Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of January 3 – January 8/9, 2000
Volume 3,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”
THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: “HAPPY NEW MILLENIUM, EVERYONE! Now let us NEVER use that ‘m’ word again. Talk about overkill…”
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Due to the unprecedented response to our annual poll, the results for this newsletter’s GOLDEN OVAL awards will be posted in NEXT WEEK’S issue (#52), due out on January 10. That means you all still have 7 more days to get in those submissions! The poll form can be found at the end of this issue.
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UPCOMING NEW EPISODES
This section will just basically give an insight into what the new episodes are about and hopefully a synopsis of the episode. This section will feature new episodes for BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and BATMAN BEYOND.
‘BABEL’
Batman Beyond #25
Air date: January 8, 2000
Shriek returns, throwing Gotham into chaos with a device that distorts all sound waves, making communication impossible. In exchange for normalcy, Shriek demands a ransom of Batman’s life.
‘LEGACY (Pt. 1 & 2)’
Superman #44, 48
Air date: January 2000
This two-parter features the final showdown between Superman and Darksied in which he strips Superman of his memory and adopts him as a son in an effort to take over Earth. This is being touted as the FINAL Superman episode EVER. However, I must say that I’ve read a synopsis of the episode, and it’s a doozie.
For synopses of all other upcoming second season BATMAN BETOND episodes, check out of BTAN at this address:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
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WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Brian Cruz and/or the official BTAS/STAS site)
THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs Mondays thru Saturday; BATMAN BEYOND also airs on these days. Check local listings each day for what show is on at what time.
http://www.batman-superman.com/batman/cmp/episodes.html
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/
http://www.ktla.com/backstage/programming/kids_framed.frm
THIS WEEK:
Mon 01-03-00: Superman #28 Father’s Day
B-BEYOND #11 A Touch of Curare
Tue 01-04-00: Superman #37 Little Girl Lost (Pt. 1)
Superman #38 Little Girl Lost (Pt. 2)
Wed 01-05-00: Batman #66 Sideshow
Superman #10 My Girl
Thu 01-06-00: Batman #90 You Scratch My Back
Superman #09 Stolen Memories
Fri 01-07-00: Batman #95 Torch Song
B-BEYOND #18 Bloodsport
Sat 01-08-00: Batman #106 Mad Love
B-BEYOND #25 Babel <————- 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
(BTAS/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 7:30am on weekday mornings (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).
THIS WEEK:
Mon 01-03-00: BTAS #80 Second Chance
Tue 01-04-00: BTAS #81 Harley’s Holiday
Wed 01-05-00: BTAS #82 Lock-Up
Thu 01-06-00: BTAS #83 Make ‘Em Laugh
Fri 01-07-00: BTAS #84 Deep Freeze
Sat 01-08-00: BEYOND #07 Meltdown
Sun 01-09-00: BEYOND #08 Heroes
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CARTOON NETWORK WB ANIMATION SCHEDULE:
“Yabba Dabba Doom”
(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:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/schedules/batman-cn.html
http://homes.acmecity.com/animation/saturday/352/schedule.html
To see the 52 episodes that the CARTOON NETWORK does show, go to this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/brian/eplists/batman-cn.html
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”:
MAIN PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFace/index.html
BTAS PAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/TimTwoFaceText/bats.html
NOTE: ALRIGHT! I’ve been messing up WHO is writing WHAT for this column for too long now. If you wanna see who’s writing each review, just go to the bottom – they all sign it there. Sorry Zanna and Justin! I feel so foolish…agh…*HALF OF MY FACE BLUSHES*
NOTE: Since there are no new episodes to cover, I went back and inserted a copy of my review of GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT from 1998. No real reason for it, aside from the fact that I’ve never reviewed it in this newsletter yet.
-Tim
GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT
Written by Hilary J. Bader
Directed by Curt Geda
Animation by Dong Yang
Original air date: October 18, 1998
My rating: **
These fiesty femmes should have stayed in for the evening, not only to save themselves but the audience as well.
