Batman: the Killing Joke Film Review

I uploaded this video TWICE yesterday, and WB blocked both of them the second they uploaded. Not just claimed- blocked worldwide so that nobody could actually watch it. So I painstakingly went through the video double-checking every individual cut and replacing them with clips short enough to avoid tripping KZbin's Content ID Systems. This all after I'd angsted, second-guessed, re-written, and re-recorded several chunks of this video trying to get my thoughts to come out intelligently, dial back venom, and address counter-arguments thoughtfully without obsessing over them.
All for what was meant to be a quick little video to kill time while I bought a house.
Funny how things work out sometimes.

[@Darklordjadow1]

So here's a fun bit of info for future reference: Warner Brothers are massive dicks when it comes to KZbin's Content ID system. If the system catches a single clip from WB, your video gets blocked worldwide. I uploaded this video twice yesterday only for it to get blocked each time- once over a video clip that was eight and a half seconds long! The only reason this version seems to be staying up is because I've deduced that KZbin's Content ID doesn't seem to catch clips that are kept under 7 seconds long, and let me tell you: the re-editing process was a massive pain in the ass.

[@ellnats]

there are a few DC animated movies i love, flashpoint paradox for some of its action and art, under the red hood is good because i can see myself pissing off batman by doing what he wont do (or is a fucking hypocrite about) but if i had to chose my all time favorite, it would be New Frontier, mostly because its got classic stuff, and it got me to read the actual story

[@Keyfur91]

And yet you still went out of your way to upload this video. That is dedication I can respect Darklordjadow1. (raises fist for a fist bump)

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@Keyfur91 (reciprocates the fist bump) What can I say; I'd sunk too much time into the review to walk away empty-handed.

[@jonchilders7363]

@Darklordjadow1 What are your thoughts on the " Batman strangles the Joker" theory? Also, will you be picking up Persona 5 Royal when it comes out?

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@jonchilders7363 I didn't get that "strangling" vibe at all from the comic, but there's compelling logic behind it... except because DC made Killing Joke canon it's pretty much a moot point now. I have literally no prior exposure or knowledge of the Persona games beyond Joker's inclusion in Smash Ultimate, so no.

[@elin111]

It's unforunate that DC can't get their act together in the movie department. Shazam and Aquaman were hits but it's clear that they're still scrambling to figure out what might work and don't have a cohesive plan yet.

[@demsterclippy4252]

I really think by this point DC should try to make the opposite move to Marvel. Rather than making them feel connected, make them solo hero movies like they use to be long before the MCU was a hit. After all, as awesome as Shazam is, one of the biggest reasons why it was successful is the fact that its something you can enjoy by itself, timelessly engaging, and most importantly, an incredibly lighthearted film that focuses on the more human side of a superhero while choosing to keep it small for its own stories. Even when marvel makes smaller movies like the spiderman, ant-man or GotG movies, they can't help but always wanna link them to other movies, make this grand and huge (even if it doesn't fit), and make them feel so big they become less and less relatable and/or more of the same films. I think DC should start making solo hero movies that are not only different from Marvel, but maybe also very different from each other. Perhaps making some animated ones too like how Sony did with Spiderverse? Because that's another wonderful superhero movie that took benefit from having nothing to do with the MCU. Sure, its a risk but by this point I think the last thing they should do is replicate marvel.

[@ellnats]

no doubt they try to fridge shazam and aquaman because their actually good

[@philiprearich3480]

It wasn't just Mark Hamill that wanted The Killing Joke movie. There was even a fan campaign that ran for a few years. I even signed the petition. And after seeing the movie, I kinda regret it. There's also so many ways that they could've expanded on the material without the shitty prologue. Or if they were going to do a prologue, make it less cringey. Maybe just have her retired because she feels that the superhero life just isn't for her like it is for Bruce and others and wants to do something else, like work for the police or become a schoolteacher. They also could've expanded on the ending too. Show a depiction of Barbara's recovery process, with several DC characters coming to see her in the hospital, like Dick Grayson and Supergirl. Better yet, show James Gordon going to see his daughter after the whole ordeal is over, and maybe even have Barbara's mom come in too, because after everything she's been through, she's gonna need all the support she can get. A very good scene in Under the Red Hood is Jason Todd questioning why Batman lets Joker live after EVERYTHING he's done and they coulda had a similar scene in this movie, with someone questioning Batman when enough is enough, and even Batman himself questioning this. Better yet, show a scene of Batman visiting Barbara while she's asleep in the hospital, he doesn't say anything, but has a breakdown and cries. The Dark Knight had a similar scene with Bruce talking to Alfred about how he feels responsible for Joker killing Rachel and scarring Harvey. Have a scene where Joker is on trial for his crimes, and both Barbara and Jim are called to the stand and it's very traumatic for them to relive their experiences and they feel it's seemingly pointless because he always gets out, but if they don't do it, then the Joker would have gotten the best of em and they're stronger than that. That all probably sounds cliche, but it's something.

[@shcdemolisher]

And have Joker executed because the asylum can't hold him like at all. Just an extra detail.

[@SundayReplayjp]

You verbally articulated the bile that pooled in the back of my throat when I first watched this movie so well. Thank you, dude.

[@idongesitusen5764]

That prologue not only slams her character in general, it also shoots Barb's DCAU canon in the foot; Barbara became Batgirl of her own will, first to set her father free then to make Gotham better. This just makes her a pining teen fangirl. let's hope they don't do Kyle Rayner's origin on screen.

