The Complexities of Batman Mask of the Phantasm | Video Essay

[@chrisdaily2077]

"Does Batman live in Bruce Wayne's basement?" "No, Bruce Wayne lives in Batman's attic." I love this line from the Lego Batman Movie as it shows that Bruce Wayne is the disguise not Batman.

[@qemuel]

"Batman is a ransom on Bruce's soul..." DUDE. That literally gave me chills. Great reading of a great movie, thanks!

[@sebas8225]

Yeah, he kind of is, notice how it´s those moments where he has Night Owl, Night Wing and Robin around him that he has the inner conflict of trying to get out of that Batman Ransom, but ultimately he always fails and they leave him just like Batman Beyond revealed.

[@riverunconfirmed]

Doesn’t it break anyone that Bruce doesn’t realize that his parents would have wanted him to be happy?

[@MrMutou]

It's hard to let go of the image and idea that you originally held of that person, you start to hope that you can live up to their expectations and sometimes forget about your own happiness...sometimes it feels like you are still in the shadow of the past even though if they were alive they would want you to move on and be happy but since we can't hear them say that, we just go off what we think they would want us to do to make them proud or live up to some dream they had for us.

[@harmonlanager2670]

I think it’s because he was so young. He didn’t have that many memories of his parents so, in a sad, twisted way, all he has is the trauma of losing them. Instead of caretakers who would guide him to his own life, they became his eternal cross to bear.

[@RaptorJesus]

I don't think that's exactly what it is. I think he just can't live with the idea that if he allows himself that happiness, it allows what happened to him to happen to someone else. It's best exemplified with the Justice Lord episode, I think. When League Batman is pointing out what freedoms and such they've taken from their world, Lord Batman just replies that yes, of *course* they did. "And with that power, we've made a world where no eight year old boy will ever lose his parents, *because of some punk with a gun*" Batman can't stand himself, and he'd do anything to make a world where he doesn't have to exist.

[@tauhid9983]

batman finds peace and happiness knowing his city is protected knowing that he is there for it...

[@illexpreshun]

Survivor's guilt.

[@hannahbrennan2131]

This movie was just added to Netflix recently and I was able to watch it for the first time. I loved it! I've also been binge watching Batman: The Animated Series, I'd forgotten how good it was. I miss the days when kids shows weren't just mindless fluff and had the balls to explore complex themes.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah, I remember revisiting it all a few years back and was kinda struck by how sombre the show was!

[@TheFranchiseCA]

Kid's cartoons vary wildly in quality today--and in the past. Batman, Avatar, even My Little Pony are solid. Others aren't, from GI Joe to 44 Cats. (No offense to those who like them.)

[@theofficalchairmanrevoluti614]

I wish my country's Netflix had Mask of the Phantasm

[@mystery00123]

What!!!! I DIDNT KNOW THANKS

[@telephones3]

wait what country are you in?

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

I'll always treasure this movie because it blurred the line between kids movie and adult fare. When I first saw it when I was 9, I just dug it because it was a kick-ass Batman movie. But now, viewing it as an adult, I'm honestly kinda blown away by the emotions it conveys. That whole "I didn't count on being happy." scene just hits me in a way it never did as a child. I'd say it might just edge out The Dark Knight as the best Batman movie. Hell, they're both some of my favorites.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Yeah I think I saw it around the same age, but the ending was too sad that I couldn't re-watch it until I was in my teens :p

[@puterboy2]

Well perhaps if Christopher Nolan incorporated that scene you mentioned, Christian Bale would have won an Oscar.

[@errorcode6168]

You also gotta include Batman: Under the Red Hood in that discussion. ;-)

[@MultiKool13]

@@errorcode6168 I agree, Under the Red Hood is by far my favorite Batman movie

[@goldtomlin3438]

Under The Red Hood and Batman Beyond Return of the Joker are my favourites! But Mask of the Phantasm always been a special kind of watch.

[@harmonlanager2670]

I like to think that, instead of destiny being decided for you, Bruce’s life is decided by his unwillingness to let go of his trauma. The storm, the bats, the gravestone. They don’t have will, they’re just things. It’s like Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity. Fate and signs only hold meaning because we prescribe that meaning onto them. The bats are just animals nesting on a cliff, who likely fly out every night. The storm is just weather. The tombstone is just a rock. These things exert no control over his life - they only mean anything because he decides that they do. At the end of the day, the only thing holding the characters back is that they won’t let themselves grow past their tragedies.

