Batman: Year One REVIEWED!

    Let's start with the biggest extra feature on the disc, the DC Showcase: Catwoman short, the short films included on these discs are just as good if not better than some of the features. In this case, geek goddess Eliza Dushku voices Catwoman.

In just the second scene of the short here, the viewer quickly learns that while an animated film, it's definitely not for kids, as the majority of the action in the first half of the short is set in a strip club. While never showing full on nudity, it does show the dancer's top get thrown at the main antagonist, Rough Cut from across the room. The dancer is then shown with her long golden hair covering her breasts the rest of the scene she is in.

   The action quickly shifts to a car chase and then a warehouse on the Gotham docks where we find out that Rough Cut is smuggling more than just diamonds this time around.

This short is basically a carryover from the Year One movie, though having watched the short first I didn't necessarily know that at the onset, though I have read the comic so I did know it at the same time, hopefully that's not confusing to the readers out there in internet land.

   The voice cast is excellent, though there isn't much there outside of Dushku, who played the character in the feature length version as well as in this short.

Moving on to the feature film. Batman: Year One, it was an excellent comic, one of the few I've read in recent years for those that have followed former posts you'll know what I am referring to.

   The film starts off with a voice over from Bruce Wayne, and we quickly learn that the voice actor chosen here, is definitely no Kevin Conroy, the man did such a bad job I'm not even gonna bother typing out his name here, he simply sounds like he is trying to mimic Conroy, though he's not very good at even that. Jim Gordon's voice actor, Bryan Cranston, did an excellent job. Overall this is probably the worst overall voice cast in the DCU line so far. Though that's partially because the rest of the films have all had excellent casts.

Overall this film suffers from being too loyal to the source material. Way to many voice overs and not enough action for a movie of this sort. This type of story telling just doesn't work in this medium. It worked super well for the comic, but it just leaves too much to be desired in the film version.

   The story recounts the beginning of Bruce Wayne's career as Batman and Jim Gordon's with the Gotham City Police Department. Bruce Wayne returns home to Gotham City from training abroad in martial arts, man hunting, and science for the past 12 years, and James Gordon moves to Gotham with his wife, Barbara, after a transfer from Chicago. Both are swiftly acquainted with the corruption and violence of Gotham City, with Gordon witnessing his partner Detective Flass assaulting a teen for fun.

   On a surveillance mission to the seedy East End, a disguised Bruce is propositioned by teenaged prostitute Holly Robinson. He is reluctantly drawn into a brawl with her violent pimp and is attacked by several prostitutes, including dominatrix Selina Kyle. Two police officers shoot and take him in their squad car, but a dazed and bleeding Bruce breaks his handcuffs and causes a crash, dragging the police to a safe distance before fleeing. He reaches Wayne Manor barely alive and sits before his father’s bust, requesting guidance in his war on crime. A bat crashes through a window and settles on the bust, giving him the inspiration to become a bat.

   There’s still novelty in seeing different sides to these beloved characters: Jim Gordon beating up corrupt police officers and leaving them naked in the road, Batman really struggling to fight his foes, often times losing the brawl and getting shot/beat up. Neither man is perfect or “superhero”-like – and it’s the introduction of such moral ambiguities – Batman’s incompetence, Gordon’s rashness and disloyalty – that makes the film stand out, much to the same effect as its comic counterpart.

   The true draw to this film is that it humanizes the Bat, we see him not as the nearly infallible idea that so many have come to know and fear, but as a man that is still very much learning his trade, that's what makes this story good regardless of the medium it is being told in.

The film fits somewhere in the upper third or so of the 16 or 17 (I've lost count, sorry...) films already released in the DCU line.

These special features are included on the Blu-Ray disc, which is what I am reviewing from.

•Sneak Peek at Justice League: Doom, the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie

DC Showcase Animated Original Short – “Catwoman”: This all-new entry to the growing canon of DC Universe animated shorts features the first first solo tale centered around Catwoman. The felonious feline’s adventure takes her through the seedy streets of Gotham City.