I knew from the beginning that this episode was going to be just for laughs, but it didn’t even work for me on that level. What logical reason is there for five girls to steal the spotlight of the entier episode? There is none, really – it was all purely coincidental. Sigh.
The story begins with Livewire being transported to Gotham City – but we never learn why. Anyhow, she escapes, and runs into Batgirl. Meanwhile, Batman, who is out of town, tries to contact Superman to give her a hand – but his phone call is intercepted by Supergirl, and she comes to the rescue.
Remember, that happens in just the first three minutes of the show. I really think this was directed poorly – it just happened too damn fast!
Batgirl and Supergirl instantly bond. Meanwhile, Livewire has escaped and joined up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, who are keeping a low profile until they have an “edge”. Livewire is the perfect “edge” they were looking for. They go on another crime spree and eventually are caught by the dynamic female duo and the episode ends.
Yep – that’s the whole plot. Simple, huh? I was hoping for at least some cool gimmicks in this episode, but I was wrong…just more of Ivy’s plants, Livewire’s electric touch, and Harley’s buffoonery.
In fact, Harley is hardly in this episode, and when she is, she just isn’t funny. I did somewhat like her hammering escapades, though – it really showed that she was out of Ivy and Livewire’s league, as far as superpowers and gimmicks go. That’s the only scene that I did manage to stomach chuckling at – it made Harley look truly pathetic – and she is supposed to be pathetic, so I liked it. The only good plot twist in this episode was how Ivy was growing fond of Livewire, and instantly forgets about Harley. Woohaa! If only the writers did the same thing this episode.
Other miniscule good points were how the general public don’t really trust these two “sidekick superheroes”, Penguin’s very minor role, and, of course, the hinting at Poison Ivy’s homosexuality, in the “kiss and make up” line.
In short, if you don’t look for anything deep, you might like this episode, but on the whole, I thought it was pretty poor, and the action was very slow and delayed much of the time. Only 10 minutes into the show, I felt like it was going on for far too long – something is obviously wrong if the audience thinks this.
-Livewire, as annoying as she is, got decent characterization.
-Poison Ivy finally gets a starring role, and is OK, but her character was not interesting enough this time.
-Harley Quinn, love her as I do, should not have come within an earth’s radius of this episode; she added practically nothing.
-Batgirl had a decent role.
-Supergirl has obivously grown on me, because I didn’t mind seeing her this time around, even though I utterly despised her debut on “Superman”.
In short, this episode was quite poor, in virutally every aspect. Not downright terrible, but it insulted my intelligence while watching it. What makes this episode even worse is the fact that it had so much potential, but did not take advantage of it. Miss it.
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EDITORIAL
(by Kelly Tindall)
Mr. Tindall was unable to submit an editorial for this issue. Y2K problems? Perhaps. Either way, we’ll hear from him VERY soon. Be patient, my friends.
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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.)
First off I would just like to apologize for my conspicuous absence from the last issue of the newsletter. I was having some computer problems. I’d blame it on Y2K, but apparently that was just a lot of hot air anyway. Plus the fact that my computer is so old, it’s still having ramifications from Y1K, for goodness sakes. Either way, I’m here now, I’m back, and have I got a scoop for you.
Many of you have heard rumors circulating about a potential “Bruce Wayne” series for the WB.
This series would focus not on Batman, but on a young Bruce Wayne as he trains for the role as Gotham’s Dark Knight. These rumors are false. The WB is circulating them to throw the media off track of the series that is actually in development, which is the exact opposite. This series will feature everyone BUT Bruce Wayne.
You see, WB has learned from its mistakes. It seems just one actor can’t handle the role of Bruce Wayne, as we’ve seen the mantle go through Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney in the past ten years or so. Besides, every past Batman film has had one thing in common: Batman is always overshadowed by the villains. It’s Nicholson, Pfieffer, DeVito, Carrey, Schwarzenegger… okay, well, maybe not Schwarzenegger, but those others, certainly, that are the stars of the show. That is why the WB is secretly developing “Arkham,” a series that is all about Batman’s arch foes, but Batman is not actually in!