[@av799]

That’s the tragedy of humans, isn’t it? We are capable of so much. Bad, and good. But we really are our worst enemies.

[@porassrivastava8242]

Batman:the mask of the phantasm has the most underrated ost

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

omg you're so right, there's so many moments where the film just slows down and the music takes over and they are always the best scenes!

[@puterboy2]

You may think that, but the lyrics in the opening needed a meaning, not some backwards words.

[@siniquezu]

I never even told you was a great song

[@sipioc]

Shirley Walker at her greatest

[@sipioc]

Damn, that’s a deep cut

[@DarkKnightBatman420]

They take a tour through a fabricated futuristic Gotham. Actual future: Batman Beyond.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

If I could, I would analyse the entire Batman Beyond show through the lens of the future Gotham amusement park theme

[@ShanaReviews]

Love this movie and this video also love how this movie gets a nice shout out when Andrea appears in the JLU episode: Epilogue and was hired by Amanda Waller to be the assassin to put Terry on the path to becoming Batman; only for her to fall back on it and even berate Waller for not realizing what made Batman who he is and how doing things this way isn't right. That one silent flashback showed us that Andrea still loved Bruce and had no intention of betraying him by tainting his legacy and that she did learn something from the events of this movie.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Alright I'm doing a double upload, because I don't normally do videogame essays so bundling them together should avoid disapointing anyone. The next superhero essay is also a cultural comparison of Sam Raimi's Spider-man One and Spider-man Homecoming, and I'm also refilling my list of future essays after September, so if anyone has any suggestions in terms of characters, films, videogames, books etc, feel free to suggest them.

[@DSFII]

Thanks

[@ZachDoumit]

I'd love to see a deconstruction of the character of Kylo Ren and his relationship to well, ya know... trauma

[@DarkKnightBatman420]

I haven't had the chance to try out the game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, but I think it looks pretty promising in terms of story.

[@DarkKnightBatman420]

The newly rebooted Ghostbusters will come around sometime. It might be nice to see something about the first two films. Maybe you could set them on the far end of your list of projects since there's a bit of time before then.

[@epicmonkey6663]

Could you do please do a video essay on Walter White and could you also do one for Arthur Morgan?

[@conortlsullivan]

I really loved your comparisons between the different filmmakers' interpretations of Batman. It was cool to get a better understanding of why this interpretation connected with me so much as a kid. The loneliness that Bruce in this version endures and accepts in order to complete his mission is sort of what it feels like to be a kid sometime. That you have to endure and make it to the other side. And do "good somehow". And growing up and maturing feels a lot like Terry's choice as you outlined it or even Dick Grayson in Young Justice in the therapy episode, finally understanding there is another choice. That you don't have to have you "soul ransomed" to somebody else's values. And you can do good and have love/relationships/a life.

[@Cj-xt6tv]

All this is true, but Batman himself simply can’t do that.

[@conortlsullivan]

@@Cj-xt6tv Exactly. And that's the tragedy of the character I didn't get at the time. He's stuck in his trauma and can't mature into a full adult capable of making a different choice than the pain of the kid who just lost his parents. That's why his parents talk to him in this godly way in the movie, because they are his god. And I think I always admired him for sticking to his vow because my life as a kid was very much about persevering and getting through school and being a "good" person and I always looked up to Batman's determination. But now as an adult, I can see that there's another life and choice on the other side of that pain. And because Terry has Bruce's example and support, Terry can make that choice, whereas Bruce stays stuck.

[@SkatKat]

I'm here for engagement metrics. More people need to come across your channel. You paint with words. Brand is on point.

[@jordanford9320]

I came back to this video because of the death of Kevin Conroy, but I wanted to make a statement about mask of the Phantasm. I grew up in a really small town. They had a local grocery store which had a video renting service and my dad used to call on the store for his job and he would go in there once a week and he would take me because it was so close to her house. I would go in there once a week and grab mask of the Phantasm every single time I got the chance. For some reason my parents never caught on and just bought the movie but every time we went in there I ran to the very far corner where it was and grabbed the movie and watched it. I absolutely love that! I'm not the only one who realizes how special that movie was. And I didn't even realize it because I was 5 and 6 at the time

[@StanvilleBrown]

Mask of the phantasm is among one of the greatest animated films ever made.

[@darkzq]

0:46 Im glad someone finally adresses that: the Nolan trilogy is great, especially the first two movies, but it represents a Bruce Wayne that clearly couldn’t wait to not be Batman anymore and pass on the hero mantle to Harvey. In that world, he was at best determined in his quest but not obsessed by it. It makes for a realistic portrayal i guess, but ultimately, that’s not Batman.

