Dracula is an Unholy Monster | The Batman vs Dracula

[@williamjosephdunn5879]

For whatever reason, the standars and practices department had it out for us on this show and even though Batman vs Dracula was a direct to video movie, they still wouldn't let us have as much leeway as the other DTVs that came before and after. I think they wanted us to cut the Joker blood bank scene or wanted us to not have the blood red for some reason (all of the guns on that show were these weird laser guns, probably for similar reasons). We ended up going with black blood like how Barry Windsor Smith made the blood in X-Men 205. It ended up making those scenes seem MORE extreme than if we just made it red like we were planning to

[@SerumLake]

Thanks for sharing your insight 🫡

[@Chadius]

I always noticed the blood bank has green lights so the red blood appears black. What an incredible scene!

[@samuelwolch1302]

@@SerumLakeon the silver bullet, in vampire lore silver is used as a way to take them out. It later got adapted into werewolf lore

[@lpfan4491]

@@samuelwolch1302 A silver bullet seems to be the solution to everything at this point, which is why a "one size fits all" is often called a silver bullet. Sometimes it needs to be enchanted and sometimes not, but Silver seems to be effective on everything from Vampires to demons. It's one of these ultra overused tropes, similar to "some kind of statue is the savepoint in videogames".

[@MikeDuarte99]

This movie is just oozing with style. The blood bank scene, Dracula's design, and the killer ending are just phenomenal. It's the quintessential Halloween superhero nostalgia movie for me. Can't tell you how elated I would be to get more films set in this universe.

[@themaninblack7503]

Batman getting his ass kicked because he doesn't realize that he's fighting an actual vampire was well done.

[@josephdent6825]

Nah he was fighting The Vampire. The rest was scrubs

[@Chadius]

Prep Time won't save you when you're that outclassed.

[@Inferno144]

I like those moments where a well known combat oriented hero is put through the ringer and they realize 'Alright, my usual shit is not going to cut it'

[@steampunckairship]

8:02 Actually this is a very rare moment of expertly done vampire lore, most people have the misconception that vampires have no reflection at all. The truth is they have no reflection in mirrors not because of the glass but because of the silver backing!! Most mirrors pre 20th century were backed with silver which was considered a holy metal and thus couldn’t hold the image of something evil or demonic. A Vampire would have no problem with a modern mirror or in this case normal glass. The reason you can’t see the vampire in the mirror at Wayne manor is because the manor is old enough to still have silvered mirrors!

[@steampunckairship]

This also means vampires would not have appeared in 1800s photos because they were captured on silver nitrate, Johnathan Harker the main character of Dracula is actually a photo hobbyist which he ironically forgot to bring on his trip to Transylvania but in fan sequels allowed him to discover vampires more quickly.

[@marcellinodadon1103]

_...interesting...i've never heard that part of vampire lore about silver mirrors...very interesting..._ 🦇...

[@whothis5810]

Did not know that, thanks for the detail

[@AnonEcho98]

Huh, that's interesting to know.

[@guythatexists1135]

I always took it as Joker being a wild card from his mutation,considering he was the only vampire that wasn't a mindless slave,and his skin didn't turn red under Venom in a later episode.

[@stevenmattrell3448]

"You're Bruce Wayne?!" "I'm the Batman. And you're dust."

[@Joe_Kerr_9797]

My favorite line from the movie.

[@owenparris7490]

Badass line.

[@blueraccoon1088]

"Alfred file that under bataft" I don't swear

[@cesarvictoriano8072]

I love whenever Batman fights someone thinking “Just another crazy guy with a gimmick” but later in the encounter is presented with “Nope this guy’s actual magic or a monster. I miss when it was just a guy with a mask.”

[@zenebean]

Reminds me of Scooby Doo whenever they have actual monsters lol great trope

[@rosesske2551]

@@zenebeanSo like that one scene in zombie island where Fred tries to unmask a zombie.

[@zenebean]

@@rosesske2551 exactly! And then they have to deal with cat monsters lol

[@rosineidedossantossilvasil1592]

​@@zenebean or the time some odd technology thing made average costumes actually become monsters

[@rosesske2551]

@@rosineidedossantossilvasil1592 Or the Eldritch Horror at the end of Mystery inc. Whose species is the reason why certain animals in their world(like Scooby Doo) can talk and have human level intelligence.

[@The_Phantasm]

Peter Stormare as the voice of Dracula was too perfect! He is one of those actors where I'm automatically interested to watch anything he's in. He was also a very entertaining Lucifer in the 2005 Constantine movie, despite that film greatly miscasting its lead character.

[@dazzlethestar151]

So true, he did a great job!

