BATMAN: THE ANIMATED TRIVIA
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
This is one of my favourite sections,
where I get to boggle the minds of all our readers! *EVIL LAUGH* This
trivia is all animated-related in some form, and can deal with ANY aspect of the
show or comics based on the show. Remember, answer the questions WITHIN THE
CONTEXT OF THE ANIMATED CONTINUITY. Now have fun - let's see how well you do!
Answers are provided below.
Livin' La Vida Loca. Damn you Ricky Martin
- no matter where I look - or listen - there that annoying little funky song is,
blaring loudly. As much as I despise it (not that I'm mocking those who DO
like it), it inspired me to make the theme of this quiz focus on CRAZY
people.
141. "You're talkin' kinda crazy!" Who
says this in a BTAS episode at one point?
A: One of Joker's goons
B: One of Two-Face's
goons
C: One of Riddler's goons
D: Tony Zucco
E: Killer
Croc
142. Which of the following CRAZY people have
cried? Tears MUST be included to be eligible. Whimpering alone doesn't
count.
A: Mr. Freeze
B: Harley Quinn
C: The Mad
Hatter
D: Two-Face
E: Poison Ivy
143. Which of the following CRAZY people have
bled on BTAS?
A: The Joker
B: Harley Quinn
C:
Catwoman
D: The Scarecrow
E: The Creeper
144. "I thought you were locked up in the
squirrel farm and they threw away the key." Who says that?
A: Harvey Bullock
B: Tony Zucco
C: Robin
(in a dream sequence)
D: Boxy Benett
E: Either Jay, Lark, or
Raven.
145. In which episode is Batman himself locked
up in Arkham Asylum, wearing a strait-jacket?
A: LOCK-UP
B: DREAMS IN DARKNESS
C:
PERCHANCE TO DREAM
D: TRIAL
E: TERROR IN THE
SKY
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ANSWERS
TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #141: C
Answer to #142: A, B, D,
E
Answer to #143: A, B
Answer to #144: D
Answer to #145: B,
D
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LITTLE
FACTS
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
Here is a section that just points out various
little facts 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. Ever notice that in
"Joker's Millions", Fake Harley is filing her nails THROUGH HER
GLOVES?
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by "Grey Eyes")
1.
The nurse from "Shriek", the female with glasses who Bruce tells to "get out!!!"
looks EXACTLY like the Joker's landlord from "Joker's Millions". The only
difference is that she has grey hair in BATMAN BEYOND.
2. Did you know that Bruce W. Timm, Eric Radomski, Frank Paur , and Dick Sebast (all directors for various "old style"
BTAS episodes) were directors to a foreign film called "Pom POm and Hot Hot"
(1992)? Don't believe me? Go to
http://movies.excite.com/ and search with
the title mentioned...then click on full cast list...there are other familiear
names as well...it is an action movie from Hong Kong.
Here is the exact link - see for
yourself!
Mr. Smith was unable to submit an article for
this issue of BTAN. But fear not, he will return
shortly!
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COMIC
REVIEWS
(by Aaron Maurer)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #15
TITLE: "Cash 'N
The Hood!"
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILED BY: Tim Levins
INKED BY:
Rob Leigh
ISSUED: June 2, 1999 (Cover date is July)
RATING: **** (out of
5)
NOTE: Mr. Maurer was unable to submit a review
of this issue by the time of the delivery of this issue, so editor Tim
"TWO-FACE" Leighton has filled in for him. Expect Mr. Maurer to return in !
Finally, Bane has returned! This alone was
enough reason to purchase this issue. Even though Bane has appeared in the
animated universe a number of times now, in most of those appearances he never
went up against Batman. In the episode "Over the Edge" he was just a figment of
Batgirl's imagination, and in "Knight Time", it was actually Superman that he
ran into, not the big, bad, B-man.
I loved this issue...while I miss Templeton, it
looks like Peterson is a suitable replacement; I was worried that after
Templeton left that the quality of the stories would diminish, but I'm happy to
report that, thus far, nothing could be farther from the truth.
I loved the opening panels with Bane pulling a
bank heist - no dialogue at all, just wonderfully-drawn action poses. I
also enjoyed the panel in which Tim is brain-storming on the motives of Bane's
heists; and let's not forget the three-way interrogation of one of Bane's thugs
on page 13...very cute.
