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Batman The Animated Newsletter #78

Batman The Animated Newsletter #78

Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of November 13 – November 26, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”

THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “AND THE HANGMAN IS…”
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SPECIAL NEWS

*MAD ABOUT THE DELAYED RELEASE FOR ‘RETURN OF THE JOKER’? CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING LINK AND WRITE TO THE WB!

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=7106

*TO READ PAUL DINI’S WORDS ON THE SUBJECT, CLICK HERE:

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=7166

*TO SIGN A PETITION, GO HERE:

http://www.123petitions.com/cgi-bin/system/sign1.cgi?id=bbeyond@yahoo.com$8

*TO SIGN ANOTHER PETITION, GO HERE:

http://randomthought.addr.com/rtj.html

*TO SIGN YET ANOTHER PETITION, GO HERE:

http://www.petitionpetition.com/cgi/petition.cgi?id=852

*WANNA SEE THE NEW TRAILER FOR RETURN OF THE JOKER? GO HERE:

http://www.express.com/consumer/products_movies_fr.asp?NO_CATALOG=X&PRODUCTNUMBER=18379

*WANNA HEAR SOME RETURN OF THE JOKER SOUNDS? HOW ABOUT SOME OF MY OWN SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION? GO HERE:

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Film/3580/Waves.html

-Tim “Two-Face” Leighton
(very shameless, indeed)
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…

THE CALL (Pt. 1, 2)
Batman Beyond #??, ??
Air date: November 11 & 18, 2000
Synopsis: In what was originally being regarded as the series finale, Terry McGinnis meets up with the JLU, including a special appearance by an aged Superman.

BIG TIME
Batman Beyond #??
Air date: November 4, 2000 (on GLOBAL in Canada…TBA on the WB)
Synopsis: A friend from Terry’s Juvie days who gets in over his head.

BETRAYAL
Batman Beyond #??
Air date: November 4, 2000 (on GLOBAL in Canada…TBA on the WB)
Synopsis: This episode is a sequel to “Big Time.” Big Time comes back and Terry has to deal with the guilt he has for having helped turn his friend into a monster.

UNMASKED
Batman Beyond #??
Air date: ???
Synopsis: A little kid gets a glimpse of the face under the Batman mask.

COUNTDOWN
Batman Beyond #??
Air date: ???
Synopsis: Zeta and Mad Stan return.

THE CURSE OF KOBRA (Pt. 1, 2)
Batman Beyond #??, ??
Air date: ???
Synopsis: This two-part episode features a villain named Kobra.
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KIDS WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)

Kids’WB! currently airs BATMAN BEYOND five or six times a week. Batman airs on weekday afternoons Monday-Friday, as well occasionally Friday morning before Pokemon. Remember, Kids’WB! is notorious for switching schedules around at the very last minutes. Batman Beyond currently airs at 11am (ET) on Saturdays and 4:30pm (ET) on weekdays. Check out these links if our schedule is not 100% updated:

http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/KIDSWB.htm
http://www.geocities.com/worldsfinestpage/airdate.htm
http://www.toonzone.net/shows

NOTE:
If our schedule is not updated, then go to the following URL. It will ALWAYS contain the most up-to-date schedule possible.
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/airdate.htm

THIS WEEK:
Mon 11-13-00: NONE

Tue 11-14-00: B-BEYOND #21 Hooked Up

Wed 11-15-00: B-BEYOND #18 Bloodsport

Thu 11-16-00: B-BEYOND #29 The Last Resort

Fri 11-17-00: B-BEYOND #31 Armory

Sat 11-18-00: B-BEYOND #?? The Call (Pt. 2)

NEXT WEEK:
Mon 11-20-00: NONE

Tue 11-21-00: B-BEYOND #??

Wed 11-22-00: B-BEYOND #??

Thu 11-23-00: B-BEYOND #??

Fri 11-24-00: B-BEYOND #??

Sat 11-25-00: B-BEYOND #??

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.
_____________________________________________________________________
CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BATMAN and BEYOND on YTV)
(courtesy of our friends at YTV)

YTV currently has the rights to air all 109 episodes of Batman, as well as the current 52 episodes of Batman Beyond. YTV usually airs these episodes in either chronological order, or in the original order they aired on Kids’WB! and FOX. Batman now airs at 3:30am Monday – Friday. If our schedules are not updated or are inaccurate, please use these links:

http://www.geocities.com/worldsfinestpage/epsched.htm
http://www.ytv.com/ytvguide

THE FATE OF BATMAN BEYOND ON CANADIAN TELEVISION:

My co-editor Dick Grayson e-mailed YTV last week regarding the absense of Batman Beyond from the YTV schedule. We got a response, and here’s what they had to say:

“‘Batman Beyond’ is not part of our current schedule. We are sorry if this is disappointing for you to hear. We hope you can understand that it is not uncommon for television stations to move some programs to another day or time, introduce new shows, temporarily remove programs, or cancel shows with expired contracts. It is important to remember that all schedules are subject to change without notice.
“With this said, your comments have been forwarded to our Programming Department for future consideration. Please keep in mind that although we do try to make all of our viewers happy, as a national network, it can be quite a challenging task.”

Maybe it is just gone temporarily – they are under contract to air all 52 episodes at least twice. However, if you don’t want to take any chances and encourage them to bring it back, e-mail them, Canadian viewers!

Anyhow, the original BTAS series is still airing, and it will be shown as follows:

NEXT WEEK:
Mon 11-13-00: BTAS #94 Love is a Croc

Tue 11-14-00: BTAS #95 Torch Song

Wed 11-15-00: BTAS #96 The Ultimate Thrill

Thu 11-16-00: BTAS #97 Over the Edge

Fri 11-17-00: BTAS #98 Mean Seasons

THIS WEEK:
Mon 11-20-00: BTAS #99 Critters

Tue 11-21-00: BTAS #100 Cult of the Cat

Wed 11-22-00: BTAS #101 Animal Act

Thu 11-23-00: BTAS #102 Old Wounds

Fri 11-24-00: BTAS #103 The Demon Within
_____________________________________________________________________
THE CARTOON NETWORK

Cartoon Network has the right to air all 109 Batman episodes, as well as all 54 Superman episiodes. Come September, Cartoon Network will begin airing these. Shows. Batman currently airs during the weekday Toonami block at 6:30pm (ET). Superman will soon have a set airdate as well. Since Cartoon Network is unpredictable with their schedules, we are unable to keep up with them. Please, use these links to find out the schedule information you need:

http://www.geocities.com/worldsfinestpage/airdate.htm
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/TOONAMI/lineup/batman.html
_____________________________________________________________________

EPISODE REVIEW: (SPOILERS!)
(by Justin Chen and/or Zanna)

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”:

MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html

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!

SPECIAL NOTE: We have a special treat for you all, fans! We’ve gotten so many astounding reviews about the recent BEYOND episode “OUT OF THE PAST”, we decided to publish not one but TWO reviews of the episode, one from each of our subscribers. Enjoy!

