The Animated Series Redux: Mask of the Phantasm

Anyone who read my thoughts on Batman: The Animated Series shouldn’t be too surprised that I’m writing about it again, being that it is my favorite take on the character.  Based on the massive success the series had seen to that point, Warner Bros. approached the creative team (Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and series writer Alan Burnett) a few months into the run of the first season about doing a feature-length animated film.  In the early stages of production, Warner Bros. decided that the film would have a theatrical release rather than being straight to home video (as most animated films are).  This change resulted in a condensed schedule, requiring the film to be finished in about eight months, as opposed to the average 18 months to two years that animated films typically demand.  The finished product was released on Christmas Day in 1993, titled Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

 

DVD Cover Art

While the film was part of Batman: The Animated Series, and what would become the bigger DC Animated Universe (DCAU), and retained the trademark "Dark Deco" style the series is known for, it was in stark contrast to what the actual series had offered thus far.  It focuses on a villain outside of Batman’s normal Rogues Gallery: The Phantasm, a dark, grim figure who terrorizes aged Mafioso.  Using flashbacks, it also serves as an origin of Bruce becoming Batman for the first time, something B: TAS hadn’t done in the actual series.  But more than all of that, the film is a love story.

 

Young Bruce and Andrea

Batman (or maybe more specifically, Bruce Wayne) has had several romantic partners through the years: Julie Madison (the very first), Vicki Vale, Catwoman, Jezebel Jet, and (arguably the most significant) Talia al Ghul.  However, no story (at least that I’ve ever read) has been a LOVE STORY.  Mask of the Phantasm is probably as close as you’re going to get.  The flashbacks of the story detail a pre-Batman-Bruce first meeting Andrea Beaumont, the would-be love of his life.  Their first encounter comes when Bruce, visiting his parents’ graves, recounts the vow he made to them to purge Gotham City of all crime.  He overhears Andrea speaking to someone, which is revealed to be the grave of her mother.  The two begin a relationship that unfolds over the course of several months, bringing Bruce to the point of giving up his war on crime before it ever begins.

 

"Please! I need it to be different now. I know I made a promise, but I didn't see this coming. I didn't count on being happy."

Following Bruce’s proposal for marriage, and her initial acceptance, Andrea leaves a note for Bruce stating that she would be leaving the country with her father (and mafia associate) Carl Beaumont.  This is a result of her father’s dealings with the mafia ending poorly and being forced to go on the run.  The loss of Andrea is the final determinate factor for Bruce to make the transition to Batman.

 

Best image in the film

Years later, the mysterious Phantasm appears in Gotham and begins systematically killing mafia leaders in the city and, due to The Phantasm’s similar appearance to Batman, the Dark Knight is targeted by the Gotham City Police Department as the main suspect.

Now, one thing I have not done at all in this series is complain, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that.  My main problem with this movie is the involvement of The Joker.  I like The Joker, sure.  Who doesn’t?  But he’s never been my favorite of Batman’s villains.  And the main reason for that is because of overexposure.  And it’s instances like his shoehorned inclusion in this film that have turned me off to the character.  His scenes are great, as always.  Mark Hamill is fantastic at voicing him, as always.  But, thinking in terms of the plot, it feels forced and leaves a bad taste in my mouth during every viewing of this movie.  He’s Batman’s arch nemesis, so naturally he is going to appear frequently in adaptations of Batman stories across various media (films, video games, television shows, et al.).  He’s a great marketing tool as well.  Ask anyone on the street to name a Batman villain and the majority will say “The Joker”.  So having him in the film is probably a sales motivated decision, but it really is quite unnecessary.  Rant over.

 

The Joker imposing himself on someone much like he imposes himself on this film

Ultimately, Batman deduces that The Phantasm is NOT Carl Beaumont as most of the story has hinted.  Seeking revenge for the death of her father, it is Andrea who returned to Gotham as a bringer of vengeance upon the mafia.  The final target The Phantasm/Andrea has is The Joker, who is revealed to have been a low-level mafia enforcer in his pre-Joker days and is implied to be the one who actually “pulled the trigger”, so to speak, on her father.

 

The Phantasm

I mentioned in the entry on B:TAS that the series took inspiration from the World’s Fairs of the 1930’s.  The climax of the film goes beyond inspiration and flat-out takes place in the ruins of the Gotham City World’s Fair.  While Bruce and Andrea had visited the World’s Fair in one of the flashback sequences on one of their first dates, the climax portrays a run down, dilapidated version having long since been out of commission and now serving as home to The Joker.  In probably the only piece of comedy in the film, Joker and Batman have a Godzilla-esque fight in a miniature of Gotham City.

 

Batman and The Joker fighting in mini-Gotham at the World's Fair

The Joker at the mercy of Andrea/The Phantasm

Andrea vanishes with The Joker, presumably to exact her revenge on him, which leaves Batman in a state of defeat, having lost the love of his life again, despite her dark moral turn.  Back in the Batcave, Alfred assures Batman that Andrea was beyond saving.  Just then, Batman notices a glimmer in the darkness of the cave.  Finding a locket containing his and Andrea’s picture, the hope that she is alive is re-instilled in him.

 

Andrea's locket

The final two scenes of the film establish the lovers coping with the situation.  First, Andrea, on an ocean liner, is approached by a stranger asking, “I’m sorry, did you want to be alone?” with Andrea responding, “I am.”  The second is of Batman simply standing on a rooftop, noticing the Bat-Signal in the sky, and swinging off to continue to live up to the vow he made to his parents all those years ago.

 

Gotham's protector

The film pretty much broke even at the box office, costing $6 million and bringing in about $5.6 million.  Creators of the film believe the limited release (as in a low number of theatres) and next to no promotion of the film even existing as to why it was not as successful.  Considering the wild success the film saw once it hit home video (VHS in May ’94, DVD in ’99 and ’05, no Blu-ray release as of yet), I think that they are probably correct in their line of thinking.

Twenty years after its initial release, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm continues to appear of “Best of” lists for animated films, superhero related or otherwise.  My one complaint aside, the film is extremely satisfying for me and, of the handful of Batman animated films, I would rank it as the best.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Josh

Sources: excerpts from primary source interviews; Wikipedia

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