Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of March 13 - March 25/26, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some "low-key coarse language and occasional griping"
THIS ISSUE'S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: "SO WHEN WERE THOSE ANIMATED BAT-VIDEO GAMES SUPPOSED TO BE OUT THIS YEAR, ANYWAY?"
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SPECIAL NOTICE
Due to upcoming finals and many other school-related projects (and some not) in the lives of our two editors, "Batman: The Animated Newsletter" will be taking a two-week hiatus. We'll be back bright, new, and refreshed on March 27. See ya'll then!
-editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
(who for some reason talks about himself in the third person)
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MAKE US LOOK LIKE FOOLS AND SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT!
Yep, you heard right! Ever since the issue #1, my hasty editing procedures have always left not just a few, but sometimes a whole horde of simple errors, grammatical problems, untrue facts, and whatnot. Just no typos - you've gotta be more creative than that! Here's
where YOU come in. If you can find any mistakes in this issue (we're not purposely making mistakes - any mistakes you find will be ones we were too blind to see), we'll print your name in the following issue in a special column. Sound fun?
Come on. Make us look like idiots. We dare ya. Grrrr.
-Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton
the tremendously warped editor
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THOSE WHO POINTED OUT OUR FAULTS
No one. HA! Does this mean our newsletter was flawless? Hardly...
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING...
New episodes are on the horizon! Here's what we can expect in the near future...
'SNEAK PEAK'
Batman Beyond #32
Air date: March 26, 2000
A gossip reporter acquires the technology to become "incorporeal" and walk through walls. Becoming the ultimate peeping Tom, he discovers Batman's identity and threatens to reveal it on national television.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BEYOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES air Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.
THIS WEEK:
Mon 03-13-00: Superman #05 A Little Piece of Home
B-BEYOND #25 Babel
Tue 03-14-00: Superman #06 The Way of All Flesh
Batman #103 The Demon Within
Wed 03-15-00: Superman #25 Brave New Metropolis
Superman #42 Where There's Smoke
Thu 03-16-00: Superman #10 My Girl
Batman #104 Legends of the Dark Knight
Fri 03-17-00: Superman #15 Ghost in the Machine
B-BEYOND #27 Eyewitness
Sat 03-18-00: NO EPISODES TODAY, DUE TO A POKEMON MARATHON
NEXT WEEK:
Mon 03-21-00: Batman #106 Mad Love
B-BEYOND #23 Mind Games
Tue 03-22-00: Batman #72 Harlequinade
B-BEYOND #21 Hooked Up
Wed 03-23-00: Batman #33 The Laughing Fish
B-BEYOND #22 Rats
Thu 03-24-00: Batman #83 Make 'Em Laugh
B-BEYOND #24 Revenant
Fri 03-25-00: Batman #92 Joker's Millions
B-BEYOND #30 Final Cut
Sat 03-26-00: Superman #53 Unity
B-BEYOND #32 Sneak Peak ---------> NEW!!!
All episodes #86 and onward of BATMAN are considered THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES while the original 85 are considered BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS) episodes.
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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)
-To find the episode guide and airing schedule of BATMAN and BATMAN BEYOND on YTV then please go to
http://www.ytv.com and click on the YTV GUIDE icon at the bottom of the screen. To check out the schedule then click on BATMAN or BATMAN
BEYOND in the time grid and it will have the schedule for the current week.
BTAS will air at Noon on weekdays (in all time zones), and BATMAN BEYOND will air at 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. YTV has the rights to show all 109 BTAS episodes. They also have the rights to air the first 26 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND (all of season 1 and the
first half of season 2).
YTV will be making some schedule alterations very soon. Thanx to WF's official newsman Mr. Eye, we were able to get a hold of some of them! And here they are...
Batman Beyond will join The Zone beginning Monday, March 13th at 3:30pm (ET).
THIS WEEK:
Mon 03-13-00: BTAS #30 Perchance to Dream
BEYOND #13 Ascension
Tue 03-14-00: BTAS #06 The Underdwellers
BEYOND #14 Joyride
Wed 03-15-00: BTAS #34 Night of the Ninja
BEYOND #16 Splicers
Thu 03-16-00: BTAS #36 The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne
BEYOND #17 Lost Soul
Fri 03-17-00: BTAS #42 Tyger, Tyger
BEYOND #18 Bloodsport
Sat 03-18-00: BEYOND #12 Disappearing Inque
Sun 03-19-00: BEYOND #11 A Touch of Curare
NEXT WEEK:
Check out
http://www.ytv.com for updated schedules for this week!
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz)
THE CARTOON NETWORK was able to get the exclusive rights to 52 episodes of the classic BTAS, as well as both animated movies. BTAS airs Monday-Friday at 6pm (ET) and then repeated again at midnight. If our schedule listings is not complete or up to date then please go
to either of these sites for the schedule:
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:
NOTE: The schedules at Brian Cruz' site are currently unavailable; if anyone knows of any other place where people can get listings for BTAS on the Cartoon Network, please e-mail us!
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EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton)
All of Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton's reviews of the new-style BTAS episodes and BATMAN BEYOND can be found via these links, which link to "Two-Face's Tower of Tranquility and Terror":
The creative "team" for this column alternates between Zanna and Justin Chen, two loyal subscribers and great friends of ours here. Any other reviews printed here are written by editor Tim "TWO-FACE" Leighton. Enjoy!
