Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)- The best ABOUT the Caped Crusader, but not the best WITH the Caped Crusader

Throughout the past half century of cinematic releases with the Dark Knight himself, there has been many different iterations on the well-known comic book character of Batman. Some have worked better than the others but this mostly has to do with the filmmakers of these movies not so much as looking to adapt the characters straight from the source material but make their own movies around Batman while still finding a place within the established lore. However, there have been a handful of exceptions to this matter. Some instances where the filmmakers don’t so much care about putting their own “spin” on the character but translate that character onto the big screen exactly the way he was from the source material it came from. Nothing with a grand version or bold take on the caped crusader but just makes the character exactly the way he was intended to be from the material that comic book fans have always loved. One of these cases is with Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

Mask of the Phantasm is based around the 90s hit Batman: The Animated Series and was the first ever feature film with Batman to be fully animated. However, unlike with a numerous amount of movies based off of tv shows (think the last two Spongebob movies), this does feels like a legit movie made for theatres and not so much as three to four episodes of the show smashed into one. You don’t need to have seen the show itself to fully understand the context of the story that plays out here (You should definitely check the show though). This movie stands perfectly well on it’s own terms and works all the more better because of it.

Which honestly makes it all the more strange is despite the fact there have been numerous amount of Batman movies over the years, Mask of the Phantasm seems to be the one that actually puts major focus on Bruce Wayne/Batman themselves. There’s more time and focus spent on the actual titled character than any other movie that has come before or after. The film explores the psyche of Bruce of how he’s defined by the guilt over the death of his parents and the needs to commit vigilante act of justice so that no one else will have to suffer the same fate he has.

These themes plays greatly in the relationship between Andrea Beaumont and Bruce Wayne, which is easily the most compelling yet sad romance in any of the Batman movies thus far. Even more so than with Selina Kyle in Batman Returns, their love can be seen as an absolute Greek tragedy. These are two people who despite doing what’s right for others, always need to have the sacrifice the rights they have for themselves, even their own happiness. Because of that, they have always been left cold and empty on the inside. That is until they meet each other once again.

It’s with the love that Bruce has for Andrea that he sees as the one last chance he has with living a normal life. Despite always being Batman because of the constant belief need to act when he can, Bruce deep downs knows that his parents would still want him to settle down and have a life with the one person that he loves most. Andrea is a woman that represents everything Bruce could want with a wife, she’s strong, interesting, attractive, secretive, compassionate, and will do anything that is best for him. More than anything, Andrea is basically Bruce’s one way ticket towards actual happiness. That is until we look at the real villain of the picture.

While the Joker has a presence within the film itself, the real center antagonist is the Phantasm. Just like with Batman, the Phantasm is a multi-skilled fighter with clearly material arts training who wears a masks and pursues vigilante justice. However, the Phantasm takes a step beyond what Batman is known for and straight up murders the criminal bosses that have plagued Gotham City. So much so that people in Gotham actually believe the Phantasm to be Batman. This is where it starts to get personal for Bruce. Not just with how the public sees as Batman but how Bruce himself sees Batman. Batman, at least in this movie anyway, is not someone who vows for death and destruction from bad guys. It’s his limitations and own personal, unwritten rules. It would make him no better than the the criminals that he always chases down and the bad man who shot his parents in cold blood. The Phantasm represents everything that Batman fears he would become. And this gets all the more personal with it’s revealed that the Phantasm is Andrea herself.

That’s right! The woman that Bruce has fallen in love with and was willing to give up on being the Batman for is in fact, the Phantasm. The figure that represents the dark and broken angle of Batman is no other than the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. What makes this antagonist work brilliantly is how the tragic past that Andrea has gone through perfectly mirrors the one that Bruce himself have dealt with. Just like with Bruce, she had to deal with the death of her father and the baggage that he carried with him even after he had died. The killer of her father, Carl Beaumont, is revealed to be the Joker. In a way, that makes the Joker in this movie feel more of a villain to the Phantasm rather than Batman. And like how its perfectly align with the Phantasm to want to kill the Joker, it’s align with Batman that he demands he spares his life as death is what will welcome him. It also goes into depths to show just how Joker murdering her father has consumed the goodwill inside Andrea herself. Despite wanting to represent vengeance, she has acted with no limits or restrictions of her own. Unlike with Bruce as Batman, Andrea as Phantasm takes a step too far and makes herself no better than every single criminal that she has murdered. Andrea as the Phantasm is not just what Bruce fears to be as Batman but is practically the exact monster that the Joker is. The evil in Gotham that Joker and others have created is so cruel that it ruined the lives of both Bruce and Andrea. It robbed Bruce of a chance to spend his life moving on from Batman with a woman that he cherishes and it made someone as good-hearted as Andrea bring out the worst version of herself that she can never move beyond.

More or less, Mask of the Phantasm perfectly illustrates how Batman is not just a symbol for Gotham City but also represents a tragedy for Bruce Wayne. With losing his parents, seeing good people become evil, watching as criminals strike fear into the heart and soul of Gotham, that showcases how being Batman is difficult just like that. But it’s his tragic relationship with Andrea that shows that no matter how hard he tries, Bruce Wayne can just never escape being Batman. It’s something that will haunt him for as long as he lives. Whether it’s a personal connection or not, there will always be something that traces back to Bruce as Batman. He can never move past it, because Batman is and always will be Bruce Wayne’s destiny. He can dread it, run from it, but destiny will arrive all the same!

When ranking it with the other Batman movies, Mask of the Phantasm is the best Bruce Wayne/Batman movie thus far. That being said, it’s not my favorite movie WITH Batman but it’s the best movie ABOUT Batman. That’s the key difference right there. To me, it’s like comparing Spider-Man 2 and Into the Spider-Verse. Spider-Man 2 is my favorite movie WITH Spider-Man in it because that represents more than just Peter Parker and Spider-Man themselves, it represents us all and the struggles we go through in our daily lives. However, Into the Spider-Verse is far in a way the best movie ABOUT Spider-Man, since more than any other Spidey movie, it represents perfectly how Spider-Man is as a character, figure, and an inspiration along with how anyone can be their own version of Spider-Man. That’s similarly how I am with Mask of the Phantasm compare to a few others Batman movies I prefer just a tad bit more than this one.

Like I said in the beginning, there are plenty of Batman movies that are more centered around the stories they tell themselves that just so happens to have Batman in it. Many have succeed, some even more so than this movie, while others have failed. But, there really hasn’t been a motion picture that show the inner turmoil of Bruce Wayne as a character and the tragic figure that Batman himself represents than with Mask ofthe Phantasm.

And for what I’ve been seeing and hearing about the upcoming The Batman, this might be the one Batman movie to take a look upon if you haven’t already. If the trailers and inspiration for the movie are anything to go by, this could potential be a perfect compliment to what Matt Reeves’s adaptation of the character will be .

A couple of side notes:

• It’s incredibly how despite this coming out in 1993, the animation still holds up pretty well albeit a bit stiff at times.
• Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are the definite versions of Batman and Joker as far as I’m concerned.
• It’s nice to see for once in a movie that Batman, A.K.A. the World’s Greatest Detective, gets to actually be the World’s Great Detective. Just something I thought was nice.
• The soundtrack is great as well!
• What in the world was Warner Bros thinking releasing this movie on Christmas day?!

Next Up: Batman Forever