OUT OF THE PAST
Written by Paul Dini
Directed by James Tucker
Animation by Koko Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Dong Yang
Animation Co., Ltd.
Original Airdate: October 21, 2000
My rating: ***** (Out of five stars)

Bruce is young, back in the suit and…singing? Terry takes Bruce to the hot-ticketed Batman musical for Bruce’s birthday. Bruce is less than thrilled with the production and stalks out. He returns to the Batcave and reminisces over old pictures of Zatanna (yeah!), Lois, Selina, and Barbara. Talia shows up to wish him happy birthday and is disappointed that he didn’t save any pictures of her. She has remained young using the Lazarus pits and offers Bruce its gift of rejuvenation. Terry arrives singing one of the musical’s songs, meets Talia, and witnesses Bruce turning down Talia’s gift.

Later, while out alone, Bruce is accosted by some gang members who attack him and an innocent bystander. He fights them off, but he and the innocent girl nearly get killed. Then Terry, as the current Batman, saves them. Bruce reconsiders Talia’s offer and both he and Terry fly with Talia to one of the Lazarus pits.

GOOD POINTS:

It was a great story. The pacing and plot twists kept this story at a high excitement level. Bruce and Talia dominate in this episode, but Terry is integral to the story.

When Batman Beyond first aired, many fans stated that Bruce would never give up the cowl – that he would even use the Lazarus pits to keep being Batman. This story offers fans the chance to see Bruce struggle with that decision and that possible future. Paul Dini gave Bruce and Terry great lines. When Terry is worried about Bruce using the Lazarus pits, he tells Bruce, “I ‘ll tell you right now, there’s no way I’m wearing the Robin suit.” Bruce taunts Ra’s al Ghul by saying, “You don’t cheat death, you whimper in fear of it …and you hit like a girl.” At the end of the episode, when Terry asks Bruce if she [Talia] was THE special woman, Bruce answers Terry gruffly by asking if he is going on patrol some time tonight. But, after Terry leaves, Bruce voices his true feelings.

Bruce and Terry make a formidable team fighting the villains. It was great to see Bruce throw punches and kick butt again. The fight scenes were wonderfully depicted. Seeing Bruce and Terry executing synchronized spinning side kicks was terrific. Both obviously enjoyed fighting alongside each other.

Paul Dini got to poke fun at the notion of a Batman musical and use it as part of the story line.

The episode uses both Terry and Bruce’s Batman music themes.

Kevin Conroy varies his portrayal of Bruce’s voice, using his original young voice and the old Bruce voice. It sounded like Kevin Conroy singing as Batman for the musical, too.

Mark Hamill and Adrienne Barbeau (voices for the Joker and Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series) provide voice cameos in this episode. Mark gives his voice to an Ubu-like character named Carter and Adrienne sings in the Batman musical, as Catwoman.

Another voice sounded very familiar. Carl was performed by Michael Rosenbaum. He was also the voice for Carter Wilson/Terminal, one of the Jokerz leaders and the voice for Ollie, Shriek’s assistant.

BAD POINTS:

This was so wonderfully written and executed, it’s hard to find faults with it. It was difficult to watch this episode and remember to keep one’s mouth from gaping open at the same
time. The following points are really comments and not problems with the story itself.

Ubu, Ra’s flunkie and enforcer, was an interesting character and this fan missed his interactions with Bruce.

Terry and Talia both refer to Bruce’s final fight with Ra’s Al Ghul that occurred many years earlier. It sounds like a battle that occurred after the Batman, Superman, and Ra’s fight shown in THE DEMON REBORN. Will the fans ever get to see this? Talia’s choice of Daddy over Bruce in this story, though true to her character was a painful one, if it was Her choice.

Reviewed by Zanna
(Zanna_Z@NOSPAMyahoo.com remove NOSPAM to email)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

OUT OF THE PAST
Written by Paul Dini
Directed by James Tucker
Animation by Dong Yang, Koko
Original Air Date: October 21, 2000
Rating ****1/2 of 5

DESCRIPTION: Bruce’s past revisits him in more ways than one.
HIGHS: Good story, fast action, some insight into Bruce’s relationships.
LOWS: The Lazarus Pits are as always somewhat farfetched, some mediocre art.
OVERALL: This one should satisfy even a jaded BB viewer.

Amazing…memorable…superb. Those are just a few words that could describe “Out of the Past”. I’ll get right down to the story; the episode opens with a corny Batman stage production which I heard was meant to mock plans for a real-life Bats musical. Bruce is disgusted and walks out in the middle leaving Terry. Within the Batcave, Bruce reminisces over pictures of Zanna, Selina Kyle, and Barbara Gordon. A voice comes from behind, and Bruce finds Talia, the daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul. The Lazarus Pits have kept her young as ever, as Terry walks in and sees. We learn that Talia assisted Bruce in a final battle against her father decades ago and now runs a corporation cleaning up the mess he made.

She offers Bruce a trip to the Lazarus Pits to give Bruce a chance to make up the time he lost. Bruce backs away from that, but we can see his wishful thinking. When the old Batman runs into thugs one night and is unable to get a bystander to safety, his mind is made up. Bruce accepts the offer to use the Pits. “No way I’m wearing the Robin suit”, Terry says, but Talia assures him that Bruce will not don the suit once more. Believe it or not, Wayne takes the plunge and the story goes off from there.

Without giving away the rest of this story, which chronicles the return of Ra’s Al Ghul as well as Bruce’s youth, I can say that it is indeed a treat to see our favorite Batman in fighting condition again. In one scene where a massive opponent pounds Terry, Bruce leaps into the fray and completely takes the man down. The side-by-side fight scenes are full of action and very enjoyable.

What detracts from this episode? The whole Lazarus Pits deal is a bit of a stretch for the semi-realistic Batman world, but it always has been. I’ll excuse that one. However, the background art in some cases lacks detail, as well as the people. Not many episodes are being made this season, so I’d like to see a real boost in individual production over season 2.

There’s plenty to like about this episode, being the only villain besides Freeze (and, apparently the Joker) who could logically remain a threat in BB, the Ra’s Al Ghul issue is well addressed here. I felt this was a somewhat sad but appropriate closer to Bruce’s long conflict with Ra’s. We also learn at what level Bruce truly holds Talia; at one point Terry asks “Was she THE special woman?” Bruce doesn’t reply, but we soon find out the answer to that.

Do yourself a favor and catch this one if you missed it. If you did see it, you’ll hopefully understand why I’m recommending it.

By Justin Chen, aka The Overseer
overseer@pacificwest.com
___________________________________________________________________
EDITORIAL
(by Mike Combs)

THE REAL BATCOMPUTER

One of Batman’s most wonderful and powerful tools is the Batcomputer, but what do we really know about it? What would it be like to sit down at the controls of the real Batcomputer? Without windows or a mouse, what would the user interface be like? What kinds of things could it do for you? As I set out to create a real Batcomputer, these are the questions I’m trying to answer.