The story itself? I don't believe for a
second that Bane is doing this Robin-Hood act for the sake of the
children...knowing him, he's just doing this to look good in the eyes of those
people, so they'll be on his side forever. My guess is that the citizens of the
lower east-side will aid Bane in a future story - and of course, Bane's just
doing this for his own personal gain, whatever that may be in the
future.
My favourite line from this story must be the
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" allusion at the end, where Bane says "Perhaps
my heart grew two sizes one day - the heart is simply a muscle, no?" That
just really struck me...it almost did convince me that Bane had, in fact, gone
straight. But, after seeing the results of most villains trying to go
straight in the past, I seriously doubt this will last long.
Terrific issue! I look forward for more of
Peterson's work in the future!
PS - Yay me! I's got's a letter printed in this
issue! Happy happy joy joy! *DOES THE "DANCE OF JOY" FROM "PERFECT STRANGERS"*
(Anyone remember that show? Alright, I'm
rambling...)
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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".)
BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #16
July
7th
Alfred's been kidnapped! But why doesn't Batman seem concerned? That's
the question on the minds of Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin, who can't come to
Alfred's aid until they battle their way through hordes of heavily armed
thugs.
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/bga/bga16.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #1 (ongoing)
Uhhh...don't know
much about this...it'll be out in September, though.
NEXT MONTH: Issue #2. That's all we
know.
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #35
July 7th
The
Toyman's toys are pulling off a rash of crimes throughout Metropolis, but the
Toyman insists he isn't behind it. Now Superman must find out if there's another
mastermind at work, or if the Toyman's just playing games to hatch a bigger,
deadlier scheme.
Cover:
http://www.toonzone.net/comics/covers/sa/sa35.jpg
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-A BATMAN BEYOND
soundtrack CD is in the making! Various artists will be contributing songs
(and scores?) for this CD, due out August 17th, 1999.
-Paul Dini was listed
in Entertainment Weekly's 'It List' of 100 Most Creative People In
Entertainment. Paul is listed as the 'It Bat Revivalist'. Congrats! You deserve
it! I wonder why Joel Schumacer didn't get mentioned...
-The Don Thompson
Awards were recently announced. Voted for by the members and visitors of the
Compuserve Comics/Animation forum the results included:
*Favorite Animated
TV Series: The New Batman/Superman Adventures
*Favorite Publisher: DC
Comics
*Favorite Comic-Book Work for All Ages: Batman: Gotham
Adventures
"CURRENT" ANIMATED SERIES'
-The STAS episodes
LEGACY and DEMON REBORN have been left for next season. Great. Three more
episodes to be scattered throughout the season. Perfect. Blech.
BATMAN BEYOND
-Look for the season premiere
of BATMAN BEYOND to be on either Sept. 18th or 25th. Also look for the final
three SUPERMAN episodes to begin on those dates as well. The dates may change,
so stay tuned to this newsletter for future updates.
-Curare, Spellbinder,
Shriek, the Jokerz, and the Royal Flush Gang are among the villains which will
re-appear. The return of both Blight and Inque have been put on
hold. There is no plan to revisit any of the present day Bat-villains at
this point, either.
-On the hero front, more details on the past of Batman
and Batgirl will be revealed. AND Superman will show up. Someone else is also
going to learn the secrets of the Batcave...but who? My guess is either
Ten or Dana.
-BATMAN BEYOND joins the 10th Anniversary celebration of SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS as a sponsor for youth's magazine interactive road sports
show. The show will appear in twenty cities across the country with BATMAN
BEYOND making special appearances in Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburg, Boston,
Seattle, and the New York/New Jersy area.
