenge in it too, though Selina thinks of it as getting back what's rightfully hers.

Like in The Riddler One Bad Day book, it's Selina that has the "One Bad Day," where the heist does not work out the way she wants to. Unlike The Riddler book, this story doesn't turn totally dark and pessimistic. The plot has some nice twists and pathos to it with a much brighter color pallette (though that is not much of an achievement).

Catwoman has often been an ambiguous figure--sometimes a straight-up villain, sometimes an ally to Batman, often a mixture of both. Her varying character is used to good advantage in the story, which is told from her perspective. The writer gives her a believable voice and the artist treats her with class, i.e. not like a sex object. She does have a bit of romantic distraction with Batman (naturally, he has to show up) but the scene does not have the tacky, exploitative depiction that happens with a lot of female comic book characters (or even in the Batman/Catwoman back catalog). 

Recommended--this is among the better Catwoman stories I've read.

Book Review: Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler by T. King et al.

Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler by written by Tom King and illustrated by Mitch Gerads

The Riddler is a member of Batman's rogues gallery that usually does not get much respect. His M.O. is giving clues to the crime he is about to commit. That turns out to be counterproductive, though it makes for entertaining stories. Who doesn't like a good riddle? In this book, The Riddler has moved on from his usual shtick. He kills a man in broad daylight without any prelude and waits around for the cops to cart him off to Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. He makes repeated efforts to get Batman to visit him, increasing his brutality towards fellow inmates and guards. The contemporary story is intercut with scenes from The Riddler's adolescence at a prep school where he is forced to excel by his father, who happens to be headmaster. His unhappy childhood led to his unhappy livelihood. 

This book is inspired by Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, where The Joker creatively and brutally tortures Jim Gordon in an attempt to make him insane. The theory is that "one bad day" can turn any good man to madness or evil. This story seems more like The Riddler had the "one bad day" and has changed from a less-than-serious opponent to a full-blown psychopath who scares everyone on the police force...and maybe even Batman himself. The plot is very grim and has a lot of violence without the levity or cleverness of a typical Riddler story. I can see what the creators were going for but I found it hard to read and hard to enjoy. 

Not recommended.

Book Review: Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story by L. Myracle et al.

Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story written by Lauren Myracle and illustrated by Isaac Goodhart

The Batman villain Mr. Freeze started out as a one-dimensional character, almost a gag villain rather than a real threat. This graphic novel reimagines him as a contemporary seventeen-year old who interns at Boyle Laboratories in the city of Gotham. He loves science and trying out experiments. He tragically lost his older brother and has become extremely shy and inwardly-focused. On a visit to his brother's grave, he runs into Nora, who is visiting her mother's grave. They awkwardly connect. Nora has her own tragedy--she has a disease that is going to kill her by the end of the summer. As they grow closer, they become more intimate and more honest with each other, leading to a lot of personal drama. 

The story has nothing to do with Batman, it's entirely focused on Victor and Nora. Both of their perspectives  are presented, though both are more focused on self-doubt and self-delusion. They both want more control over their situations than they really have. They both want to live life to its fullest but are too young to understand what that really means. She has suicidal tendencies which are dealt with in sensitive ways. I wish there was better handling of their sex life, which is just taken as a given in spite of it being neither emotionally or physically healthy. They aren't really a part of a community, even of their own families. Victor and Nora only want their own good, not the good of others or even each other, making their story ultimately a tragedy. I don't think that's the conclusion the creators were going for.

Barely recommended.

Book Review: Batman Adventures: Batgirl: A League of Her Own by B. Timm et al.

Batman Adventures: Batgirl: A League of Her Own by Bruce Timm with Richard and Tanya Horie

Based on the characters as seen in Batman: The Animated Series, this set of tales is taken from the Batman Adventures comic book series from the early 1990s. Barbara Gordon is Batgirl. Here, she has some solo adventures, a team-up with Batman, and a team-up with Robin. She's her plucky and adventurous self, as willing to talk her way out of a situation as fight her way. She also does research and other detective work when necessary to solve a mystery and bring a case to closure. She's a great role model in this book. I liked the stories quite a bit.

Recommended, even if you aren't a Bat-fan.

