Created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in 1939, Batman was first introduced in Detective Comics #27. For almost 80 years, Batman has remained one of the most popular and iconic comic book characters of all time. Over the years, Batman has been adapted into numerous movies, TV shows, cartoons, and more. Batman first gained mainstream success with the ’60s TV series starring Adam West as the Caped Crusader. While this interpretation was more campy and over-the-top, the show helped bring Batman into pop culture. Batman returned to his darker roots thanks to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. This culminated in Tim Burton’s 1989 film, a major success that ushered in a new era of comic book movies. Following the movie’s success, Batman: The Animated Series premiered in 1992. The show led to the theatrical film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
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One night, as Batman (Kevin Conroy) is taking on some gangsters, a mysterious figure known as the Phantasm appears. The Phantasm kills one of the gangsters, and Batman is falsely blamed for the murder. Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner) wants Batman taken out thinking him a menace despite Commissioner Gordon’s objections. At the same time, an old flame of Bruce’s named Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany) reenters his life after several years. As the Phantasm takes out more and more gangsters, we learn more about Bruce and Andrea’s past relationship. Turns out her wealthy father Carl Beaumont (Stacy Keach) had some shady dealings with some gangsters he owed money to. Soon enough, one of the gangsters hires the Joker (Mark Hamill) to eliminate Batman before he gets killed. Eventually, Batman discovers the Phantasm’s true identity, and he must confront the demons of his past to save Gotham.
What’s interesting about this film is that it was originally intended to be released direct-to-video before being released theatrically. With that in mind, you can somewhat tell given the movie feels like an hour-and-a-half episode with a bigger budget. Even still, much like the show, the animation is very impressive and stylish, even more so given the bigger budget. The movie makes great use of shadows and harsh lighting that really add a dark noir vibe. It’s impressive given this was mostly done using hand-drawn animation in a time when CG animation was becoming the norm. In fact, the only CG-animated sequence is in the opening credits, and it’s phenomenal. Especially in the film’s climax, there are some really amazing set pieces that rival similar sequences from the live-action films. Granted, some of the character movements are somewhat wobbly and a bit cartoonish, but it doesn’t detract from the film.
The story is also very complex especially for an animated movie, exploring themes of love and loss. There’s also some twists throughout that will catch you off-guard the first time you see it. The voice acting all around is great, Conroy and Hamill of course being amazing in their roles. Dana Delany does a great job as Andrea, which eventually led to her voicing Lois Lane in the Superman cartoon. The score, done by the late Shirley Walker, is amazing, giving the film a very grand and operatic feeling. In fact, there’s one scene towards the end where the score really shines that I don’t want to give away. Honestly, there’s so much more that makes this movie great that I could go for hours discussing it. In summation, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is easily one of the best and most underrated superhero movies ever made.