Early casting has Jim Brewer of “Saturday Night Live” as The Joker, Dennis Franz of “NYPD Blue” as The Penguin, Julia Louis Dreyfus of “Seinfeld” as Poison Ivy, Ed Norton of the movie “Fight Club” as The Riddler, Max Wright from “ALF” as The Ventriloquist, and Britney Spears as Harley Quinn.
Mmmm… Britney in a tight clown costume… ahhh! Gotta go!!!! Remember, you can write to me at Reliable_S@hotmail.com. As always, more as I hear it!
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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.
Y2K, Y2K – it all turned out to be a bunch of hot air, didn’t it? Be that as it may, I decided to focus this issue’s trivia section on the use of computers and other electrical equipment on BTAS.
241. What is route has the shortest distance on a globe between Nome, Alaska, and Miami, Florida?
A: Straight line
B: Curved line
C: Zig Zag line
D: Squiggly line
E: Texas line-dancing
242. Which voice actor provided the voice of the Batcomputer on either BTAS or BATMAN BEYOND?
A: KEVIN CONROY
B: EFRAM ZIMBALIST, JR.
C: RICHARD MOLL
D: CARY ELWES
E: SHERMAN HOWARD
243. In which episode does Batman destroy a good portion of his computer equipment, in the midst of a rage?
A: HEART OF STEEL (Pt. 1)
B: HEART OF STEEL (Pt. 2)
C: HIS SILICON SOUL
D: I AM THE NIGHT
E: LOST SOUL
244. Which villain was Terry McGinnis (in the Batsuit) chasing when he wiped out and much of the Batsuit was torn to shreds, revealing the electronic infrastructure underneath? (Big words, man, big words…)
A: Robert Vance
B: Inque
C: Mr. Freeze
D: Blight
E: Spellbinder
245. In the only episode in which the Joker’s answering machine is heard, who is the one that actually picks up the phone?
A: The Joker
B: Harley Quinn
C: Rocco or Henshaw
D: Lar, Cur, or Moe
E: The phone is never picked up
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ANSWERS TO THE TRIVIA
Answer to #241: B
Answer to #242: C, E
Answer to #243: D
Answer to #244: E
Answer to #245: E
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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!
CONBTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1) I looked ahead at the BATMAN BEYOND movie rumour news, and noticed that a new pair of villains…twin girls, actually…are named “Dee-Dee”. Could this be an in-joke referring to their bra cup size? (Seriously, it could be – the WB animators seem to stick with just one body type for women ever since they went moved on to the “new style” look of the series’.)
CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
(by “SSS 979”)
2) In “Critters”, when the cow was running through the streets of Gotham, Batgirl stopped it by throwing that thing to wrap up its back legs and it tripped. But when it fell, you see its front legs also wrapped with a separate rope.
(by “Ultros”)
3) In “Almost Got ‘Im” Two-Face is telling a story about how he almost got Batman. In this flashback he takes away Batman’s utility belt. Batman lunges at him, except he’s still wearing his belt. Two utility belts in one frame? Sounds like the work of Harvey Dent to me.
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MERCHANDISING: WHERE THE REAL BAT-CASH IS MADE
(by anyone that wants to contribute)
This article by:
STEVE NAUERT
BATMAN BEYOND=Y2K COMPLIANT ACTION FIGURES?
This line is of course related to the internet based toy line division of Batman Beyond entitled: BATMAN BEYOND: BATLINK! Batlink is a division of the toy line that places Batman and Robin (Don’t worry I’ll explain!) on the information super highway as they battle a computer virus styled Joker. There are fur figure for this new storyline, the figures included are 2 Batmans, a variant of robin entitled Firewall Robin,, a spooky looking “Virtual JOKER”, and a new Batmobile called the Netrunner rounds out he set! These figures come on smaller cards and retail at $4.95 at most stores, they are currently being found at wal marts and Toys r us’ across the country! An interesting fact to note is that this was originally inteneded to be a
seperate toyline until hasbro decided to put it under the popular Batman Beyond banner! The Robin was put in there for that reason only, but internet speculation leads you to believe that these toys may be connected to the straight to home video movie coming out next year: BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER!