The Sequel Was Better? Batman Begins The Dark Knight

The Sequel Was Better? is a series of reviews looking at famous movies with sequels that are considered, rightly or wrongly, to be better than the original movies. Typically, sequels are a step down in quality, acting, and/or production value. But not always. See other reviews here.

Batman Begins (2005) co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan

Young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) plays with his friend Rachel (Emma Lockhart) on the Wayne Manor grounds. He falls into a covered well and the film flips to a bearded, older Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) who is a prisoner in an Asian jail. He beats up a lot of the other inmates and is pulled out of jail by Ducard (Liam Neeson). Ducard says Bruce can find what he's looking for if he takes a blue flower to the top of a nearby mountain. Bruce has been fighting criminals on the streets and has made little progress so he climbs the mountain. He finds Ducard in an ancient fortification that is the headquarters of the League of Shadows. The League trains men to be stealthy, ruthless, and powerful. The League is run by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Wantanabe). His plan is to rid the world of evil and corruption by sending out the trained soldiers. Bruce and Ducard have some discussions about justice and anger as Ducard teases out the story of Bruce's childhood. 

Young Bruce was injured physically in the drop into the well, but more substantial was the psychological fear of bats he developed. Bruce was saved by his dad, Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache). He's a doctor who has used the Wayne family's wealth to help Gotham, especially during an economic depression when lots of regular people struggled. He invested in a new water system and elevated train lines, providing jobs and civic improvements. Wayne takes his family to an opera that features some bat characters. Young Bruce becomes frightened and asks to leave. The family goes to the alley out back where they are mugged by Joe Chill (Richard Brake), who winds up killing Bruce's parents. Bruce is taken back to Wayne Manor and is raised by Alfred the butler (Michael Caine). Bruce grows older but is still fearful and resentful. In college, he goes to a hearing where Chill may be released from jail since he provided evidence against mob boss Carmine Falcone. Rachel (Katie Holmes), now in the district attorney's office, goes with Bruce. Bruce brings a gun, hoping to avenge his parents. He's beaten to the kill by one of Falcone's associates. Bruce confronts the free Falcone (he's got so many politicians in his pocket that he can't be prosecuted) who treats Bruce with contempt, knowing he can't do anything. Bruce then goes on a crime spree in order to learn more about criminals, the better to fight them. That's what led him to the Asian jail.

Ducard trains Bruce. As he gets better, Ducard reveals the League's next plan--the destruction of the highly corrupt Gotham. Bruce thinks there's still enough good people left to spare the city. Ducard scoffs at Bruce's compassion and explains how it is incompatible with the League's modus operandi. They have brought down other decadent civilizations like ancient Rome and Constantinople. They tried to take down Gotham earlier through economic deprivation but people like Thomas Wayne kept the city together. The League has a new scheme. Bruce objects, fights with Ducard and the League. Ra's dies in the fire that starts during the battle. Bruce saves Ducard from the fire and returns to Gotham.

Gotham still has the same problems--Falcone is running drugs and manipulating the city's government. Wayne Industries's board wants to sell Bruce's shares (he's been gone for seven years and declared legally dead). Bruce is not quite in time to save the business but he does meet with Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) who is in charge of a research department that developed various weapons, armor, and other gadgets for military contracts that never went to fulfillment. Working with Alfred in the caves under Wayne Manor, Bruce fashions himself a Bat suit for his crime fighting nights. He goes out to stop a shipment of drugs. During the battle, he gets evidence to pin Falcone to the crimes and discovers that part of the shipment was going elsewhere.

The other part of the shipment went to a Doctor Crane (Cillian Murphy) who works at Arkham Asylum. Crane has been working with Falcone, getting mid-level mobsters out of jail by declaring them insane and transferring them to Arkham. Crane is developing a toxic gas that terrifies people. Crane wears a Scarecrow mask to get the maximum effect from his patients/victims. When Carmine is arrested and Rachel gets hard evidence from Batman to keep him in jail, Crane has Carmine transferred to Arkham. Carmine tries to bully Crane into releasing him, but Crane is working for a larger organization and uses the toxic gas on Carmine.