[@jackieec]

Agreed! I loved his portrayal of both! 😊

[@immortan-valkyrie90]

I'd also love to see him in a live-action Dracula too ❤

[@IAmBored347]

I feel The Batman from the Early 2000s deserves more appreciation. Sure I may not like some of these changes but it did experiment on different things, introduce underrated or forgotten rogues and reinvent them, and other things such as a less broody Batman or action packed scenes. As a result I did enjoy this take on Dracula and I loved how action packed yet still has the darker elements of Batman.

[@jackieec]

Agreed this one was my childhood

[@camp002]

Yeah its biggest issue was that it had to follow btas

[@DeerBonesBaby]

0:50 Silver bullets being used to kill vampires (specifically shooting the coffin with them) has its origins in Bram Stoker's Dracula!

[@WitD2013]

If you're curious, older myths have vampires being weak to silver because silver was considered pure/holy, the natural bane of unholy creatures.

[@J1P2K]

This is also why vampires did not have reflections. As mirrors back then had sliver in them, or was it around the frame.

[@troperhghar9898]

Dracula works thematically as a batman villain for a lot of the same reasons The Penguin does, where Oswald is "what if bruce used all his skills and assets for personal gain" Dracula can be thought of as "What if Batman ruled Gothem city as a king"

[@Gennaropacchiano]

I always liked to think that the Dracula we see in this movie is actually this series's version of Ras'al Ghul. The creators were not allowed to use him due to the bat-embargo, so they used Dracula as a replacement. Both are immortal, both are filled with supernatural elements, both want Batman to join their side, seeing something of themselves in him. Even their designs are quite similar in a way.

[@SerumLake]

Yeah, the designs are kinda similar. They could've made it more obvious if they gave Dracula a little chinny beard!

[@plantainsame2049]

That makes me want to see the version of talia and damien in this universe

[@dante_0962]

@@plantainsame2049So Batman has sex with Dracula’s daughter then has a half vampire son. Sounds like a cool idea and it doesn’t have to be Batman related.

[@decomposingdave2902]

@@SerumLakeI just thought i should mention this for your reflection point in the movie the mirrors in the manor could be very old meaning they could have been made with silver which can explain the joker’s reflection in the blood vile

[@plantainsame2049]

@dante_0962 It's basically hotel transylvania 2 but it's cool

[@AverageEldritchEntity]

The Batman?! On this channel?! AND THIS MOVIE?! Forget halloween, must be christmas!

[@dedalionarts6077]

A "Christmas before the nightmare" you may say 😁.

[@Dragon66898]

@@dedalionarts6077I get

[@filipvadas7602]

This show honestly deserves more love than it got when it was still running. Batman vs Dracula, while very different from the overall tone of the actual show; was a really good introduction tbh It also helps that the movie works really well on its own merits. I love that Batman spends 80% of the movie *actively avoiding* Dracula once it becomes clear he's not just another criminal with a gimmick, he's the *actual* King of Vampires. His beatdown of Bruce is actually brutal and he nearly kills him then and there, but Bruce is saved in the ladt moment by The Sun. In fact that's another cool aspect of this movie. The shadows and the fear he sows are effectively taken away from Batman as he can't compete with Dracula, an actual supernatural terror, in that regard. Which makes Batman's win over Dracula in the end more satisfying.

[@TrueBackLash]

I will say this, Rino Romano is a criminally underrated Batman and a pretty spot on Bruce Wayne.

[@martaneon5310]

I loved the "nice jugulars" joke 🤣

[@zachbahamutson5477]

The thing about vampires and their reflection, that comes from old folklore about how silver works against vampires as it represents purity. I have no doubt that the Wayne family has some really old mirrors because of how wealthy they were and thereby the mirrors are still the kind that had polished silver for their backs. Modern-day mirrors use a cheap plastic film. So yes vampires can appear in modern-day stuff with their Reflections intact because there is no silver in the mirrors this extends to cameras and other such devices that take pictures as they no longer use silver for a chunk of the process.

[@kieranwrightstone2199]

Honestly for Joker’s blood bank scene is pretty wild, as for the reflection in the glass. Honestly I take it that Joker’s seeing his own reflection might be a vampire thing. Just because they don’t leave a reflection maybe only vampire’s eyes can see it, but human’s can’t precieve a vampire’s reflection in that universe. Still a pretty enjoyable movie, remember watch it when it actually first broadcasted. Those were good times.

[@benjaminstorace6699]

"The Batman" was also the first animated depiction of Batman following the beginning of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. This clearly had an influence on it.

[@shelbybayer200]

You could actually say the "Reflection" the Joker had could be just away to have a shot in the film with a "I'm right here Batman" moment

[@peternguyen7530]

One of my favorite parts in the film is Batman displaying his greatest power of all: His smarts. From deducing Dr. Alucard is the Dracula (Because in 2004, Castlevania might be not as promenant back then), to synthesizing a cure for Dracula's vampirification disease after multiple tests, but given that Dracula is not affected by the cure because he is supernatural in nature, maybe in the in-universe timeline, this is before Batman meets the likes of Flash, Martian Manhunter, Superman and others of supernatural/sci-fi nature, aside from 2004 Mr. Freeze's cryokinesis.