Of course this is just speculation, please do not take it as fact. Rather there will be more figures for this new toyline is not known at this time.
On a side note, I would like to remind that the Batman Beyond Kids meal started at Burger King January 3rd! Some of the toys include are several Batmans, a batmobile, a very cool Inque, a Blight/Powers that can change from human to nuclear waste and is wearng clothes, and a J-Man toy on his bike! Pictures are available on www.FIGURES.com! In a future issue I hope to review each toy. Happy Holidays to all and I hope you had a Happy New Year!
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COMIC REVIEWS
(GOTHAM ADVENTURES by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
(BATMAN BEYOND by Tim Wan)
Welcome a new member to the newsletter staff, everyone! Tim Wan (many will know him for his great BATMAN BEYOND site – check out the links section for more) has hopped aboard to help me with the comic-reviewing duties. I will still be covering GOTHAM ADVENTURES, but the OTHER Tim will be covering all issues of the ongoing BATMAN BEYOND series. Let’s put our hands together and welcome him to the newsletter!
BATMAN BEYOND (ongoing)
ISSUE: “Zoologically Speaking” (#3)
WRITTEN BY: Hilary J. Bader
PENCILLED BY: Craig Rousseau
INKED BY: Rob Leigh
ISSUED: November 24, 1999 (cover date, January 2000)
RATING (out of 5): ***1/2
First of all, an interesting tidbit, Batman Beyond #3 was originally slated to cover the return of the Terrific Trio, but was canceled when Marvel complained about their similarity to the Fantastic Four. Instead we get the return of another “dead” villain. It’s unfortunate that the Terrific Trio was ditched, as I thought they had potential but were definitely written poorly in their first episode.
Anyway, the comic titled “Zoologically Speaking” marks the return of the Splicers. For those that didn’t catch the season premiere of Batman Beyond, splicers are humans that have combined their human DNA with animal DNA to become creatures will human smarts and logic, but animal strength.
The comic opens with a dramatic battle between Batman and an alligator splicer. Along the way, a monkey splicer who can barely speak English helps the alligator escape. Both of these new splicers are far more “animal” than their predecessors from the cartoon. Bruce and Terry can only conclude that Dr. Cuvier has returned, and is attempting to improve the splicer formula. I don’t know if I can tell anymore without spoiling too much of the story, but let’s just say that Batman makes a new ally, Terry gets in a bar fight, and the ending is touching (as touching as comics can get anyway).
There are some down points to the issue as it seems to try and cram too much into the pages, and if there’s anything worse than a bad story it’s no story. Dr. Cuvier’s resurrection is never explained, since the last time we saw him he was merely a walking piece of meat.
Overall the Batman Beyond comic line seems to have rebounded from a poor sophomore effort, and this issue is step in the right direction. It’s not better than the first episode, and certainly not better than the Batman vs. Batman story in Issue #1.
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COMIC SCHEDULES & COVERING THE BASICS
This section gives a little bit more indepth look into each monthly issue of BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. Below each comic listing is a link to the cover of that comic. TALK ABOUT SERVICE!
The price is $1.99 in the US and…grrrrr…a whopping $3.25 in Canada. (Both our editors and many subscribers are Canadian, hence the “grrr”.)
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 #22
January 5th?
Synopsis: Commissioner Gordon and Batgirl are in the spotlight of the first animated comic to hit the shelves in 2000!
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Northern Canada is the backdrop, the kidnapping of oil is the crime, and Ra’s Al Ghul is the villain.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9911/16/bmga23th.jpg
BATMAN BEYOND #4 (ongoing)
December 22nd?
Synopsis: The Royal Flush Gang returns.
Cover: Unavailable
FOLLOWING MONTH: Issue #4.
Synopsis: The Royal Flush Gang returns.
Cover: Unavailable
SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #40
December 8th?
Synopsis: Unavailable
Cover: Unavailable
NEXT MONTH:
Synopsis: Mark Millar’s final issue of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES.