Rachel tries to reverse the move of Carmine to Arkham, insisting that the DA's office have an independent assessment of Falcone. Crane uses the gas on Rachel as Batman comes to the asylum. Crane has been using the inmates as slave labor to put the toxin in Gotham's water supply, though since it is airborne, it has had no effect on the citizens. Batman works with police detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) to save Rachel. Batman rushes Rachel back to Wayne Manor where Fox has delivered an antidote for the toxin. She gets the cure and Alfred takes her back home.

Meanwhile, it's also Bruce Wayne's birthday party at Wayne Manor. Fox is there and reveals that Wayne Enterprises has lost a high-tech weapon that vaporizes water. Bruce tells Fox to go back and make more antidote. Another party guest is Ducard, who admits he is Ra's Al Ghul and is advancing his timetable. Bruce makes everyone leave the party and then has a big fight with Ra's and his henchmen. They leave Bruce trapped under a beam as the house burns down around him. Alfred returns and helps Master Bruce get out. They flee to the Batcave and Bruce suits up for the final confrontation with Ra's.

Everybody goes to Arkham where Ra's activates the vaporizer. The prisoners are released and subjected to the now-airborne toxin, causing anarchy in the neighborhood. Ra's takes the weapon to the elevated trains. If he can get it to the Wayne building in the center of the city, all the water supply will be vaporized and the city will descend into chaos. Batman fights henchmen and gets onto the train. He fights with Ra's as they argue about the rightness of ending Gotham's corruption through the harsh justice of the League of Shadows. Batman gave Gordon the keys to his Batmobile. Gordon uses it to knock down the train tracks, resulting in the destruction of the machine and the death of Ra's.

By this point, Batman has admitted to Rachel that he's Bruce. She comes to visit him in the wreckage of Wayne Manor. Bruce decides to rebuild (Alfred reminding him that it's a good opportunity to fix up the downstairs). Rachel realizes that her childhood friend is still not back since he has become Batman. Maybe if he can put aside the cowl, they can be together. Bruce reluctantly agrees. Batman returns to Gotham, where Gordon shows him a new Bat-signal and warns him about escalating crime. In fact, a new homicidal maniac is in town and has left a calling card--a joker from a deck of cards. Cue credits.

The movie spends a lot of time on the basic conflict between Bruce and Ducard. Ducard espouses the sort of justice that has no room for error or corruption or mercy. Ducard tells Bruce that his compassion will be his undoing, that he will never be able to fight the "good fight" as the League of Shadows fights it. Bruce is unwilling to give up on all of Gotham just because a lot of corrupt people are controlling things. He still believes things can change. Others like Rachel and Gordon have the same intentions while dealing with the frustrations of working in a corrupt system. While they look desperate, they are not depicted as fools or false optimists. The filmmakers side with Batman on the need for justice tempered by compassion. They also recognizes the enormous level of sacrifice required to live that way. 

The movie also does a good job justifying the various Bat-gadgets that get used in the film. His weapons and armor-like outfit come from the military prototyping unit of Wayne Industries. Sometimes with superhero movies it is hard to shoehorn in the fantastic and unrealistic elements from the comic-book stories. Nolan and company do a good job scaling back the fantastic and beefing up the less-realistic elements.

One of the weaknesses of the film is the nightmare visions people have under the influence of Scarecrow's hallucinogen. The visuals lean more toward the PG end of the PG-13 rating. The bigger weakness is Ducard who is more like a political and moral agenda than an actual human person. Falcone and Crane are a bit better as villainous characters. The escalation up the ladder of criminals (from Falcone to Crane to the League of Shadows) is interesting and a natural way to keep raising the stakes.

The Dark Knight (2008) co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan

A small clown-masked gang robs a bank in a highly-organized and efficient way. The heist is unusual in that as each robber finishes his specialized task (like disabling alarms or cracking the safe), another robber kills him (fewer guys to share the profits with). The final robber is revealed to be The Joker (Heath Ledger), a psychotic villain who has just begun a crime spree. The other unusual thing about the heist is that the bank is run by one of Gotham's mobs, so The Joker has stolen money that the owners really want back. 

The mobs have other problems to deal with. During a drug deal in a multi-level parking garage with The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), several locals dressed up as Batman show up with guns to stop the deal. The gun fight is broken up by the actual Batman (Christian Bale), who sustains some injuries thanks to the vicious dogs brought by the Russian mafia. Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred (Michael Caine) patches up Bruce Wayne. Bruce is interested int the new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who is fighting crime in the courts and dating Bruce's old girlfriend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhall, replacing Katie Holmes). Bruce runs into the couple at a fancy restaurant, is impressed with Dent, and wants to throw a fundraiser for him. And he considers Dent as a possible replacement for Batman, who functions as Gotham's figurehead of justice.