-In continuing in the Batman
related interview theme, Critcal Eye has an interview with Storybard artist and
BATMAN BEYOND Intro creator, a Super Canuck, Darwyn Cooke! The link is as
follows:
http://www.cam.org/~emru/criticaleye/interviews/dcooke.html-It
seems that WB has slipped a new BATMAN BEYOND website by me. The new BATMAN
BEYOND website contains the usual plus a bio of characters and a chance to win a
free copy of BATMAN BEYOND: The Movie.
http://www.batmanbeyondvideo.com-ANOTHER
UNIVERSE has two BATMAN BEYOND related interviews. One with
Paul Dini and the
other with the writers of BATMAN BEYOND. Plus they
contain some juicy insight
into next season and a possible plot behind
the first made-for-video BATMAN
BEYOND movie. The links are as follows:
ANIMATED COMICS
-Man-Bat FINALLY re-appears
in of "Batman: Gotham Adventures".
-Look for the yet untitled
BATMAN BEYOND ongoing comic series to launch the same time the new season
starts. This means it'll most likely start in
Late-August/Mid-September.
OTHER COMICS
-A prelude to "Batman: Dark
Victory" (the follow-up to "The Long Halloween") will be available in
of WIZARD magazine...watch for it!
-For more, see the "Road Through No Man's
Land" section below.
MOVIES
-Regarding Batman AND Superman films,
from THX1138:
Today, Moriarty and I set about calling about to various Warner
contacts to see what is happening with SUPERMAN...the resounding answer to the
story that came from Australia is, yes, it appeared in their papers, and yes, it
is B.S.
However, something is going on. There will not be a SUPERMAN
film. There will not be a BATMAN film. However, there are discussions of a
BATMAN/SUPERMAN film going on in a very quiet way at Warners.
What we
have been told is that this is very preliminary, but also on a fast track. We
know it would pit Batman and Superman in an adversarial fashion, one of those
ABSOLUTE GOOD vs MORAL AMBIGUITY sorts of things. We hear that the project has a
cover name, but we were not told what this name was.
Is it a year
2000 project or a year 2001 project? Well, that would be dependent on how fast
the alleged 'fast' track would be. But the idea is that this pairing would
energize both franchises and possibly be a gateway to opening up both characters
for a very interesting future.
This is not B.S. I put this out there
simply to try and find out more. Is it a WORLD'S FINEST film? Is there a common
foe? What's happening? Is it in Metropolis or Gotham? Is there a story treatment
or a script? I do not know. But I'm looking to find out - actually a whole bunch
of us are. So heads up folks, something is in the pipeline - or so we
hear.
-ALSO, it seems that a new script for BATMAN 5 has popped up, entitled
"BATMAN: THE JOKER'S REVENGE" (cheesy title, huh?) The Joker is
ressurrected from the dead, SOMEHOW; an unnamed villain who has also appeared in
previous Bat-films (we have 7 others to choose from, right? My bet is either Catwoman, Riddler, or Two-Face) will appear, as well as Mr. Zsasz. The film is
set on the eve of the Millenium.
-In light of the new Batman 5 news, the
Batman/Superman movie idea may not go ahead - or vice versa. We'll just have to
wait and see.
TOYS & MERCHANDISE
-The Playstation
version of the SUPERMAN video game has a tentative release date of September 16,
1999. Thanks to THX1138 for submitting this info!
-Check out
"Two-Face's Trading Post" if you're interested in purchasing figures...lists
provided
below.
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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/btan
MAY: The Penguin and Two-Face make
arrangements to expand their territories in Gotham; in the end, the Penguin gets
shot, losing half his territory, and Two-Face trounces Batman, taking his entire
chunk of land. Two-Face also releases a new villainess, named Echo, from
Blackgate prison.
Next, a new assassin named "Cain" wreaked havoc in
Gotham. Batman confronts Batgirl about letting Two-Face take his
territory, and then confronts Two-Face himself - but let's him off the hook for
the time being. Cain is eventually defeated; it is revealed that Tally-Man is
another man working for Two-Face; Tally-Man was the one that "killed" Black Mask
in March.
And finally, in BATMAN CHRONICLES #17, stories featuring
Francine Langstrom becoming the Man-Bat, Gotham's only remaining cable access TV
show, and a man who tries to strike a deal with Two-Face, claiming to know
Batman's true identity.
JUNE: Batman assembles Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Oracle, and the NEWER Batgirl (#3) together, before they set off to
reclaim Gotham from the totalitarian supervillains and their warring
gangs. Batman and Commissioner Gordon FINALLY meet, and it's clearly
revealed that Gordon and Two-Face HAVE been working together (even though Gordon
didn't like the idea); Batgirl #2 is revealed to be none other than the
Huntress.