Cover: Unavailable
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NEWS AND RUMORS
ALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-KIDS’WB! looks to be heading into the 2000-2001 season swinging. It seems that KIDS’WB! is very close to aquiring X-Men and an animated JACKIE CHAN show, as well as OSMOSIS JONES. Plus, there’s POKEMON, the possibilities of new BATMAN/SUPERMAN or BATAMN BEYOND episodes, KIDSWB! could have another #1 Network season!
-The Canadian TV channel GLOBAL (which airs BTAS and BATMAN BEYOND) finally has a website of their own. Want to check it out? Here’s the link: http://www.GlobalTv.com
-THE BATMAN BEYOND INFO PAGE will be holding a contest. The prize and rules of the contest are posted up at the site:
http://www.rogue-spear.com/BB
-Check out the VERY FIRST Batman Beyond chat room at this URL:
http://mercury.beseen.com/chat/rooms/p/10496
*Note: You must register a handle before chatting, which you can do at the above URL given*
-For a great BATMAN Fanfic, go to this URL:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb715122
&MyNum=944431845&P=No&TL=944431845
ANIMATED COMICS
-The long-procrastinated Harley & Ivy miniseries will be released in late 2000.
-Here’s a link for an article regarding Mark Millar’s last issue of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, coming in January:
http://www.wizardworld.com/news/dc/
superman_adventures/announcement.html
-After Mark Millar leaves SUPERMAN ADVENTUERS, long-time fan-favourite Ty Templeton (GOTHAM ADVENTUERS) will jump one board for a few issues.
-Northern Canada is the backdrop, the kidnapping of oil is the crime, and Ra’s Al Ghul is the villain in of GOTHAM ADVENTURES. This issue comes out on February 2nd. The cover can be found here:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/9911/16/bmga23th.jpg
-GOTHAM ADVENTURES #24: Batman and Batgirl must track down the missing Nightwing and Robin, who are being held by a villain who has outwitted them both. Batman can track the heroes down, but will he follow their footsteps right into a trap? This issue also features Killer Croc. Ships on March 1.
-The Terrific Trio story slated for BATAMN BEYOND #3 might still be published, and could be published befpore the first 12 issues are complete.
OTHER COMICS
-Talia will be appearing in DETECTIVE COMICS somewhere around 0.
-Alex Toth (inspiration behind BTAS) will be providing the cover to the BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE softcover slated for a March release.
-Paul Ryan (Fantastic Four, GREEN LANTERN) will be one of the regular alternating artists on BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS. Paul Ryan is slated to alternate with NML’s Dale Eaglesham.
-JLA #41 will be the double-sized finale to WORLD WAR THREE. The story was slated to finish in seven parts in , but was parred down to six, and will end ina double-size conclusion costing either 2.99 or 3.99US.
-Remember that SUPERMAN/BUGS BUNNY 4 issue crossover slated for summer of 1999? Yeah, well there was some difficulty but it’s back on track for a May 2000 release.
-Beginning in January & Febuary, DC will be changing their trade dress. The logos will remain the same, but the UPC box will be made slightly larger to include the prices for each book. Also, the DC bullet will be repositioned, and the COMIC CODE will be be moved besides the cover date and issue number. The URL for the official DC COMICS website and WILDSTORM website will be put near the UPC boxes of their respective comics.
MOVIES
-There’s a ‘preview’ of sorts for BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER on each of the three VHS BATMAN BEYOND tapes released Dec. 21st. There is no asnimation, but it provides a bit more info on what the movie will be about.
-The BATMAN BEYOND movie will be animated by TMS. (Good move, WB. Excellent.)
-Paul Dini, who wrote the script for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, says that the voice recording for the BEYOND movie has been completed. He then said: “One bit of guest-star news I can give you is that among the many new villains introduced in the film are twin hit-girls both named Dee-Dee,” Dini said. “They are played by everyone’s favorite teen witch, Melissa Joan Hart.” Hart, the star of ABC’s Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, has worked with the Bat-crew before. She did the voice of Saturn Girl in an episode of Superman. Look for more details on
-Harry Knowles (AIN’T IT COOL NEWS) reports on that rumors are around that certain factions at WB are trying to stall the Bruce Wayne TV show before it gets started. Apparently there are concerns that it would divert attention, budget and focus away from any upcoming Movie project.