Wayne's company is making a deal with a Chinese firm headed by Lau (Chin Han), who is secretly working with the mob families to take care of their money. Negotiations with Lau are inconclusive. Lau also has a meeting with the crime bosses (via television) to figure out what to do about Batman, who has been disrupting crime all over Gotham. The Joker shows up at the meeting and promise to kill Batman if they will pay him half the money. The men balk at this, though Joker warns them that with Batman's lack of legal restraints, he's bound to take down more of the mafia and probably Lau. Lau is bound to give them up if he ever gets caught. Lau bails out of the meeting and the mobsters are still unsure, forcing Joker to head out while threatening to blow up everyone.

The cops want to take down the mob and have been using marked money given them by Batman to find out which banks are run by the criminals. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) works with Dent to get legal cover for raiding the banks. Gordon and Dent are a little leery of each other. Dent rose through the ranks in Internal Affairs, so he knows how many corrupt cops are on the payroll, even in Gordon's unit. They come to an arrangement. As Gordon's people raid the banks, the money is gone (Lau is taking it with him back to Hong Kong). Gordon thinks there's a leak in Dent's office, Dent thinks the leak is in Gordon's unit. They meet on the roof of the Major Crimes Unit (MCU!) with Batman, who volunteers to go after Lau since Batman doesn't have to deal with international extradition or other legal restraints.

Bruce Wayne meets with Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) who, while running Wayne Industries, still has a hand in developing Batman tech and solving tricky problems. Wayne wants to snatch Lau from his Hong Kong skyscraper and return home via an aerial pick-up. Fox works the problem. Alfred comes up with an excuse to get Wayne to China's waters--they take the Russian ballet (or at least the female dancers from the ballet) on a yacht. Wayne swims to shore while Alfred takes care of the prima donnas onboard. The spectacular kidnapping sequence goes off without a hitch, so Batman delivers Lau to Gordon for holding. Lau is willing to give up the mobsters to save himself. Wayne shows up at the Wayne/Dent fundraiser and claims he believes in Harvey Dent--he says this because he is sure Dent can replace Batman as Gotham's hero.

The Joker has been busy too. He takes out one of the gang leaders, not before explaining how he got his scars--his dad did it to him as a child in a sadistically described scene. He drops off one of the fake Batmen at MCU demanding the real Batman reveal himself. The Joker show up at the Wayne/Dent fundraiser, giving Rachel a different and equally horrible story of how he got his scars. Wayne sneaks off to become Batman. His fight with the Joker is inconclusive--Batman has to save Rachel from falling from the top of the skyscraper and the Joker escapes. At the same time, Joker's henchmen kill a prominent judge and the police commissioner at different locations. 

The Joker's next target is the Mayor. Batman has some physical evidence giving him a lead on the Joker's whereabouts which turns out to be a deception. The Joker's men are somewhere else and would have killed the Mayor if Gordon hadn't jumped in front of the bullet. Gordon's widow accuses Batman of causing his death. Both Batman and Dent put the screws to Joker's associates but get no information. Batman convinces Dent to hold a press conference where he will reveal his true identity. Dent, in front of the press, claims he is Batman. Dent is taken into custody. They take him to MCU, assuming that the real Batman will have a chance to take out the Joker, who surely will try to kill Dent. The Joker does attack, ending with the arrest of Joker by Gordon, who pretended to die. While the Joker is in jail, Dent and Rachel are kidnapped and put into deathtraps. Batman tries to beat information out of the Joker. The Joker tells where they are and Batman goes after Rachel while the cops go after Dent. When Batman shows up, Dent is in the location, not Rachel. He is barely able to save Dent, whose face becomes horribly burned. Rachel dies in flames. And the Joker escapes from MCU through an elaborate scheme. He takes Lau with him.