[@plantainsame2049]

The name alucard Has been around since the nineteen forties with the movie the son of dracula It's also just dracula backwards This is up there with him Drawing a smile on jack napier in mask of the phantasm in terms of bruce being the world's greatest detective

[@derekschon314]

This movie is a staple of my Halloween movie rotation. Just great spooky, superhero fun.

[@haruhikari2424]

This is actually is one of my favorite Batman films and I'm glad you cover it :D

[@KamekFox]

I just want to say based on your community post that you said you were worried about this series of non BTAS-continuity videos underperforming, but there's honestly a lot to talk about with this series at this point. I would love to hear some of the more unique villains to this series analyzed with your style of villain analysis and I would also love to hear you talk about some of the extremely different versions of villains which branch out heavily from their BTAS counterparts.

[@lexofexcel886]

Best summation of why this movie is so well remembered, as well as the major flaw with it: It's a bunch of cool moments above all else.

[@SerumLake]

You summed up my entire video in a single sentence!

[@lexofexcel886]

@@SerumLake In pro wrestling, they would call it a spotfest.

[@tayojones9460]

@lexofexcel886 No one forced you or lake to watch the fil you know? Just bloody watch btas if you want since that's probably the only bat cartoon you like ! I hapoend to like The Batman and unlike either of you I am not bloody critical of it and nitpick because I do not have 'standards " like you two!!!!!! IF you both actually looked deeper you would find plenty of episodes that are more than just "spot fests! The tragedy of Ethan Bennet, the relationship between Bruce and his young partners, the sad origin of Riddler and the Francis grey episode. Now that episode was more than flash but you rather focus on fight scenes because that's all you think The Batman is. It is like Cornette Crusaders who think modern wrestling is just "spotfests" bit if they actually kept silent and looked deeper you would find great stuff like the feud between Daniel Bryan and the authority, the CM punk vs mjf saga and the journey of Zack Sanre jr winning the iwgp world title! But I guess that is not enough to please you people apparently . Just go back and watch thr old stuff and let others actually appreciate the new stuff in peace without being judged!

[@guythatexists1135]

I remember after finishing the series I discovered the movie existed. The concept of Batman,let alone The Batman I adored,fighting Dracula sounded absolutely ridiculous to me so I watched it with low expectations. The movie gladly delivered a great experience.

silver is supposed to represent purity if I recall, so silver bullets is supposed to work on a lot of things. As for Vicky Vale's role I'm pretty sure they were heavilly implying she was the reincarnation of Dracula's wife hence why she had to be chosen over any other woman in Gotham, since Vale resembled Vampira in the sequence of her revival as well as Dracula's recollection of her. What I loved most about the film though was how Batman worked tirelessly to find the cure to vampirism using Joker as his test subject, it was both harrowing seeing the people of gotham drop one by one as Batman worked to get a cure over how many days or weeks that had to have taken leading to Joker being saved. A very ironic twist, that Joker technically saved the day.

[@ChimeraReiax]

Silver & purity is also the reason vampires don't show their reflection in mirrors, as old traditional mirrors would have a silver plate behind them, thus the "impure image" of the vampire wouldn't be reflected. This logic doesnt COMPLETELY square with modern mirrors that might use a different backplate, but still 😅

[@Compucles]

Is the purity connection due to silver being able to detect a lot of poisons?

@@ChimeraReiax Which is why Joker reflected on test tubes in the blood bank, fitting.

@@Compucles Good point actually. Since the movie approached Vampirism as a infectious disease of sorts, and viruses release toxins in the host body which results in the effects of said illness, that is a oddly appropriate observation.

[@plantainsame2049]

His wife is called carmilla, Like the novel carmilla Which is yikes, when you remember that carmilla was literally the original lesbian vampire

[@zenebean]

I remember seeing this movie as a kid and being actually scared by Dracula and the vampires. I really enjoyed it lol

[@sinmenon4347]

I think they used the Coppola's Dracula as "inspiration". In that movie, Dracula kept looking for his long-lost wife - something that is original to the movie and not in the novel. And because this is the most commonly known pop culture version of Dracula (or at least it was at the time) maybe people wouldn't find it too odd.

[@cadeshanley218]

9:26 Joker being covered in blood in that scene makes me think of Venom or Carnage.

[@frankficcle7081]

Definitely Carnage.

[@cadeshanley218]

@@frankficcle7081 Venom because of that tongue.

[@frankficcle7081]

@@cadeshanley218 True, but between the two of them, only Carnage enjoys showering in blood.

[@cadeshanley218]

@@frankficcle7081 Agreed.