I started out by looking at what the Batcomputer can’t do. It can’t solve crimes. Batman can’t just step up to the microphone and ask, “Who stole the diamonds from the Ryan mansion?” The Batcomputer can’t reason, doesn’t have artificial intelligence, and can’t have a conversation with you, like HAL. (On the other hand, its lack of personality means it’s less likely to try to kill you.) As HARDAC demonstrated, thinking computers are possible, so not including intelligence must have been a deliberate design choice.

Instead of doing the thinking, the Batcomputer relies on Batman to apply the intelligence and reason. The Batcomputer helps Batman by providing quick access to information that can help him solve cases. Need to know what known criminals were at large when the diamonds were stolen? The Batcomputer has a list. Want to know more about the diamonds? The Batcomputer can tell you that two identical sets were created as gifts for Alex Ryan and his sister, Maria. Did you know that Maria Ryan is Alex’s twin? The Batcomputer has her current address and new last name (she got married and changed it).

So, the next step in building my real Batcomputer was to determine what kind of information the Batcomputer would provide access to. I started with four major categories: Cases, locations, equipment and people. Access to a calendar of current events made sense, too, but didn’t seem possible. (Batman needs to know about the rare bird exhibit at the zoo, but unless it becomes part of a past case, I will never hear about it and can’t put it in the computer.)

Cases are the central organizing system for the Real Batcomputer. Each episode and comic book represents a case. The particulars of each case provide the data for all of the other categories: the people involved, the places they went, the weapons and equipment they used. If the Real Batcomputer tracks each of these, Batman should be able to ask it, “Which cases have involved twins?” and also “Which villains were involved in those cases?”

I’ve begun building the Real Batcomputer on my web site. It has a partial list of case files and villains (no equipment or locations at all yet). It’s crude, but maybe you can see its potential. Next article, I’ll write about why I think it’s possible to build a Real Batcomputer.

[This is part one of a semi-regular series about Mike Combs’ project to build a real, working Batcomputer. You can check out the prototype at,
http://GothamCityUSA.com/batcomputer
-Or discus the project at
http://www.gothamcityusa.com/discus/messages/28/28.html]
___________________________________________________________________

NO MAN’S ISLAND
ROUND FOUR
(the SURVIVOR rip-off…erm…homage)
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)

Brought to you by WGBS correspondent, Summer Gleason. Considering my run-in with the ex-DA and the yellow-skinned wacky-man last week, you’re very, very lucky to be hearing from me.

…A WALTZ DOWN MEMORY LANE…

A WORD FROM THE CAST-AWAYS:
THE CREEPER: “I’m shocked…nay…APPALLED that I’ve been tossed out of ‘NO MAN’S ISLAND’! Honestly, who can hate ME?? I’m the wacky sidekick that everybody loves! It’s CRIMINAL to hate someone with such great fashion sense!!!! And, honestly…how’s Quinzelle gonna cope without the yellow-skinned wacky-man always daunting around her? Stupid voters…you go squish now.”
THE DEMON: “Gone, killed by an Arabian, dies the Demon, Etrigan.” *HE DIES*

* * * * * * * * * *

AND WHAT’S HAPPENED SINCE:

Wow. Two questionable “heroes” were excused from ‘NO MAN’S ISLAND’ last week, and since then, the world has been thrown into chaos…with some very, VERY queer developments.

It looks like Batman has finally made another appearance. Alfred Pennyworth bumped into me outside the Iceburg Lounge a day ago, and told me that he overheard a conversation between Batman and Rupert Thorne. This is what Pennyworth repeated to me:

“Oh, it’s about time this city’s defender dropped by in my neck of the woods. I was beginning to worry. What’s the occasion?”

“You killed a man, Thorne.”

“Oh come now, he’s not dead. We just voted him off, remember?”

“My sources tell me no body was found on the other side. Gleason tells me she saw you murder Daggett with her bare eyes.”

“Please, like anyone’s going to miss that man. He was an idiot, and was going to destroy this city if he lasted any longer.”

“I’m watching you, Thorne.”

And then, Batman left, but Alfred tells me he heard Thorne mention that he wanted to eliminate ME. This is the first time I’ve wished the Penguin to have a lot of ammunition on site…he’s going to need it. (And still, no word on Thorne’s hulking shadowy accomplice.)

The Joker has finally been spotted again; when I had my ran-in with the Supa-Freakz last week he was bed-ridden, for he has come down with a case of scurvy. He and Poison Ivy apparently had a dispute, preceding Ivy’s mysterious disappearances from her gang of do-badders every night; as a result, she’s refused to provide him any fresh fruit, while the rest of the group has been granted such priveleges. Harley Quinn is pleading with her to give “Mistah J” something, but thus far, she’s refused. Due to the Joker’s current sickness, Two-Face has proclaimed himself contemporary leader (he’ll put it to a fair vote later), and made the Scarecrow his deputy.

I’ve also heard reports of a LOT of smoke in the vicinity of City Hall, where the Supa-Freakz are focused. Is Lynns active in the area? Could he be planning a hit?

The lightweights have been getting rather nervous lately. The Huntress has had a rendez-vous with the Mad Hatter in private over the past week, where she stated that if anyone dares make a move, she personally will come down on all of them like a tonne of bricks. Tetch was noticably shaken, for he realizes that their crew (with the possible exception of Firefly) is all brains and no braun. Their gang-leader, Ventriloquist, says he and his right-hand man, the Riddler, are coming up with a plan to survive: they’re watching the events at the GCPD takeover with great interest. Firefly, their wild card, is also said to be playing a role in their strategies.

So…Ra’s Al Ghul has made his move. It looks like it was HE that emerged from that large green sinkhole near Grand Central Station, and he’s presumably the one that offed Etrigan. I’ve seen Batman and his pair of Boy Wonders pay a visit, alongside some…woman that I’m POSITIVE I’ve seen in the papers before, but I don’t know who she is. No war seems to have happened…this Ra’s Al Ghul guy certainly does respect the Batman a whole lot.

Something else hit me as strange today. I met a new person enter the fray today…someone I wasn’t aware was a NO MAN’S ISLAND contender. She was this quiet, average-looking, dowdy and all…had a bit of a dirty sense of humour – at least that’s what I got when I talked to her this morning. Apparently she’s been bunking with the Penguin, too, but has been out scowering the city for useful items to aid Cobblepot in his quest to survive. Interesting. I haven’t seen her since, though.

So that’s that. I’m bundled up tight in my rather posh bed in the penthouse of the Iceburg Lounge, and hopefully Cobbelpot will keep me safe, should Thorne be on his way…I still wish I was with the GCPD, though.

Let’s see, whom haven’t we seen yet? I still am confused on where Bane, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Catwoman are, and I don’t even KNOW the Phantasm or Talia…who…? I really think we all should’ve met up prior to this game…I don’t even know half the people here.