[@ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ]

I'm sick of hearing that argument tbh. Nolan's isn't Batman because he's doing it as his duty not to fill his empty soul. Affleck's isn't Batman because he falls off grace and breaks his rule. What's Batman? The beauty of comics is that characters aren't singular entities. They can change with each writer's interpretation. So we should instead try to focus on what interpretation is well structured and what isn't. Not what adheres to the "true" canon

[@gameraider100]

@@ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ Well, we've got fans who are more "strict" on adhering to how Batman is characterized (for the most part ... even the comics are diverse in characterizing Batman depending on the author) and we've got fans who are more "lax" on creative liberties taken. I know the, "What's Batman?" question was rhetorical, but I have an answer: -- "Batman": is Bruce Wayne who was traumatized by the death of his parents and vows to protect Gotham, doing WHATEVER he can to prevent such terrible ordeals and criminal acts from happening to anyone else. -- This is the foundation of Batman and has been since the beginning, and that's what makes Batman "BATMAN" as far as I'm concerned. Things like the "no-kill" rule and being OP beyond belief or not - are secondary.

[@urkelbot2099]

ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣ ΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ Affleck’s Batman does not kill!!! That was a nightmare scene and it was supposed to be a post apocalyptic world, in reality in that movie he had a code and he doesn’t kill people, He is the most brutal batman we have ever scene but that’s kind of the point of what he does, he’s brutal to criminals, Batfleck is the closest we’ve had to a live action portrayal of the Batman from The Animated Series and he’s under rated af, please have your facts straight before spreading a false rumor.

[@beautifurpanda]

@@urkelbot2099 Batfleck literally kicks a guy onto a live grenade, cracks someone's skull on a wall, and bursts a napalm tank to incinerate the dude holding Martha hostage. Not to mention the baddies he just lights up with impunity with the Batmobile's mounted machine guns. I loved Batfleck but dude what are you even talking about "he does not kill" the whole point of his character in that movie was that he lost his way and was killing criminals, and Superman inspired him to be better again.

[@ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ]

@@beautifurpanda He doesn't kick him into the grenade. He kicks him into the ground and he runs towards the grenade. And the guy with the flamethrower chooses to shoot it AFTER Batman shoots the tank. Those deaths are not on him

[@vocalcalibration8033]

My favorite Batman film to date.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

You know what, it might actually be mine too!

[@qocket]

This was it. His first DCAU video essay. What a start.

[@darkecofreak23]

“Batman is a ransom on Bruce’s soul.” I never thought of it like that, but I can absolutely see how that works. DCEU Bruce DID lose himself to vengeance for a time but found his way back through Clark and Diana. Nolanverse Bruce more wholly embraced the idea of Batman as the proper identity of Bruce Wayne but then also recognized a way out thanks to Talia’s bomb and could give it up while trusting his successor to walk the same tightrope.

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

Mask of The Phantasm is, without a doubt, one of the greatest Batman films of all time in my opinion. It's such a deep exploration of the character, but this video also made me realize that it can be interpreted as a somewhat meta commentary on the never ending quest that the Dark Knight is on. That makes it all the more fascinating for me, and thanks for making this incredible video! Your essays on Batman are some of my favorites in all of KZbin! :)

[@puterboy2]

And so is Year 2, because it also dealt with Batman finding a love that almost makes him give up his vow.

[@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773]

@@puterboy2 Good point!

[@jblitz1556]

YES, finally an upload on the best Batman movie, and a double upload? You are my favourite youtuber.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thank you so much! :)

[@roarsgaming3707]

That moment where Bruce says “I didn’t count on being happy” always hits

[@MultiKool13]

Under the Red Hood beats this one out for my favorite Batman movie, but this one is a close second with a pretty distant third either being The Dark Knight or The Return of the Joker

[@RandomCritique]

I barely clicked on this video and already love it👌👌

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thank you so much!

[@spartangreg1]

I grew up watching batman TAS in the 90s, and although popular and appreciated, I always felt it never got the recognition it deserves. I've been noticing the last couple weeks more youtubers are covering it more and I'm greatly welcome. Even at 11 years old, I knew this cartoon was ahead of its time.

[@toganium4175]

Thanks you for bringing attention to this gem.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Aww thanks for watching! I totally want to do more Batman Animated films like Return of the Joker!

[@videovoidtv]

One of the best Batman stories out to screen. I saw this in theaters at 9 or 10. It was deep and epic.

