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Batman The Animated Newsletter #91

Batman The Animated Newsletter #91

Batman: The Animated Newsletter
Weeks of April 23 – May 5, 2001
Volume 4,
Rated: PG for some “low-key coarse language and occasional griping”

THIS ISSUE’S SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: So, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are well under way. What does hockey-enthusiast Victor Fries have to say about this? “The Colorado Avalanche…they are the hockey team from hell.” Cough, cough. (Wait, wouldn’t the New Jersey Devils be an even better pun? Oh well…)
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ANNOUNCEMENTS

-The BATMAN BEYOND and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES comic series’ are being cancelled with issues #24 and #66 (probably) respectively. Noooo! (No word on BGA, thank goodness, though.)

-CHECK OUT THE NEWS SECTION FOR A WHOLE BUNCH OF JLA ANIMATED SERIES INFORMATION!!!!

-WB STUDIO STORES ARE CLOSING AT THE END OF THIS MONTH! Check out the NEWS section for more.

-BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE RULES OF OUR ‘RETURN OF THE JOKER’ GIVEAWAY! SCROLL DOWN TO JUST
BELOW OUR EPISODE REVIEW FOR DETAILS!

Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
-who’s pumped, baby…pumped!
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EAGERLY ANTICIPATING…
New episodes are on the horizon! Here’s what we can expect in the near future…

UNMASKED
Batman Beyond #47
Air date: May 2001
Synopsis: A little kid gets a glimpse of the face under the Batman mask. Written by Hilary J. Bader.
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KIDS WB ANIMATION SCHEDULES:
(courtesy of Toonzone & Kids’WB!)

Kids’WB! currently airs BATMAN BEYOND on weekdays and weekends. Remember, Kids’WB! is notorious for switching schedules around at the very last minutes. Batman Beyond currently airs at 11:30am (ET) on Saturdays and during a 3-4pm block on Monday-Thursday. Check out these links if we are unable to update our schedule:

http://www.kidswb.com/cgi-local/sched.cgi?976584931
http://www.toonzone.net/worldsfinest/worldsfinestpage/epsched.htm
http://www.toonzone.net/shows/schedules

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.toonzone.net/worldsfinest/worldsfinestpage/epsched.htm

THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-23-01: B-BEYOND #11 A Touch of Curare
Mon 04-23-01: B-BEYOND #13 Ascension

Tue 04-24-01: B-BEYOND #05 The Winning Edge
Tue 04-24-01: B-BEYOND #14 Joyride

Wed 04-25-01: B-BEYOND #?? Plague
Wed 04-25-01: B-BEYOND #?? Betrayal

Thu 04-26-01: B-BEYOND #?? Big Time
Thu 04-26-01: B-BEYOND #46 Out of the Past

Fri 04-27-01: NONE

Sat 04-28-01: NONE

NEXT WEEK (NOT YET AVAILABLE):
Mon 04-30-01: B-BEYOND #29 The Last Resort
Mon 04-30-01: B-BEYOND #31 Armory

Tue 05-01-01: B-BEYOND #22 Rats
Tue 05-01-01: B-BEYOND #15 Earth Mover

Wed 05-02-01: B-BEYOND #26 Terry’s Friend Dates a Robot
Wed 05-02-01: B-BEYOND #40 Ace in the Hole

Thu 05-03-01: B-BEYOND #?? The Call (Pt. 1)
Thu 05-03-01: B-BEYOND #?? The Call (Pt. 2)

Fri 05-04-01: NONE

Sat 05-05-01: NONE

THE WEEK AFTER THAT:
Mon 04-30-01: B-BEYOND #20 Once Burned
Mon 04-30-01: B-BEYOND #36 The Eggbaby

Tue 05-01-01: B-BEYOND #08 Heroes
Tue 05-01-01: B-BEYOND #17 Lost Soul

Wed 05-02-01: B-BEYOND #?? Untouchable
Wed 05-02-01: B-BEYOND #?? Sneak Peek

Thu 05-03-01: B-BEYOND #01 Rebirth (Pt. 1)
Thu 05-03-01: B-BEYOND #02 Rebirth (Pt. 2)

Fri 05-04-01: NONE

Sat 05-05-01: NONE
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CANADIAN EPISODE SCHEDULE
(BATMAN on YTV – courtesy of our friends at YTV)

BATMAN BEYOND will be returning to show the remainder of its 52 episode run to YTV shortly! Keep reading here in future issues for details!

YTV currently has the rights to air all 109 episodes of BTAS. 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 3:40am Monday – Friday (well, technically, Tuesday – Saturday). If our schedules are not updated or are inaccurate, please use these links:

http://www.toonzone.net/worldsfinest/worldsfinestpage/epsched.htm
http://www.ytv.com/ytvguide

THIS WEEK:
Mon 04-23-01: BTAS #101 Animal Act

Tue 04-24-01: BTAS #102 Old Wounds

Wed 04-25-01: BTAS #103 The Demon Within

Thu 04-26-01: BTAS #104 Legends of the Dark Knight

Fri 04-27-01: BTAS #105 Girls Night Out

NEXT WEEK:
Mon 04-30-01: BTAS #106 Mad Love

Tue 05-01-01: BTAS #107 Chemistry

Wed 05-02-01: BTAS #108 Beware the Creeper

Thu 05-03-01: BTAS #109 Judgement Day

Fri 05-04-01: BTAS #13 The Cat and the Claw (Pt. 1)

THE WEEK AFTER THAT: (this schedule may be slightly inaccurate)
Mon 05-07-01: BTAS #16 The Cat and the Claw (Pt. 2)

Tue 05-08-01: BTAS #01 On Leather Wings

Wed 05-09-01: BTAS #14 Heart of Ice

Thu 05-10-01: BTAS #20 Feat of Clay (Pt. 1)

Fri 05-11-01: BTAS #21 Feat of Clay (Pt. 2)
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THE CARTOON NETWORK

Cartoon Network has the right to air all 109 BTAS episodes, as well as all 54 SUPERMAN episiodes. Cartoon Network currently airs both shows in rotation and together during the weekday Toonami block. Since Cartoon Network is unpredictable with their schedules, we may be unable to keep up with them. Please, use these links to find out the schedule information you need:

Here is where you can find an air date schedules:

http://www.CartoonNetwork.com/TOONAMI/lineup/batman.html
http://www.CartoonNetwork.com/TOONAMI/lineup/Superman.html
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv/schedule.html
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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/btas.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!

With no new episodes debuting, we have nothing to review…anyone wanna submit reviews of older BTAS episodes? We’re always taking submissions!

OVER THE EDGE
Written by Paul Dini
Directed by Yuichiro Yano
Animation by TMS
Original air date: April 28, 1998 – UK exclusive
Original air date: May 23, 1998 – North American date
My rating: ****1/2

WOW.

What can I say about this episode? It was certainly the best of the new batch, and one of the finest ever.

The episode opens with Gordon, Bullock, Montoya, and the GCPD SWAT Team chasing Batman and Robin through the Batcave, guns blazing. To prevent an escape, the Batmobile is nuked. We hear Gordon address Batman as Bruce Wayne before he fires again – of course, we know that something is terribly wrong. Batman and Robin hide behind Two-Face’s giant penny (from Almost Got ‘Im), and to make their getaway, they roll it at the cops – they scatter and this buys the dynamic duo just enough time to drop down to the lower cave where the Batboat is.

Just before Batman and Robin make it to the Batboat, Gordon has a clear shot at Bats’ head – just before he’s about to fire, Alfred runs out of nowhere and tackles him, and is immediately arrested. Batman and Robin get away in the Batboat; as soon as they sail into the ocean a police boat careens into them and after one warning, starts shooting missiles at the Batboat; Nightwing comes onto the scene out of nowhere on a skidoo, blows up the police boat and escorts Batman and Robin to his hideout in downtown Gotham.

Just minutes into the episode, there has been a tremendous amount of action, and even some extensive CGI work – not as well done as in Sub-Zero, but very good – this CGI work makes the battle on the high seas very real. And this work now raises many questions – such as, “What the hell is going on?”

Back at Nightwing’s lair, Bruce, Dick, and Tim, still in costume, discuss what has happened, to bring their crusade to an end. Batman begins to tell the story…

A night or two earlier, the Scarecrow had taken Mayor Hill hostage at City Hall. While Batman and Robin take care of his henchmen, Scarecrow escapes to the roof, and Batgirl follows. Once there, she tackles a Scarecrow dummy, and, in shock, dumbfounded that she could be tricked that easily, the real Scarecrow, in complete silence, creeps up out of the shadows, whacks her with the stick hard, and she slowly teeters and falls over the edge of the building…

Gordon and Bullock are in a squad car on the street below, and after a couple seconds of silence, Batgirl smashes through the windshield and flops onto the pavement. Above, Scarecrow lets out a blood-curdling laugh, and Batman, seeing what he has done, beats the living crap out of him.

This has got to be one of the most chilling scenes in any Batman story ever. The level of graphic violence shown here is unprecedented in any BTAS show. The fact that it happens to a woman makes it all the more chilling – I must say that I’m suprised the censors didn’t change this – but I’m glad they didn’t. Scarecrow is as chilling as always, and the fact that he says nothing in the entire show besides his laugh makes him all the more menacing.