[@dustinj918]

A hot-headed Batgirl who has trouble controlling her rage could work. Think about it, she starts out like a normal Batgirl, but the stress of constantly seeing villains put away only to break out, the constant pain and suffering they cause, and believing she might not be good enough to live up to the legacy of the Bat, makes her grow more angry and violent, until she nearly beats a crook to death. This drives a wedge between her and Batman, and it results in a fight. That could make for a much more compelling movie. Instead, we get an adaptation that no one wanted, and that quickly was deservedly shunned and forgotten. And yeah, reading about that prologue convinced me to never touch the movie with a 100 foot pole. All in all, this is a movie that should have been left in Development Hell. And you know what else? All this makes me want to watch Batman Vs The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... and I don't even like TMNT. Also, doesn't this technically count as a Terror from the Library? Finally, sorry to hear about the Content ID issues. I was wondering why the video wouldn't play yesterday.

[@Darklordjadow1]

There are plenty of ways to give Batgirl compelling flaws, but the entire prologue is just focused on "lol, sex". It's a huge wasted opportunity and you just want to clap all the characters involved. Batman Versus TMNT is really good, but I am a big fan of TMNT. It does enough fun things with Batman's rogues that I think you'll still enjoy it. Holy crap; this does count as Terrors of the Library; I didn't think of that!

[@ingamingpc1634]

Batman versus the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a good film

[@jeremyallen492]

It'd honestly be a lot more fun watching the main character slowly lose their faith in Batman's morals and descend down a very slippery slope as they try to cling to his backwards morality in a world where the villains mock everything he (supposedly) stands for with each innocent life that they take (Seriously, if Bats actually gave a dook about the city he'd spend his fortune on improving the aspects that lead to the cities rampant crime instead of wasting his cash moonlighting as a crime fighting furry and putting untreatable sociopaths in positions that they can easily escape from)

[@teagardner5310]

The only time I heard the "only for the fans" argument was with Suicide Squad, and look how well that turned out.

[@elin111]

A bunch of Godzilla zealots tried to use that cheap excuse to defend Godzilla PS4.

[@feedthemeat543f]

I personally think that argument is insulting since if you really gave a shit about the fans you'd produce something decent. Not half assed garbage like suicide squad.

[@demsterclippy4252]

@@elin111 or the recent movie

[@rachelzhou1590]

Suicide Squad had an interesting idea, but ultimately ended up as wasted potential with a lot of overediting, lousy filtering (either making it blinding with neon colors or having scenes so dark that you need to squint to see what's going on), and trying to ape Guardians of the Galaxy. The animated films Assault on Arkham and Hell to Pay were Suicide Squad movies done so much better than the 2016 iteration.

[@veronicasilk8429]

Suicide Squad was a bait-and-switch movie; It looks interesting but ultimately fell flat as a whole.

[@sup3414]

I hate the fact the Bruce Timm ships Bruce and Barbara. That's like a daughter falling in love with her own father. And vise versa. Its Barbara Gordon and DICK GRAYSON!

[@beavers1978]

It's piss-poor matchmaking in general. What does Bruce and Barbara have in common besides dressing like bats and respecting Jim Gordon? Nothing that justify the relationship to reach romantic levels. For Zeus' sake, Wonder Woman was a better match than Barbara and I wasn't a big fan of that idea either. Hell, Talia Al Ghul, in the comics, was better and I have despised her since she raped Batman in the goddamn desert and I think she slept with Jason Todd as well.

[@ellnats]

you know now that i think about it, Alan Moore must hate this movie, he pretty much despises ALL the movies based on his work, and im pretty sure the first act of this movie will probably make him have One Bad Day

[@nobody2996]

Ultimately, the prolouge just won't work because you're giving focus to a character that isn't the focal point of the story. The Killing Joke isn't about Barbra or Gordon, they are just elements that contribute to the overall theme of the story: Joker and Batman both desperatly trying to find a conclusion to their conflicting ideals. If you were gonna do a prolouge, do it about the events that lead to the Joker's plan and Batman seeking out Joker for that fateful talk. And I'm fine with Batgirl's use in the comic. It was supposed to be a short, non-canon one shot that wouldn't effect the wider universe so her getting crippled as a concequence of the Joker's plan with the wider effects not being examined is fine. In the movie, they make it shit because they give her much more focus, thus when the killing joke part of the story come around, her lack of screen time after her getting shot becomes much more awkward and insulting to the character.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Exactly; setting aside how everything in the prologue is friggin stupid, none of it has a damn thing to do with the Killing Joke story. It's two vastly different movies stitched together and pretending they're a cohesive whole. I think Batgirl's use in the original story wouldn't have sparked quite so much outrage if it weren't declared canon and stayed its own thing- as was the original intention. It'd still be problematic, but it wouldn't have cast such a huge shadow over DC comics.

[@adrianharper9462]

I personally kinda like Killing Joke. Though I will admit that the prologue is poorly-written and unnecessary. I get what they were going for, but it feels unsettling seeing Batgirl fawn of Batman to the point of wanting sex with him and the one-off villain really don't help the creeper vibes that it's more uncomfortable than intense. When the Joker stuff kicks in, it's pretty faithful to the comic. And the musical number is a nice touch. It's a shame that all that effort was wasted on an unnecessary (not to mention borderline creepy) prologue instead of going in depth on Joker's backstory or something to that effect. The Killing Joke has an interesting idea, it's just that its effort is put on the wrong things. Even still, I still liked it despite its flaws.

[@tomogotchi9140]

I admit I was excited for the additional prologue, I didn't mind the idea of adding more Batgirl before the original story and even better Tara Strong (my favorite actress) is the voice of Batgirl, but yeah, I totally see where you are coming from and I wasn't a fan of the first 28 minutes either, really sad that it turned out like that.

