Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

A Mob Killer is in town and is taking out big mob leaders one by one. All clues seem to point to Batman, even though it is someone else. Meanwhile Bruce Wayne meets an old flame Andrea Beaumont. Bruce met her just before he became Batman and her appearance causes Bruce to think about his life. How his parents death led him to become Batman and how he met Andrea. Bruce continues to hunt for the Phantasm and when he confronts him, a melee ensues and Batman finds that he is an equal match. Even worse, Batman finds himself cornered by the police and has to escape a SWAT team which is aiming for him. Bruce is eventually rescued by Andrea who also discovers his secret (Bruce ditched the cape and cowl to throw the Police off guard) Meanwhile The Joker becomes a target of the Phantasm but is able to capture him. It turns out that Andrea is really the Phantasm. She came back to Gotham to seek revenge on the gang bosses who ran her and her father out of town. This prevented her from getting married. Batman eventually catches up to both of them but Andrea gets away taking Joker with her. In the end Andrea once again leaves Gotham feeling that things are different.

Though it did miserably at the box office. Mask of the Phantasm is considered by many fans to be the best Batman movie ever made. Clearly this is a great film. There is a lot of story and character development. Bruce Wayne is shown as a real person and his past is well explained. The creators also had more free room to work in. Unlike the show where they were tied down by censorship and restrictions, The creators here were free to do whatever they please. First there is the mention of people dying and second The Joker's flower weapon once again squirts acid and not gas (The Fox censors made them change it to gas in the show) Great work here.

Rating: 5/5