Gordon quickly rushes over to Batgirl, and after she mumbles out “Dad, help me…”, he whisks off her mask and discovers the secret his daughter had been hiding from him all these years. He holds her, cries, and she goes limp in his hands.

Batman quickly rushes down (did Scarecrow get away???) and sees Gordon clutching his dead daughter. Gordon immediately blames him for the death, and is infuriated that after all these years of working together, he never told him that his own daughter was part of his vigilante team. Bullock steps in, and is about to arrest Batman, before Robin shoots the gun out of his hand and they get away. Gordon knows they can’t catch him by chasing him (such as in Mask of the Phantasm), so he lets him get away for now – he covers up the dead Barbara Gordon with his overcoat and the scene changes.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce, Tim, and Alfred mourn over the loss of Barbara in the study. The phone rings. Bruce answers and Gordon tells him that he knows who he is now – he searched on Barbara’s computer and it revealed all of the secrets of the Batcave and its members. Bruce tries to level with him, saying that his parents were taken the same way – by fate – and Gordon, showing no mercy, virtually declares war on Wayne Manor. The SWAT team busts in with a battering ram, and the three in the den hide in the Batcave. This brings us back to the present.

Another great point about this episode is that Commissioner Gordon’s character is finally being developed some more. His relationship and interaction with Batman in this episode is superb and the emotions he feels are very real. Who wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth to seek revenge on someone who had a hand in killing their child? While most wouldn’t, the wanting to would still exist.

Now that all of their secret identities have been blown, Batman and Robin hide in Nightwing’s lair while Nightwing goes back to his apartment to get food and supplies so they can survive. As soon as Nightwing enters his apartment, the cops pop out of nowhere – they were waiting for him. Nightwing escapes to the roof, where he meets a police helicopter, and it starts shooting wildly – everything fades out.

Well, sadly, Nightwing didn’t die. If he did, the episode would be all the more brooding. Another brief note is that since Nightwing and Batgirl were like boy-girlfriend with each other, why didn’t he mourn her death more? Oh well. Just a minor point. Nightwing is arrested and thrown in jail with Alfred. Two heroes down, two to go.

Batman, knowing that he’s got nothing to lose now, tells Tim to run away – no one would blame a kid for what happened. Tim turns and runs away without looking back.

Due to his involvment with a team of vigilantes, one of which being his own daughter, Commissioner Gordon is fired from the GCPD. But he is still thirsty for revenge, so he takes a trip to Blackgate prison and hires its most infamous inmate to kill Batman.

Batman watches over Barbara’s funeral – yet another very moody scene. Seeing stuff like this in a kids cartoon just doesn’t seem right – it’s very uneasy to watch, and that’s what makes it so good. Gordon knows that Batman would be watching too, so he set up a load of snipers in the area to shoot Batman if he is seen. One sees him, gunfire follows, and Batman escapes to the roof, where he runs into the new, improved, “I’m still a really tough guy after you pull out my venom tube” Bane, the one whom Gordon hired. A huge fight ensues, and even more CGI work is used. Batman throws Bane onto an adjoining roof – the roof of Police Headquarters. Gordon arrives to watch the show, and tells Bane to keep him alive so Batman can be locked up in Arkham; Bane refuses, throws Gordon over the edge of the building, and steps on his hands to send him to a grave alongside his daughter. Batman throws Bane into the Batsignal and shatters it; Batman cuts his venom tube, ties it to one of the livewires from the shattered signal, and electrocutes Bane. Batman rushes over to grab Gordon and just before he does, Bane uses his last ounce of strength to hurl the entire Batsignal at the two, and collapses, dead, after Batman and Gordon fall to their deaths…

Soft moaning and a loud scream break through the night and next we see Barbara waking up in the Batcave – it was just a nightmare, brought on by Scarecrow’s fear gas. I was happy to see that this wasn’t just a lame “Oh, it was just a dream” type ending – we see that Barbara’s worst fear is keeping her vigilante life secret from her father. Also, the dream provided us with a great Dark Knight Returns type story – the final Batman story. A great “what if” story – and it showed everything, in a brutally realistic fashion. The final scene with Barbara and her father, about to tell him her secret, is a nice touch too.

The only part that I thought was completely out of place was the scene where Harley Quinn, Mad Hatter, Riddler, and Ventriloquist appear on a talkshow, saying that Batman drove them to insanity. Having this segment thrown in totally spoiled the mood and broke up the story – and none of the villains even had a good appearance in it. This is the only reason why I didn’t give the episode a five-star rating. Harley was acting stupid and Riddler and Ventriloquist didn’t say a word. Mad Hatter’s appearance was OK – we get to see his new elf-like design, but I’d still have prefered this segment to be thrown out, because it has nothing to do with the core story. Now, if villains with more intense relationships with Batman – Joker, Catwoman, and Two-Face, namely – were shown, it may have been better. But as it stands, this talk-show segment was poor, especially since it ruined the mood. Harley’s part was the worst – she wasn’t even funny here. (I’m sorry to be picky but must Harley be in every Dini episode?) I think having only the fearful villains here – Scarecrow and Bane – would have been fine. Oh well – so this was just one little segment that sucked, in an otherwise great episode – I can’t complain.

Overall, this episode is fantastic. An instant classic. (Of course, we all know that it wasn’t real – we know that Batgirl will live on for another 50 years to become Police Commissioner in Batman Tomorrow (maybe crippled, who knows?), and mentioning Scarecrow at the beginning hints at the fact that it’s all a hallucination, much like in Perchance to Dream. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Just don’t expect to see much of the villains in this one – the story revolves around the heroes for once – but Scarecrow and Bane still do a lot of cool stuff. Mr. Dini, my hat goes off to you – awesome work, except for the little part I just mentioned above…but I loved the episode. I knew I would. Awesome story, characterization, animation, music, sounds, everything. As Mr. Burns would say, “Excellent.”
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EDITORIAL
(by anyone that is willing to contribute)

???
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Due to demand by some of our subscribers, we’ve decided to give a “Letters to the Editor” section a shot. Feel free to submit something you’d like to say to us, and each issue we’ll choose one to post and then reply to. (NOTE: It can be completely uncensored, positive OR negative, though any coarse language will be bleeped out. We want this to be a no-holds-barred column!)

* * * * * *

Hi…

This is in response to that rude letter to the editor that appeared in this newsletter last issue (#90).

First off, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we all have our favourite incarnations of the Dark Knight, but I feel that a true Batman fan should appreciate any effort to bring him to the small screen, big screen, or in print. I myself favour the Golden Age Batman and my favourite Batman character of all time is Batgirl – but that doesn’t mean that the rest of them “suck”. A Batman is a Batman is a Batman – he’s like a pizza. Even if it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. A true, honest to goodness, from-the-heart Batman fan appreciates all forms of Batman. Stop being so critical and just enjoy the ride and appreciate the creativity of true geniuses. End of story.

As for Timm and Dini going to Hell, if that were to happen, then I would have something really spectacular to look forward to when I get there.

Sincerely,

Andie Nappi
(die hard Bat-fan)

* * * * * *

TWO-FACE’S SIDE OF THE COIN

You raise some good points, Andie. You needn’t go any further than the current state of the mainstream Bat-comics to see this. DETECTIVE COMICS looks at Batman predominantly as just that – a detective. BATMAN takes a well-written action-adventure approach. GOTHAM KNIGHTS looks at characters more than anything else. LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT goes back to Batman’s earlier years and shows his inexperience. All the “satellite books” (mostly written by Chuck Dixon) often take a more light-hearted approach to the topic of crime-fighting. Over comics history, it’s been even more drastic – there was the campiness of Bob Kane and Dick Sprang in the 50’s, then the even cheesier Adam West and company in the 60’s. Dennis O’Neil went back the dark action-adventure route through the 70’s, and Frank Miller hit rock bottom and showed the absolutely brutal and disgusting side of Gotham and its people in the 80’s. And of course, then you have the three major visions in the 90’s: Tim Burton, Dini/Timm/Burnett and the animated crew, and, of course, Joel Schumacher.

Even within the animated world there are different interpretations. Just compare the original animated series (1992-95) to the revamped animated series (1997-99) to BATMAN BEYOND – the differences are often obvious, sometimes subtle, but they’re still there.

Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, just as each are entitled to their own opinion. True, some interpretations of Batman don’t sit well with the fans (uh, I won’t say the name again, but you can pretty much guess which name stands out here), but they’re just as valid. Creativity is subjective and you can’t outright say that something is absolutely right or wrong – it all depends certain parts work in the context of a story.

This is what makes Batman so dynamic, and, in my opinion, the best superhero (comic book or otherwise) out there. He can be interpretted and dissected in countless ways, and yet be true to character.

In short, Mr. Nappi, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

;-Y
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‘RETURN OF THE JOKER’ GIVEAWAY

READ BELOW FOR THE RULES AND MORE!

In trying to get people both more involved with the newsletter AND want to help them out at the same time, we’re offering anyone that participates in our NO MAN’S ISLAND column a chance to win unedited copies of RETURN OF THE JOKER.