[@KotorFan-zb1bo]

Repsectfully, I genuinely do not understand the whole mysoginy thing with Batgirl with regard to the Killing Joke. Are characters not allowed to be killed or otherwise horrifyingly assaulted?

[@stalectos]

the thing is they took a competent female character and sidelined her for no other reason than cheap shock value. what makes it misogyny instead of just bad writing is the fact that it implies female characters like batgirl are inherently disposable just to shock the audience and motivate male characters into doing stuff. characters can be killed or horrifyingly assaulted but it should mean something which crippling batgirl did not. nothing was accomplished from a narrative standpoint by anything the joker did to batgirl that could not have been accomplished without sidelining a competent female character.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Female characters are allowed to be killed off, but when you do it in a story that they have absolutely no involvement with, then you're only killing this character for cheap drama and treating them as disposable objects. The big problem is that it happens enough to women in comics that there's a term for it: fridging (named on an infamous moment when Green Lantern came home to find his longtime girlfriend and prominent character casually murdered, cut into pieces, and stuffed into a fridge with no buildup or payoff) For a few more accessible examples: Vanessa was fridged in Deadpool 2. She shows up, does basically nothing, and gets killed off as a mere plot device to motivate Deadpool. It's a little mitigated by the fact she comes back during the credits, but the effect is the same. There's debate over whether Black Widow was fridged in Avengers Endgame, but most people agree she wasn't because she was actively involved in the plot beforehand. Ditto for Gamora in Infinity War, since she's the emotional center of that movie.

[@nebylad9660]

stalectos well maybe the point is that nothing matters. That’s the philosophy Joker wants Gordon and especially Batman to understand. I mean the comic could have done it much better by giving Batgirl stuff to do beforehand and if it was meant to be a stand alone story then the reader really would have no attachment to this version of Batgirl so it would have no impact. Making it part of continuity is better because then it does have lasting consequences and also the reader would care more about Batgirl because it’s the character we know and love. But really if Jim had a different daughter who wasn’t Batgirl then I doubt people would care as much because it wouldn’t be a beloved character but it would still be weird. This hypothetical other daughter would still need to have a purpose to make the audience care about them. I think the main issue is that in the comic, Barbara doesn’t do anything, doesn’t mean anything till she gets shot. So the movie was trying to be better by giving more development to Barbara before the tragedy but it went about it completely the wrong way. But yeh it’s not about what happened to her, because characters get hurt all the time, but it’s about why it happened to her.

[@stalectos]

@@nebylad9660 so let me get this straight what you are saying is they had to cripple a well liked character for basically no reason is because the entire point is to be purposeless? because i have read over you comment a few times and what you seem to be saying is that batgirl had to be crippled for no reason because nothing matters anyway and it will have an impact on the audience. the audience impact is irrelevant if it doesn't help the plot. if you need to kill or cripple a character for cheap shock value when it doesn't serve the plot in any way that isn't easily achievable otherwise (in this case all that was required if anything was grievous bodily harm at worst like a few broken bones) that just says you either a: were too lazy or b: are incapable of writing a story with real emotional impact as opposed to just a single cheap disposable plot point. the keys to making a real emotional impact that matters (imo anyway) are 1: make the consequences of that plot point or scene feel real (which granted this one does batgirl's superhero career is basically dead at this point) and 2: make that scene or plot point so integral to the plot that it cannot continue as written if that scene or plot point is removed or drastically modified (which is the stumbling point here). assuming jadow is not exaggerating you could either remove the scene entirely or change it nearly completely and the movie (and by extension the comic) would still be 100% fine otherwise unaltered.

[@MarkyMatey]

@@Darklordjadow1 What if it was a man? There wouldn't be any outcry.

[@benburke3015]

14:25-15:25 and don’t forget the film Mystery of the Batwoman, which also implies that Barbara has feelings for Bruce/Batman, but mainly plays it for laughs, presumably so the audience doesn’t perceive the relationship to be TOO creepy.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Damn it; I've seen Mystery of the Batwoman and I completely forgot that was there! Thanks for the reminder.

[@jeebus2313]

Otherwise known as "How to completely butcher an iconic comic storyline: the movie"

[@nostalgicarchives9463]

Maybe they should have made this a 45 min. DC Showcase and then add 3 other short stories to it

[@Darklordjadow1]

That is absolutely what they should've done! Hell; they could've trimmed it down further and cut the filler and had a good short!

[@fizzpeak123]

They couldve adapted 3 batman comics in one movie

[@TDWTB]

OK I’m going to dispel the rumor it was Bruce Timm. The movies writer/director Brian Azzarello is rather well known for his “Controversial” comics. If you don’t know he’s written Joker, A fairly decent outing but bogged down due to controversy where he lied to the fans multiple times about how they were ripping off The Dark Knight style for Joker. Superman For Tomorrow’s first half was really great. Half the population of earth went missing and superman went to God to figure out what was wrong, he meets a drunken priest and the two become friends while debating if Superman is truly God-like. He then bogs down the second half I making it just about General Zod and having them fight almost all the fucking time. Plus he called a fan of “pussy “because he said that Brian did Batgirl dirty. Brian was the writer/director he’s the one that came up with it. If you piece a lot of the concepts to get that you can see that Brian really likes to believe the controversy sells. There is a lot of people out there who drop a lot of stories basically because they learn he’s not exactly the greatest person in the world. They did it with Frank Miller and some people even do it to Alan Moore. When you have a bad relationship with fans or ruin a Characters so badly that the fandom hate you you know they’re going to want to forget you. That’s what’s happening to Brian now people want to forget him.

