A while ago, I did a set of all time favourite things lists and on top of the TV shows list, was the DC animated universe. Now as some of you will know, this universe consists of a number of DC cartoons, most notably Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League. And when you have several successful shows, naturally a set of films would come out to tie in with the shows and that's pretty much the same here. But just to clarify, I only doing films that are not 2 or 3 part episodes of the shows and are genuinely films. Which means that the Batman Superman Movie and the many 2 and 3 part Justice League episodes don't count. So let's get to it:
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
A mysterious figure enters Gotham and begins to take down a series of crime bosess in the city. As the figure resembles Batman in a way, the blame for the killings is put on him, but Commissioner Gordon says otherwise. In a flashback taking place 10 years prior to the film's events, Bruce Wayne gets romantically involved with a woman called Andrea which had an effect on his career as Batman, but not for long. He finds out that she has returned to Gotham and so Batman begins to investigate the murders and finds something truly shocking. Now what many of you may not know is that this film was released in cinemas, but didn't do well due to short notice. It came around the same time that one of Keaton's Batman films came out. Since then however, it has received a cult following and rightly so. It gives us a possible origin story not just for Batman, but also The Joker too (both being played by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill respectively) and the motivations for the former becoming who he is, seems very sincere. Overall it's a great film and worthy of being among the best Batman films out there. 9/10
Batman & Mr Freeze: Sub-Zero
It took a while before this film came out and that was down to the travesty that was
Batman & Robin. Eventually it got released and played out much better than that film (though to be honest, any film is better than that pile of c**p). Anyway so it's been a while since Mr. Freeze has been in Gotham, having spent some time away in the Arctic with a family of sorts. His wife, Nora's condition slowly begins to deteriorate thanks to a submarine that emerges underneath. He and his companions return to Gotham in the hopes to find a cure, only to find that in order to save her, he needs a live donor, but her rare blood type, makes such a thing impossible. Or so we think, but whatever Mr. Freeze has planned, its sure going to attract some attention in the form of a certain Dark Knight. At the time of its release, a lot of people were losing hope with Batman in general because of
Batman Forever and the previously mentioned
Batman & Robin. So I think this film served as a sign of relief to fans as it was very successful. Despite the name, this feels more like a film for Mr. Freeze as Batman is barely in it, but that I will let slide because Mr. Freeze deserves a film that stays true to who he is and not what he isn't. A great film all around. 9/10
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
So this one has a bit of a funny backstory. Its said to be the most violent and dark of all DC animated universe things as there is killing, there is blood and there is even some moments that are far darker than you could imagine. As the only film to come out of Batman Beyond, this shares the show's continuity and it was thanks to the show and this film's success that the Batman you see here, was able to become part of the mainstream DC Comics, following the footsteps of Harley Quinn and others. So news spreads in Neo-Gotham City that the Joker has resurfaced and has taken over a faction of the Jokerz, a criminal gang in the city and has them steal high-tech equipment for a master plan of his. Both Terry and Bruce investigate and Bruce initially believes that this Joker is an imposter, only to then be left for dead at the hands of him, but is saved by an antidote that Terry whips up. Terry then decides that he needs to know more about Joker and goes out to investigate before going to battle him. You know, I think we can all agree that having watched this film and played
Batman: Arkham Knight, Joker will always find a way to return after death. There is just no way of getting rid of the clown prince of crime. But anyway, its another great film and I feel that the uncut version is better than the edited version because there is more weight to it than you think. Its an emotionally driven film that gives us what I call a definitive end to the clown prince of crime, having apparently died several times before. At least this time, we get some closure on how he actually dies and then returns. 9/10
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
The third film for Batman: The Animated Series and the last film for the DC animated universe in general. So a new heroine who takes the name Batwoman, has arrived in Gotham whose identity (or possibly identities) is a mystery, even to Batman. A shipment of Penguin's is sent flying by Batwoman, leaving Batman and Robin to save the driver before his death. It seems that Batman has his hands full with trying to figure out who Batwoman is while also dealing with Penguin and his accomplices who are selling illegal weapons to the fictional nation of Kasnia and its all going to cause chaos everywhere. As the last film for this universe, I thought it was good. It is a little similar to the first film, but on the whole, its good and enjoyable (plus the secret identity(ies) of Batwoman look pretty hot) with some action packed moments all around. 9/10
Well there is nothing that this universe can do bad. There is absolutely no flaws in any of these films and considering they came out during the 80s/90s Batman trilogy of films, I think they did much better than they did, though the first film in that trilogy will always be the best there. 9/10
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