The way it works is as follows: vote for the two characters you’d like to vote off the island. Of the characters that are being cast off or even nominated in that particular issue, we will randomly select one of these characters for our contest. Anyone who voted for this character will be entered into a draw, according to the e-mail address from which their ballot was recieved. Every issue, we will randomly select one e-mail address (from a hat, to make it fair) and that participant, if willing, wins a copy of the unedited movie!

You may vote for NO MAN’S ISLAND as often as you like (just once per round), and are eligible to win once within each round.

If the selected winner for whatever reason declines, the will be another draw for that same week. The catch? The winner, if agreeing, must provide a tape and enough money to cover postage ($5 American) of the tape to and from their place of residence. There will be no extra profit for us at BATMAN: THE ANIMATED NEWSLETTER (as that would be illegal) or anything. We just want to get this movie out to more people as it’s not going to be definately released on tape just
yet.

NOTE: I am not promoting the act of bootlegging videos for profit, I am merely looking for the cost of the tape and postage, so fans will be able to view the movie as it was supposed to be.

That said, let’s get voting! (And make sure to read the NO MAN’S ISLAND section below.)
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NO MAN’S ISLAND
ROUND SEVENTEEN
(by Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton)

Everyone left with the exception of Alfred Pennyworth clashed at City Hall – and there were some gruesome, explosive results.

…A WALTZ DOWN MEMORY LANE…

A WORD FROM THE CAST-AWAYS:
ROBIN: “I’m just glad to be out of there – I just hope Bruce, Dick, Alfred, and Gordon get out of there, too…”
CATWOMAN: “You can’t kill me – not yet. I still have eight lives to go.”

* * * * * * * * *

After the smoke finally cleared, Gordon pushed a beam of wood away from his body. He stood up on uneasy ground and surveyed the landscape after cleaning his glasses. Dust still loomed in the air, the only remembrance of what was once City Hall. He sighed and looked to his side; Batman emerged from the rubble a minute later, clutching at a gash in his arm. “You OK?”

It took Batman a moment to clear his head and respond. “I’ll live.” He had managed to find Catwoman’s body under the rubble; she was curled up at his feet, unconscious.

Gordon looked about for a moment – nothing. Until he saw something about fifty feet ahead of him crumble away. Nightwing climed out of the concrete and metal debris with Robin’s also unconscious body in his arms. He stumbled.

“I gotcha!” Gordon hollered, charging ahead to give Nightwing a hand. He helped steady the two Boy Wonders and led them down a treacherous path back towards Batman. “Is the boy alright?”

“He’s unconscious but if we get him back to the cave, he’ll be fine,” Nightwing stated. “But he’s out of action indefinately.” Ditto for Catwoman, Gordon thought.

Batman squinted his eyes as Dick approached him. Almost disregarding Robin’s existance entirely, he spoke. “Is that everyone?”

Nightwing nodded. “Yep, no sign of Two-Face, Harley, or the Joker,” he replied flatly.

“That’s impossible.”

Nightwing growled; Batman was always such a worry-wart stick-in-the-mud. “He had ten grenades strapped to his chest when they detonated, BRUCE.” He didn’t care about hiding identities any more – everyone left on the island knew everything, now, anyways. “I’ll check one last time, but he must be dead.”

Batman quickly cut him off. “He’s not dead. You know that.” He turned around with Catwoman in his arms, making his way back to the cave. “The Joker never dies. He won’t let himself.”

Nightwing scowled at him; fine, he thought. Ignore Tim, dying in his arms, and hunt for their foes without a single clue as to their whereabouts. Brilliant planning, Bruce. As Batman walked away, Gordon stayed behind a moment; Nightwing walked over to him and carefully put Robin in Gordon’s arms. “Here – and keep an eye on him.” Gordon nodded; he knew Dick was referring to Bruce.

Cough, cough, cough. Kaff, kaff. “Mistah J? Haw-vey? Where are you?” Harley coughed and sputtered as she picked herself up in an alleyway a block away from the ruins of City Hall. “Hellooooo?” She wandered through the shadows carefully, searching – but, more often than not, tripping and stumbling. “Where is everybody?”

“Right here.”

Harley looked up and, atop a three storey building, saw Nightwing standing on the ledge. She looked back down and continued to hobble along. She heard Nightwing glide down behind her and land with a soft thud; without even turning her head she continued making her way towards the open street. “Look Bird Boy, I’ve got no quarrell with you. Just let me be.”

“No,” Nightwing said, grabbing her wrist; she flung her body around and crashed into him. “Where’s your boss?”

“I – don’t know…” she said, rubbing her head with her free hand. Then she remembered. “I’m my own boss now. A villain in my own right. Harleen Quinzel works for nobody.”

Yeah, right, Nightwing thought.

“I’m serious, I swear I’ll soon have my own toy line and comic book series and made for TV movies, and…”

“Enough,” Nightwing grunted, grabbing her wrist harder. This girl was obviously delusional. “Where’s the Joker?”

“Haven’t a clue. Why not try Timbuktu?” Harley retorted. She was particularly pleased with her impromptu rhyme. Nightwing didn’t have time for this. He retrieved a bola from his suit and brought Harley out to the street; he tied her gently but firmly to a streetlamp and left her. Maybe, however unlikely, the Joker would come for her. “Hey!” Harley yelped, trying to squirm out of her bondage. “Geez, what’s gotten into you? You used to be so much fun, way back in the day – now you’re just as mean and bitter as your boss.”

He’s not my boss, Nightwing mumbled to himself, trying to make himself believe the statement.

About half an hour went by. Nightwing had left but Harley remained, her tired, slumping body basking in the light of the streetlamp. “Oy…” she moaned. Damn, that guy knew how to tie a damn good knot.

“wHoA, lOoK aT tHaT!”

“No.”

“I’m SeRiOuS, hArVeY! lOoK aT tHaT uP aHeAd!” Harvey looked ahead after his big, bad counterpart urged him to. As soon as his eyes focused, he continued. “yEeEeEeAhHh – AlL tIeD uP, hAlF-dEaD…yOu AlWaYs WaNtEd To Be WiTh HeR hArVeY, sO nOw’S yOuR cHaNcE. jUmP oN hEr!”

“That’s disgusting,” Harvey said, taking large strides around the rubble towards Harley’s bound body.

“wHo CaReS? sHe’S hOt! I kNoW yOu WaNt HeR. tHe BaT’s GoNnA rOaSt Us BoTh FoR wHaT wE dId tO hIs PuSsYcAt In ThErE, sO mIgHt As WeLl GeT sOmE aCtIoN bEfOrE hE cOmEs FoR yOu.”

“Just stop talking, please.” The kindness seemed to do the trick – the left side of his brain finally shut up. Two-Face approached Harley and spoke softly. “Quinn?”

“Harvey???” she said groggily, looking up.

“I’m so glad you’re alright, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

She could hear the genuine concern in his voice. “Really?” A small smile curved upward through her running make-up.

“Of course I have. I love you.” He almost halfway blushed; Harley stared blankly, not knowing what to think. “nO i DoN’t!” Big Bad Harv jumped in.

“Are you OK?”

Two-Face retrieved a switchblade from his pocket and cut through the bola; after a few moments, Harley was freed. She fell into his arms. “Of course I’m OK. I found you.”

“oH gAg Me AlReAdY…”

“That’s…nice…” Harley shook her head. This was starting to get creepy.

“yEaH yEaH, rEaL nIcE…sO…wAnNa ‘Do It’?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!!!!”

Whoa, Harley thought – this was getting really, really weird. He hadn’t been taking lessons from Jack Ryder, had he? She took his hand roughly and yanked him over. “I don’t know WHAT is going on in your brain, Harvey,” she said, “but I’m a doctor and I know this much. You need help.”

“Right, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…I just can’t tame him right now.”

“Who?”

“lItTlE hArVeY, tHaT’s WhO.” Big Bad Harv blurted out.

“See what I’m talking about?”

Harley hugged him and patted his shoulder. “We’ll figure this all out later, buddy – we have to
get out of here before Batbrain finds us.”

“What about your boss?”

Harley growled back at Two-Face. “HE is NOT my BOSS!!!! I don’t want to see hyde nor hair of that loon ever again – he nearly killed all of us, why would I ever want to be with him again? We’re THROUGH.”

Harvey smiled at this promising prospect. Big Bad Harv felt otherwise. “yEeEeAaAaAhHhH, rIgHt. WuSs.”

The two of them made their way down the street, aimlessly searching for a new place to reside in. “Hey Harvey,” Harley said.

“Yeah?” Two-Face responded.

“After everything we’ve been through – you taking me in after Mistah J tossed me aside, you takin’ care of me after Mr. Crane’s gas knocked me out – I’ve grown kinda fond of you, too.”

“yOu’Re OnLy HeR sEcOnDs, HaRvEy,” a voice said – but it stayed unverbalized. It didn’t matter, either – Harley had made Two-Face smile inside, and not even his bad side could overrule that.

Soft laughter emnated from under twisted shrapnel and shattered debris – slowly growing louder, and louder, until a gloved hand pushed a fallen piece of sheet metal aside and, none to this narrator’s surprise, a man in purple arose from the ashes. “Hoo boy,” he grinned as he dusted soot off of his slightly torn suit, “I’m immortal. I can’t be killed. I’m freakin’ Hugo Strange, baby!” The Joker let out a nervous, weak laugh – just how did he survive that anyway? For the sake of our readers, he decided to give the matter further contemplation.