[@vishnuravi8910]

definition of an underrated channel, that intro was sooooo good

[@NumberOneBOB]

My dude, it is AMAZING to see your growth at this!

[@theirongiants]

The thing that makes this movie even more tragic is how the chemistry between Bruce and Andrea was built. It was so sweet and they both fit each other perfectly. You could feel their love. But, sometimes destiny has different plans. This is the only movie that I've felt forever tied to along with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Spirited Away, The Iron Giant and Bo Burnham: Inside.

[@greggeverman5578]

Yeah, the symbolism in this movie was over the roof! Good review, by the way.

[@ericemanwu]

8:12-8:18: to be fair, there are some views where Batman does find some satisfaction and joy in being batman, so the family he created around himself is the joy that some readers enjoy. Watching a found family fight a Herculean task to defeat a hell city and protect the innocent.

[@Mephiestopholes]

I can't believe how long I've been following you.. You are So awesome, Leo.

[@chancemitchell4147]

Yo! Just watched mask of the phantasm for the first time! Excited for this

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Oh wow, the stars totally aligned, thanks!

[@chancemitchell4147]

Implicitly Pretentious I’m a fan of the show big time, dude. Anyone who praises the MCU Spider-Man films or creates analysis on them is a good person in my book. Keep up the good work, g!

[@inamerica55585]

I think Mask of the Phantasm is the movie that proves how Batman is every bit as insane as the criminals he fights. He could have just walked away. He could have had a happy relationship. But he can't walk away from being Batman. He has as much of a pathological need to fight crime as Two-Face does to base his decisions on the flip of a coin. That's why Andrea is in this movie: to be Batman's dark mirror.

[@newolympiangod8134]

I've had many lives and seen many more pass me by. And I know there is no such thing as escaping what is meant to be. You can only prolong it but you can't escape it. I've tried and tried time and time again. But karmic debt is real and at some point you have to pay what you owe. With that being said I've paid most of mine and I have been granted a bit of happiness and joy in this life a chance to leave a worth while legacy. Something that will last threw out time. But it was a mighty price to pay and I'm not even done paying it. I still have more to pay. But unlike Batman I will be granted love and kids. Until you are denied what we think are basic human things you can't image how painful life can truly be.

[@1SpicyMeataball]

*throughout*

[@24halonerd]

This is becoming one of my favorite channels ur vids are very well made and done in such a relaxing but classy way

[@MalaysianChopsticks]

We need a Superman video. We need Hope again.

[@grkpektis]

I think it's heavily implied that Bruce believes if he didn't stop being Batman to be with Andrea he could've saved her father as if his parents are punishing him from the grave at

[@tauhid9983]

I always thought regardless of the varying interpretation of writers, one thing remained consistent is his crusade against crime is a way for him fulfil his promise and a way to make up for the guilt he felt all those years back, the powerlessness he felt to not be able to do smth about it and now the fact that he can. And that guilt is filled by rage and even fear...which makes him work harder.

[@themadtitan7603]

Great analysis, I really appreciate you looking at this movie as part of the DCAU version of Batman's journey as a whole instead of as a single continuum.

[@JMJTROMBONETAKEOVER]

Thank you for this video. I'm very excited to rewatch it, especially now that it's on Netflix

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

Thanks! And I hope you enjoy!

[@Trmeman]

thanks for this... one of the greatest films ever made

[@daniellevy2272]

Koker being able to "escape" the destiny life has put on him is beautiful since the entrie plint of Joker is that life is so unfair, cruel and random that the only logical conclusion is to be crazy. No one can escape destiny and Joker accepts it but also unconsciously rejects it by continuing battling Batman. It sits with all their philosophies so well and the story actually serves a new way of looking at it from the "outside". From a point of view where destiny IS impossible to escape so you SHOULD act like the Joker. It's an ironic yet an impossible conclusion which I adore. As you said; Btman does escape every niht he doesn't kill

[@charlesmitchell1516]

Great video!! Mask of the phantasm is a classic. The DCAU Version has been my favorite interpretation of Batman since I was a kid. Is there any chance of you doing a full video essay of DCAU Batman in its entirety spanning from the animated series to Justice League and Batman Beyond?

[@thecollinhill]

This please. :)

[@agrumpymonkey5800]

Damn. I’ve been waiting for implicitly pretentious to cover a Batman movie. I’m surprised it’s this one. But I am not disappointed! Keep up the great work! Looking forward to the next one!

[@bornimusic]

“Batman is a ransom on Bruce’s soul” *mic drop* Incredible.