•Featurette –”Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to His Roots”: The Dark Knight Returns provided the denouement of Batman’s life. Frank Miller’s next seminal work would provide his near-mythic origin in Batman: Year One. This documentary uncovers the contemporary genius of Miller and the audience that was poised to appreciate the depths of his work.
•Featurette –”Conversations with DC Comics”: The Batman creative team at DC Entertainment discusses the personal influence of Batman: Year One on their careers. Batman producer Michael Uslan leads the chat amongst well-known writers, editors and artists of the Batman lore, focusing their dialogue on the darker, realistic interpretation of Batman’s origins by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
• Audio Commentary with Alan Burnett, Sam Liu, Mike Carlin and Andrea Romano
• Batman: Year One, Chapter 1 Digital Comic Book
• Two bonus episodes from Batman: The Animated Series hand-picked by Bruce Timm
• Digital copy on disc of the feature film compatible with iTunes and Windows

   Next up for the DC animated film line, Justice League: Doom, I can't wait!

Dougie Houser is Spider-Man?

   I love movie adaptations of comic books, the animated series’ that are based on comic books are also good, but more often than not they are aimed a bit more at kid's than the general nerd population. These days,  they usually evolve out of a way to cash in on the success of a movie adaptation, and they seem rushed.  That is fine, but as the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Spike TV’s The Strip has proven, there is a market for cartoons that appeal to an older demographic.
   I think Stan Lee has always known this, and that is why MTV’s version of Lee’s Spider-Man is probably one of the most adult animated comic book adaptations I’ve ever seen.

   “Spider-Man: The Animated Series” picked up where the movie left off (I know what you are thinking…cash-in.  But Lee was developing this series before the movie came out, it took the success of the movie to get the ball rolling on it.)  Peter Parker (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) has gotten comfortable with being Spider-Man, but he now has to make adjustments in his real life.  He is attending Empire State University and freelancing as a photographer at the Daily Bugle.  He still pines over Mary Jane Watson (voiced by Lisa Loeb), and wonders if turning her away at the end of the movie was a good idea.  They both hang out with Harry Osborn (voiced by Ian Ziering), who still hates Spider-Man for killing his father.  Even though he is a hero, he is considered a fugitive to the law, and is constantly being chased by the police, led by Officer Barr (voiced by Ed Asner.)

   In the first episode, called “The Party,” a nerdy friend of Peter named Max Dillon (voiced by Ethan Embry) tries to become part of the cool crowd by pledging a fraternity.  They haze Max, but do not intend to let him in.  When the joke of hazing him ticks him off, he runs out in embarrassment and is electrocuted by a neon sign.  Instead of killing him, it turns him into Electro, a villain who can electrocute people with his hands.  He immediately decides to take his revenge out on the kids on campus.  His targets are mainly his tormentors, but there are a few innocent victims as well.  Spider-Man comes in and saves the day, which unfortunately includes killing his old friend to save the people.  The last shot is at Max’s grave, but a street lantern lights up, which means we probably haven’t seen the last of Electro.

   In the second episode, called “Sword of Shikata,” an eccentric animal collector hires a hunter to capture Spider-Man for his collection.  The wealthy businessman Richard Damien (voiced by John C. McGinley) pays $2.5 million to Shikata (voiced by Gina Gershon), a martial artist/swordswoman who is so fast that she can deflect bullets.  Damien wants Spider-Man alive, but after she fights the web-slinger the first time, she decides she wants to kill him.  She turns down Damien’s money, and Damien sends his thugs (the lead thug Raymond is voiced by Clancy Brown) to kill Shikata.  With a little help from Spider-Man, Shikata defeats the thugs and is more than ever determined to fight Spider-Man to the death.  Just so Damien doesn’t get in the way again, she kills Raymond and decapitates Damien.  Mary Jane, who had been cast in an independent movie that Damien was producing, comes into his office to talk about her role.  She sees his severed head on the floor and calls the police.  At that time, she discovers that Shikata’s sword is the source of her power.  When MJ sees Spider-Man and Shikata later fighting on the street, she tells Spider-Man the sword secret.  He destroys the sword, which makes Shikata turn old and die.  Spider-Man and MJ kiss right before he once again has to avoid the police, prompting possible sparks between the two in the future.