“Let’s see…” he pondered, sitting down in a ‘thinker’ pose, “ten grenades to my chest, all the pins pulled – oh yeah. Duh,” he giggled, “they were all duds. Fakes. Hehe – that was a good one, huh?” He heard the studio audience groan in his head. “Insolent, miserable brats – you wouldn’t know a good joke if it bit you in the -” then he thought. “Oh, and as for the real explosion – one of them WAS real, and I just tossed that one away and BOOM!” He giggled; then again, in retrospect, it wasn’t that funny. Oh well, he thought, at least it bought him time to escape.

The Joker made his way from the crumbled structure that was once City Hall, meandered down past the court room, the Rose Cafe, Kirby Cakes, Gemini Jewelers, and came to a stop outside an independent costume store, Ditko Accessories. “Hmmmm…” he pondered. He picked up a fallen brick from the sidewalk and tossed it through the window, shattering it into pieces. He gingerly climbed through the destroyed window and surrounding frame and looked upon the new territory he would claim as his. “Ahh, papa needed a new pair of shoes!” He commented, pulling a pair from the rack. “Ahhh, way too small, I need a MUCH BIGGER SIZE,” he said, trying to flatter himself; no such luck.

And then there was a giggle.

It wasn’t his, he knew that much.

The Joker dropped a new magenta suit he was inspecting – it wasn’t purple-enough for his tastes – and climbed back outside. The giggling kept coming from up the street. “Curious…” he mumbled, creeping back the way from which he came. He stopped in front of Gemini Jewelers and looked inside: Harley and Harvey were inspecting jewelry and such. WHAT? HIS arch-nemesis for Brucie’s affections was putting the moves on HIS woman???

“YoU’rE aN iDiOt, YoU kNoW tHaT, hArVeY? sHe’S gOiNg To RuN bAcK tO tHaT cLoWn AnY sEcOnD nOw AnD tHeRe’S nOtHiNg YoU cAn Do AbOuT iT. dOn’T wAsTe AnY bReAtH oN tHiS bRoAd.”

“Don’t speak about her like that. She’s a wonderful, caring woman and you don’t give her enough credit.” Two-Face’s mind was animated and at war, as always.

“JeWeLrY? gEeZ, yOu ReAlLy ArE oLd-FaShIoNeD. i’M gLaD i FiNaLlY tAlKeD yOu OuT oF tHaT hIdEoUs BeIgE aNd PlAiD sUiT wE uSeD tO wEaR aLl ThE tImE. bUt JeWeLrY? gAwD-dAmN-iT hArVeY, yOu’Re BlOwInG aLl YoUr MoNeY hErE. sHe’S jUsT gOiNg To BrEaK oUr HeArTs.”

“I’m not spending a dime here. I thought you might actually appreciate that.”

“I dO, bUt GeEz – YoU’rE jUsT aSkInG tO gEt StEpPeD oN.”

“Oh Harvey, look at this one! It’s a miniature recreation of the Harlequin Diamond I stole once – remember?” Harley showed him a broach and placed the glimmering piece in his hand. “Now pin it on me and tell me how I look.” She struck a pose, letting her tiara, bracelets, and golden necklaces glitter in the low light.

Two-Face leaned in to pin it on her tight costume. He placed it on gently, and smiled – until part of his mind took over and caused him to grope a little more than Harley had bargained for. “HeY, wHeN iN rOmE, rIgHt?”

Harley didn’t push the lustful advance away. She just smiled in return. “I can see why everyone thought you were such a hottie and a ladies’ man back in the day,” she grinned. “If only we could get that evil side of you to disappear for good…”

“lIkE hElL!!!”

“…Nora Crest couldn’t do it, neither could Doctor Leland, and Brucie and your fiance couldn’t save you…but I can! I’m a doctor, remembah?”

“Is that really necessary?” Two-Face pleaded, almost boyishly.

“My diagnosis is…YES! Besides, it’ll be the perfect excuse for you -” she jumped into his arms, “and I -” she wrapped her hands around his neck, “to spend more time together.” She tilted her head upwards, just as Harvey lowered his and they kissed.

* * * * * * * * * *

AND AFTER A SEVENTEENTH ROUND OF VOTING…

“HARRRRR-LEEYYYYY!!!!” the Joker screamed from outside on the sidewalk, his voice muffled by the thick window panes.

Harley quickly snapped out of the kiss and opened her eyes wide. “Puddin’!?”

“I tOlD YoU iT wAs OnLy A mAtTeR oF tImE, mOrOn!”

“NO!!!” Two-Face shouted, his chest burning; grabbing Harley’s wrist, he bolted through the tiny store and out the back entrance into the alley. Harley let out a loud “eep!” as she was pulled away from one infuriated beau and pulled towards another. The Joker pounded a fist on the glass as he spat and darted down the street, hoping to cut the other two off.

Nightwing quickly lept from rooftop from rooftop, scowering the city for anything – anything whatsoever. God, this was lonely work. I mean, he was happy he wasn’t under Bruce’s thumb all the time now, but working solo – it didn’t feel right to him. How did Bruce do it for all those years?

He really missed the others more than anything, though. Tim was out for the count, and probably wouldn’t be in action again for weeks. Barbara…she was another story. She was dead. Both the Joker and Two-Face – mostly the latter – had a part in her demise, and that made him all the more determined to find them. For the Commissioner. For Bruce. For Barbara. For himself.

As Nightwing came to a brief stop to survey the dark, destroyed landscape before him, a noise errupted behind him, a few blocks away. As the rest of the city lacked any life at all, the tiny sounds were carried a great distance.

A sound buzzed in Dick’s ear. He pressed his earpiece further into the auditory canal to listen intently; it was Bruce. “You heard that, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Dick replied. “But how did…”

“Gordon and I are just about to leave the cave now. Handle the situation until we arrive. Batman out.”

Nightwing spat – how did he know??? Regardless, he had to put those feelings of inadequacy and irritation aside so he could focus on the prolem at hand. He turned around, ran across the rooftop and lept; spreading his arms apart, he soared on his suit’s pair of wings through the concrete canyon, to the origin of the noise.

Wait a sec…a few blocks behind him was Crime Alley. No wonder Batman was in such a mood.

“Sir, with Mr. Drake and Ms. Kyle shipped over to the mainland for hospitalization, I have no reason to remain as caretaker of the cave,” Alfred said. “There must be some way in which I would be more beneficial to the rest of your crusade. I hardly think dusting and making tea changes anything in the grande scheme of things.”

Batman was just about to leave the cave when Alfred stopped him. He just turned around and looked at the old man – he couldn’t imagine Alfred leaving. He needed him here. He needed SOMEONE to come back to – and even though the number of his current allies was sorely lacking, he couldn’t imagine putting his butler in this type of danger. “Your place is here, Alfred.”

“Hardly.”

Batman groaned – he hated ordering Alfred about like this. In all honesty, it should be the other way around. “No. Just stay here for tonight, we’ll come up with a new gameplan tomorrow.”

With that, Batman left – it appeared Gordon had already made a headstart through the exit to the cave on foot. Crime Alley…he always hated venturing there, even on his anniversary. Nothing good ever came of Crime Alley.

Alfred snarled and sighed. Bruce was the master of this domain, after all – and, ultimately, this was his call. That would have to change, though, far sooner than later.

And so it did. About ten minutes after Batman and Gordon left the cave, Alfred snuck out as well, a medic pack under his arm and a number of other nifty little things he found useful during his work as a spy for the British Intelligence decades before. Oh yes, it was all coming back to him now – though, really, it never left in the first place.

Screaming, screeching, bellowing, and other poetic profanities ricochetted off of the walls facing the street as the chase continued. They had to give it to the Joker – he was very quick on his feet. “Harvey!” Harley yelped as Two-Face dove with her into an alleyway, landing amidst a pile of garbage cans and bags and other slimy objects. “Let go for me! If I just go reason with puddin’, I’m sure he’ll understand!”

“aRe YoU iNsAnE, wOmAn!????” Two-Face belched back. “ThE mAn’S a WaLkInG tImE bOmB aNd I dOn’T wAnT tO bE aNyWhErE nEaR hIm WhEn He GoEs OfF!” He panted – he was sick of running. Why couldn’t he just win this stupid game and be done with it?

(What was the prize they were even vying for, anyway?)

“You don’t know him like I do – if you get past all the murdering and the evil stuff, he’s such a sweetie…” She sighed.

“NO! I’m not going to lose you!” Harvey said in a different voice, shoving Harley behind him. He drew his gun and his coin; he flipped it, bad heads landing up. “Sorry babe, but your ex-boss and ex-boyfriend is toast.” Harley whimpered – she knew that Two-Face was serious.

Nightwing dove down from above; he saw the Joker charging down the street, then quickly changing his course and turning into an alleyway.

“Hellooooooooo?” the Joker whistled jovially. He saw those other two deliquents run in here just a moment ago – so where could they be hiding. “Look, Harvey, Harley, baby, I’m unarmed…” he held up his hands and tried to look as innocent as possible. “I’m sorry I lost my temper back there…I just want to talk.” He continued to make his way up the cobblestone alley, stepping through little puddles of grime along the way. “Please? Come on, I just asked nicely, you can’t disregard me now…”

The Joker growled. This was getting nowhere fast. Or slow. Bottom line, it was just getting nowhere, and that was obvious for everyone to see.

