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Batman: Gotham Knight is a direct-to-DVD collection of animated short films, each written by different writers and animated by 4 different japanese animation studios. East meets West. The events in these shorts happened between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. It was released on July 8, but I had watched it 6 days prior thanks to Anonymous. I intend to get a copy as soon as it’s available here.
“Have I Got A Story For You” by Studio 4°C
The first short is about the different Batman mythos. Who exactly is Batman? A shadow? A Bat-Monster? A Robot!? Four kids meet up and share how they saw Batman, each having different interpretations of the Dark Knight. The first one was a formless shadow that paid homage to Vampire Batman from an elseworld book; the second one is a homage to the Man-Bat; the third is a Robot Batman!
Mecha Batman!
It ended up with Batman crashing in and showing them first hand what he really looked like. I didn’t like the art in this short, but they successfully established that to most people in Gotham: Batman is an urban legend.
Crossfire by Production I.G.
Detectives Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez were assigned to bring Jacob Feely(the first short’s villain) back to Prison. On their way back, they literaly got caught between two mobs who started firing at each other, with their car in the middle. Batman comes in, saves them and kicks everyone’s asses. It’s basically Batman being BADASS! There’s this scene where he’s on fire. Just looking badass. ON FIRE!
ON FIRE!
It’s like a less vulgar Frank Miller story! But you know, without the whores! I need to give Greg Rucka a high five for this. A short Jim Lee tribute too! I thought Detective Ramirez was Renee Montoya at first, but I realized that she’s straight. This version was Batman is my favorite. He’s got the classic color palette, looks immensely scary and he’s fucking HUGE! Awesome!
“Field Test” by Bee Train
Bruce-kun! Bishie kawaii desu ne! tiramisu yakisoba desu desu desu
Bruce-kun, the bishounen billionaire playboy with boyish charm gets himself a device that can deflect bullets. He then field tests it against two mafia gangs. The device worked well, too well. A bullet that had deflected hit one of the mafia members. So he takes him to the hospital using the Batmobile.
I didn’t like this short that much, it feels un-Batmany. It would have worked better if they used the plot in an Iron Man story. I also didn’t like how they drew Bruce Wayne like a girly boy. It didn’t work well with Kevin Conroy’s voice.
“In Darkness Dwells” by Madhouse
Batman searches the sewers underground Gotham to find an ubducted cardinal who was kidnapped by a huge lizard monster. After getting info from Gordon, he was attacked by a fear-toxin induced Killer Croc who manages to bite him, transfering the fear toxin into his bloodstream.
Bats VS Killer Croc
“Are you in pain?” “I work through pain”. Batman endures the fear toxin and saves the cardinal from the Scarecrow and his minions. This interpretation is the closest to the comic book Batman IMO. He uses his brains to get handle sticky situations and endures the fear toxin with willpower alone. Thumbs up.
“Working Through Pain “by Studio 4°C
Batman, while in the sewers, was shot by a fear toxin-induced man. While struggling to get out of the sewers, he remembers his time with a young Indian woman named Cassandra who was feared and hated by her people. Flashbacks of his spiritual and mental training on how to “work through pain”. Sleeping on needles, walking on coals etc. One night, a group of young thugs harassed Cassandra, who did not react when strucked. Bruce intervened.
Hardcore.
You know what happens next.
Of course, Bruce went FIST OF THE NORTH STAR on their asses. Cassandra then tells her to leave. Saying that he got what he wanted, the ability to work with pain. It’s interesting to note that there had been a number of trainers who split with him on less than friendly terms. A classic Batman story. Thumbs up.
“Deadshot “by Madhouse
Deadshot has been hired to assassinate James Gordon. As Batman stopped him from killing Gordon, he reveals that he was the real target and Gordon was just a ploy to lure him out. They then do battle on top of a moving train, Batman gets hit but manages to defeat Deadshot.
Deadshot
Deadshot’s character and background was totally redone in this short to make him Batman’s anti-thesis. A man that specializes in guns and a man who hates them. Someone who could have been a masked vigilante that brings forth justice became a man with no remorse and is an assassin for hire. While I liked the concept, I didn’t like how it was executed.
“Though next someone time shoots at you, try ducking.” ~Alfred Pennyworth
Overall, Batman: Gotham Knight is well worth watching. Two thumbs up. Kevin Conroy’s smexy voice did it again!
And of course, the executive producer who made this possible: Bruce Timm, a god among men.
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