* * * * * * * * * *

AND AFTER A FOURTH ROUND OF VOTING…

Harley Quinn is getting very anxious. She’s been begging Poison Ivy to provide her with some fresh greens to give to her beau to cure his scurvy; Isley denies. She begged Two-Face and Scarecrow to ask her; they could care less. I caught wind that she actually crept into the outskirts of the Bat-camp and begged Dr. Thompkins to aid her in nursing her Mistah J back to health. As soon as word that the Joker was sick got around outside of the “Supa-Freakz” camp, everyone seemed to rejoice and heave a collective sigh of relief; I even heard that Nightwing and Robin were caught giving eachother a high-five. Pennyworth, who I’ve just learned provides Thompkins assistance in her M*A*S*H* unit (is there anything he can’t do?) reported this to me, in the form of narrative.

“A-he-he-he-he-hemmm…D-d-doctah Thompkins, I need your help…” Harley stammered.

“What is it, my child?” Leslie responded, putting on an air of concern.

“My puddin’s sick…he hasn’t eaten fresh fruit in WEEKS. Ivy’s being a total bitch about this…” she responded.

“Come, bring me to him,” Thompkins stated flatly, without a hint of fear in her voice.

Robin was there and stepped in. “What? Are you nuts? This has got to be a trap!!!”

“It’s no trap, Bird Boy…” the clown-girl said, “I just can’t bear to see him like this.”

Thompkins then put her hand over Harley’s shoulder, patted her, and was escorted back towards the Supa-Freakz’ camp, miles in the distance. She certainly has a heart of gold. However, Robin was obviously quite concerned, and followed behind them, keeping out of the way.

Meanwhile, it seems that Killer Croc and Man-Bat have evicted from squatting on the GCPD; apparently Bane appeared out of nowhere and scared Croc away; he and Man-Bat have since joined “the lightweights”, and the Ventriloquist couldn’t be happier. This is just the muscle he was looking for to counteract their brains. Man-Bat and Firefly don’t sem to appreciate each other, though. Apparently they’re trying to one-up each other; last I heard, Man-Bat was using sign-language to comment on how superlative his wing-span is.

As for where Bane went, we have no clue. Gordon says he saw Bane fight the likes of Croc and Man-Bat at the same time, and within a matter of minutes, all three of them had left their premises. I…suppose that everything has worked itself after all, huh?

As for other rarely-seen participants, Ra’s Al Ghul has gone back underground…literally…since his Lazarus Pit/sink-hole took out five square blocks of Gotham last week, and Batman himself has made a few albiet brief appearances at GCPD headquarters, aiding Gordon, Bullock, and Montoya in rebuilding the structure.

By now, Harley and Thompkins had arrived at Supa-Freakz central. Not surprisingly, Poison Ivy was gone, but it was odd to see Two-Face and Scarecrow not on guard or madly scheming. It was just them and the Joker – and Robin in tow. This morning, Robin and Batgirl paid the Penguin a visit, and during that time, Robin passed on the news to me regarding what happened:

“Yeah, so Harley managed to persuade Thompkins to come with her to give the Joker first aid,” he said, almost smiling because he didn’t know how to react to what had happened. “I mean, I know she meant well and all, but come on – isn’t it a good thing that he was taken out of action? Even Batman didn’t agree with me, though. He just said, ‘Let Leslie do as she will.’ What is that supposed to mean? Geez!” Oh Robin, what growing up will soon teach you.

“So Harley led him into city hall to where the Joker lay asleep, and woke him up. He was still groggy and all, so Leslie took this opportunity to inject some pure Vitamin C into his system. I could tell she was scared – but I remember hearing of her experience with Mr. Zsasz during the REAL No Man’s Land, so I figured this could be similar. Wrong. As soon as she turned her back to leave (Harley was escorting her – I could tell she didn’t want to injure her) that the Joker groggily got out of bed, grabbing a handgun at his bedside, and…”

Yeah, he started to cry at this moment. I did, too. I don’t like seeing all the nicer people getting picked off one by one, especially the one who was, hands down, the kindest and most selfless of us all on this island.

“Joker just yelled out ‘I DON’T WANT YOUR HELP…ESPECIALLY A WOMAN’S!!!’ and shot at Harley point blank; she instinctively ducked out of the way but the bullet passed right over her head and shot Leslie in the back. She collapsed on the stairs of City Hall and died – and all I heard in the background was the Joker laughing, groggily.”

Robin immediately took her back to Batman, and told me that he was most distraught, to say the least. He claims that he’ll be coming down hard on the remainder of the outlaws left on Gotham Island; ever since then, the clouds of mist surrounding the Supa-Freakz camp have been growing larger and more recurrant.

Thompkins has already been shipped back to the mainland for a proper burial on the grounds of Wayne Manor.

I tried to sleep last night; after a few hours of trying, my eyelids finally fell.

I was rudely awakened at 4:30 this morning; Cobblepot was having an argument with another man. I couldn’t recognize the voice, but it was definately familiar…

“No, Mr. Thorne, I swear to you that I am not trying to move in on your operation here. I am a legitimate businessman.”

Thorne. Damn.

“I couldn’t possibly muscle in on your operation. I wouldn’t ever dare when you have such…large hired help. And your name is…?”

And there was no answer.

“Gleason? I don’t know what you’ve been hearing, but why would I put Gleason up HERE? Wouldn’t that be awfully risky? Honestly, Rupe, the more civilians I have running around my daycare here, the greater chance they’ll rat me out to Batman for some God-knows-what reason. No, she’s not here.”

And at that point, I heard Rupert speak. I started to climb out my window, only then realizing I was on the fifth floor. “Well if she’s not here, I don’t suppose you’d mind if I had a look around, hm?” A pause. “Open it.”

And at that moment, the door to my makeshift bedroom splintered in two, and the hinges were torn from the wall. I huge bulky man entered my room; I was petrified in my position on the window sill. “YOU????” I stammered, briefly catching a glimpse of his masked face. I could hear Thorne gaily speaking in the background. “Ah, Ms. Gleason, at least we meet. May you and Mr. Dagget rest in peace.” The huge masked man raised his fist, I screamed, and…

THUD!

CLUNK.

* * * * * * * * * *

ROUND FOUR

Kicked Off:
SUMMER GLEASON (17.6%)
DR. LESLIE THOMPKINS (14.7%)

Those whom you DID vote for, but they’re still hanging around:
LOCK-UP (11.8%)
RUPERT THORNE (11.8%)
MAN-BAT (8.8%)
FIREFLY (8.8%)
ZATANNA (5.9%)
POSION IVY (2.9%)
THE PHANTASM (2.9%)
THE HUNTRESS (2.9%)
ROBIN (2.9%)
BATMAN (2.9%)
THE PENGUIN (2.9%)
TALIA (2.9%)

And now, here’s our up-to-date list of contenders.

BATMAN
ROBIN
BATGIRL
NIGHTWING
ALFRED
COMMISSIONER GORDON
DET. HARVEY BULLOCK
RENE MONTOYA
THE HUNTRESS
ZATANNA
THE JOKER
THE PENGUIN
CATWOMAN
THE RIDDLER
TWO-FACE
POISON IVY
THE SCARECROW
MR. FREEZE
THE MAD HATTER
BANE
KILLER CROC
THE VENTRILOQUIST/SCARFACE
HARLEY QUINN
CLAYFACE
FIREFLY
RA’S AL GHUL
TALIA
THE PHANTASM
LOCK-UP
MAN-BAT
RUPERT THORNE

* * * * * *

E-mail juno@dccnet.com with your votes of the TWO you’d like to see cast off. Remember, we need TWO choices! (I stress that again. TWO!)