[@ΕυάγγελοςΦώσκολος]

10:52. Casually Comics, Serum Lake?! Two of my favourite people who have about DC making a video about what I believe is one of Batman's most underrated villains?! Can't wait. 😍

[@SerumLake]

I hope you checked out my appearance on her channel from last month!

[@ΕυάγγελοςΦώσκολος]

@@SerumLake I did and I loved it.

[@WhiteFangofWar]

One of those fan matchups that makes so much sense it's surprising they won't do it more often, made into a full-length film.

[@OmegaX9]

Yeah, OG Dracula was also a werewolf of sorts. One of his powers was the ability to turn into a wolf, which was what the ancient werewolf myths depicted.

[@ChimeraReiax]

To be FAIR regardinf vampires and reflections: Its only ever been established that vampires have no reflections from *silver mirrors* or flowing water, both things that can harm a vampire (they can't cross running water and silver has its roots in killing vampires re: the silver bullet, as others have pointed out). A variety of media have shown vampires showing their reflection through *glass* and other reflective surfaces that arent a silver base, it depends on how the source material is interpreted though. I usually care more about internal consistency in that regard--if the media establishes ALL reflections are off limits, then they should probably stick to that haha. Otherwise the silver & running water part is a neat deep cut explanation. Regarding the joker's reflection in the blood vial specifically, that could have also been an interpretive moment--vampire joker not ACTUALLY being there / being reflected, but instead batman feeling his presence, represented by the cool shot of the reflection

[@samuelrodriguez9801]

If you use the original folkloric reason as to why vampires didn't appear in mirrors. That being that silver, a holy metal was used to make mirrors in the past it makes a lot more sense. Also the reason Dracula goes after a specific woman in the movies is because they're the reincarnation of his deceased wife.

[@plantainsame2049]

In the original book He just goes after women because he's a monster Like, dracula and other vampires are a bit of an assault allegory

[@CapnAlces]

I doubt it's the "original" folklore (especially since vampires themselves are a bit of a hodge podge of many similar superstitions) but I have heard this explanation before and it's always been my favorite. It aligns so well with other traditions of aversion to silver, and adds a layer of texture to pretty much any vampire story. The implications can be taken very far with one tiny detail.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Oh, yeah, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, was a covert womanizer, right?

[@nameynamename3758]

funny thing with that last bit, the bringing back wife/lover with their reincarnation bit was nabbed from the original mummy's plot....which nabbed from dracula's plot

[@frankspick7544]

@@nameynamename3758 funny enough that mummy movie also takes from bram stroker.

[@DarkKnight27]

The batman guitar rift at the end of the theme song is the best thing ever made

[@Dar-oi3tw]

I hope this video does well as I grew up watching The Batman on Cartoon Network as a kid and even saw this movie on it. Also, the reason why Dracula wants Vicki Vale is because he believes her to be the reincarnation of his wife. It's based off of Francis Ford Coppola's take on Bram Stoker's Dracula with Garry Oldman as the title character and Keane Reeves, of all people, being Jonathan Harker. In the film, Dracula sees Jonathan's fiancé Mina Murray as the reincarnation of his wife from the 15th century who committed suicide after the Ottoman Empire tricks her into thinking Dracula is dead. Because of this, the motive of the villain is to turn Mina back into his wife from another life. That is the inspiration as to why this Dracula wants Vicki Vale, because he sees her as a reincarnation of his wife. It really shows that the people who worked on this were huge movie buffs, just look at this shows version of The Ventriloquist and Scar Face with the latter being Tony Montana from the 1980's Scarface instead of a parody of Al Capone in the 1930's film.

[@hudsonk1racer]

I remember disliking this show for not being the original BtAS, but I mellowed out hard as the years went on, and genuinely remember it as being pretty good more often than not these days. Its biggest flaw was airing around the time of other action cartoons like Teen Titans and Ben 10, and so having a very similar tone injected into its DNA from the start.

[@squeethemog213]

I absolutely love this movie. It terrified me when I was young but man I find it such a cool film. Thank you for talking about this 😃

[@SerumLake]

You’re welcome, glad to hear from someone that was the film’s target audience at the time

[@kaylaturnis9486]

Count Blood Count: I AM A VAMPIRE! Bugs Bunny: Oh yeah? Well Abra Kadabra! I'm an Umpire! Count Blood Count: Hocus Pocus! I'm a bat! Bugs Bunny: Okay! I'm a bat too! ABRA KADABRA! Count Blood Count: You wouldn't hit a bat with glasses on would you?

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

**BONK**

[@jeremytroiano5855]

To answer your question about the monk being a werewolf, well, werewolves are commonly depicted as vulnerable to silver weapons. It is established vampire lore that aside from driving a wooden stake through the heart, vampires are vulnerable to silver weapons. (That is why Blade's katakana are made of silver.)