[@Kilo-fr4sh]

Holy shit, finally the review is not blocked by W.B

[@MultiCoolmovies]

I don't really find The Killing Joke's portrayal of Batgirl all that bad, but the prologue pretty much ruined the character and really made the rest of the movie kind of creepy when you realize that Batman is trying to save Gordon and you know the whole time he screwed his daughter.

[@coreybookman5823]

To defend the killing joke comic. While its unfortunate for Barbara to get shot it atleast makes sense to the story. She is commissioner gordons daughter and gordon was the main target. I dont think it was intended for shock value more of in the world of batman shit happens. Plus its kinda weird how not only is it OK and voted for joker to kill Jason todd but he cripples barbra and alot of people get pissed off

[@newbienoah9461]

Apparently a lot of people hated Jason at the time so that's probably why that happened. Barbara on the other hand is well liked, so I guess the whole ordeal didn't sit well with them.

[@noahvance6160]

​@@newbienoah9461It probably also helps that Jason was also a major character in the story where he died, whereas Barbara was just kind of there before the Joker crippled her. But either way, the scene never really bothered me that much, although I can definitely see why the scene is problematic. Honestly, I find the behind the scenes "cripple the bitch" claim to be even more disgusting than the actual scene in the comic, mainly because of callous indifference it showed the editors had for Barbara's character.

[@tylerleach1833]

I'd still much rather watch this film than the Watchmen movie (which I hate with a passion).

[@ellnats]

my personal way to end that final scene is that not only does batman strangle the joker, but joker before going out stabs or shoots batman in a fatal area, if one must die, i'd rather both those 2 die

[@ellnats]

@brandon roberts EXACTLY!!! that's what i hate, joker is never going to change, if anything gotham and batman are basically keeping a terrorist alive, he needs to die so that innocent lives will be safe

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@ellnats The logic does fall apart if you think about it for two seconds; Batman won't kill a guy... who he knows will go on to kill hundreds of other people and can't be stopped or redeemed. The Dark Knight Returns lampshaded this: by not killing the Joker he's effectively killing scores of other people; and I don't think anyone in comics calls him out on it.

[@ellnats]

@@Darklordjadow1 that's my point, "all the people ive murdered, by letting you live" that line really needed to be said, because frankly, batman is an idiot

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@ellnats I do like how Batman Under the Red Hood tries to explain it with "if I kill once, it'll become easy and keep happening." And Red Hood basically responds "Bullshit!"

[@JoshMC2000]

They should have just cut the prologue. Under the red hood didn't tach on a prologue to make you care about Jason the just opened with killing his ass

[@KentaroMiyamoto21]

It could be worse. They could've made movies based on Batman Odyssey, or ASBAR.

[@Darklordjadow1]

If they make a movie based on ASBAR I would laugh my ass off! It'd be like an MCU Marville movie!

[@Darklordjadow1]

@Sparten 117 That's why it's funny to think about: it's not possible for anybody at Marvel to be stupid enough to even suggest a Marville movie; not unless the heavy use of cocaine was involved.

[@LaineMann]

Why?

[@demsterclippy4252]

Also, Shazam's probably one of the best superhero movies to have come out in this decade with one of the best things about it being the fact that I don't have to do homework to enjoy it at its best.

[@ellnats]

ive only seen trailers of it, but i can agree, if DC can not boycott the movie because of him throwing a batman toy as a weapon, it has to be good

[@farcry223]

Hearing you talk about Elementary was so good because I really love Elementary

[@anirudhviswanathan3986]

Why did they make Batgirl so utterly brainless in this? The first 30 minutes is just Batgirl wanting to get boned so bad that it blurs her judgment so bad against an idiot for a villain???? Wtf is this writing??? Even the SW prequels didn't assassinate their characters so bad.

[@pip5528]

I've heard Titans is bad or at least weird with its abrupt endings, as though it's made to be binge-watched, but you're stuck having to wait weekly for new episodes. Not sure where this good reception comes from.

[@Darklordjadow1]

I just heard from Comic Book Cast 2 that it was good, but their tastes can tend to be skewed. I really haven't heard about it from anyone else past the bafflingly awful promos.

[@pip5528]

@@Darklordjadow1 Well, I've been a DC Universe subscriber for the past year it's been out and I have never bothered watching Titans out of fear of disappointment. Maybe I will give it a chance.

[@brandonnetwork]

Wow DVD menus are freaking cheap nowadays.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Every DC Animated Film's menu is just a still image of the cover with a banner at the end. They don't even have a freakin' scene selection menu!

[@demsterclippy4252]

@@Darklordjadow1 Now you suddenly got me thinking of the Star wars prequels that for some reason had super detailed dvd menus to the point of being fun to scroll back and forth between options when you're young.

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@demsterclippy4252 I remember the Episode 1, 2, and 3 DVD's had gag reels, but you had to enter a secret code to unlock them and I could barely get them to work. My DVD's of the first two Harry Potter films have quests kinda vaguely re-enacting the plots of the films and clicking hidden shit in the menus to find the next clues. Those were the days, man.

[@rorylumley4727]

I'm ok with the killing joke part. The prolog isn't very good. With joker saying he has multiple choice orgin maybe giving joker another orgin would be intresting.

[@Firepowerx31]

Darklordjadow1 we appreciate your effort and we always look forward to seeing more great content come from you.

[@RedDragonM1]

"No one was asking for a killing joke movie!" (um..I was.)