-THX had THIS to report:
“Bruce will never become Batman in the TV series. Instead, it will focus on Bruce’s adventures before he became The Bat. What about the rumors that WB would not do a YEAR ONE movie and a similar TV series? he says “…it makes sense” that they would not. In regards to the BATMAN BEYOND live-action film, this source does insinuate that option just may be tied to the fact that a Y1-type TV series is in the works at WB television. It seems that we just may be having us a little “Bat-war” going on at WB. AICN did report yesterday that WB head Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is trying to put the ‘ol kabash to the proposed TV series. Other sources tell me that L.D. wants to do Y1 and sees this potential TV series as direct competition. When asked to go into specifics regarding this, “The Rock” declined to comment. But did say that BRUCE WAYNE may be better than any Bat-film that has been developed under Bonaventura….My take? The TV show will be excellent and will be a very fresh take on Batman; well Bruce at least. I just can’t see him never becoming Batman. It will have to happen at sometime during the series’ run. About this “Bat-war?” I do not know what will happen. I will stand by this: both Y1 and BB are on the table at the studio. And, there will not be both a Y1 movie and a too similar BW TV series. Am I saying that it is going to be BB? No. The powers that be that are behind Y1 have too much clout.”
-Batman 5: Ben Affleck is apparently close to signing onboard the fifth Batman project for an estimated $15 million, though he has set a rather strange condition. A WB source revealed to the The Sunday Mirror that “Ben has told studio executives he’d love to be the fourth Batman, but he really wants Gwyneth to play Catwoman alongside him…Ben thinks they would have brilliant on-screen chemistry together, and has promised he will work on her to get her on board”. Paltrow is apparently a huge fan of Michelle Pfieffer’s version of the role in 1992’s “Batman Returns”, and helping to cement the possibility is that she and Affleck, whose highly reported relationship ended around a year ago, appear to be becoming a hot item again. Can it be pulled off? Unsure. Personally I can see Affleck as the Bat, but Paltrow as Catwoman just doesn’t click – she just doesn’t convey that “unsure if she is good or bad” sense the character needs and which Michelle did so well.
-Then again, in a post on his affleck.com messageboard, the 27-year-old star slammed shut the door on the gossip saying “As I’m sure most of you might infer, this story is absurd. There is no Batman script, no movie being planned, they have not called me or my agent and Gwyneth is much more the “Electra” (daredevil reference) type…I really have no idea where they get this stuff. It is as if someone sits in a room and quite literally invents it”. If that doesn’t clear things up, who knows what will, and to read the specific post in question click here.
TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-Starting January 3, Burger King & Batman Beyond will team up for four weeks of action figures and kids meals. Once BK is done with Pokemon toys, they will start a four month promotional Batman Beyond Kids’ Meal pack. These will include all-new action figures made spefically for the fast food franchise. Go to http://www.burgerking.com for details.
-THE BATMAN BEYOND BOARD (http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb163084) has gotten picutres of the 8 toys to be released by BURGER KING beginning January 3rd! The link for the post is here:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb163115
&MyNum=946238506&P=No&TL=946238506
-Rhino Records will be re-releasing the score of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE on Febuary 15th. The score CD will contain 8 bonus tracks, and a 36 page booklet.
-A review of the NO MAN’S LAND novelization by Greg Rucka has hit Psycomic and the novel looks great! Read the review yourself:
http://www.psycomic.com/articles/current/sjnomansland_19991211.shtml
-With anticipation of the novel BATMAN: NO MAN’S LAND being released in January, DC Comics online has given NML it’s own section. It includes information on both the hardcover novel, and the Youger Readers version, as well as excerpts. Follow the URL given:
http://www.dccomics.com/features/nmlbk/nmlbk.htm
-The SUPERMAN video game for Playstation will be out in the first quarter of 2000.
-The first issue of the Sega Dreamcast magazine says a Batman Beyond video game is due out in 2000.