PS – Voting for this issue closes at midnight on November 24, 2000.
___________________________________________________________________

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.

POTPURRI, BABY!!!

421. For those of you that HAVE somehow managed to watch RETURN OF THE JOKER or read the screenplay, there is a soundbyte featured in that episode that is a clip from a BTAS episode. What episode was it?

Answer: _____________

422. What is the name of the high school Terry attends in BATMAN BEYOND?

Answer: _____________

423. After all 52 episodes of BATMAN BEYOND have aired, how many two-parters will there have been?

Answer: _____________

424. What type of martial arts does Bruce Wayne practice in MASK OF THE PHANTASM?

Answer: _____________

425. Aside from the Joker and Harley Quinn, name the only villains to appear three or more times in the “new style” BTAS episodes.

Answer: _____________

_____________________________________________________________________
AND THESE ARE OUR FINAL ANSWERS (to the trivia)

Answer to #421: HOLIDAY KNIGHTS
Answer to #422: Hamilton Hill High School
Answer to #423: Three
Answer to #424: Jujitsu
Answer to #425: The Penguin, Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter
_____________________________________________________________________
LITTLE FACTS AND BLOOPERS
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)

Here is a section that just points out various little facts and bloopers that we have noticed while watching BTAS and STAS countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!

CONTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1) The Penguin was originally going to make a cameo in RETURN OF THE JOKER; he does appear in the screenplay, but not the final copy of the film.

2) Other villains…Two-Face, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy also have “cameos of sorts”. (Whether these remain or not as well is anyone’s guess.)

CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
What are you, blind???
____________________________________________________________________
MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by James Harvey)

BATMAN BEYOND – THE SOUNDTRACK

Most Television shows today are getting the soundtrack treatment, and most of them are completely unwarranted. The soundtracks mostly consist of one-hit-wonder songs which get annoying after the first or second listen. But there was one soundtrack which stood out from them all, simply becuase it didn’t consist of the hottest song of the moment. It consisted of various scores from various episodes of that season. I’m referring to, of course, the Batman Beyond soundtrack, which was released in August of 1999. The soundtrack was released by Rhino Records in conjunction with DC Comics and Kids’WB!, and this soundtrack was simply amazing.

What made this soundtrack so great was the fact that the music pulled you in. The music was taken from various episodes, and made the listener feel like they were in that particular scene. In one track, “BATMAN VERSUS CHAPPELL”, it seems like you’re right there as Batman dukes it out with Bane’s crooked doctor. You can visuallize the scene in your head. This is what gave this soundtrack the leg up against most other soundtracks. Other soundtracks just had a track by some faceless band, and they didn’t really excite the listener. These tracks did.

Another great track was “JOKERZ CHASE”, taken from the first part of Rebirth. This track will stick with you all day – guaranteed. I would listen to this track in the morning, and I’d still be humming it at about midnight the same day. These tracks have the ability to stick with the listener, which makes the CD more and more memorable.

Of course, the big draw of the CD is it’s popular intro theme, which is probably one of the best themes out there. It’s not some boppy ditty, but a great theme with some thrashing guitars and a beat which will stick with you. Kristopher Carter came up with a great theme for this show, and it a worthy heir to the throne that Shirley Walker built when she did those incredibly scores for BATMAN and SUPERMAN. Carter is a great choice for this series, as well. He’s basically the next generation of musical scorers for WB, and it’s evident he should jump on this soundtrack, about the next generation version of our favorite Dark Knight.

Admitedly, the soundtrack isn’t perfect. There are two songs which seem to be not as listenable as the rest. The first one is the dissapointing THE LEGACY CONTINUES. What I expected to be track with quick beats and loud guitars, is a quiet, acoustic song. Another thing is that it’s suprisingly upbeat, especially considering the dark overtones of taking up the mantle. The other disspaointing track would have to be MOVE TO THE GROOVE. This song sounds like complete garbage on the first listen. Heck, it’s almost sounds painful. It does catch on after a few listens, but it’s too little, too late.

Overall, two dissapointing tracks out of twenty is pretty damn good. The soundtrack is great to listen to just about anywhere. Whether your driving to work or stuck in a computer lab doing school assignments, it fits anywhere. These tracks were meant to be played loud, especially “BATAMN VERSUS CHAPPELL”, so do yourself a favor and just crank to volume to maximum whenever you pop this CD into your player. Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong. (Thanx, Dennis!)

-DG
____________________________________________________________________
COMIC REVIEWS
(BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Bill Curtis)
(SUPERMAN ADVENTURES by Dick Grayson)

BATMAN BEYOND
ISSUE: “Commissioner of Fear” (#13)
WRITTEN BY: Hilary J. Bader
PENCILS: Min S. Ku
INKS: Ande Parks
ISSUED: September 27, 2000 (Cover date Nov 2000)
RATING: 9/10

Synopsis: Commissioner Barbara Gordon holds the key to finding a young kidnap victim, but will she be able to overcome the recurring effects of the fear toxin the Scarecrow exposed her to years ago?

Great story, and a great premise! Barbara Gordon still suffers fear trauma every 4-5 years as a result of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin she was exposed to in the now classic BTAS episode “Over the Edge”. All this ties in very nicely and very neatly into a story about a young kidnapping victim the Commissioner and Batman are tracking down.

After nearly dropping an informant (and herself) off a rooftop, Barbara admits to her husband that she is having a problem, but says she must push through it to save the young hostage. Using her police clout, she picks up Terry, and tells him the tale of that fateful night on the rooftop, when she was exposed to Scarecrow’s fear serum, and the “Over the Edge” dream that followed. She then admits to Terry that the terrors happen every 4-5 years, despite Bruce Wayne’s help. Bruce could only offer a treatment, not a cure. After the predictable chase and battle with goons, Barbara is talked through the worst of the terrors by Terry (as Batman). Barbara had it out with the brains behind the kidnapping, and just as he’s about to drop her to her death (he thinks), he taunts her with the location of the missing little girl. Barbara does fall, but is caught by Batman. She tells him where to find the girl before passing out. When she awakens, she is in the Batcave, and is informed that she has been out for about a day and a half. Barbara is impressed that Terry stayed with her the whole time, and makes a startling proclamation. Although Terry will never be the Batman Bruce Wayne was; now he IS Batman.

I loved the fact that they tied this Batman Beyond story in Bruce/Barbara’s past. I think this is an area that is just begging to be covered, both in these stories, and in the animated “Batman Beyond” episodes as well. I’m glad the new “Return of the Joker” movie will show parts of Bruce’s past, in an effort to bridge the gap between Batman, and Batman Beyond.

The artwork was passable; not what we’re used to, but good, nonetheless. At least it seems we’ve done away with those God-awful bugeyes Terry suffers when he’s in the mask! The best artwork, in fact, was the cover: neatly tying “Over the Edge” into this issue’s story.