BLAM!!!!

The Joker jumped back and held his forearm, where Gordon had shot him weeks before. The current bullet had missed – barely. A small hole in the ground smoked before him. He looked upwards – two storeys up, on the fire escape, stood Two-Face, aiming a gun downward, directly at his head.

“So there you are. We have got to stop meeting like this…” the Joker grinned. Hey, a good cliche was hard to come by.

“I’ve had enough of you, clown. Make another move and it’ll be your last.”

Yeah, it looks like Two-Face was just as dry in the cliche department as Joker was.

“Come on, don’t I even deserve a coin toss?” the Joker mused.

“AlReAdY dId, JaCkO. yOu’Re ToAsT.”

“What? A pre-emptive flip? That is totally unfair! You can’t change your psyche on me like that, Harvey! I had things planned! I…”

“sHuT uP. aNd It LoOkS lIkE yOu JuSt MaDe AnOtHeR mOvE, tOo. SoRrY, ‘bAbE’, bUt I hAvE tO fOlLoW mY rUlEs.” Just as Two-Face drew his gun, the Joker surged his hand upwards to squeeze the flower on his lapel – but Harley dove from the window behind the fire escape and knocked Two-Face over.

“NO HARVEY! DON’T KILL HIM!!!!”

A stray bullet ricochetted off of the metal framework of the fire escape and lodged itself inside the wall. The Joker quickly moved towards the fire escape and climbed on, charging upwards. Two-Face elbowed Harley in the face, knocking her back into the condemned building. He saw the Joker apporaching, and dove through the window himself – this was not how it was planned.

“SeE hArVeY? i ToLd YoU tHaT bRoAd WoUlDn’T bE wItH yOu FoR lOnG! sHe’S wAy ToO fLaKy FoR uS. sHe’S aN iDiOt, AnD sO aRe YoU! jUsT iCe ThE bOtH oF ‘eM aNd GeT oUtA hErE!”

“No! I love her, she’s the only hope I have left!”

“YoU’rE a FoOl. ThAt StUpId HeArT oF yOuRs Is GoInG tO gEt Us BoTh KiLlEd!”

Harley looked up from her sprawled position of the ground, a trickle of blood escaping from her mouth. “You HIT me…” she gasped in shock.

“I’m so sorry,” Two-Face bent down and lent a hand to pull her up – she reluctantly refused. “I just don’t want to see you go back to that monster.” Dramatic pause. “Even if it means risking my own life.”

“oH, bArF! pAsS tHe AiR-sIcK bAg HeRe, PlEaSe, ThIs Is GeTtInG dIsGuStInG!”

“Monster? Who, ME?” The Joker daintily climbed through the window into the dimly lit room. “Harvey, I’m honoured.”

“Oh puddin’! You found me!” Harley left Two-Face’s grasp and ran to her clownish counterpart. “I miss you so much, I’m so glad that we’re together again!” SLAP!!!!

Two-Face cringed as he saw the Joker smack his open hand against Harley’s cheek and send her back to the floor. “OoHhH, bItCh-SlAp, DaT’s HoW sHe LiKeS iT!”

“Shut up,” Harvey addressed his inner voices. They could be so crass sometimes.

“Psht!” the Joker brushed her advanced off. “Then why are hanging out with THIS idiot?”

“Hey!” Two-Face pushed his way past Harley and thrust his fist into the Joker’s torso. “She made her choice, pal, so back off!”

“YoU’vE gOt GuTs AfTeR aLl, BoY – iF oNlY yOu WeRe UsInG tHeM fOr ThE rIgHt rEaSoN…”

Harley shakily stood up behind Two-Face; she sensed her presence and thrust his arm outwards to block her from advancing past him. Even though she was the focus of this dispute, he wanted her left out of it. Typical male.

“P-p-puddin’, we got separated again and…and…you know how I can’t be on my own for long! Rememba? Our old sessions way back when? You diagnosed me as ‘clingy’.” Harley tried to defend herself and Two-Face, even if it meant putting her own dignity on the line.

“But THIS freak???” the Joker hollered back – his face was glowing red under its chalky white surface. “You’re MY hench-wench and no one else’s. I hate the Plantlady and how you two do that idiotic ‘Thelma and Louise’ thing all the time.”

“No, not Red!” Harley interjected.

“Yeah, and Eddie Questionmarks, I KNOW about you two – the time I broke out and left you behind – you got soooooooo lonely that you couldn’t help yourself when he came a-knockin’.”

“But how…?” Harley gasped – who told???

“You wouldn’t believe how big a gossip Johnnie Crane is,” the Joker mused. Ugh. Harley? And the Riddler? The thought of it disgusted him. She was HIS property, not property of that…that…rip-off of his Jokerish image and all indica! “But this…THIS…THIS MAN???” He spat as he spoke. “This is just a slap in the face.”

Two-Face grinned smugly; at last, he’d gotten under the Joker’s skin. Boy, did he love it when he got this riled up.

“gEt OuTa ThErE, hArV – i GoT a BaD fEeLiN’ aBoUt ‘DiS…”

“Oh puddin’, just STOP!”

“I don’t want you runnin’ around on me any more,” the Joker growled. He promptly took a step to the side and shot a bullet into Harley’s leg. She lurched forward as she squealed in pain, collapsing against Two-Face’s back. He fell forward a step with the added weight against his body. “Or maybe I just don’t want you running around, period.”

Two-Face growled as he saw the hole in her leg. He punched the Joker in the face, the brass knuckles hidden within his gloved left hand knocking one of his off-yellow teeth out of his mouth with a gush of blood. It fell to the floor. The Joker looked up in shock.

“wHaT iS tHiS, a HoCkEy GaMe??? jUsT sHoOt HiM iN tHe FaCe, DuMp ThE gIrL aNd RuN!”

The Joker scowled – Two-Face was definately the bigger man of the two, and could relatively easily beat him in a bare fist fight. Then again, was it ever like the Joker to fight fair? Hardly.

He spat a gush of blood from his mouth into Two-Face’s eyes and belted him in the stomach; Two-Face lurched forward just as the Joker pulled out a switchblade from up his sleeve and slashed him across the chest. He doubled over in pain with a grunt and was pushed aside into the wall, clearing a path between the Joker and Harley. Harley continued to speak, eyes wavering back and forth between Two-Face and the Joker – concern for Harvey, fear of Mistah J.

“He loved me more in the past two minutes than you have for the past two years!” Harley retorted. “Maybe…” she stuttered, “…you should get yourself another ‘assistant’.”

“Just stop talking,” the Joker said, surprisingly cool. “What matters is that Harvey’s a bleeding pile of pus on the floor, and that we are together again. Give me a hug, baby!!!!” He ran over to her and hugged Harley’s limping body against his. His loving gesture turned to anger once more as he saw a shadowy figure move in at the window; he spun Harley around and choked her, using her as a human shield.

“Stay right there, Batman!” The Joker hollered. Nothing. The figure hopped down from the window sil and presented himself. Rather than Batman, it was Nightwing. “Again with the sidekicks! Am I not even worth Brucie’s time any more???”

Nightwing moved through the tiny, disgustingly decaying room. He cast a glance over to the side, and saw Two-Face crumpled up on the floor. Damn – he really wanted to get a shot or two in on the guy before now. Oh well. “Since we’re being so personal with our names now, let Quinn go,” Nightwing spoke, “JACK.”

Joker grinned. No one would ever know his first name. He wasn’t even sure himself. And that was the real joke there, wasn’t it?

Still struggling, Harley managed to belch out a few words. “Puddin’, please, don’t do this…”

“Yeah, just because she finally went for the better man,” Nightwing gulped and wretched as he said these words, “it doesn’t give you the right keep tabs on her…follow her…or own her.”

“You’re right,” the Joker said. “The boy’s right, Harley girl. I guess it’s time we finally parted our ways. You were a great ride while it lasted,” he grinned, “but I guess the better man won.” Harley curled her lips upward – not in a smile, but in more of a lazy sneer.

Nightwing took a step closer, but the Joker scowled. “STAY BACK! I’m not finished! All you youngins today, with your MTV and short attention spans, always cutting off your elders…” so Nightwing stopped walking. “Thank you.”

“cAn YoU bElIeVe ThIs HaRvEy??? I cAn’T – tHaT s.O.b. Is LyInG tHrOuGh HiS yElLoW tEeTh!”

“What’s that expression you guys in the cave use? ‘Nothing good ever happens in Crime Alley’?” The Joker quickly changed his mindset and looked down at Harley with a content, romantic goofy grin on his face. “So let’s take off that make-up of yours, poo -” he raised his left hand under his lapel, “and let’s show the world who you REALLY love.”

“oH bAbY, tHiS iS iT!!!!”

The Joker crushed the left side of Harley’s face into the flower on his lapel and squeezed – hard. Green acid shot in all directions as it melted right through his gloves, parts of her mask, and Harley’s skin. “No puddin’, NO!” she shrieked as he melted her skin, inside out, right before everyone’s. Aside from heavy grunting and breathing as his act of villainy unfolded, the Joker stayed completely silent. No laughter or anything.