[@PrincevonTwix]

im honestly surprised that Manbat didn't appear in this film, even as a minor appearance. He would have fit right in!

[@itsTrainHeartnet]

Great work with summarizing the history of everything. I love all of your video essays. Gives me stuff i truly didnt know and is always a swell time to me.

[@itsTrainHeartnet]

Glad I could help now with the few bucks I have

[@itsTrainHeartnet]

And can you have my name in your channel members be just TrainHeartnet?

[@SerumLake]

Sure thing, I’ll update it for future videos (starting with the Caped Crusader Barbara Gordon video)

[@itsTrainHeartnet]

Sweet ty so much

[@beatlesfansam]

I watched this movie before I watched any of The Batman series. I enjoyed it, though as you said it was more the cool moments than the overall plot that stood out. Also, thanks for the comics background, that majority of which i had not been aware of. Great work as always! 👏🏼

[@SerumLake]

You’re welcome! If you can stand Doug Moench’s poetic prose then those Vampire trilogy books are well worth your time.

[@ztyran]

9:02 Ironically, the actual Renfield is not much like what people think when they hear the name. In the novel, Dracula could walk around during the day, albeit powerless, and therefore had no sentinel watching over him while he slept. Renfield was just a mad Dracula fan boy who eventually fought against him to save Mina Harker but failed.

[@plantainsame2049]

It's like van helsing being a monster hunter instead of a doctor with a hobby Or dracula and mina having a romance

[@ztyran]

They did the later in the 92 film.

[@plantainsame2049]

@@ztyran And van helsing was a monster hunter in the movie van helsing and renfield protects dracula's coffin and I think the 1930s movie And I know the comedy movie dracula dead and loving it All of these things did happen but they aren't from the original source

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

Honestly, the whole "Vampires can actually walk around in daylight, just without their powers" tidbit is something I wish was more common knowledge. The whole "killed by sunlight" thing makes a lot of vampire stories really dull, because they pretty much always end with someone yanking the curtains open to disintegrate the vampire instead of actually doing something creative. I'd really like to see a story where the characters are faced with genuine supernatural threats, but all of their attempts to fight back fail miserably because their only knowledge of the monsters comes from pop culture instead of actual folklore. Like, they try to deal with the vampire by exposing him to sunlight, and the vampire just rolls his eyes and tells them they watch too much TV.

[@TheStickiestNotes]

Perhaps Dracula’s motivation in this film could be explained by how Castlevania’s Dracula too has a dead wife (though named Lisa) and a son named Alucard. Could entirely be a coincidence though and possibly these ideas link even further back in history somewhere, but I wouldn’t leave just a blanket inspiration off the table.

[@Dualbladedscorpion7737]

I think the reason why dracula was planning to reserect his wife was do to grief. In his mind simple blood letting couldn't be done on her because i think she wasn't on either on the same power level as him and she was ashes at that piont, he needed to do particular soul swaping ritual to bring her back from the dead and he needs a sacrifice to help with that, but to him it can't be just anyone he can just simply sacrifice into a vessel, the sacrifice in question has to resemble his wife like near perfect to scale with. The problem with that is after his wife's passing he couldn't find one person who would've even slightly resembled her, in his time and plus he got killed during his time of grief. So sometime afterwards after he was reserected by accident he wanted to take over Gotham and make it his new home after his old one kick him out in a sarcophagus. But when he saw a video recording or broadcast of vicky old memories flooded back into him and he let his grief took over because this time in his mind he found the ideal sacrificle candidate he needed to bring his wife back from the dead. As for the joker's reflection being able to appear in reflective surfaces, well he's really psychotic so by chance he be the exception to the whole thing of vampires at least the ones with supernatural powers always lacking reflections in mirrors and other reflecting surfaces.

[@A_N1ne]

I remember watching this on TV when I was younger (I'm Canadian and our TV is a bit less restrictive then the US, so all the blood was fine for broadcast) This was my first real experience with Batman and it's what got me to seek out the Justice League TV show and later BTAS

[@PrinceSilvermane]

This is going to sound weird but honestly one part that I really like about this movie is how much Batman gets his ass kicked all throughout the movie. He's fighting The KING of Vampires, the OG. Even when he's prepared with everything he can think of he still has to come up with a crazy plan on the spot to barely win. Too much Batman media makes him practically untouchable. Seeing him actually be human and out of his league is refreshing.

[@samdubiner4109]

I loved this movie as a kid, and you my friend, have brought me back in time. Love this video!!