   The show is not your kiddie Spider-Man series (see my last blog posting).  People actually are killed (it’s not graphic though), there is blood, and there is adult language.  It’s very action-packed, and the voice work is good.

   The action is cool and exciting, but I did have one problem with the animation.  It was computer animated, and even though Pixar seems to have mastered it, the animation by Mainframe Entertainment, the company that animated this show, looked a little stiff to me.  I would have rather had it be hand-drawn than animated the way it was.  I actually started getting a little used to it by the second episode, but that may have been because the second episode was better than the first one all around. Those are the only two episodes I've re-watched in the last 5 years or so, so I'll have to save comments on the series as a whole for a later date. The series however was never given enough of a chance to find it's audience, it's a shame as it was growing on me.

"When Spider-Man lands on a rooftop, make sure he doesn't land on any pigeons"

   The nostalgia bug has hit me recently, that combined with Netflix recently putting on a ton of old shows, has lead me to the path of rewatching Spider-Man the Animated Series.  the show originally ran from Nov. 1994 until Jan. 1998, a total of 65 episodes over the five seasons.

   The great thing about this show, was that it didn't find the need to over explain things like a lot of shows and even movies do today, but it didn't dumb down anything for kids either.  Season one throws us straight into the thick of things, Peter Parker is already Spidey, and he's out fighting supercriminals, no backstory needed.

   The show has a lot of science and techno babble, 99 percent of which is made up completely.  But ti doesn't try to over explain the science behind this stuff, it just works its way into the conversations on the show and the viewer is expected to understand it.

   The animation holds up to today's standards, even better than a lot of current shows.  Marvel and DC both had several shows out in this time frame, and animation wise, this was one of the best looking shows of the era. Voice wise, Christopher Barnes, while not a well known actor, was an amazing Spider-Man.

   Season one lasted 13 episodes, and introduced us to many classic Spidey villains such as the Lizard, Shocker, Venom, Mysterio, the Hobgoblin and many more.

   Batman the animated series was still on the air when this show debuted, as was Superman the animated series.  The powers that be at the next sent out a memo stating "When Spider-Man lands on a rooftop, make sure he doesn't land on any pigeons," hence the title. What that meant however was that they wanted a show with much less violence than Batman. Batman didn't take any punches when it came to beating on the baddies, Spider-Man wasn't allowed to do anything that would insinuate violence.  He only even attempted to throw a single punch in the entire series, which did not land.

   That memo however in no way changes the enjoyability of the show. the show remains one of my favorite animated shows of all time.

   Stay tuned for reviews of seasons 2-5, and my overall impressions of the show in the near future.


Episode #1 - Night of the Lizard
Original Airdate - November 19th, 1994
Peter's science teacher, Dr. Curt Connors, transforms himself into the Lizard while attempting an experiment to regenerate his missing limb. Consumed by the animal instincts of the Lizard, Dr. Connors terrorizes the city and becomes a hunted man. When Spider-Man discovers that his teacher is in fact the monster he has been trying to capture, he must find a cure before Dr. Connors' transformation becomes irreversible.

Episode #2 - The Sting Of The Scorpion
Original Airdate - March 11th, 1995
J. Jonah Jameson hires a detective, Mac Gargan, to be transformed into a super hero to fight Spider-Man and names him the Scorpion. But Scorpion turns on his creators after he mutates and attempts to blow up a power plant. Now Spider-Man must clean up the mess that Jameson has created and stop Scorpion before he destroys the city.