With a final croak Harley’s voice died down, a green haze raising from her face. The Joker held her barely-breathing body in his arms and watched her pale skin bubble and pop before him; he couldn’t even recognize her any more. He violently thrashed her to the side and she landed face-first on the dusty floor and slid towards Two-Face’s body, a streak of molten flesh slashed across the splintry floorboards.

Nightwing’s eyes were wide with rage – that was just absolutely disgusting.

“Oh Harvey, I just did you the biggest possible favour. Look at her! Check out that molten face! You’re both the perfect couple of couples now!” The Joker errupted with hysteria and bolted towards the window, looking for an escape.

“I don’t think so,” Nightwing said sternly as the Joker collided with him – he wouldn’t let him get away. Not this time. The two of them fell back towards the window and nearly slipped through; the Joker was still cackling insanely at what he considered to be a truly witty pun.

Harvey opened his eyes as Harley’s dying cooing sounds drifted into his ears. He saw her, half white, half green, bleeding from orifices he didn’t even known could exist on her face…it was so beautiful but so disturbing, like looking into a mirror. He didn’t like it one bit.

“jUsT lEt It Go, YoU gOt LuCkY hErE! lEt HiM aNd GrAySoN dUkE iT oUt. JuSt MaKe A bReAk FoR iT!” Big Bad Harv urged.

“No, I can’t let him get away with this. He’s gotten away with too much now. He has to pay.”

“yOu’Re EvEn StArTeD sOuNdInG lIkE bAtMaN, nOw – GaWd, yOu’Re UnBeLiEvAbLe.”

“Don’t you want to see him dead?”

“…nOw ThAt YoU pUt It ThAt WaY…”

Two-Face kissed two fingers on his right hand and patted them on the unscarred side of Harley’s forehead, just as she let out her last breath. He slowly rose from the floor, still heaving with breath, the slash across his chest burning. His eyes were filled with tears and were blurry from being knocked out besides; he flipped his coin and checked it. Bad Heads. Excellent.

“JOKER!!!!” Two-Face bellowed from deep within; he grabbed for his gun with his left hand and aimlessly fired a round of bullets in the direction of the open window.

Two seconds later, a loud thud errupted as a chunk of matter hit the pavement two storeys below. Two-Face charged to the window, heart pounding; he threw the upper half of his body through the window and looked downward at his kill with pride.

“WHOOOO!!!! Gotta work on your aim, babe!!!!”

As his eyes cleared he saw the Joker standing on the sidewalk, scathed, but still wholly alive, waving gaily. Nightwing lay face down on the pavement, numerous bullet wounds riddling his body. The Joker giggled and pranced away into the shadows.

Two-Face sighed, but then quickly looked upwards as another shadow blocked the rays of moonlight; Batman was standing on the roof of a higher building across the street, staring down at him. He could see the expression on his face, but couldn’t pinpoint it. He only knew one thing:

“hArVeY…wE aRe SoOoOoOoOoOoO dEaD.”

* * * * * * * * * *

ROUND SEVENTEEN

Kicked Off:
HARLEY QUINN (22.7%)
NIGHTWING (19.7%)

Those whom you DID vote for, but they’re still hanging around:
TWO-FACE (18.1%)
THE JOKER (12.1%)
COMMISSIONER GORDON (10.6%)
BATMAN (9.1%)
ALFRED (7.6%)

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

BATMAN
ALFRED
COMMISSIONER GORDON
THE JOKER
TWO-FACE

* * * * * *

Congratulations to our subscriber at dllarson@juno.com for winning an unedited copy of RETURN OF THE JOKER! Now don’t forget to vote, the rest of you!

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 (PST) on May 3, 2001.
___________________________________________________________________

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! (Mwuhahaha!) 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.

FAMILY TREES

526. What is Charlie Collins’ son’s name?

Answer: _________________

527. Poison Ivy’s stepchildren are named…?

Answer: _________________

528. What animated Bat-character has a relative that “glows in the dark”?

Answer: _________________

529. What father of a Bat-villain appears in the GOTHAM ADVENTURES issue titled “Lucky Day”?

Answer: _________________

530. In the animated continuity, is Commissioner Gordon REALLY Barbara’s father OR just her uncle, as noted in the regular comics continuity?

Answer: _________________

531. In which BATMAN BEYOND episode do any of Inque’s blood-relatives appear?

Answer: _________________

532. What are the names of the twins that work for Two-Face in his two-part origin episode?

Answer: _________________

533. What criminal is “the crime doctor” related to?

Answer: _________________

534. The first name of the Phantasm’s father is…?

Answer: _________________

535. Talia has a brother – or, at least, a half-brother. What is his name?

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

Answer to #526: Kenny Collins/Wallace
Answer to #527: Chris & Kelly Carlyle
Answer to #528: Paxton Powers
Answer to #529: Lester Dent
Answer to #530: Yep, he’s definately her father, through and through.
Answer to #531: INQUELING
Answer to #532: Min and Max
Answer to #533: Rupert Thorne
Answer to #534: Carl
Answer to #535: Arkady Duvall
_____________________________________________________________________
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, STAS and BEYOND countless times. If you have anything to contribute, feel free to do so! Enjoy!

CONTRIBUTED BY STAFF:
1) In JOKER’S FAVOR, just before Bullock takes a rather large handful of hors d’ouerves, take a look at the waiter about to serve him – it’s the same one that was waiting on Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent, and Pamela Isley at the Rose Cafe in PRETTY POISON.

2) The climax of APPOINTMENT IN CRIME ALLEY takes place a the S.R.O. Hotel – a name Dr. Leslie Thompkins mentions. Doesn’t S.R.O. stand for “Standing Room Only”? Is this supposed to be some type of joke?

CONTRIBUTED BY OTHERS:
We actually had something this time. Why didn’t you?? ;-Y
____________________________________________________________________
FIGURE THIS OUT!
(by Marc Rosenzweig)

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

BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES
ISSUE: “Images” (#37)
WRITTEN BY: Scott Peterson
PENCILS: Tim Levins
INKS: Terry Beatty
ISSUED: April 4, 2001 (Cover date June 2001)
RATING: ***** (out of 5 stars)

Long live the campy era! OK, in all honesty, thank God it’s long gone, but it’s always great to see it get worked into a contemporary story in a tasteful, nostalgic style. This was done superbly in the LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT episode, and Peterson does it terrificly again, here.

The in-jokes to Dick Sprang’s hayday with DC Comics was great – right down to how absolutely cheesy the story was. Perfect example – Batman is chasing the Joker and ultimately catches him, but then realizes that the Joker hadn’t done anything wrong (believe it or not), so they were just in a chase sequence just for the sake of doing so. The whole “damsel in distress” cliche was great, too. Of course, Levins’ art depicting the style at the time fit perfectly. (Great to see the golden-age Penguin involved this time, might I add!)

The master stroke of this issue was how Peterson tied the campiness in to the present. I don’t really see why the Mad Hatter would really care if Batman were happy or not (even though, when all is said and done, Tetch isn’t THAT bad of a person, really – just whacked out of his gourd), but looking at how Batman never really is truly happy was a great theme to the issue. Using the campiness of the past to portray this “happiness” was a very clever method to achieve this.

I originally thought this was just going to be an issue filled with goofy silliness and fun, but it turned out to be a lot more.

* * * * * *

BATMAN BEYOND
ISSUE: “Royal Mayhem” (#19)
WRITTEN BY: Hilary Bader
PENCILS: Craig Rousseau
INKS: Rob Leigh
ISSUES: March 28, 2001 (Cover date May 2001)
RATING: *** (out of 5 stars)

, “Royal Mayhem”, was a pretty good issue. I haven’t seen Ma Mayhem’s appearance on TV quite yet, but I enjoyed the characterization of her and her gang here. A cheesy villain to be sure, but still an interesting one. (She sort of seems like an updated version of Ma Parker from the 60’s series to me.)

What really shone out in this issue was the characterization of Princess Vinishra and her interplay with Terry. Yes, it does seem a little coincidental and possibly stereotypical that she’s in Gotham on a trade mission – almost as if she’s just put here to put her in trouble – but Hilary Bader pulls it off very well.

Vinishra is almost like Princess Jasmine (of ALADDIN fame) gone bad. She, too, just wants to be a normal person that can walk the streets without bodyguards surrounding her, but the difference is that everyone wants to kill her. Her innocence to the travesties her fictitious country has committed is well done, and her royal attitude is exemplified even further in pestering Terry for an uneeded apology for bothering her about littering. I don’t know why, but everything just seemed to mesh well in this story and I quite enjoyed it.

The best part of this issue was the art. Craig Rousseau was terrific as usual, ditto for Rob Leigh, but the difference were the colours. I can’t recall if Shannon Blanchard has ever coloured for the series before, but I will say that this issue was brighter and more three-dimensional (thanks to some great shading) than usual.

;-Y
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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 (or higher) in Canada. (Both our editors and many subscribers are Canadian, hence the well-deserved “grrr”.)