[@ellnats]

be careful what you ask for

[@ellnats]

"cripple the bitch" yeah i can see DC comics being like that to a good character, lets face it, more often then not, DC is anti good things

[@ETG715]

Oh man I really feel bad for Tara Strong having to get theses types of roles and especially that scene after the Joker gunned down Barbra Gordon I don't know how Tara Strong looked at the lines and be ok with delivering them but we all know that suicide squad kill the justice league was just another game where Tara Strong had to deliver lines that she probably didn't felt comfortable with delivering

[@Rogu75]

So that first half an hour pretty much tried to explore Batgirl... but failed miserably. I mean seriously, was that sex scene with Batman necessary ? The sexual tension between them ? Or between Batgirl and... whatever that villain was ? If the writers would've went on a half an hour of properly exploring Batgirl... aka making her more of a sympathetic character through a possible tragedy where she needed Batman's comfort instead of pretty much making her a hot-headed dumbass sexualized to oblivion... it could've been something else. Batman Arkham Knight tried that, and personally... I actually felt sympathy for Barbara. Even that Killing Joke hallucination scene with Barbara getting shot in the spine was pretty gut-wrenching to watch. Maybe because... oh I dunno... BARBARA WAS ACTUALLY REALLY LIKABLE FOR ME IN THE ARKHAM SERIES AND WASN'T SEXUALIZED ONE BIT. This adaptation of The Killing Joke however... just made me dislike her. Nothing more. And the final scene where she comes back as Oracle didn't make me feel anything.

[@shadowleon659]

My favourite Batman film is still Batman Returns. But I remember watching this movie and loathing it.

[@veronicasilk8429]

I personally hated Batman Returns, but Killing Joke has its own fair share of problems.

[@shadowleon659]

@@veronicasilk8429 But let's agree that Batman and Robin (or Buttman and Throbin) will be forever be the worst Batman film.

[@jjoshaugh]

@Sparten 117 Sad thing is that Arnie walked away with the best actor in the movie award for that swill. Oh ya, I love Batman returns. I watch it every christmas :)

[@veronicasilk8429]

@Declan Kearns As bad as that was, at least it has a consistent tone.

[@archivedaccount5990]

I'm in the minority, but I never liked Batman Returns. I was never a fan of Tim Burton or his style. And while Batman & Robin is objectively worse, Returns has its own problems, such as a multitude of confusing subplots, inconsistent tone, and lousy characterization.

[@ellnats]

i think whoever wrote the first act is a fan of post 9-11 Frank Miller in short, racist, sexist, and any other negative IST term out there

[@JcgLounge]

Me personally I adore JL: War. It was just pure action. And because it was based off the new 52 JL origin is a reason why I loved it even more.

[@Organman2410]

TBF Gotham Knight's more of an animation anthology than a singular movie, but I definitely agree it feels...off as a whole movie.

[@KotorFan-zb1bo]

Lastly, Humans can be hot headed and single minded and completely throw away what makes them who they really are. That's why I don't really have a problem with about 90 percent of this film. The only real issue I see is that yes the whole prologue does feel like a separate film entirely. But I would argue that that the last 45 minutes are pure perfection. Excellent voice work, superb animation, and an engrossing story.

[@ellnats]

for those of you who want a good movie out of this, just skip past the first half

[@NebLleb]

11:20 Was that a reference to Channel Awesome's old review of Dragonball Evolution I just heard?

[@Darklordjadow1]

I don't think so; I just remember Team Four Star calling him Ukog in their Goku Black short.

[@NebLleb]

@@Darklordjadow1 Oh. Lemme explain: In 2010, a bunch of Channel Awesome contributors (Including (But not limited to): Sean Fausz, Paw Dugan, Lord Kat and some of the Manga/Anime-centred critics at CA did a review of Dragonball Evolution. IT SUCKED, THEY BASHED IT. During the review, one of the critics dubbed the DBE incarnation of Goku as "Ukog": Goku's half brother, and the rest of the critics called him such for the rest of the video. Since Masako X appeared in this review, Team Four Star would apparently reuse the Ukog name in their abridged sketches.

[@Darklordjadow1]

@@NebLleb Ah; I did not know there was an elaborate backstory behind shorthand for "Goku in Name Only"

[@jadenbryant9283]

@@NebLleb kinda sucks masaxo x read the script and actually did not try to change his lines or anything because he seems like he knows what he is talking about in terms of dragon ball

[@ellnats]

"Cripple The Bitch" from DC to Alan Moore is it any wonder why DC is the absolute worst when it comes to good characters?

[@ShaunTheCHB]

Got in quick before the YT thought police attack again. I am surprised you did not mention how busty Barbara is in her scenes, I swear she'd KO someone with those things. The writers either really wanted to make her a complete tool or they were just horny over her and wanted to portray her as a sexual toy. Very insulting the way this movie showcases her, sad really. I have still yet to see this and I'll definitely watch it for Mark Hamill's performance.......also to laugh at how dumb it is. Agreed on Batman vs Two Face, that was awesome. Fun story. Adam West and William Shatner. That's a dream duo right there. I'll try and check out the Superman one you recommended.

[@nunouno001]

The Killing Copyright Claim.

[@LyleVSXyle]

I'd love to see you cover Fant4stic

[@Darklordjadow1]

I checked it out from the library; I haven't watched it yet.

[@demsterclippy4252]

@@Darklordjadow1 OOoooooooh boy That one might hurt. I can't in good faith suggest that unless it means seeing some crafty toy cinema action again but that's just me

[@lizafootfor5471]

Good thing I didn't watch this mess. Also that's what happens when you hire a writer who is obsessed of shipping WAY too much. Such a silly idea to give this movie an R 😒

[@JoshMC2000]

I know Oracle wasn't the Plan but I actually proffer her as oracle and the other batgirls that Came after were awesome in there own right. I think the new 52 lost something scraping this changes and putting her back to square one

[@coreybookman5823]

You see This is what happens when you put shippers in a position of power

[@nostalgicarchives9463]

I agree with on a lot points in this video, mainly the utterly WASTED prologue with Batgirl I plan to skip THAT part of the film from now on a get to the good parts with Mark Hamill

[@Darklordjadow1]

The thought seriously crossed my mind to buy a copy at V-Stock (because of course they have several used copies of THIS thing) for the actual Killing Joke adaptation after the prologue ends, but after struggling to get this video done that thought has been thoroughly beaten out of my head.