Episode #3 - The Spider Slayer
Original Airdate – February 4th, 1995
In order to pay off his debt to the crime boss known as the Kingpin, Norman Osborn hires Spencer Smythe to design a powerful robot called the Spider-Slayer to capture and destroy Spider-Man. Spider-Man manages to defeat the machine along with Spencer Smythe in a massive exposion...or did he?

Episode #4 - Return of the Spider Slayers
Original Airdate - Feburary 11th, 1995
Alistair Smythe, Spencer Smythe's son, builds three more Spider-Slayers to destroy Spider-Man and the people he holds responsible for his father's death.

Episode #5 - The Menace of Mysterio
Original Airdate - Feburary 25th, 1995
As part of a personal vendetta a new villain in town, Mysterio, frames Spider-Man in order to tarnish his reputation and attempts to gain the status as the real hero of New York. Now, Spider-Man must foil Mysterio's plan and expose him for the villain he is!

Episode #6 - Doctor Octopus: Armed and Dangerous
Original Airdate - February 18th, 1995
Spider-Man battles the villain known as Doctor Octopus, who has kidnapped Felicia Hardy and J. Jonah Jameson for ransom. Spider-Man discovers that Doctor Octopus has a personal vendetta against Felicia's mother, Anastasia. Now, Spider-Man must find a way to put an end to the grudge and save two innocent lives.

Episode #7 - The Alien Costume, Part 1
Original Airdate - April 29th, 1995
Spider-Man comes across an alien symbiote that attaches itself to him and forms a new black costume. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock accuses Spider-Man of stealing a valuable rock which was really stolen by the Rhino. Now Spider-Man faces a $1,000,000 bounty for his capture.

Episode #8 - The Alien Costume, Part 2
Original Airdate - May 6th, 1995
When Spider-Man discovers that his black costume is a living organism, he decides to use it to get back the Prometheum X. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock's lies eventually leads to his firing when Jameson realizes that he's been duped. Spider-Man eventually removes the symbiote after fighting the Shocker, only for it to find a new host, Eddie Brock. 

Episode #9 - The Alien Costume, Part 3
Original Airdate - May 13th, 1995
Eddie Brock, now bonded with the symbiote costume and calling himself Venom, sets out to destroy Spider-Man. Now faced with a stronger foe that possesses the same abilities as him, Spider-Man must find a way to outwit and outmatch this menacing new villain and send the alien symbiote back to outer space.

Episode #10 - Kraven the Hunter
Original Airdate – April 1st, 1995
Spider-Man finds himself caught between Mariah Crawford, a doctor from Africa, and Kraven, a man who has stalked her all the way to America. An accomplished hunter, Kraven gained animal-like abilities when he ingested a cure to save his life, but the side effects are causing his behavior to be erratic and violent. Spider-Man works with Mariah Crawford to find a cure and save an innocent man and the people around him.

Episode #11 - The Hobgoblin, Part 1
Original Airdate - May 20th, 1995
Norman Osborn hires the the Hobgoblin to take out Wilson Fisk, but when he fails Osborn fires him. To get revenge on Osborn, Hobgoblin changes sides and kidnaps Norman's son, Harry, for the Kingpin. 

Episode #12 - The Hobgoblin, Part 2
Original Airdate - May 27th, 1995
Spider-Man goes after the Hobgoblin after he attacks Aunt May and kidnaps Harry Osborn. He forms an alliance with Norman Osborn and unknowingly becomes allied with the Kingpin as well. After rescuing Harry, Spider-Man finds himself in an all-out no-holds-barred fight to the finish with the Hobgoblin.

Episode #13 - Day of the Chameleon
Original Airdate - June 11th, 1995
A new villain, The Chameleon, is impersonating other people through an image-inducing belt and plans to assassinate two major diplomats on the brink of signing an important peace proposal. But the Chameleon makes a misstep when he unwisely takes the appearance of Peter Parker while Spider-Man is around. Spider-Man battles his doppelganger to ensure that the peace treaty goes according to plan.