If we are unsure of the exact date of when an issue is being released, just check out “DIRECT CURRENTS” for details:
http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/

-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #38
May 2nd
Synopsis: Robin and Batgirl track down a ski-masked criminal who is targeting middle-aged males and sending them to the hospital. But what connection does this have to little-league hockey games?
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages260083.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH:
June 6th
Written by Scott Peterson; art by Tim Levins and Terry Beatty; cover by Bob Smith and Beatty.
The Bat-team investigates odd, possibly dangerous occurrences at a production of Macbeth and are surprised to discover that the leading man is actually a very large and malleable Arkham inmate in disguise. Looks like Clayface is back.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0103/13/BGothAd39.htm

BATMAN BEYOND #20
April 25th
Synopsis: Terry comes across a childhood friend who has started to run with the wrong crowd, specifically the gang known as the Jokerz. Can Terry keep his old friend from going down the wrong path and beginning a life of crime – or is this a job for Batman?
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages256686.jpg

FOLLOWING MONTH:
May 30th
Written by Hilary Bader; art by Rick Burchett and Dan Davis; cover by Brian Stelfreeze
The Justice League Unlimited make their comic-book debut! One of the most popular episodes of the Batman Beyond cartoon show featured a futuristic version of the JLA – the Justice League Unlimited – and now they appear for the first time in the BATMAN BEYOND comic-book! Batman teams up with the JLU in a high-voltage adventure as they battle a new villain called Blacklight!
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages260082.jpg
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NEWS AND RUMORSALL-ENCOMPASSING/OTHER
-MSN has a Bat-quiz online. Check it out! All us diehard fans should be able to get 100%!
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/mcgarry/batman/main.asp
-The Eisner Awards nominations were announced on April 10; here’s a list of the Batman-related nominations. For a full list go to http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0104/11/index.htm .
-BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST (INTERIOR ART)
-George Pratt; Batman: Harvest Breed
-BEST COVER ARTIST
-Brian Bolland; Batman: Gotham Knights, The Flash, the Invisibles…what? That’s IT? Only two? Wow, those comics guys just aren’t reading the right comics!-Sign a petition in an attempt to get a soundtrack CD set of BTAS music produced! Go here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/2454/petition.html
-According to the Billboard Charts, ROTJ was the sixth-highest selling kids’ genre video in 2000.
-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, JLA)
-BATMAN BEYOND is airing on GLOBAL in Canada, again! Check out GLOBAL at 3:10am on Thursdays
-WE HAVE LOTS OF JLA STUFF HERE FOR YOU, TOO!
For example, here’s the run-down of everyone doing the voices of major characters on the show:
-Batman (Kevin Conroy, of course)
-Superman (George Newbern)
-Green Lantern (Phil LaMarr)
-Wonder Woman (Susan Eisenberg)
-Hawkgirl (Maria Canals)
-Martian Manhunter (Carl Lumby)
-Flash (Michael Rosenbaum)
-The injustice league includes two arch-foes that have already appeared in the animated series, each character still being voiced by the same voice actor:
-The Joker (Mark Hamill)
-Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown)
-COMICSCONTINUUM has snagged a huge interview with Bruce Timm on this series. Here are some things we learned…and go to the following URL for the full interview:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0104/24/jlaindex.htm
*November 2001 will be the premiere date.
*26 half-hour episodes were ordered for this coming season.
*Though the show is set in the same continuity of the current Batman and Superman shows, don’t expect the show to stick to it 100%.
*The painted backgrounds for the show will be more realistic and less stylized than they were on the other shows.
*The style of the show will look more like the original BTAS series, not the “new” designs of BTAS, BEYOND, or SUPERMAN. Yes, Batman got a new character design once again. Superman and the Flash still look pretty much the same. For a pic of them, go here:
http://www.cinescape.com/insider/jla010424a.jpg
*Storyboards of the pilot has been completed and are ready to be shipped overseas to begin production.
*The crew behind JL is still unsure whether the show will air as an hour or 30 minutes. It does look like it’ll be in a prime-time slot, though!
*There will be episodes focusing on specific characters. A Wonder Woman episode is currently in the works. An Aquaman episode is expected, and a Green Lantern episode (the premiere) has already been greenlighted.
*There will be a sub-plot throughout the season, behind each epic battle, that will lead to a big finale. (Much like how the first seasons of BATMAN BEYOND and SUPERMAN were structured.)
*Along with Lex Luthor and the Joker, other villains appearing on the series will be:
Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, Shade, Copperhead, the Ultrahumanite, and probably Darkseid in the future (season two). Expect other DC Universe villains (including those from Gotham and Metropolis) to appear as well.
*Rich Fogel is the supervising/writing producer.
*Stan Berkowitz is the major staff writer.
*Glen Murakami and James Tucker are the artists and co-producers.
*Butch Lukic and Dan Riba are the directors.
*Andrea Romano is back as the voice director.
*Regarding the music of the series, no contracts have been signed as of yet, but Timm hopes to get Shirley Walker and all of the other BTAS, STAS, and BEYOND composers to contribute to the music for JLA.
*The first episode arc of the series will feature how the JLA got together.

ANIMATED COMICS
-BATMAN BEYOND #24 and SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #66 (probably) will be the last issue of each series, as each of the comic series based on the animated series is being cancelled. It looks like BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES is still making the cut, though.
-Just as with all WB animated series, the JLA animated series will also recieve a tie-in animated book, drawn in the animated style. It is tentatively entitled “JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES.”
-Comic writer Paul Storrie will be writing two issues of the BATMAN BEYOND comic series; the first is set to be released in July (#23), and the other a few months later.
-In a chat conducted with Tim Levins, he has confirmed that the following villains will all be showing up in GOTHAM ADVENTURES over the next few issues: Talia, the Riddler, Clayface (Issue # 39), and a solo Harley story.
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #39
Written by Scott Peterson; art by Tim Levins and Terry Beatty; cover by Bob Smith and Beatty.
In stores June 6. Batman and Co. investigate odd, possibly dangerous occurrences at a production of Macbeth and are surprised to discover that the leading man is actually a very large and malleable Arkham inmate in disguise. Yep, Clayface is back.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0103/13/BGothAd39.htm
-BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #40
Written by Scott Peterson; art by Tim Levins and Terry Beatty; cover by Bob Smith and Beatty.
In stores July 4. Mr. Freeze is back in Gotham City, and he’s looking for a way to bring about a new Ice Age. But he`s not working alone this time – there’s a mysterious person who has gotten Freeze to implement this latest plan. Batman must figure out what Freeze is looking for, what he`s trying to do and who`s got the influence over Freeze to push him toward this mad plan. But time is running out.
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages269036.jpg
-BATMAN BEYOND #21
Written by Hilary Bader; art by Rick Burchett and Dan Davis; cover by Brian Stelfreeze
In stores May 30. The Justice League Unlimited make their comic-book debut! One of the most popular episodes of the Batman Beyond cartoon show featured a futuristic version of the JLA – the Justice League Unlimited – and now they appear for the first time in the BATMAN BEYOND comic-book! Batman teams up with the JLU in a high-voltage adventure as they battle a new villain called Blacklight!
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages260082.jpg
-BATMAN BEYOND #22
Written by Hilary Barta; art by Rick Burchett and Dan Davis; cover by Brian Stelfreeze.
In stores June 27. The conclusion to “In Blackest Day,” guest-starring the Justice League Unlimited. Batman and the JLU battle the strange new threat called Blacklight for the life and power of JLU member Green Lantern.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0103/13/BB22.htm
-BAMTAN BEYOND #23
Written by Paul Storrie; art by Craig Rousseau and Rob Leigh; cover by Darwyn Cooke.
In stores July 25. There`s a new “King” in town, and he`s putting together a new Royal Flush Gang. Is Batman playing with a full deck when he asks “Ten” to help him take down this dangerous and motley crew?
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages269033.jpg

-For more animated comic updates, go here:
http://www.toonzone.net/worldsfinest/bbeyond/previews.html