[@tylerbertram7065]

You should do a review of Batman vs TMNT.

[@KotorFan-zb1bo]

I respectfully disagree with your opinion on the film but I appreciate the alternate point of view.

[@matthewbraith0411]

The most unluckest video.

[@shadowninja222]

Have CW's Flash and Legends of Tomorrow actually gotten better? I gave up on Flash after the first few episodes of season 5, and I haven't watched anything beyond the third season of Legends of Tomorrow.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Flash Season 5 did get better eventually; the season had a really slow pace because Joe's actor was recovering from a back injury. Once he came back the pace took off. Legends Season 4 embraced sort of madcap comedy with the introduction of magic (one of the arc villains was a Fairy Godmother) but they still get good character bits and get serious when they need to. I really like it. Pisses me off how they wrote out Zari though.

[@zander2758]

Dev 1: people complained that barbara was useless in the comic, how do we fix that. Dev 2: easy make her the most hateble bitch ever so when she get's ditched the audience is happy, i know there are a million other ways we could do this but fuck it. Dev 1: wow you are a genius someone call mark hammil asap we got his movie.

[@nostalgicarchives9463]

4:17 Nice use of Earth-27 art work

[@lucasvaccaro-yu-gi-oh1630]

FINALLY!!! Good video man-

[@Warbearer]

After my nephews saw Batman vs tmnt, they are hoping that Batman and teenage mutant ninja turtles show up in marvel ultimate alliance 3. And for the record they hate the likes of superman and Wonder Woman because they they are stupid because they have super powers.

[@destronlaserwave9566]

This video got taken down 2 times if I'm not mistaken?

[@Darklordjadow1]

Yes; it turns out that if KZbin's Content ID system picks up a clip from Warner Brothers (or at least their animation division I guess) that video is blocked worldwide so that nobody can see it. I had to carefully edit the entire video and trim the clips so that no cut is longer than 7 seconds long the entire duration. I fooled KZbin's content ID systems so well I even got monetization on this. Some other methods of foiling KZbin's systems have been suggested to me (mirror the footage, trim the borders, adjust the color contrast) but most of them kinda' make the videos look like crap to me.

[@morietur1861]

Havent finished watching yet but ELEMENTARY, glad someone else knows it

[@Darklordjadow1]

I love that show; I'm really going to miss it. I may have to start recording it in syndication; I'm pretty sure it's still running reruns somewhere.

[@YourEvilHenchman]

all of that being said, I *really* wish for your troubles with WB blocking the vid to be over now.

[@ladyaceina]

what movie was that at the end clip from

[@Darklordjadow1]

The end clip is from Batman Versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[@COrraThereal0ne]

Yeah, I never thought that crippling Batgirl was a good idea. In fact it shouldn't have ever been cannon since it ruins her character from developing from that point on

[@COrraThereal0ne]

@brandon roberts but there wasn't even a follow up in said comic which is why it felt so unnecessary

[@demizson576]

" ... In fact it shouldn't have ever been cannon ..." It wasn't. It was a handgun. A revolver. I'm sorry. This joke was terrible. So much so that even the Joker would despise me for making it (especially in this context).

[@Ars-Nova258]

I forgot about the Midget murder... Batman you sanctimonious hypocrite! Lol

[@Darklordjadow1]

What really took me aback was how casual and fast it was- like the movie thought that we wouldn't notice.

[@ellnats]

oh you have no idea how much of a fucking hypocrite batman is

[@ellnats]

people who debate if batman kills the joker at the end are just stupid, because i prefer it if they killed each other, like we hear a neck snap followed by a gun shot or fatal stab, i want this to be the ending because i am sick to death of the popularity of batman and joker, that DC cant have good ANYTHING without them in it

[@viewtifulboy]

That scene with the hookers isn't any confirmation that Joker sexually assaulted her. The movie never says it outright either, even with that added bit.

[@ellnats]

"cripple the bitch" DC to Alan Moore and i thought DC didnt get this way until the new 52, jokes on me, they have been Destroying Characters (see what i did there) since before i was born, this is why i hate batman stories now, because DC cant write stories that dont focus directly on batman or joker

[@k.roberts8541]

I know it wouldn't of solved much but, they should of had the random gay guy as the Joker. It would of been a little creepy and would of connected the narrative a little bit better than a batbang

[@ellnats]

"cripple the bitch" from DC to Alan Moore, and people wonder why i fucking hate DC and its constant need to make batman and joker stories rather then make ANY other DC character with better personality, costumes, super powers, and or treatment for their fellow man that isn't making plans to hurt and or scar them for life

[@elin111]

This was an unintentional consequence of the mega success of the Dark Knight trilogy. DC idiotically assumed that the reason those movies were good was because they were dark now they try WAAAAAAY too hard to be dark and it just comes out embarrassing how desperate they keep yelling "I'm hardcore bro!" and they keep pushing Batman into every single thing they can or keep trying to turn every other hero into a Batman wannabe. But that's less of a problem with Batman as a character and more with idiot writers and boneheaded producers who don't understand what makes Batman compelling in the first place.