A solid 9 out of 10, and I can’t wait for more tie-ins!
______________________________________________________________
COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS

This section gives a little bit more in-depth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and BATMAN BEYOND. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price for any of these issues, unless otherwise posted, 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”.)
If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being released, just check out “DIRECT CURRENTS” at http://www.dccomics.com for details.

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #33
Synopsis: Batman begins to doubt whether his actions really make a difference in the world, and the guest-starring Phantom Stranger appears to show him what a world without a Dark Knight would look like – and believe us, it isn`t pretty! Batman sees first-hand that his quest has made the lives of his comrades much greater, as one by one they seem to follow the wrong path in the Stranger`s vision!
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0009/19/BGothAd33.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH:
Synopsis: Maxie Zeus returns! Let’s just hope Scott Peterson has a damn good reason to resurrect him…
Cover: Unavailable

BATMAN BEYOND #15
November 29th
Synopsis: Just who is the mysterious new being called Erica Electra who`s been crossing paths with future Batman Terry McGinnis? Is she friend or foe? And will Terry`s girlfriend now have reasons to be jealous?
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Miscellaneous/BatmanMiscellaneous226298.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH:
Synopsis: Homeless men have been mysteriously disappearing from Gotham’s streets, thanks to the international terrorist group known as Kobra. But as Batman investigates, he quickly goes from hunter to hunted – and Bruce must somehow infiltrate Kobra to free the captured hero.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0009/19/BB16.jpg
_____________________________________________________________________

NEWS AND RUMORS

ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-The following artists are selling artwork on eBay. The following are their names and Seller ID’s:
Terry Beatty: beatty@machlink.com
Craig Rousseau: cerousseau
Tim Levins: tlevins
Min S. Ku: min3000gt

ANIMATED SERIES (BTAS, STAS, BEYOND)
-Christopher McDonald provides the voice of the aged Superman in “The Call”, the two-part episode of BATMAN BEYOND. In the past, he has also provided the voice of Superman’s father in
“The Last Son of Krypton”.
-A JLA series is confirmed to be in development at WB…but Paul Dini isn’t saying anything about it.

ANIMATED COMICS
-Distribution of the comic adapation of BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER has been pushed back to December 13, to coincide with the video release the day before.
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #33:
On sale December 13. Batman begins to doubt whether his actions really make a difference in the world, and the guest-starring Phantom Stranger appears to show him what a world without a Dark Knight would look like – and believe us, it isn`t pretty! Batman sees first-hand that his quest has made the lives of his comrades much greater, as one by one they seem to follow the wrong path in the Stranger`s vision!
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0009/19/BGothAd33.jpg
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #34
Written by Scott Peterson, art by Tim Levins and Terry Beatty, cover by Bob Smith and Beatty. After several citizens of Gotham City mysteriously disappear, Batman’s search leads to the maniacal Maxie Zeus! But what would Maxie want with carpenters and stonecutters? Why, to rebuild Rome, of course. Ships on January 3, 2001.
-BATMAN BEYOND #16
Homeless men have been mysteriously disappearing from Gotham’s streets, thanks to the international terrorist group known as Kobra. But as Batman investigates, he quickly goes from hunter to hunted – and Bruce must somehow infiltrate Kobra to free the captured hero.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0009/19/BB16.jpg
-BATMAN BEYOND #17
Written by Hilary Bader, art by Craig Rousseau and Rob Leigh, cover by Brian Stelfreeze. A former classmate comes back looking for revenge after being brushed off by Dana. But Batman Terry McGinnis won’t let one hair of Dana’s head be harmed, even if it means being swamped by rats. Ships January 31, 2001.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0010/17/BB17.jpg

OTHER COMICS
-Greg Rucka and Jeph Loeb are writing a DETECTIVE COMICS/SUPERMAN crossover due out in March 2001.
-BATMAN: OFFICER DOWN
Feature Article: http://www.fandom.com/comics/Editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=234722
Cover: http://www.fandon.com/multimedia/Comics/News/ComicsNews234690.jpg
Cover (to BIRDS OF PREY #27): http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Comics/News/ComicsNews234691.JPG
-The third issue of HARLEY QUINN features an all-girl slumber party. Oh, Ivy’s gonna be very happy about this.
The cover can be found here:
http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Comics/News/ComicNews232646.JPG
-HARLEY QUINN #4:
Introducing…the Quinntettes! They’re the baddest, meanest, most dysfunctional henchmen Harley could find, and they’re ready for action. But the first mission’s not what anyone’s expecting, and one of the Quinntettes has something strange going on…in his head.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0010/17/HQ4.jpg
-A Harley/Ivy team-up and a road-trip to Metropolis in the pages of HARLEY QUINN is in the planning stages for future issues.
*The following 7 issues are all a part of DC’s ” This Issue: BATMAN DIES!” promotion for December. (That’s right! Batman dies in every one of the following issues in some way.)
-Bane appears in BIRDS OF PREY #26
-Two-Face and Montoya are again the focus of DETECTIVE COMICS #753.
-The Joker appears in ROBIN #85.
-Mr. Zsasz appears in GOTHAM KNIGHTS #12.
-Catwoman appears in NIGHTWING #52.
-Batman’s war against the Penguin continues in BATMAN #586.
-Cain re-appears in BATGIRL #11.
-ROBIN: YEAR ONE #2
On sale November 29. Robin squares off against the Mothman, the original Blockbuster, and Two-Face – all while trying to live the life of a normal teenager. When duty gets in the way of blooming romance, Dick at last learns the impossible cost he must pay to be a champion of good.
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Miscellaneous/BatmanMiscellaneous226294.jpg
-ROBIN: YEAR ONE #3
Robin’s first battle with Mr. Freeze.
-ROBIN: YEAR ONE #4
The final chapter in the saga of young Dick Grayson. Robin’s healed, but Two-Face remains at large, and a city-wide manhunt is falling woefully short. While Harvey Dent is on the loose, Robin must prepare himself to face the man who nearly killed him during their first encounter. But when Robin takes things too far, a life hangs in the balance and Robin must question the sanctity of his actions.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0010/17/RobinYO4.jpg
-Ra’s Al Ghul appears in ACTION COMICS #772 and 773.