[@SerumLake]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

I would love love *LOVE* to see you do more video essays on _The Batman_ , it feels like there's definitely a niche for that kind of coverage. As for Dracula himself, I think that one overlooked element about him is that he pretty much negates Batman's "superpower" of Prep Time. Maybe it's the fact that he's not prepared for a legitimate supernatural threat (the movie is theorized to be set at some point near the end of Season 1 or between Seasons 1 and 2, before Spellbinder appears as a mystical villain and at a point where it would explain why Batman is less skeptical about whether Solomon Grundy is a genuine undead or not), but Batman really does feel like he's in over his head for most of the film. It's a neat dynamic, and one that seemed to have been worked into D.A.V.E. during Season 3 (though via very different means) because it's just kinda rare for Batman media to have him at such a disadvantage.

[@tylerbertram7065]

When I first saw this movie, I thought the idea of it was really stupid, especially at the time I wasn't really a fan of Batman fighting vampires, so I put off watching it for a really long time. It was relatively recently I decided to watch it and it was better than thought was going to be, I especially love how darker it was compared the cartoon. Well, it may not be as good as Mask of the Phantasm or Return of the Joker, but it's a pretty decent movie about Batman fighting vampires.

[@LongfusedbombasticBarbarian]

genuinely awesome Halloween material thank you for this one

[@SerumLake]

You’re welcome

[@mesektet5776]

If anything remembers this series, it’s for this. Meanwhile, it’s funny watching Peter Stormare play Dracula in The Batman and then seeing him work for Dracula as Godbrand in Castlevania. By the way you may want to consider comparing The Batman version of characters to BTAS version to see what works for each/either as a form of critical juxtaposition.

[@SerumLake]

Have you been looking at my upcoming video document?!?! 😂 Thank you 🫡

[@DFuxa]

Looking forward to seeing the next 'The Batman' video; hopefully before the end of the year.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

It's super fun seeing Dracula himself calling Batman a poser! I was happy this film came out better than expected and definitely a recommendation! Even if you're a fan of The Batman or not!

[@ashumon23]

The Batman was the show I grew up on, so I am a little bias in that regard, but even still I'd love to see you cover more of this show and it's content!

[@ShadowC14]

As much as I prefer BTAS videos or the occasional dip into JL batman moments, I would be more than content to see more iconic villian breakdowns regarding The Batman series. I remember being too old for much of that series when it first came out, but in hindsight I really do appreciate some of the fresh takes they had like with the Joker or giving the Penguin much more of a status. Tldr, if you make it, I'll probably watch it

[@Superbox647-o5q]

Batman vs OG Batman

[@RazorToaster]

8:00 Vampires don't appear in mirrors because of mirrors having silver backings. The glass doesn't have a silver backing, so there is a reflection.

[@The-Eternal-Zoo]

Fantastic piece on what was one of the few Batman animated movies I've had the pleasure of seeing so far! I think it's fun to see the comparisons between the two in the film, although if I recall correctly Carmilla's a completely separate vampire in terms of novels so it is a bit of an odd addition. Think I'm going to have to rewatch it myself after seeing this one! As for seeing more of The Batman, I think it would be fun to have a set of videos doing potential compare and contrasts between the more familiar and beloved BTAS characters to their The Batman counterparts. Folks like Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Clayface have some pretty stark differences, and having the ability to look at them side by side in an unbiased way could prove to be interesting! (Clayface in particular with Caped Crusader ties for the Basil Karlo episode could be great) Or at the very least, have some solo episodes on unique villains in the series both in solo appearances and made for the show.

[@BarnabusBarbarossa]

I liked this movie a lot as a kid, but thinking about it, you're right that it's probably more of a collection of cool moments and scenes than a particularly strong narrative. Still, many of those moments are REALLY cool. And Peter Stormare's performance as Dracula is very strong and genuinely scary at times. If you make more content based on The Batman, might I suggest looking at its version of Hugo Strange? He's one of the show's better characters, and a rare one where I feel the show's take was clearly better than the BTAS version.

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

I had this movie as a DVD and watched it over and over as a kid, and hobestly in still quite ibessed specially with the art direction, like how dracula and Batman mirror one another visually specially when they have their capes closed around them, i really enjoyed the at least subtle attempt to mark the contrasts between the two It also made me a big vampire fan and caused an unner cobflict in me becauae i was very into werewolves beforehand, it didn't help that i soon discovered Hellsing too relatively after where Alucard has a very similar feel to his design that Dracula has in this movie

[@nathanweast4397]

My favorite line from that movie was vampire Joker asking Batman for ketchup as he's drinking straight from a blood pack.

[@libertylemonz7145]

0:52 For the silver bullets thing, it's actually canon to the original Bram Stoker Dracula that if shot by a blessed bullet in his coffin Dracula would die. So while the silver bullet is probably taken from werewolf myths there is actually precedence for certain types of special bullets being a vampire's weakness.

[@andydrew3834]

Ooh, could this perhaps be a prelude to an analysis of the rogues in The Batman (2004)?

