Batman mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman movie
- Thread starter David Rice
- Start date
I read The Killing Joke and never understood the why it was considered so great.
Mask of the Phantasm's my favorite Batman movie. My primary Batman continuities will always be the Silver and Bronze Age Batman and post-Crisis to Zero Hour Batman, but BTAS/the DCAU is easily third.
Prior to 1988, the absurdity of Batman and the Jokers' never-ending cyclical relationship hadn't ever really been deconstructed before and also the Joker hadn't ever really been given much of a motivation or an origin. TKJ changed all that and also eliminated Batgirl (back when continuity still mattered) all in one fell swoop. And on top of that it's a technical masterpiece (my personal favorite bit's the panels of rain that bookend the story and symbolically bring the main theme full-circle). And finally, in the late 1980s/early 1990s, DC took full advantage of both the popularity of Alan Moore and Bat-mania to hype the holy hell out of it (I'm pretty sure that at least a dozen of us in my 9th-grade class had a Brian Bolland Joker t-shirt).
Prior to 1988, the absurdity of Batman and the Jokers' never-ending cyclical relationship hadn't ever really been deconstructed before and also the Joker hadn't ever really been given much of a motivation or an origin. TKJ changed all that and also eliminated Batgirl (back when continuity still mattered) all in one fell swoop. And on top of that it's a technical masterpiece (my personal favorite bit's the panels of rain that bookend the story and symbolically bring the main theme full-circle). And finally, in the late 1980s/early 1990s, DC took full advantage of both the popularity of Alan Moore and Bat-mania to hype the holy hell out of it (I'm pretty sure that at least a dozen of us in my 9th-grade class had a Brian Bolland Joker t-shirt).
I have not seen either (no excuse for Mask of the Phantasm) but a lot of people share that opinion
Mask of the Phantasm and Under the Red Hood are both excellent. I'm still partial to The Dark Knight just for being live-action among other reasons. But Mask of the Phantasm is a must see for any fan of the character.