MOVIES
*RETURN OF THE JOKER NEWS:
-For a downloadable version of the ROTJ trailer (in MOV format), go here:
(Hi-Res) http://www.tvguidelive.com/batmanbeyond/clips/batman-t1.mov
(Lo-Res) http://www.tvguidelive.com/batmanbeyond/clips/batman-t2.mov
-Read Paul Dini’s words on the delaying/cutting of ROTJ by following this link:
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=7166
-The Batman Beyond website (www.batmanbeyond.com) will be adding interactive features that include a 10-minute “Return of the Joker” preview Webcast, a soundtrack sampler, a clip from the music video, interactive arcade games, character biographies, weekly contests and sweepstakes for chances to win great prizes, questions for the creators, chat events and much more. (All the previous movie info was taken from Alan J. Porter’s “Gotham Weekly News” newsletter)

*BATMAN BEYOND: LIVE ACTION NEWS:
-Word is leaking out from the UK major record label Distinct’ive that Warners and Paul Dini are apparently very interested in one of their clients to score the upcoming BB live-action film. Who? Mike Truman, Chris Healings, and Lee Mullin – the trio that make up the eletronica group HYBRID who are responsible for the recent critically acclaimed album “Wide Again”. No way to confirm this yet, but will keep an eye on it. Thanks to DARK HORIZONS.
-Director BOAZ YAKIN says this about his take on the BATMAN BEYOND feature:
When asked if he can avoid the cliches of previous comic book films, Yakin answered, “Just because the characters are familiar and mainstream doesn’t mean we need to follow a
traditional, generic arc with them. Everything I do I hope is really sophisticated, so this will not stop here.”
-YAKIN will also be co-writing the script and making it far more intense and more adult-oriented than ANY of the previous Bat-movies. At least that’s his intention.

*BATMAN: YEAR ONE (BATMAN 5) NEWS:
-Darren Aronofsky talks BATMAN 5:
No matter how much he wants to promote his just released Requiem For a Dream, director Darren Aronofsky can’t escape questions about Batman 5.
While talking to EW Online, Aronofsky once again cautioned that the Batman 5 project is not, as yet, set to be his next film. Mentioned, once again, his unnamed science fiction movie project, the helmer said, “I’ve been working on the sci fi film for 10 months, writing it. I want to do a post-Matrix science fiction film, because The Matrix has sort of redefined everything. My college roommate, who is the smartest guy I ever met, just graduated from NYU, got his Ph.D. in neuroscience. And since [he’s] a scientist – and just a brilliant guy – I said, ‘Why don’t you create a story with me?’ [With] Batman, the deal isn’t completely done, but hopefully I’ll write it and develop it into a film as well. It’s just, with any of these big films – who knows what’s going to happen? So I’m just pushing them both forward as much as I can.”
Aronofsky is currently at work adapting the Batman: Year One graphic novel, along with its original writer, Frank Miller. As previously reported, the director may also have a film adaptation of Miller’s Ronin comic series on his production plate.
-More Darren Aronofsky on BATMAN 5:
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/int/2000/10/13/aronofsky/index2.html
-Frank Miller talks BATMAN 5 over at CINESCAPE:
Frank Miller is talking about his collaboration with Darren Aronofsky on the script for Batman 5, based on Miller’s Batman: Year One comic series. Miller revealed the following:
“Darren and I had a lot of fun working together on the Ronin movie project. We make a good team, I think…Darren in particular wanted to make Year One.”
He adds, “I expect to have a lot of fun with Year One. >From the get go, I see many things that need changing — but ultimately even if the movie gets made, mine will only be one of many voices calling the shots. I’ll bring my very best efforts to the script. I won’t write a single line I don’t believe in.”
-The Comics2Film newsletter reports that the “Pure Batman5 Rumors website, (http://homes.acmecity.com/batman/arkham/23/) says director Darren Aronofsky may have long-term plans for Batman. While it was recently announced that Aronofsky would direct and co-write Batman: Year One, an unnamed source tells Frosteey that the director is hoping to do a trilogy of movies. The source claims that the cycle will start with Year One and end with The Dark Knight Returns. The source did not know what the second part of the series would be” This is the first we’ve heard of this rumor, however stories have circulated in the past the Aronofsky is keen on doing The Dark Knight Returns.
-Recent reports have stated that Aronofsky might not be as close to doing BATMAN 5 as we originally thought – for he and Miller are working on an adaption of RONIN as well. However now, either don’t know which will go into production first – whichever gets a script completed first is the winner, apparently.

LIVE ACTION TELEVISION
-The WB Network has just ordered 13 episodes of a pre-Superman ‘CLARK KENT’ series; they sure jumped on that one quick!
-To view anything regarding the Batman ONSTAR commercials, go here:
http://www.onstar.com
-Four online, interactive comic books (featuring Batman, the Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon) can also be found at the OnStar site.
-It looks like a fifth webisode featuring the Riddler will be coming soon.
-Check out http://www.fandom.com/batman for downloadable versions of the ONSTAR commercials if the official ONSTAR site is not being cooperative with your PC. Two of the commercials can also be found at http://www.adcritic.com – just search for “Batman”.

EXCLUSIVE INTERNET ENDEAVOURS:
-The seventh GOTHAM GIRLS webisode (featuring Poison Ivy) can be found at
http://www.gothamgirls.com

TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-The following is a listing of the 14 tracks you’ll find on the RETURN OF THE JOKER soundtrack. Despite the delay of the debut of the video, the soundtrack is still due out on Oct 17, 2000.
1. Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker (Main Title)
2. Industrial Heist
3. Meet The Joker
4. Joker Crashes Bruce’s Party
5. Terry Relieved Of Duty
6. Nightclub Fight
7. Trap For Tim, A
8. Joker Family Portrait
9. Arkham Mayhem
10. Batman Defeats The Jokerz
11. Joker Meets His End (Again)
12. Healing Old Wounds
13. Crash – Mephisto Odyssey/Static-X (The Humble Brothers remix)
14. Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker (End Title) – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
-Ubi Soft Entertainment and Kemco are teaming to publish Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker on the PlayStation game console, Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64 in North America. The games will also be published in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia under the name Batman of the Future: Return of The Joker. (They are all due out on November 16.)
-TOYS R US may be producing an “Arkham Asylum four-pack”, featuring repaints of Batman, Two-Face, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy. Will the two femmes have new figures to correspond with their new designs? Thanks to the JokerInc newsletter for that newsbyte.
-BATMAN: TOTAL CHAOS will be available for Game Boy by Christmas 2000. It is based on the NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES style (BTAS), and allows you to play as either Batman or Batgirl vs. Two-Face, Bane, Poison Ivy, and the Joker (among others) over 18 levels. (Judging by the pics provided, you’ll also encounter Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, and maybe even Killer Croc.)
http://pocket.ign.com/previews/14474.html
-BATMAN: OVERDRIVE, the new BTAS-based game for PSX and N64, puts you in the driver’s seat of the Batmobile, Batcycle, and many other Bat-vehicles. You even get to play as any of the villains, should you desire to do so! It features (in no particular order), the Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Clayface, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc, the Penguin, the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist/Scarface, Calendar Girl, Roxie Rockett, Firefly, Catwoman, and Bane. Go to the following link to see some shots of the villains-lineup, some shots of Batman persuing the Joker, and the exit to the Batcave.
http://www.gamespot.co.uk/pc.gamespot/driving/batov_uk/preview.html

-Looking for a Batman-related costume this Hallowe’en? E-mail CowardlyLot@aol.com and put in a request! Go to http://www.fandom.com/batman/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=225572 for details and great sample pics!