[@SerumLake]

Only if the video does well. I would like to talk about that show, but those videos would take much longer to make (it isn't burned into my brain like BTAS). If the views are low then I can't justify the time investment. So, we'll see!

[@eway44]

I've had this video looped for multiple hours (while I do other stuff) so hopefully it helps the algorithm ​@@SerumLake

[@eway44]

Please cover more characters in this show! Pleeease!!!! If I put this video on loop will it help the algorithm because I dunno how that works

[@SerumLake]

I'll hold you to that!!! :)

[@astrocitizen]

The Monk would make a nice leads villain for if/when Nocturne reappears in CAPED CRUSADER... a doctor who's treating the girl only to instead try to replicate her abilities, or a mad scientist who'd once been her brother's mentor and was responsible for her condition, perhaps?

[@CapnAlces]

I was never a fan of the art style either, but people who do must looove the visuals in this film. They are so striking, and it really left an impression on people. I was in high school when it aired, and I distinctly remember talking with friends at lunch about how shocking the blood bank was. We could hardly believe the network let it happen even if the blood did appear green. And another crossover with Sasha?! Sweet. I really enjoyed your last discussion and I bet this will be just as interesting. If you think you have more to say on *Thuuuh Batmaaaan* then please continue with more content on the series. But I think we all know it didn't really resonate with you, so there's no reason to force it. Personally, I'd love to hear your thoughts - I've enjoyed what I've heard so far about characters like Yin and Ethan. But I don't expect a litany of deep dives like with BTAS. That series is in your heart and inspires you a different way. Please tell us your strong feelings, but I hope you don't try to force it beyond that. In general, I hope you continue to sprinkle your usual DCAU content with other series and movies. DC has a lot to talk about and I'm sure you'd like to discuss something, I dunno *not* DC once in a while? But I guess that's what Flip Side is for... Uh, I like hearing your brain work. That's all I'm really trying to say.

[@thinktankstudios]

0:53 You almost have to applaud silver for being such a versatile metal. It's the number 1 way to kill werewolves and the number 496 way to kill vampires.

[@themmofifty7615]

This was actually broadcast a few times on Cartoon network back in the day, mostly uncensored as i remember.

[@ZRtheHedgehog77]

Well I find it impressive that only vampire Joker is the only one who can talk as the other vampire slaves don't

[@thejinchuriki4855]

I would love more The Batman Essays as it's the series I grew up with and I think it has a lot of interesting takes on those characters, especially after Btas. I love all of your videos and I find them extremely insightful so thanks a lot

[@dazzlethestar151]

Honestly I really like this movie. I'm a sucker for horror-esk stories with superheroes, especially for characters like Batman, and this movie does fairly well in delivering! Only complaint I had is the miniscule role Vicki Vale had, feel like they could've done more with her. 10:52 also, Casually Comics and Serum Lake collabing? Absolute perfection.

[@obsidian179]

I remember thinking The Batman was… not *great* (though still good), but definitely had some interesting ideas. You could definitely tell it was made with kids in mind, *much* more so than BTAS, but wasn’t talking down to them. The movie, like you said, was incredibly contrived at times, but could still be fun, even if you had to turn your brain off at times and just run with it. (Kind of like some modern blockbusters, in that respect.) What really knocked me out of the experience was when they took Carmilla - a character who actually *predates* Dracula by a fair number of years, and is kind of famous as the first *lesbian* vampire in fiction - and reduced her to nothing more than “Dracula’s wife”. I mean, I didn’t have super high expectations in terms of how much research they put into the movie where Dracula is entombed in Gotham City because “shut up, we need the movie to happen”, but if you’re not banking on name recognition, why include her at all? Even in the book, he had three (unnamed) wives. Why not just pick one of them, or some random woman he met over the centuries? Still, though, I have to wonder… What might a Batman vs Dracula movie made with the writing and themes of BTAS and the freedom from censorship that direct to dvd films like this had have been like? Well, who knows, maybe, if we’re very lucky, at some unknown point in the future, Caped Crusader will answer that question. 🙂

[@SerumLake]

Imagine a BTAS Batman vs Dracula, loosely adapting Red Rain, with Shirley Walker’s score… I would die.

[@rebeccakickass1776]

As a kid I really like BTAS' 'Moon of the Night' episode as an adult I find it ok... But don't worry I never liked "I've got Batman in my Basement' episode even as a kid... lol

[@SerumLake]

OK, I'll hold off on that referral to Arkham then!!! :D

[@0hyed692]

I respected a lot of the changes this show made, especially bouncy joker, I'd definitely watch if you did start covering more of it!!

[@Brainflayer]

8:01 The fact that Vampire Joker had a reflection in the glass vials whereas the other vampire had none could be explained. The whole reason why vampires had no reflections in myths is because mirrors used to be made with polished silver, Silver was seen as a holy metal and thus vampires were repelled by it. The discrepancy could simply be explained as that mirror in the scene with Alfred was an antique one made using silver.