[@docvaliant721]

The best batman movie. Very emotionally draining to watch. I think Terry should have been there kid.

[@robertearhart4316]

I am a big Paul Dini fan, and I appreciate how you noted the different interpretations of the Bruce/Batman identities. It added good context to this particular film. Good commentary throughout, though I may need to watch it a few more times to absorb your points. Call me slow, but it sometimes takes awhile for the depth of your thinking/argument to sink in for me. Keep up the good work!

[@CJonesApple]

Wow, they really did knock it out of the park with some of the dialogue in this movie.

[@travisspazz1624]

Damn, I remember seeing this in theaters. Would love to see Phantasm in live action!!

[@slkjvlkfsvnlsdfhgdght5447]

and this is why i love the way that the dark knight trilogy ended: batman finally gets to be happy and his story has actually progressed/ended

[@Xehanort10]

4:20 Arkham City's Wonder City is basically a centuries past version of MOTP's World of the Future.

[@leviswranglers2813]

This was such a great movie and I believe really set the stage for the DC animated universe. The Flashpoint movie "series" is absolutely incredible, it's right up there with the MCU, might even be better than the MCU. I know that the way it ended was more emotional to me than the end of Endgame or Infinity War.

[@hassledvania]

Haven't watched yet but am gonna take a drink for every time you say trauma lol

[@hannibustoogfyrre6074]

The idea of Fate essentially dragging Bruce, Andrea, even Joker down their paths can also work in-universe when you consider the implications of things like The Flashpoint Paradox and House of Mysteries. These universes are _alive!_ or, perhaps more accurately, life in them operates the way it does because it's like a fractalization of the inherent properties of the universes themselves. They have some kind of DNA that, like our DNA, pushes them to be constructed in a particular way. Earth, Krypton, Krypton's destruction, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the JL, and for some reason even the villains are part of its genome and it will try to create them as well as it can. Flashpoint is a mortally wounded universe, desperately trying to heal itself with the broken heroes it can contrive into existence.

[@ChristopherKou]

Always great to see Mask of the Phantasm getting some love.

[@simbasorariku3]

"I diapered your bottom. I bloody well out to, sir!" "Well you're wrong!"

[@arthurfortes8398]

This movie is amazing because it doesn't have a happy ending, its ending is sadder than Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises(Both great movies). The message of the movie is "to help others and become heroes, we have to make sacrifices", Batman sacrificed everything, and it had bad and good consequences, he was able to save the city and the world itself many times, but he couldn't live a simple life, the way he wanted. Batman is not just cold because he saw his parents being killed, he is cold because he lost a lot of friend and allies, some even became villains, but he wouldn't change a thing, because what matters to him is saving the city, he is indeed a true hero.

[@rubin831]

Batman is the real person Bruce is the mask.

[@OirichEntertainment]

Now this is the true Batman. Not a maniac killing people for no reason

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

I understand that seeing Batman kill people must have been shocking, but if you keep an open mind and recognize that the entire point of that movie is that Batman has lost his way and that the story is basically his redemption, you might just find you like it. I absolutely love it.

[@starlord6433]

What about bale’s batman?

[@puterboy2]

Are we forgetting others? I know Adam West also carried the detective aspects of Batman to a very high degree.

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

@@starlord6433 Bell was not a maniac but his killings were mostly by accident or he just didn't save them the killings and those movies are subtle compared to Ben Affleck's version

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

@@TH3F4LC0Nx we've seen Batman kill people in all is movie interpretations the problem is that it's not subtle( like Nolan's) in Zack Snyder's movie it's just done because why not even if there is a Redemption to it we don't want to see Batman killing just because he can. Tustin movies not well written Batman v Superman there's no context this to suggest that he's lost his way and if there is there is no impact to it because we didn't see it

[@alialmuhanna4938]

Joker’s laugh at the end is just fitting. He finds it all funny.

[@thebluedragon07]

What I find interesting about the movie is how they reinvented a character from the comics. For the Phantasm is loosely based off a character called The Reaper, Judson Caspian, who became a killing vigilante after he lost his wife to crime and swore revenge and would even protect his daughter, Rachel. What they did with the character is so unique that it’s something you would never forget. Both of their lives become nearly parallel to each other, except the fact she would kill the people she hunts that have ruined her life, especially given the fact that her mission is very singular due to her knowing who they are. Whereas Bruce who had no idea who killed his parents, thus would be denied a chance at revenge, instead swears that what happened to him never happens to anyone else.