In "Fruit of the Earth", Clayface has taken over Ivy's
territory - the park - and holds her captive. We also learn that Ivy has
been providing food for the Penguin, making his desire to have a stranglehold on
Gotham's black market a lot more easy. Batman and Robin enter the park, breaking
into a "Batcave" held deep under the park, to save Ivy and defeat
Clayface. In another part of the story, all the Blue Boys (save for
Bullock and Montoya) have abandonned Commissioner Gordon.
That's 27 issues of NML so far. For a complete
list, e-mail us.
WHAT'S TO COME...
-June: The finale of "Fruit
of the Earth" and a special one-shot featuring Bullock, Batman, and Black
Mask.
-July: Batman and Mr. Freeze battle in the heat of the summer at the
power plant, determining who controls Chinatown. He then goes on to fight
Killer Croc. Bane resurfaces, and Nightwing has a little tussle with
Lock-Up. Robin fights off the Ratcatcher and Spoiler's identity is
revealed to her mother.
-August: The month begins with Batman trying to save
the children of NML from a gang known as "Lynx". Then, things start to
really shake up when Harley Quinn finally makes her debut in the mainstream,
with the Joker and Poison Ivy coming along for the ride. Meanwhile, Azrael and
Batgirl continue to try to make a dent in Nicholas Scratch's operations.
Nightwing is trapped in Blackgate, and Robin is still out searching for
food.
-See below for more.
AS FOR THE OTHER HEROES:
-Nightwing is
ordered by Batman to take control of Blackgate Prison after returning to Gotham
in July; Lock-Up is unhappy with this, obviously. All this in Nightwing
#35.
-Batman sends Robin out to get emergency food rations BUT is confronted
by Mr. Freeze and the Ratcatcher in the process in Robin #68. Also, Spoiler's
mother finds out her true identity.
-Azrael and Batgirl team up to take down
Nicholas Scratch, in a giant comic also featuring Batman, Robin, Nightwing,
Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. This is all in Azrael #56 and #57.
-A
one-shot focussing on how Harvey Bullock is handling No Man's Land is also due
out; Black Mask appears.
-The Huntress takes on the Joker and Harley Quinn in
August.
-Leslie Thompkins is the focus of BATMAN CHRONICLES #18, in
August.
-Superman will return to Gotham in SHADOW OF THE BAT #92, in
October.
AND AS FOR THE REMAINING VILLAINS...
-Poison Ivy has sought refuge in the Robinson Park and turned it into a Garden-of-Eden paradise. But then Clayface appears and turns this Eden into a Hell for Ivy.
-The
Ratcatcher confronts Robin and Nightwing as they try to break back into Gotham.
-Black Mask and "The Widow Wacker" confront Bullock in a special one-shot due out this week.
-Catwoman returns to Gotham in Catwoman
#72, this July.
-Killer Croc is confronted by Batman in Shadow of the Bat #89 in July.
-Bane tries to gain control of the city - again - but has to break in from the outside - across the river filled with land mines.
Batgirl also has a significant role. This is in Detective Comics #736, in July.
-Lock-Up is in trouble when Nightwing tries to take over control of Blackgate Prison in July!
-Mr. Freeze seizes control of the power plant to
stay alive - and to have something valuable to trade with the rest of society. His story involves - a plumber? Freeze also controls Chinatown. (LOTDK #121) Freeze will also appear in Robin #70, in September.
-The
one-shot comic featuring Harley Quinn's intro to the mainstream Bat-universe will come out in August.
-The Joker doesn't appear as a major player until close to the end, along with the new, improved Harley Quinn - whom will
appear with the Joker AND Poison Ivy in August. (BATMAN: Harley Quinn, Batman #570, DC #737). Also, it looks like Ms. Quinn will going up against the Huntress.
-Killer Croc and Mr. Zsasz re-appear in BATMAN CHRONICLES
#18 in August.
-Two-Face re-appears in another big way later on in No Man's Land, apparently as the second-last villain to be defeated. (How fitting.)
-Ra's Al Ghul, meanwhile, is in Washington D.C. battling Anarky in his
new ongoing series.
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