<BATMAN BEYOND>
ARMORY
Written by John P. McCann
Directed by Kyoung-Won Lim
Animation by Koko Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Dong
Yang Animation Co., Ltd.
Original airdate: March 12, 2000
My rating: *** 1/2 (Out of five stars)
Gotham has a new criminal. He's called the Human Armory because of his impressive and varied personal weaponry. Terry, as Batman, takes on Armory, but Batman fails in his first attempt to capture him. Because of the sophistication of Armory's weapons,
Terry has a suspect in mind.
Armory is a very capable, effective criminal who is similar to Superman's Steel in many ways. Both are inventors who can create amazing equipment except that Armory uses his inventions to do crime and Steel uses his inventions to fight crime. Armory's weapons
include a grenade-like device that produces a portable force field, a liquid spray that coats and instantly solidifies into a hard substance, several devices that short circuit electronic components, a car that can alter its outward coloring instantaneously, and a very powerful sonic
weapon.
Armory isn't a genetically or medically altered human. He isn't psychotic or bent on revenge. He is extremely clever and capable thief. Both times that Batman goes after him, Armory gets away.
With all the high tech gadgetry available to Armory and Batman, it was refreshing to see Batman use a Bat-grapple when his suit failed and he could no longer fly. Later, using a Bat-grapple to subdue the villain was equally satisfying and nostalgic.
The action sequences in this episode were diverse and exciting, mainly due to the variety of Armory's weapons. Batman's method of fire extinguishing, though low-tech, was resourceful.
Jared Tate reprises his role as the new stepson of a wealthy, successful man and Terry's friend. While Jared and Max don't start off being very friendly, things look up at the end. It would be good to see Max get a social life; after all, she is very
attractive and outgoing.
While Armory made an entertaining criminal, it would have been interesting to see the inventor become this Batman's Earl, the "mechanic", or Harold, the gadget inventor. Perhaps, when he gets out of prison?
Where's Bruce? He's not even mentioned in this episode. Even when his presence is reduced to an Alfred-like caustic comment, it adds to the story.
???
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AND THAT'S THE FACTS
(by "Reliable Source")
(Yes, I understand that the title is grammatically incorrect. So sue us. Actually, nix that. Don't sue us.)
(DISCLAIMER: For those of you who are not yet familiar, Reliable Source is an anonymous character who first surfaced on Batman: The Animated Message Boards, spewing forth ridiculous predictions about the future of Batman Beyond under the guise of spoiler
warnings. His controversial posts created quite a buzz, and have landed him a temporary column with this newsletter. The thoughts and ideas expressed by this shady character are in no way officially connected to Kids WB, Batman Beyond, this newsletter, or anything that is
decent or holy. That said, on with the show.)
Hello, folks, this is Reliable Source. Many of you may have thought that I died, was kidnapped, got amnesia, or just plain forgot about my duties to this column and this newsletter. The truth is far more amazing than any of you could ever suspect. I
have been in the future. Yes, folks, I have discovered a way to transverse the barriers of time and pass into the future. What did I do on my grand adventure through time? I did what any of you would have done...and checked out the future of Batman. And I have some
shocking news.
Just before the third season of Batman Beyond begins next fall, a huge fire at the WB warehouse destroys every existing episode of Batman, Superman, and Batman Beyond. In fact, everything is burned except Pokémon episodes. Because of this, Kids WB is forced
to make its entire lineup consist strictly of Pokémon. No one notices the change.
With all their old episodes gone, Dini and co. are forced to recreate the series from scratch. Due to a limited budget, many episodes are combined with other episodes. For instance, "Joker's Favor" and "Mad Love" are rolled together
in "Joker's Mad Love Favor," likewise all three Mr. Freeze episodes are combined in "Deep Freeze Heart of Cold Comfort Ice."
When it came time to recreate Batman Beyond, the decision was made to go a totally different route. Instead of the story of Bruce Wayne's successor, the new series is about an earlier Batman, a caveman named Grogg. As a child, Grogg saw his parents eaten by
an evil Tyrannosaurus Rex. Fleeing the scene, Grogg fell into a cave full of prehistoric bats and decided to become Batman, waging war on all evil dinosaurs.
As for the live action movies, there will only be one more, and it will be even worse than Batman and Robin. On the surface, the concept seems great, recreating the Knightfall storyline for the big screen. Unfortunately Hollywood once again gives the reins
to Joel Schumacher, who butchers it like the proverbial fatted calf. Bane, played this time out by wrestler Goldberg, is once again portrayed as a simple-minded, grunting muscle man, who makes the Hulk look like Einstein. Instead of the dramatic fight to the finish with Bane
that broke Batman's back in the comics, Bane simply mumbles, "Grrr! Break back!" and punches the caped crusader in the spine. Also, instead of going through the trouble to introduce Azreal, Chris O'Donnell's Dick Grayson becomes the new Batman, and somehow becomes
evil. In the end, he is stopped by Bruce, whose back heals for reasons not explained, since the writers didn't want to bother to introduce Shondra Konsolving. The movie also features Michael Gough as Alfred, Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon, and Regis Philbin as Batman (hey,
he's doing everything else).