[@albertthepeacock8020]

We got SerumLake reviewing The Batman vs Dracula before GTA6

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

7:20: Or watched Son of Dracula(1943). That's where the name started to be known.

[@Scrinwaipwr]

I don't have any plans to watch *The Batman* cartoon series so Luke doing videos about it is a quick and convenient way to sate my curiosity about it (I saw it a little bit at the time of broadcast but I was 20 years old and found it a bit kiddy to watch it a lot.)

[@eway44]

Pls cover this show more its amazing!

[@JanetStarChild]

3:41 ...LOL! I love the way you said that; it's a good imitation (which would then be followed by the sound of majestic whales).

[@braedenwalker6414]

Joker weirdly picks maybe the most humane way to get human blood as a vampire😭😭

[@plantainsame2049]

But also intelligent Why drink the limited amount of blood in the human body when he can drink a larger amount by draining a whole blood bank

[@jtwatts7990]

I remember watching Batman vs Dracula when it first aired on Cartoon Network and being so scared but as I got older it’s one of my favorite movies. The fact that Batman came across a real life vampire was so cool to me especially since I never grew up with the comics so to me this was fresh to me

[@rfc1526]

No earthly medicine can cure a supernatural affliction!

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

You know what that means, don't you? _Batman can use magic!_

[@docweidner]

Still have a first edition shrink-wrapped hardcover Red Rain on the shelf. I had to use the yellow pages to find comics shops in Columbus, Ohio, to find it since the shops I knew had sold out. Will see if this one is on Max, nope, will keep an eye out for it.

[@graveyardshift2100]

Actually the reflection thing could make sense if the mirrors were made with silver as that was the logic behind that part of the myth long ago. So Joker's reflection showing up in the beakers would make perfect sense.

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

5:00: Wasn't it explained that Vicki Vale looked a lot like his late wife? I mean, I relied on that explanation since I was a kid so it's likely that the movie did briefly explain it.

[@SerumLake]

No, Dracula liked her necklace, that’s about the only thing he said about her appearance.

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

@@SerumLake Really? I could've sworn it had something to do with her being a lookalike or something. I've ascribed to that theory since I was a kid.

[@mikael_Engstrom]

I remember watching the show when I was a kid, It's no Batman TAS but it has a soft spot in my heart. I'd honestly love if you covered it, I think it has some character decisions and episodes that would be super interesting to cover. Hope it'll happen one day

[@robertrowley4929]

Joker being bathed in blood is so hardcore. Kinda symbolic considering how many people he’s killed over the years.

[@davidwave4]

A crossover episode with Sasha from Casually Comics? We're eating good on Halloween!

[@Dragon66898]

Silver is actually used to fight the supernatural in general due to it being seen as a pure material it could harm ghosts, vampires, werewolves and even demons/devils. Plus the legend of vampires not having a reflection came from the fact that mirrors back in the day were made with silver thous they wouldn’t reflect the supernatural. I would love to see you do more on THE BATMAN.

[@lukerabon7925]

I never really watched The Batman, but I remember really enjoying this movie. It used Joker and Penguin really effectively without taking away the focus of Batman fighting Dracula, particularly at the beginning. I'll never forget Penguin's dawning horror realizing that he had to race Joker to whatever loot before the plot really kicked off

[@mrheroprimes]

It should be noted that the Batman Brave and the bold episode shadow of the bat is all revealed to be a fever dream the Batman was having. As to why Dracula was specifically going after Vicki Vale if I had to guess she's probably the reincarnation the woman Dracula was in love with before he became a vampire. I would chock the Joker having a reflection down to it might have been due to the chemicals in his bloodstream it might have messed up the vampirism Making it more like a half vampire instead of a full one which is why his reflection can still be seen.

[@Nostripe361]

The mirrors sometimes working might have been fine if they had gone with the idea that only antique mirrors don’t show a reflection cause they had silver mixed in them.

[@dragonmaster_707]

One thing that's kind of interesting is that the version of the Werewolf seen in the comics is named Anthony Lupus, which is apparently Latin for "wolf". I get the feeling that Harley Quinn and Riddler aren't the only DC villains whose names are a play-on-words

[@SpiritsRiseR2]

Nice to see more videos on The Batman Would love to see one on Ethan Bennett

[@josepbuigues1336]

I'd like it if you talked about some of the less unknown Batman villains that appear in this show That didn't appear in the animated series or caped crusader like clue Master and phosphorus.

[@tannerdodge6029]

I haven't forgotten the blood bank scene in the going on twenty years since I saw this play on tv, that and the final confrontation stick out most in my mind

[@lancefontenot9333]

I love this show and would love to see more videos on it maybe talking about the villains like ragdoll