[@collinsmovies1152]

Andrea's voice actress being the same as Lois Lane really weirded me out

[@brucewayne8252]

This movie is the perfect way to do a Batman Origin story , don’t do the training snd stuff because Batman Begins already perfected it . Make the death of the Waynes a part of the physiological story NOT a big twist because we already know that

[@puterboy2]

But if we combined them together, it’ll give us the feel of a biography.

[@brucewayne8252]

Jake Rutigliano Exactly

[@JaceTheSnake92]

Loved the inclusion of "you think you know everything about me, don't you"? 😆

[@U13SMILECRY]

Great analysis totally agreed, oh and great way to end it with that Batman is a ransom on Bruce’s soul, epic.

[@ClarkKentsRockandRollRevue]

'Not often that a video about an animated feature can resonate so aptly with my own experience of love. Simultaneously the metatextual analysis of Batman's role in Mask of the Phantasm is bang on the money. Good joke about anal fissures in the description box. Long may you make good videos and jokes about the worthy and understated presence of rectums on this channel.' - John Clay

[@DarkKnightBatman420]

A video essay about patterns... of trauma.

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

I had to sneak a paragraph in there

[@da1king0fwakanda56]

Favorite DC movie of all time, on my top 10 favorite movies of all time too.

[@luciusnguyen2449]

0:09 Thank you so much for elaborating this point. Behind every comic heroes, there is an idea that the character represent, the set of core values that make the audience admire and fall in love with the character. One of many great core essence of Batman is his appreciation of life like you said at the end of the video and the retarded Zack Snyder just decided to insult this core value.

[@urkelbot2099]

How did Zack Snyder get Batman wrong? Please tell me, his Batman is the closest we’ve ever had to an accurate representation of Batman from the Animated Series.

[@Carlover19538]

hey lets not say that last bit

[@stynershiner1854]

@@urkelbot2099 Not at all. You only say that because he is big and his outfit is comic accurate. His characterization is poles apart from The Animated Series. Nolan's Batman was more accurate to the spirit of the animated series. He literally takes Mask of The Phantasm themes in Batman Begins.

[@antonivsfortis]

Love ur work and your hair:)

[@OirichEntertainment]

I am seeing this movie this week. I can’t wait

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@Trinin]

Dude are you stalking me? I just watched this last week! First movie on my projector!

[@ImplicitlyPretentious]

I'm behind you right now

[@smac646]

I know this series of uploads is an experiment for you in more ways than one. This is a personal point for me, but I’d prefer if you kept on using the pencil-thin font for thumbnails. I feel that the streamlined dryness of that font aligns more closely to your brand than the sketched bubbles of this font. On a lighter note, I absolutely loved how you used the editing and song around 8:06 to signal the shift from a narrative analysis to a metatextual one

[@Alex-sd4up]

great analysis! i'm subscribing

[@thespiritus4440]

I agree with the ending. Batman fights his destiny by being better than what made him.

[@GothamKnight84661]

Another reason why i love this better than The Dark Knight.

[@sahilhossain8204]

Lore of The Complexities of Batman Mask of the Phantasm | Video Essay Momentum 100

[@Himchi_]

I have warmed up to your taste in music

[@yineo]

How do I study so I can read media like you do. It's genuinely so impressive, and I feel like I need to have this perspective when watching movies myself. This is a conversation about what this movie is truly about, it's 10, 000km beneath the surface issues. Seriously. What books do I need to study? I've heard McKee's The Anatomy of Story is a good start.

[@NerdonFilm]

Great video on a great movie.

[@atljames97]

The BEST Batman movie ever.

[@sonnycastilla3838]

Dude how did you know! My ass hurts! I’m working on it don’t worry! Love your vids!

[@kevinhernandez30]

Had a girl just like Andrea propose to her and had a puppy and place next was to start a family. But she quickly started to change due to drugs and toxic people coming into her life so we parten our ways. She packed her stuff and went to her parents then she came back thinking I was going to be there but I was gone too by then and took the pup with me. We lost contact and haven’t spoke for 3 years now. But I believe if faith has it we will meet again.

[@BloodBoiling]

Learn to distinguish Fiction and Real Life.

[@chelseacristoffor]

AMAZING.