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THE ROAD THROUGH NO MAN’S LAND
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)
This is the last issue in which our NO MAN’S LAND column will appear. It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? Even though it was never a truly ANIMATED topic, it still seemed right to place it in this newsletter. The synopsis for the events of the final months is written below, and links to all the other happenings can be found as well. Thank you to everyone that contributed to this crossover – it was a very successful endeavour, indeed.
THE WHOLE SHABANG…
JANUARY – APRIL: For synopses of what happened in the first four months of NO MAN’S LAND, go see Issues #26 and #27 of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
MAY, JUNE: For synopses of what how things really heated up in the fifth and sixth months of NO MAN’S LAND, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
JULY: For synopses of the many things that happened in the month that all of the other major players in Gotham broke back into the city, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”.
Follow this link: http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
AUGUST: For synopses of the many things that happened in the final full month of summer, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
SEPTEMBER: For synopses of the issues dealing with the set-up of the final crunch of No Man’s Land, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
OCTOBER: For synopses of the issues dealing with the “beginning of the end” of No Man’s Land, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
NOVEMBER: For synopses of the issues dealing with the wrapping of of many important tales and the revelation of the mysterious benefactor, see of “Batman: The Animated Newsletter”. Follow this link:
http://www.toonzone.net/wbc/newsletters/btan
DECEMBER: Helicopters fly into Gotham on November 29 – day 333 of NML – bringing the bare necessities and joy for the forthcoming Christmas season. LexCorp, Wayne Enterprises, Star Labs, and the US Government come together (some grudgingly) to rebuild Gotham. Gordon is reinstated as Police Commissioner; Montoya is given a promotion by Essen with regards to her dealings with Two-Face; Bullock and Hardback are joined by a number of volunteers to police Gotham City, with more coming by the New Year. Petit grows even more barbaric; Huntress remains in his camp just to keep him in check. Batman hunts for the Joker, and goes to Penguin, Ivy, Ventriloquist, and Two-Face for answers; no one lends him a hand. On Christmas Eve, when all the “good guys” (the cops, the Bat-squad, and Leslie) are having Christmas dinner, Petit’s camp is attacked by the Joker. He finally makes his move.
Installment #2. Billy Petit is dead. The Joker draws him out of his lair, offing many of Petit’s own men; Petit kills Foley (who’s like his right-hand-man) and is then shot by the Joker. The Joker is attacking the stronghold to kidnap the children inside; Huntress stands in the way, and the Joker shoots her once, twice, and thrice. To be continued.
Meanwhile, Azrael and Batgirl search for the babies Joker kidnapped. Catwoman breaks her “deal” with Penguin and confronts Mercy and Lex. With government and media assistance, Tim Drake’s dad airlifts his son out of Gotham.
Batman and Nightwing intervene just as Joker’s about to blow Huntress away, and save her; Joker flees and a huge search of the city ensues, looking for the babies he’s kidnapped. After they find them, Sarah Essen encounters the Joker, where he promptly teases, humiliates, and kills her. The Joker then surrenders; in a desperate rage, Commissioner Gordon shoots him in the leg, crippling him. A week later Batman confronts Luthor and sends him packing for Metropolis. Gotham City becomes a part of the country once again.
And with that, the year-long experiment known as “NO MAN’S LAND” comes to an end.
FEATURED BAT-SITE FOR THIS ISSUE
*THE WORLDS FINEST HAS REVAMPED THEIR MESSAGE BOARDS!*
Due to problem beyond the control at WORLD’S FINEST, they were forced to drop their famous INSIDE THE WEB boards, and opt for new BOARDHOST boards. These new BOARDHOST boards will keep the problem from never occuring on the WORLD’S FINEST boards again, impostering. With these new boards, thesite has definatly been enhanced! Check it out!
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, & BEYOND: THE WORLD’S FINEST
http://welcome.to/worldsfinest
BATMAN/SUPERMAN
http://members.boardhost.com/worldsfinest1
BATMAN BEYOND
http://members.boardhost.com/worldsfinest
ANIMATION & SCI-FI
http://members.boardhost.com/worldsfinest2
COMIC BOOK DISCUSSION
http://members.boardhost.com/worldsfinest3
Check them out!