SPECIAL NOTE
For more BATMAN, SUPERMAN, AND BEYOND news throughout the week, check out the WORLD’S FINEST NEWS PAGE at:
http://www.geocities.com/bbeyond/news.html
____________________________________________________________________

FEATURED BAT-SITE FOR THIS ISSUE
(feel free to submit your own for our consideration)

GOTHAM CITY USA
http://GothamCityUSA.com

“Gotham City” is a very active and growing club for animated Batman & Batman Beyond. It has a new caption contest (very funny) and survey every month, plus web games, clipart and files. You definitely want to check out the Real Batcomputer prototype.
____________________________________________________________________
ANIMATED BATMAN/SUPERMAN SITES:

* – indicates a shameless plug for a site a certain double-faced editor created with his bare hands – in other words, a cheap advertising technique.

OFFICIAL SITES
—–
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES
http://www.batman-superman.com
BATMAN:THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://www.batmantas.com
BATMAN BEYOND
http://www.batmanbeyond.com
BATMAN BEYOND VIDEO SITE
http://www.batmanbeyondvideo.com
YTV’S BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES PAGE
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_animated/
YTV’s BATMAN BEYOND Page
http://www.ytv.com/shows/batman_beyond/
GOTHAM GIRLS
http://www.gothamgirls.com
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIVE GUIDE
http://www.batman-subzero.com
KID’S WB
http://www.kidswb.com
DC COMICS
http://www.dccomics.com
KTLA KIDS WB SCHEDULES
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/KIDSWB.htm
TOON ZONE
http://www.toonzone.net
PSYCOMICS
http://www.psycomics.com
RAVING TOY MANIAC
http://www.toymania.com
VOICE CHASERS
http://www.voicechasers.org

UNOFFICIAL SITES
—–
*TWO-FACE’S TOWER OF TRANQUILITY AND TERROR
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST DISCUSSION CENTER
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
THE DISCUSSION CENTER (same as above)
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Taping/2928/boards.htm
BRIAN CRUZ’ WB CARTOON PAGE
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/index.html
BATMAN UK (BRIAN’S BATMAN PAGE)
http://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk
RA’S AL GHUL’S THE LAZARUS PIT
http://zap.to/lazaruspit
THE DARK KNIGHT
http://www.darkknight.ca
BATMAN BEYOND: WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
http://www.batmanbeyond.net
TIM WAN’S BATMAN BEYOND
http://come.to/batmanbeyond
DCU ANIMATED
http://www.DCUAnimated.zzn.com
BRUCE TIMM ARCHIVE SITE
http://www.eurocompton.net/brucetimm
BATMAN ANIMATED: THE UNOFFICIAL FAN CLUB & FANZINE
http://www.batmanuk.freeserve.co.uk/club/
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.harley-quinn.com
GOTHAM CITY LIMITS
http://www.batman.gexner.net
BATMAN: DEFENDER OF GOTHAM
http://www.fandom.com/batman
THE RIDDLER – EDWARD NYGMA’S PUZZLE WEBSITE
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/prospero.milan/nygma
THE BATMAN ACTION FIGURE PAGE
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7659/
CHARACTERS ON THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN
http://www.xse.com/leres/batman.html
ARKHAM ASYLUM
http://animation.acmecity.com/saturday/352
JOKERZ TERRITORY
http://members.xoom.com/Jokerz84/index.htm
THE BATZONE
http://www.batzone.cjb.net/
JLA: THE ANIMATED SERIES
http://animation.acmecity.com/character/375
ANIMATED TALES
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/2294/at
A TRIBUTE TO BATMAN
http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/russkafin/batman.html
ANIMATED STYLE ARTWORK ARCHIVE
http://hjem.get2net.dk/twt/asaa/home.html
BATMAN CEL SITE
http://animation.acmecity.com/carbon/111
DARK JUSTICE
http://www.mania.com.au/~grahark/darkjustice/
ROGUE AVENUE, GOTHAM
http://www.ultros.com/rogue_avenue
THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE
http://www.rogue-spear.com/BB
THE VAULT
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/Voice_Actors

NEWSGROUPS
—–
news:alt.comics.batman
news:alt.animation.batman
news:alt.comics.superman
news:rec.arts.sf.superman
news:alt.tv.cartoon-network
news:rec.arts.animation
news:alt.animation.warner-bros
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QUESTIONS, SUBMISSIONS, AND FAN-MAIL

If you have any questions, problems, links do not work, or anything else, then please e-mail this address with your problems and we’ll try to fix them as soon as possible. Also if you’d like to send any fan-mail then please send it to this address:

juno@dccnet.com

As for submissions, feel free to submit an article or opinion on anything pertaining to BTAS. Keep in mind that as the editors, we have the right to edit your submissions if we deem it necessary. Such instances would include problems with length, grammar, and language. If we do feel we must edit something, however, we will do our utmost to ensure that the opinion and the basic message of the submission does not change, as that is the most important part of any article, and everyone is entitled to it. And if you do submit something, please don’t just submit a basic review of an episode or a comic or something (because we have people writing for those purposes already) – write about an issue you’d like to discuss.
____________________________________________________________________
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED ARCHIVES

The very kind people at TOONZONE were nice enough to give us our own little section of their huge and diverse website. The archive contains past newsletters and is semi-regularly updated with the latest one. To check it out go here:

TOONZONE’s BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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LIKE WHAT YA SEE? WANNA SUBSCRIBE? HERE’S HOW!!!

For those of you who are seeing this at the WBC HOMEPAGE BTAN ARCHIVES section and want to subscribe, just follow these simple instructions:

To subscribe email juno@dccnet.com, put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line, and put the e-mail address you’d like the newsletter to be sent to in the body of the message.

For more information about the newsletter just email juno@dccnet.com Thank you for your time, and thanks for reading! Tell your friends!

-Tim TWO-FACE Leighton and Dick Grayson, editors
____________________________________________________________________
TO ALL GOOD THINGS…
…there must be an end. We would like to thank the endless amount of contributors for contributing their editorials, columns, news, jokes, reviews and other articles. We hope you’ve all enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it! Thank you for reading! See ya next time!

CREDITS FOR BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER

EDITOR AT COLLEGE, NOT IN A DORM: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITOR AT COLLEGE, BUT IN A DORM: “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz, RiddlerWB (at the official BTAS/STAS site), and YTV.com
EPISODE REVIEWS: Zanna/Justin Chen, and occasionally Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITORIAL: Help Wanted
COMIC REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, Dick Grayson
NO MAN’S ISLAND: SURVIVAL IN GOTHAM: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
MERCHANDISE REVIEW: Various
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
PROMOTIONS AND JUST GETTIN’ THE WORD AROUND: Dick Grayson, Eileen Delgadillo, Brian Cruz, Brian Davis
THOSE WHO FILL IN FOR OTHERS WHEN THEY FOUL UP:-Y Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
DELIVERY: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
E-MAIL RECEPTION HANDLING: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
THE CREATION OF THIS NEWSLETTER INSPIRED BY: Alan J. Porter
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane & Bill Finger (who else?)

Batman and all related indicia are trademarks of DC Comics, Copyright c 2000.
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“…TIM DRAKE.”

Batman The Animated Newsletter #78

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