Alfred reads a letter from Rachel to Bruce detailing that she will marry Harvey because she thinks Bruce will never not be Batman. He destroys the letter. Meanwhile, a Wayne Industries mid-level accountant threatens to reveal the true identity of Batman. While the accountant is on TV, the Joker changes his mind and doesn't want Batman's identity revealed. He calls in to the TV show, offer lots of money for someone to kill the accountant. If no one does the deed, Joker will blow up all the hospitals in Gotham.

Harvey is recovering at Gotham General. Joker goes there and goads Harvey, who has gone insane and embraced his new Two-Faced nature, into being a villain. Harvey lets fate control his decisions, flipping a coin to decide if someone will live or die. The Joker offers himself as the first target but the coin is okay. Joker leaves the hospital, blowing it up. Gordon panics about Dent's missing status. Dent goes on a killing spree, shooting cops and mafia involved in the murder of Rachel (that is, his target were manipulated by the Joker).

The Joker threatens the city, implying that people should flee but the bridges and tunnels are dangerous. People take to the ferries. Two ferries are stuck out in the water with the Joker telling the ferry riders that the boats are rigged to explode. Each ferry has a detonator for the other ferry. Joker wants one boat to destroy the other. If one of them doesn't do it by midnight, he will blow up both boats. One boat has the criminals that Dent put in jail; the other has regular citizens. 

Batman has used Wayne Industries tech to access all the cell phones in Gotham to "see" everywhere, using the microphones for echo-location. His hope is the Joker will get picked up by one of the microphones and they can find him. He lets Lucius Fox control the system. Fox demurs, saying it is completely unethical but they will use it this one time. Joker makes his announcement about the boat by a phone, so they locate him, pretty much at the same time as Gotham's police. Batman asks for time to get the Joker before they move in but GCPD is not interested since there are a lot of hostages in the building. Batman fights the Joker's henchman and the cops to keep everyone safe. He eventually subdues Joker, who makes a big speech about who they are and how the people of the city will lose their trust in good when they find out about Harvey Dent's fall into corruption. Lucius Fox, when he is done with the machine, types his name in like Bruce asked him. That causes the machine to self-destruct, restoring Fox's faith in Bruce.

Gordon has raced off to save his family who were tricked by Dent into going to the place where Rachel died. Gordon and Dent have a hard conversation about loss of loved ones. Dent wants to kill one of Gordon's family, choosing his son when Gordon reacts the most to that threat. Batman arrives and Dent claims that the only justice is random chance. In an opportune moment, Batman takes out Dent. He and Gordon discuss the problem of Dent's corruption. Gordon assumes the city will lose its hope. Batman says he will take the blame for Dent's murders so the city can keep its hope and the Joker will not win. He runs away as Gordon tells the police that Batman is guilty. Gordon explains to his son, who doesn't understand, that Batman can take on this burden to keep Gotham's hope alive. He's the hero they deserve but not the one they need right now. Batman will defend the city from crime as its Dark Knight. Cue credits.

This movie was an even bigger sensation than the first one. Ledger's performance as the Joker was highly praised (including winning an Oscar) because it is so edgy and fascinating. His schemes are deadly and sadistic, designed to force people into bad decisions. His philosophical rantings are all over the place, packed with lies and misdirection, making him hard to understand. Does he really believe in chaos when he is so methodical and far ahead of other people? Ledger's performance is so overwhelming that it's hard to notice the holes in the Joker's character the first time watching the film. It holds the film together.

Eckhart is okay as Dent. His storyline, even though its summation seems like the point of the film, gets second seat to the Joker's antics and feels tacked on at the end. He's a lot easier to understand as a person, though he is similarly manipulative in his dealings with others, especially using a two-headed coin to trick people into thinking there's an element of chance to what will happen. Gordon is initially wary of Dent but somehow becomes a big proponent of propping up Dent's mythical (and undeserved) reputation as a hero of Gotham. While Gordon, Rachel, Batman, and Bruce Wayne are all big fans of Dent, the movie does not establish that the general public in Gotham idolizes Dent. He does some heroic things, but no one is dressing up like him to fight crime or becoming lawyers or chanting his name in the street or praising him at the press conference. I am still waiting for a great Two-Face cinematic story that delves into his character and his pathology, like they did for the Joker in this film.

The film is very enjoyable and an overwhelming experience the first time watching it. It is chock full of interesting ideas and amazing set pieces. Repeated viewings have diminished its lustre for me but it is still an excellent film.