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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
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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/
SUB-ZERO: THE DEFINTIE GUIDE
http://www.batman-subzero.com
KID’S WB
http://www.kidswb.com
DC COMICS
http://www.dccomics.com
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
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*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
HARLEY’S HAVEN OF HEDONISM
http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/harlequinhideaway
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
BATMAN CEL SITE
http://animation.acmecity.com/carbon/111
DARK JUSTICE
http://www.mania.com.au/~grahark/darkjustice/
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@direct.ca
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 artcile, 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.
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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 archives contain 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@direct.ca, 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 the newsletter just email juno@direct.ca 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! See ya next time!
CREDITS FOR BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER
EDITOR: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
EDITOR AT COLLEGE: “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Brian Cruz, RiddlerWB (at the official BTAS/STAS site), and YTV.com
EPISODE REVIEWS: Zanna/Justin Chen
EDITORIAL: Kelly Tindall
COMIC REVIEWS: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton, Tim Wan
MERCHANDISE REVIEW: Various
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
ROAD THROUGH NO MAN’S LAND: 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
BATMAN CREATED BY: Bob Kane & Bill Finger (who else?)
Batman and all related indica are trademarks of DC Comics, Copyright c 2000.
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1999 GOLDEN OVAL AWARDS POLL FORM
Alright! Fill this out and e-mail it right back to juno@direct.ca if you’d like to be included in our poll for the best of 1999! The due date for this poll is the evening of January 2, 1999. Results will be printed in of BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER.
NOTE: The eligible episodes in the “animated series” categories are all the BATMAN BEYOND episodes, “Mad Love” from BTAS, and “In Brightest Day”, “Superman’s Pal”, “Absolute Power”, “Unity”, “Fish Story”, and “The Demon Reborn” for STAS. As for toys, it’s hard to draw the lines here, but as far as action figures are concerned, all MISSION MASTERS lines of the animated Bat-toys are OK, as well as anything BATMAN BEYOND related.
As for the comic series’, all issues of BATMAN BEYOND are eligible, all issues of GOTHAM ADVENTURES from #10-21 are eligible, and all issues of SUPERMAN ADVENTURES from #29-40 are A-OK, too.
THE REALMS OF THE ANIMATED UNIVERSE
#1. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” EPISODE
#2. WORST “BTAS/BEYOND” EPISODE
#3. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” DESIGN
#4. WORST “BATMAN BEYOND” DESIGN
#5. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” VOICE
#6. WORST “BATMAN BEYOND” VOICE
#7. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” MUSIC SEQUENCE
#8. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” VISUAL EFFECTS
#9. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” ‘GOOD GUY’
#10. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” VILLAIN
#11. WORST “BATMAN BEYOND” ‘GOOD GUY’
#12. WORST “BATMAN BEYOND” VILLAIN
#13. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” WRITER
#14. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” DIRECTER
#15. BEST “GOTHAM ADVENTURES” COMIC
#16. WORST “GOTHAM ADVENTURES” COMIC
#17. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” COMIC
#18. WORST “BATMAN BEYOND” COMIC
#19. BEST “GOTHAM AVENTURES” COMIC COVER
#20. BEST “BATMAN BEYOND” COMIC COVER
#21. BEST “BTAS/BEYOND” ACTION FIGURE
#22. BEST “STAS” EPISODE
#23. WORST “STAS” EPISODE
#24. BEST “STAS” COMIC
#25. WORST “STAS” COMIC
NO MAN’S LAND
#26. BEST OVERALL CHARACTER
#27. BEST HERO
#28. BEST VILLAIN
#29. WORST HERO
#30. WORST VILLAIN
#31. BEST STORY-ARC
#32. WORST STORY-ARC
#33. BEST SINGLE-ISSUE STORY
#34. WORST SINGLE-ISSUE STORY
#35. BEST WRITER
#36. WORST WRITER
#37. BEST ARTIST
#38. WORST ARTIST
#39. FAVOURITE MOMENT OF NML
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER
#40. BEST “BTAN” ISSUE
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