[@guyonyoutube1803]

Batman is the only way Bruce Wayne is able to give his life and his trauma some meaning. Joker challenges that more than any other of his foes because he uses his life and his trauma to persuade Batman that there is no meaning. That's the fuel to their never-ending battle and that's why, even though I liked The Dark Knight, I never thought that this movie presented the Batman and Joker I knew since Batman doesn't seem like something Bruce Wayne needs that much (he barely thinks about his parents anymore) and Joker, even if he's always explaining the theme of the movie (order vs chaos) like every Nolan's character does, doesn't look at all like the "agent of chaos" he pretends to be. He's so ordered, so organized, he even has a plan to kill Dent and Rachel if the police lied to him about Batman's identity and all his plans (Dent or Rachel, the boat of innocent people or the boat of criminals) look more like something the Riddler would do. What's interesting about the Batman/Joker relationship in The Dark Knight is that Batman Begins served as a thesis for the power of fear used by Batman against criminals and Joker is the only one who's not afraid of him. In that way, he presents a higher challenge than Ra's or Scarecrow. It functions well in this particular narrative because of the themes Nolan choose to enforce. But I miss Burton's Batman, always on the edge of being a psycho himself. And of course, I miss Phantasm's Batman, unable to mourn his parents, unable to escape his vow. "I didn't count on being happy" is by far the most mature thing ever said in a Batman or any super hero movie and it was a child movie from 1993... There is still work to do for a great cinematic adaptation of Batman. Yes, I'm looking at you, Matt Reeves.

[@dcmarvelcomicfans9458]

Actually the Modern Age depictions of Joker are pretty intelligent and no one wasn't going for the whole cartoony like look I was going for realism so some Fantastical elements have to be stripped. I'm most looking forward to Matt Reeves the Batman I was impressed with the trailer and the comics he took inspiration from like long Halloween Batman year one & two Batman Earth One and batman ego. And his well understanding of Batman better than Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan

[@themadtitan7603]

Still the best Batman movie ever made. If Batman Begins is the origin of how Bruce becomes the symbol known as Batman, Mask of the Phantasm is how Bruce's life became cursed by this "symbol" or as you said it "Batman is a ransom on Bruce"s soul...".The last scene represents this idea with the bat-signal or "bat-SYMBOL" hanging over Bruce's life symbolizing how he's forever bound to his fate as a vengeful knight and can't nor would ever be Bruce Wayne no more.

[@theprinceofdarkness3250]

DCAU knew how to get their characters to work right as they should be. After the DCAU officially ended everything around Batman just became one big mess....

[@osmanyousif7849]