[@ellnats]

@@elin111 they assumed, you know what happens when you Assume, you make an Ass out of Me and U

[@elin111]

@@ellnats Studios always learn the wrong lessons, look at all the morons that tried to launch their own cinematic universes after the MCU but they tried to rush as quickly as possible into the crossovers by making movies that only existed to setup sequels. Or how after Resident Evil 4 every other horror game franchise including Resident Evil themselves ditched horror for action thinking that's why RE4 was successful. DC learned all the wrong lessons from the Dark Knight trilogy and went way too hard in the dark tone but they came out looking like tryhard egelord more embarrassing that a 14 year old wearing a fake piercing thinking that makes him "hardcore" or "mature"

[@YourEvilHenchman]

1:10 to be more precise, "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and The American Way?" (the original story that Superman vs. The Elite is based on) is the refutation of a thesis that wasn't actually put forward, of what is basically a misunderstanding on writer Joe Kelly's part about another creators work. The Elite is very obviously supposed to be a pastiche of The Authority, who creator Warren Ellis deliberately posited as a more gritty, cynical, decidedly more lethal take on the classic superhero team. At first glance, this might easily come across as needlessly dark age of comics-y edgy, but there are two significant aspects to this to avoid the usual Xtreme nineties bullshit: 1. The Authority does not take place in the main DC comics universe, but is rather set in the Wildstorm universe, which was from the start set up to be a more gritty, serious and "realistic" setting, with The Authority themselves being the remnants of the former Stormwatch, an in-universe global peacekeeping, defense and strategic intervention superhero organisation backed by the UN. as a consequence, the threats fought by the authority (at least in those original 12 issues by Ellis & Hitch) are just big, bad and terrible enough to actually require the level of aggression and violence that The Authority is capable of. 2. In spite of all that grittiness and violence, the mission statement of The Authority, as coined by team leader Jenny Sparks, is ultimately a heroic, humanitarian one: "Bugger this, I want a better world". This is something that Joe Kelly very obviously missed when creating The Elite for "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice and The American Way?", since all their antiheroic, cynical swagger belies nothing but self-centredness and blank, meaningless Straw Nihilism. Not that Joe Kelly is the only one who missed that mission statement, judging by some of the later writers who took over on The Authority after Ellis' initial 12-issue run. Plus, a good deal of The Authority's notoriety as a gritty "mature" comic stems from the fact that it features what is probably the first openly gay superhero couple in mainstream comics with Apollo & Midnighter, who are deliberate variations on the Superman & Batman archetypes. That stuff surely was a whole lot more controversial in the late nineties and early noughts, as you can probably tell by the fact that the "intended for all ages" copycat team of "The Elite" doesn't feature that aspect of the original team's dynamic (but a whole lot of the brutal violence, even if just mostly implied). If nothing else, I'd recommend going back to those first 12 issues of The Authority to understand where The Elite is coming from and also in how they fail to grasp the original team's purpose. Ultimately, it's an ill-informed dig by a DC writer at what turned out to be far better comics. And if you're interested in some other good Wildstorm comics, check out Ed Brubaker's Sleeper and Alan Moore's run on WildCATS.

[@Darklordjadow1]

The funny thing is I've heard of WildCATS because I bought the anthology of Batman Versus Alien (as in the Xenomorph) stories and there's a WildCATS Versus Aliens crossover story at the end of it. Thanks for the clarification; I'll check the library sometime.

[@YourEvilHenchman]

@@Darklordjadow1 hahaha, oh man, I remember that wildcats/aliens crossover. that comic was actually written by ellis too, and the radical pruning of the wildstorm character roster he engages in during that comic (which is still canon for the old wildstorm universe afaik) was one of the major steps towards turning the stormwatch team (or rather the remnants of it) into the authority. such a wild story. :D

[@noahvance6160]

While the Ellis Authority definitely wasn't just a bunch of nihilistic edge lords, and the same can be said for the version of them I'm about to mention, I think What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way? was taking more of a jab at Mark Millar's run of the comic than Warren Elli's. In Millar's run, the Authority, when not dealing with world-ending threats, tended to cross political barriers and get involved in government issues happening around the world despite repeated criticism from the American government for them to not raise tensions, and throughout the comic Mark Millar had the team repeatedly make jabs at mainstream superhero comics, typically having them quote what felt to me like stock criticisms people would have of superhero stories (they enforce the status quo, they only deal with world-ending threats when they could be using their powers to change the way things work, etc.) Granted these are legit criticisms you could make of superhero comics, and the run itself I thought was pretty good despite the mean spirited jabs, but it does feel a little like Mark Millar is taking a very holier than thou approach when he wrote it, basically having the comic repeatedly reiterate, "This isn't your dad's superhero team!" (I also feel the criticisms themselves aren't exactly a lot to ride home about given the whole "superheroes could be doing more than the usual hero vs villain battles" premise had already been done in comics such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Animal Man). Overall, while the premise of the Elite isn't entirely an accurate parody of Millar's comic, I personally think that's the version of the team Superman vs the Elite was taking a jab at as opposed to the Warren Ellis run.

[@antshield]

Damn. Great video. Subbed.

[@MrBrandonStar]

Was this video blocked like 2 times

[@ShaunTheCHB]

Yep.

[@MrBrandonStar]

ShaunTheCHB true

[@Darklordjadow1]

I literally had to go through the entire video double-checking every clip and replacing all the footage with clips shorter than 7 seconds before KZbin would accept it.

[@MrBrandonStar]

Darklordjadow1 oh thats why

[@triplestar100]

@0:52-1:29= hey DLJ; if you thought the animated film was cool, you should (if you haven' t already, which I doubt you've not...) check out the arc it was adapted from: "Whatever Happened to Truth, Justice And The American Way?"