OTHER COMICS
-Greg Rucka has told FANDOM.com that one of the characters in the Superman comics will be moving over to the Batman comics permanently. He won’t say who or when, exactly – just that it will be later this year.
-DETECTIVE COMICS #760: Part two of Rucka’s Mad Hatter story finds Montoya and Allen locked up at the GCPD and the rest of the cops under his control. This also features part two of
Brubaker’s back-up Catwoman story.
-BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #19: Chuck Dixon jumps on board as a guest writer!
-BATMAN #593: An alien appears in Gotham – no joke. And I doubt it’s Superman. It somehow ties in with the OUR WORLDS AT WAR storyline this year. Oh well – maybe Brubaker can pull it off!
-AZRAEL #80: Scott McDaniel begins doing the cover pencils for the series with this issue. Fear not, he will still remain on the BATMAN crew, too.
-Here’s a more detailed look at the previously-reported upcoming October 2001 event at DC:
Written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, Art by Various, Covers by Brian Bolland, Six issues, Fourth Quarter 2001 The madcap madness of the Joker – one of the most heinous criminals in DCU history – is about to be multiplied a dozenfold this fall. When the Joker believes his days are numbered after a medical exam reveals a spot on his brain, he decides to go out with a bang – developing a way to `Jokerize` the other villains of the DC Universe and have them do his bidding. Beginning in Last Laugh, a six-part weekly series in the month of October and first week of November, the `Joker madness` then spreads into nearly all the DCU titles that month, as the world`s superheroes must face their already deadly enemies who now have unpredictable, murderous `Joker personalities`.
-Each of the “Big 7” JLA members will be recieving a prose-novel treatment in 2001. First up is a Batman novel by Alan Grant; each novel will sport a cover by Alex Ross.
-Here is a preliminary cover of Catwoman’s new ongoing series (entitled CATWOMAN: VOLUME TWO):
http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages267930.jpg
-Later this year, DC will be taking a shot at attractive new BATMAN readers by offering a full-length, in-continuity one-shot by Greg Rucka and Rich Burchett entitled BATMAN: THE TEN CENT ADVENTURE – seriously, DC will actually sell it for 10 cents! It will also tie in with an important upcoming BATMAN storyline entitled BRUCE WAYNE: FUGITIVE.
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages267928.jpg
-Also in DETECTIVE COMICS #759, a new back-up serial will start, finally replacing THE JACOBIAN: “The Search for Catwoman!” Batman must face having to take down Detectives Montoya and Allen after they commit a daring armed robbery. What is behind their sudden act of crime, and can Batman uncover the truth before more of Gotham PD fall prey to this criminal behavior? Plus, a special 4-part backup begins this issue, written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart, as legendary DC character Slam Bradley investigates the missing Catwoman.
-LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #142-145 features a four-part “The Demon Laughs” storyline where Ra’s Al Ghul seeks the Joker’s assistance to obliterate Batman and take over the world (and so forth).
Cover of part 1: http://www.dccomics.com/directcurrents/comics/Apr04/covers/down/dlodk142.jpg
Cover of part 2: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages260072.jpg
Cover of part 3: http://www.batman.com/directcurrents/comics/Jun06/covers/down/dlodk144.jpg
Cover of part 4: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages269020.jpg
-CATWOMAN #93: Catwoman and the Scarecrow clash again
http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages256688.jpg
-HARLEY QUINN #9: There’s a price on Harley’s head, and everyone in Gotham knows it, turning Harley’s shopping spree into a deadly disaster. Meanwhile, there’s trouble brewin’ with the Quinntettes, the Stooges make another stab at capturing Harley, and a very familiar face to Batman readers joins Harley’s henchmen.
Cover: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0103/13/HQ9.htm
-HARLEY QUINN #10: Barbara Gordon returns as Batgirl??? Oh, and Croc’s still got his hands full with Harley, too.
Cover: http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages269038.jpg
-HARLEY QUINN #12 will be an extra-sized issue featuring Harley, Bo, Surley, and Killer Croc.

MOVIES
-For videos of the cut scenes from the edited ROTJ video, go here:
http://4colorreview.simplenet.com/reviews/return_of_the_joker/return_of_the_joker.shtml
-Paul Dini is pondering ideas for a second BATMAN BEYOND direct-to-video movie, but nothing, repeat, NOTHING has been greenlit by the studio just yet.

*BATMAN: YEAR ONE (BATMAN 5) NEWS:
-On April 26, 2001, Darren Aronofsky confirmed that “today [is] the actual signing day” for the movie.
-The projected release date for this movie will be sometime in 2002 – but I wouldn’t say it’d be out ’til a year or two after that.
-YEAR ONE will be set in the 1970’s.
-Aaron Eckhart (ERIN BROKOVICH), originally pegged to play the young Batman, has now been said to be “set to play the young Commissioner Gordon”, according to E! Online.
-Jack Nicholson IS still interested in doing another Bat-film if he were ever asked by the WB; unfortunately, they can’t seem to get around the fact that his character died in the first movie.
-Read an interview with Darren Aronofsky here:
http://www.fandom.com/batman/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=248753

*BATMAN: YEAR TWO (BATMAN 6) NEWS:
-Yep, you guessed it! The sequel-hungry WB is already planning a sequel to Aronofsky’s YEAR ONE adaption. Whether this is going to be based on the YEAR TWO comic storyline (which, in my opinion, is NOT that great) or another story (like a LONG HALLOWEEN or an original tale) is unknown.

*BATMAN BEYOND: LIVE ACTION NEWS:
-Word has it that Dini & Co. are moving well along with their script, and it may be in the second draft already!
-This is NOT official, but rumblings at the WB seem to indicate BATMAN BEYOND will make it to theatres before YEAR ONE does.

*BATMAN BEYOND: THE FOURTH ANIMATED MOVIE
-Nothing new today…just expect it to revolve around Nightwing, folks.

*CATWOMAN
-According to FANDOM, Ashley Judd has agreed to play Catwoman in the upcoming film; of course, this could be a mistake, and maybe she has actually signed on to play Catwoman in Darren Aronofsky’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE movie.
Go here for details: http://www.fandom.com/batman/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=267816
-John Rogers is writing the script.
-Denise DeNovi (producer of BATMAN RETURNS) is producing the film.
-Batman has yet to officially have a cameo appearance.
-It looks like this Catwoman won’t even be named Selina Kyle…apparently a new “mousy geeky girl” named Patience Prude is donning the Cat-cowl. Ugh – what’s up with that?
-For a review of the script, go here: http://filmforce.ign.com//articles/50949p1.html
-(Can someone please explain to me how this even works as a Batman film? Or even a spin-off?)

LIVE ACTION TELEVISION
-BATMAN & ROBIN will make its network TV premiere on CBS on Friday, May 18th, at 8pm.
-More Batman/ONSTAR commercials are in the works! During the Academy Awards ceremony, a commercial entitled “Hot Date”, featuring an attack of the Penguin keeping Batman from being able to show up for a date with Vicki Vale on time. This can be found at ONSTAR.COM and ADCRITIC.COM.
-The fifth ONSTAR webisode, featuring (sorta) the Riddler and the Penguin, is now online, too.
-For a current airing schedule for the 1966 Adam West series, click here:
http://www.scifi.com/bin/schedulebot.cgi?wd=w&s=batman&ds=1&db=US%3AEastern&mon=4.01
-Proudction of SMALLVILLE series is underway in Vancouver, BC, Canada; the pilot episode is nearing completion.

EXCLUSIVE INTERNET ENDEAVOURS:
-BATMAN and future CATWOMAN writer Ed Brubaker now has his own web domain:
http://www.edbrubaker.com
-Sad news…one of the best and most official sites out there, the one at FANDOM.COM, will be shutting down, along with all the other internet FANDOM sites. We don’t have a specific date yet, though.
-More “Gotham Girls” episodes are on the way! Paul Dini has already scripted a Catwoman/Zatanna team-up, and it looks like Hilary Bader will be writing a number of other ones, too.

TOYS, BOOKS, AND OTHER MERCHANDISE
-The Superman: The Movie (1978) DVD will be released in Canada and the US on May 1st, 2001.
-A new Poison Ivy statue will be available on September 26 from DC Direct. Here’s a picture:
http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages265326.jpg
-A Harley Quinn snowglobe is due out on November 21. Here’s a picture:
http://www.fandom.com/multimedia/Batman/Images/BatmanImages265335.jpg
-SPECIAL EDITION DVDs of all four live-action Batman movies (BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER, BATMAN & ROBIN) will be for sale by this Christmas! Included on these DVDs (particularly BATMAN and BATMAN FOREVER) will be additional footage, trailers, behind the scenes info, and more!!!!! We’ll keep you posted!
-WARNER BROS. STUDIO STORES are closing at the end of April 2001; this is somehow due to the merger between AOL and TIME WARNER a number of months ago. Bigger stores (such as in Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, New York) will stay open longer, but will ultimately be shutting down. Thanks to “Grimm Doomm” in Columbus, OH, for this unfortunate news.

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
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FEATURED BATMAN INTERNET ENDEAVOUR FOR THIS ISSUE
(feel free to submit something for our consideration)

-by Michael Mays

I’ve recently started a petition to get some of Shirley Walker’s fantastic music (and that of other artists) from BTAS and TNBA released on CD (much like the BATMAN BEYOND television soundtrack). We need all the signatures we can get, and as of right now the total stands at 56. If you could mention it in a future newsletter, I’d appreciate it very much. The URL is…

http://www.petitiononline.com/2454/petition.html
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ANIMATED BATMAN/SUPERMAN SITES:

Wow, our links section has grown so big that we’ve had to eliminate it from the newsletter! Fear not, you can still find all these links at the WORLD’S FINEST NEWSPAGE, if you follow this link…that’s hypocracy for ya!

http://www.toonzone.net/worldsfinest/worldsfinestpage/linkpage.htm

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.
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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 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/news/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
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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, & WORKING, TOO!: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
CO-EDITOR AT COLLEGE, ALSO WORKIN’: “Dick Grayson”
AIR DATE SCHEDULES: Toonzone, Kids’WB!, and YTV
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
‘RETURN OF THE JOKER’ GIVEAWAY: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
FIGURE THIS OUT: Marc Rosenzweig
“BTAN ARCHIVES” MODERATOR: Eileen Delgadillo
TRIVIA: Tim “TWO-FACE” Leighton
PROMOTIONS, JUST GETTIN’ THE WORD OUT: 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 2001.
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Batman The Animated Newsletter #91

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