So is the sequel better? Let's look at some points of comparison.

• SCRIPT--Both movies have very strong scripts, balancing character development and exposition with action and peril. They also deal with bigger issues than the typical comic book plot of bad-guy-wants-to-destroy-the-world-and-must-be-defeated. I found "justice needs to be sought with compassion" a more interesting theme and better presented than the "Gotham needs a proper hero" theme of the second film. Advantage Batman Begins
• ACTING--Heath Ledger rightly won an Oscar for his performance as the Joker, making him stand out over all the other villains in the Christopher Nolan Batman series. The characters consistent between both films (Batman, Alfred, Gordon, Lucius Fox, and some minor figures) are all on the same par as the first film. Katie Holmes is replaced as Rachel by Maggie Gyllenhall in the sequel. Gyllenhall does a better job, though the character has more substance than in the original. Advantage The Dark Knight
• ADVANCES THE STORY/MYTHOLOGY--After establishing Bruce Wayne/Batman as a somewhat tragic hero who can't have a normal life, the second film sees him hoping for a way out, relying on Harvey Dent to take up the mantel of Gotham's hero. It seems like a possible outcome (with the ironic addition that Dent successfully courts Wayne's childhood girlfriend). The sequel ends with Batman falling behind, losing the girl and taking on the reputation of a villain in the hopes of bolstering Gotham's belief in goodness. He's also lost his alliance with the cops. I know a lot of people who love the ending, especially with its Christological overtones, but I found it a bit unsatisfying. I think the Joker did win by destroying Gordon's and Batman's faith in the people of Gotham and by making Batman destroy his own heroic reputation. The Dark Knight is more like the second act of a story--it puts the hero in an even worse state before he comes back in the third act (which does happen in the third film).
• SPECIAL EFFECTS--The movies are very similar with some massive action sequences (the train battle and the Hong Kong kidnapping). The "echo location" effect in The Dark Knight is interesting though the fight sequence looks like it was taken from a high-end video game. The Scarecrow nightmares in the first film are a little underwhelming too. Tie
• VISUAL STYLE--The style remains consistent between the two films, with a dark and downtrodden Gotham struggling under crime and corruption. The Bat-gadgets are more low-key than in other Batman films and shows, fitting the mostly realistic style of these films. There's no huge advances in the second film. Tie
• THE BIG FINALE--Both movies have big physical confrontations that also accommodate philosophical and moral points being made by the characters. The action is a bit better in the second film but gets a bit dragged out having a final confrontation with the Joker and then another, much lesser final confrontation with Two-Face twenty minutes later. Tie

FINAL THOUGHTS

Both films are excellent and are the best of the Batman films so far. While The Dark Knight is widely regarded as the better film, I find Batman Begins more resonant with me. It's theme of tempering justice with compassion is both more important and better executed than The Dark Knight's main theme. So this is a rare instance for me where the sequel is not better.

Movie Review: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) directed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski

With the popularity of Batman: The Animated Series, the creative crew were able to make a feature-length story that was released theatrically. A new villain, The Phantasm, is killing some of Gotham's crime bosses. The Phantasm's outfit is close enough to Batman's that some witnesses think it is the Dark Knight offing the bad guys. Bruce Wayne has some problems, too. An old flame, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delaney), has returned to town, though she is more interested in her father's accountant than in going back to Bruce. Flashbacks show how close a college-aged Bruce was to giving up on avenging his parents. He even proposed to Andrea. She abruptly broke off the engagement and went to Europe with her father, leaving a note with the engagement ring asking him to forget her forever. In the current day story, Bruce has perfected his "playboy who is never serious" persona when dealing with women. He does remember and still feel the connection he had with Andrea. A third problem comes up since the Joker (Mark Hamill) is causing mayhem in his usual style, though his presence turns out to be less random than it initially seems.

The movie gives a solid Batman story. It delves a bit into his origin, adding in the doomed romance to raise the pathos. There's plenty of action and the mystery is well-crafted. The movie follows the noir stylings of the TV show, giving Batman a dark landscape that suits him so well. The actors do a good job with their roles. Watching is a very satisfying experience even if you haven't seen the television show.

Recommended, especially for Batman fans.