[@demsterclippy4252]

Now i'm mad I got robbed from this video twice already. Damn this is good

[@Darklordjadow1]

Thank you; so glad that it turned out well!

[@burritoman2k]

Inb4 youtube smites the video

[@KotorFan-zb1bo]

Would you consider doing The Death of Superman. Not Superman Doomsday.

[@Darklordjadow1]

I've seen that one. It was pretty good, but not one of my favorites.

[@zander2758]

Will stay up this time? Will the copyright system of youtube be a broken piece of shit still? Discover next time on dragon ball z

[@fizzpeak123]

we made it though one day without warner bros. taking down the video bois

[@sugarsmile7852]

you know I was wonder if you watch teen titan go to the movie

[@LoneWandererCollin]

I can’t fucking stand the current copyright system.

[@WonderlandWarGaming]

8:54 You still remember that garbage?

[@Darklordjadow1]

Of course I remember Hunt Down the Freeman! You never forget "you fucked up my face."

[@WonderlandWarGaming]

@@Darklordjadow1 Oh yeah, I don't pay attention to memes very much. Also, did you ever get a chance to play any games in the Half-Life series made by Valve?

[@berkdragon72]

Can I watch the video yet?

[@Darklordjadow1]

YESH!

[@MonkeyBone316v1]

God forbid you do anything to a female character when, men have suffered worse fates in comics. What's sexist is excluding women from violent storylines because they're females.....

[@theblacksheep1000]

YOU HAVE THE BEST SOUND, AND GOOD VOICE. NOT STUPID SHIT ANNOYING VOICE LIKE 90% OF THE "CONTENT CREATORS" HAVE. THANK YOU!

[@darkknightfan7520]

Bruce timm was as crazy as the joker when he made this!

[@Wol1427]

Bruce Timm is the biggest Bruce and Barbara stan, and Jadow actually has the balls to call him out on it.

[@lpj2216]

3:40 tbf, Barbar Gordon got only interesting as a charahcter AFTER she got cripped and became oracle.

[@Darklordjadow1]

Fair enough, but Killing Joke doesn't get credit for what other writers took it upon themselves to do after it.

[@lpj2216]

@@Darklordjadow1 what do you think of the descion of the New 52/Rebirth to make it batgirl again and make basically the killing joke not happen?

[@BurningAzure]

1:17, I think Akame ga Kill's detractors will sympathize

[@demsterclippy4252]

a bit of a huge leap there comparing an anime to the subject of the DCCU but i still agree. God that show is shit.

[@BurningAzure]

@@demsterclippy4252 I like that show but I can certainly see the complaints

[@BurningAzure]

@@rachelzhou1590 I agree. I'm just bringing up the popular belief to support Jadow's point.

[@LaineMann]

No the problem with that show is that it can’t pick a plot and stick with it.

[@GoldenJupiterStudios]

Have you seen Teen Titans Go Jadow?.

[@Lakefront_Khan]

Does anyone else still think the Wonder Woman and Batman ship from Justice League to still be the best ever.

[@Darklordjadow1]

I haven't seen the vast bulk of Justice League, but from the clips I've seen it looked really sweet and well done. Better than having him bone one of his students, at least.

[@Lakefront_Khan]

@@Darklordjadow1 ............I'm glad no one was around to hear the noise I just made, keep up the great vids.

[@Vanessinha91Pucca]

You put a Clip of Kevin portrait of Batman and right after a Clip of Christian portrait.I don't get why ppl like Christian Bale as Batman. That voice he does is a complete turn off for me.

[@Darklordjadow1]

I think I can explain the difference: Ben Affleck was a great Batman, but he had shitty material to work with. Christian Bale was a mediocre Batman, but the material they gave him was gold... until the third film. I think Bale just happens to be in the best movies with a ton of other positives propping him up.

[@grimm_destroyer5566]

Finally we get to watch lol 😆

[@hellriderindustries3083]

I liked the killing joke she had a crush on Batman in the 1960’s Batman. The man gets motivated by harm of a friend is a old one

[@kurgo_]

who is worse 、 wb or KZbin ？ difficult question there 、good god

[@ingamingpc1634]

KZbin for sure is the worst one WB only have problems posting content from them KZbin violates all kinds of free speech

[@thedarkestnightmare616]

I happen to own this movie.. unfortunately.. I got it for christmas.. Its mediocre and the prologue is just tacked on and makes Barbra a terrible character..

[@BurningAzure]

11:50, See Lola from The Looney Tunes Show as an example

[@jesuswept3083]

You mean lola bunny? They added flaws by removing her great tits and hot ass. Bet jadow would pound her as hard as krystal from star fox

[@demsterclippy4252]

@@jesuswept3083 ??? what the hell dude?

[@demsterclippy4252]

Assuming you are saying Lola's Looney Tunes show version is bad, I really hope you don't genuinely believe she was better back in the Space Jam days when she was literally just a model

[@BurningAzure]

@@demsterclippy4252 I was saying just because you give a personality to a character that didn't have one in the past, that doesn't automatically make the character good.

[@BurningAzure]

@@demsterclippy4252 Exactly

[@HipsterBlackMetalOfficial]

kinda late here bruh

[@KotorFan-zb1bo]

I think the best DC animated movie is The Death of Superman. Fullstop, i dare you to change my mind lol.

[@brandonnetwork]

I hated this movie. Just as an FYI: You wanna know how to do Joker’s monologue PROPERLY? This: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHSUZ6Kois-Yaq8

[@paulkielty8385]

I actually fell asleep during this movie.

[@UnrealNeoBat]

Am I the only one who thinks this film has an anti-sjw agenda too?

[@UnrealNeoBat]

It's possible it's an anti-sjw agenda if you think about it.