Now don't get me wrong, this movie is terrific, but I still felt like it was missing something. I mean, it's called Mask of the Phantasm, yet we only see the Phantasm for a 3rd of the film, and sure the reveal of Andrea being the character is perfection but I feel like the built up for it was kind of short. Especially when you watch the original trailer and the villain sounds like someone who's trying to impersonate Batman and frame him for murders with him coming next. Even the movie poster quotes, "The Dark Knight fights to save Gotham City from it's deadliest enemy.", and that really never happens. And I guess you can say in some defense, this is the studios fault for rushing production and to commercialize the film too late, leading to it's box office failure. But even then, I feel there could have been one small change that could have been one small change (and no not stealing from Nando v Movies). And if I were able to make a change, it would be this: Andrea hates Batman. And how can this lead up to it? Here's my pitch: So Andrea learns what's happening to her father Carl, and while he orders her that they must leave town for good so the mob won't hurt them, Andrea says she there has to be another way. She can't come to lie to Bruce about leaving him and ends up confessing what her father has got himself into. Bruce decides he wants to help since he's trying so hard to be the vigilante he was. He tells Andrea to tell her father to make a meeting with the mob saying he's got the money and will meet them where they want. And so the next day, Carl arrives at the place, a chemical powerplant, and the gangsters are there. The mob though has made up their minds and decides no half measures and to kill Carl. Bruce and Andrea are masked up and sees this, but Andrea bursts out from behind to try and save her father (despite Bruce's protest to wait for his signal) and attack the gang Bruce and Andrea put up a good fight until it's stop when the gangster, who happens to be Joker, overpowers the two with his little lethal toys. Carl realizes that it's Andrea, and sacrifices himself and jumps into the way to save his daughter and Bruce, getting killed in the process. Andrea in an emotional raged attempts to uses one of the guns on the floor to kill but Bruce stops her by pushing the guns away, but in the process, ends of hitting a power box causing some wires fall into the chemicals and and explosion occurs, the places starts to shake and go up in flames, causing pre-Joker gangster to fall into one of the vat chemicals. With with place in flames the gangsters flee and Bruce and Andrea find their own way out (maybe or maybe not they can get Carl out of there too). Bruce and Andrea afterwards are left in despair and Bruce feels guilt for his goal was to save life and bring evil to justice, not let those be killed or kill evil. Andrea however can't live with the fact with what the mob did. To protect herself so that the mob won't find her, Andrea decides to leave the city, despite Bruce pleading no. But Andrea says that she's not ready for their relationship to continue especially after what had happen and leaves Bruce. Bruce then decides that he must find his own way for justice and chooses to be Batman. Meanwhile though, the firefighters have put out most of the fire and have found the pre-gangster-Joker, except this time, he's now full Joker and while being hauled away in the ambulance, kills all the paramedics and driver and escapes giving the chilling laugh in the process Now cut to present time, Andrea is the Phantasm but this time, she's got something else up her sleeve. The murders were intentional and Batman is being framed on purpose. Because this time Andrea believes that if Batman was to be representing justice and vengeance, then why aren't all these murderous, corrupt criminals of Gotham dead, including The Joker. Andrea can soon figure out that Bruce is Batman and while we aren't shown it yet, it'll be revealed that now Andrea feels betrayed. Now this time, Andrea's plan will be once all the criminals are down, it'll be Batman's/Bruce turn, but in a different way. So in the final climax where Joker and Andrea fight, Andrea is able to knock Joker out and is about to kill him but Bruce interferes and tries to stop Andrea but Andrea is having none of it and fights Bruce leading to an argument like this: Andrea/Phantasm: Face it Bruce, I'm doing what The Dark Knight they call justice fails to do! Bruce/Batman: You're no hero by being a murderer! (continues trying to prevent Andrea from fighting him) Stop it! Look, I'm sorry that we couldn't be together, and I wish I thought out our plan better to save your father! But don't end everything like this! Andrea: Is that what you think this is about?! That we never could be together? That we failed to save my dad? Bruce, I told you before, it's not our fault. But what I don't understand is WHY!?! If you're the hero they see you as, then WHY were they NOT DEAD, especially that murdering clown!?!? I mean, after what he's done, him taking the first shots, and I thought he was when he feel back there, but no. And he's still breathing, because of YOU! Batman: I didn't know Joker was the same guy as before until now! Andrea: DON'T GIVE ME THAT RUBBISH!!!! Even if you had no clue, what in the right mind would make you think that psycho monster can ever live another day? The lives he's hurt and made suffer, the chaos he's caused in the city, the harm he can create. And you decide that locking him up with do a think even though he keeps getting out, and doing the same thing?! WHY BRUCE!? Batman: Because even if I did, I fear that there's no turning back. Once I kill, I won't stop, and neither will you. And after this: Joker wakes from his knock-out and say, "Hahahaha, how perfect! The Cape Crusader and the wannabe impersonator coming at it! This is better than I excepted!". Andrea grabs Joker ready to finish him off, gives her goodbye to Bruce, until suddenly the building start to explode as Joker planned giving Joker his last laugh and Andrea disappears into her Phantasm fog. The film actually ends the same, with Batman being cleared of accusations, Alfred telling Bruce that no one could have saved Andrea, finding her locket, except instead of Bruce continuing his Batman crime-fighting duties in the last minute, we get Bruce shedding a tear as he sees the locket and Andrea on the ocean liner as well too with the flashback of the two after Bruce propose to her talking about their plans and dreams together and they two share a kiss again and the camera pulls forward as we look into the night sky. The End.

[@Lord_Winston]

there many twisted plots on this movie I hope can be soon a real Hollywood movie on the theaters

[@themodernmythicist2282]

Mask of the Phantasm's plot is not that dissimilar from Batman Returns. Salina Kyle and Bruce struggle with trying to become better people, and she cannot let her vendetta against another villain go. Mask of the Phantasm combines Penguin and Max Shrek's roles into one character: The Joker.

[@johndad8402]

Good video.

[@orangesoda4535]

Man, these childrens movies are way too complex for their intended audience. No way I would've gotten any of that when I was 10.

[@cbeckwith172]

Wait what footage of Batman beyond is that???

[@sonyeonnn3672]

watching this movie on acid was something else

[@wtk6069]

Is this the best superhero movie of all time? Just maybe.

[@goldenboybenny7511]

I don’t like the idea of fate in any story even if Batman will never find happiness or not be Batman in the series because of meta reasons I don’t want that to be literal cosmic force in the story.

[@gtdmouse]

What was that future clip from, the one with an old Phantasm and Amanda Waller(I think)?

[@ingonyama70]

"Epilogue," from Justice League Unlimited.

[@offshorecomedy]

please reupload your man of steel and bvs video from back in the day

[@samtheweebo]

I always thought Joker died at the end of the movie.