New Post-Covergence Batman Revealed!

Who is in the new robo-batsuit? Well, we were supposed to find out from DC's free book on Free Comic Book Day, but a page from that been has leaked. Click below to find out the new person behind the cowl. Be warned it is a SPOILER!

Analyzing The Batman Franchise (Pt. 2 of 8) : Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

Directed By: Tim Burton

Batman/Bruce Wayne: Michael Keaton

Love Interest: Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Played By: Michelle Pfeiffer)

Villains: The Penguin (Danny Devito), Catwoman (MP), and Max Schreck (Chris Walken)

Score: Danny Elfman

High Points:

• Michael Keaton's Batman was serviceable, but still killed people.
• Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman was dark, mesmerizing, and seductive. Make note that I said her "Catwoman" and not her Selina Kyle.
• The opening fight sequence against the Red Triangle Circus Gang was fun. (Even though Batman burned some poor bastard to death).
• Bo Welch took over the Art Direction from Anton Furst and brought us a beautiful Gotham Square during Christmas time. (There was no reason for this movie to be set during Christmas other than Gotham looks cool in the snow).
• I will outright say that I fucking love Danny Devito in whatever he is in, so I give him props here for at least trying. (Christopher Walken sure as hell didn't)
• The Penguin wore his monocle. (For like a second)
• Bruce calls Alfred out for being a dickhead when he let Vicki Vale in the Batcave in the last movie.
• I will also say I dug the Penguin for Mayor angle. (It just could have worked better with the comic book version of the character)
• The Masquerade dance sequence when Selina and Bruce discover each other's alternate identities was an emotional charged scene.
• Catwoman and Penguin do a good job framing Batman for the murder of the Ice Princess. (Then decide to do nothing with this leverage)
• The sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Favorite Line: "Seems like every woman you try to save ends up dead... or deeply resentful. Maybe you should retire." - Catwoman

Favorite Scene: The Bat, The Cat, and The Penguin finally meet; Batman fights Catwoman

Why?: Batman may all of a sudden forget how to fight, but that's probably becuase he was mesmerized by Michelle Pfieffer.

Low Points:

• Needless Biblical references: Penguin got thrown into river like Moses, then later on wanted to kill the first born sons of Gotham. He was also 33 years old in the movie like Jesus in the Bible. So if you are religious (I am not, but to each his own) this movie is try to tell you that the Penguin is the true God.
• Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle was underdeveloped and her transformation was totally unexplained. Were the cats that bit her fingers, magical street cats? I feel like you are more likely to get Hepatitis or herpes from street cats than superpowers.
• It felt like Batman was barely in his own film.
• Penguin's terrible plans were easily thwarted. There was no tension whatsoever.
• The only time any plan worked was when Penguin framed Batman for the murder of the Ice Princess, but less than 5 mins after that occurred it was resolved.
• What the fuck was leaking from the Penguin's mouth?
• Penguin gets the Tim Burton treatment. Instead of being a high brow criminal, he is turned in a deformed perverted freak, who wants to murder children.
• Batman stopped two of Penguin's schemes by jamming frequencies with Alfred. First he pumped in audio to destroy Penguin's mayoral run, then he jammed the signal that was guiding the penguin's with missiles. Batman really could have just stayed at home the whole movie if this was all it took to stop this chubby asshole. (Seriously Danny was a more menacing villain in Lethal Weapon 5).
• Hijacking the Batmobile had no rhyme or reasoning to it. Was Penguin trying to kill Batman? Or defame him further? Just made no sense.
• Max Shrek = Cliched greedy businessman played by Chris Walken, who really didn't give a shit.
• Once again Batman and Gordon's relationship is non-existent.

Worst Line: "My dear penguins, we stand on a great threshold! It's okay to be scared; many of you won't be coming back. Thanks to Batman, the time has come to punish *all* God's children! 1st, 2nd, 3rd *and* 4th-born! Why be biased? Male and female! Hell, the sexes are equal with their erogenous zones blown sky high! Forward march! The liberation of Gotham has begun!" - The Penguin

Worst Scene: Penguin's pump up speech. 

Why?: It was the worst line for a reason. It was just such a ridiculous moment.

Verdict: Tim Burton won a lot of good will with Warners Bros because Batman (1989) was such a finical success. So with that good will came more creative freedom for Burton when he worked on Batman Returns (1992). And with that creative freedom came Tim Burton's version of the Penguin, an ugly, deformed, perverted, plump, aquatic bird boy freak. A total and complete departure from the character's comic book counterpart. As I said yesterday, Tim Burton loves his freaks. So because he didn't have another Joker to toy with, he turned the Penguin into one. Well actually Tim didn't do it alone, the screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers) can take some of the credit as well. Besides destroying my boy Ozzie, Water's script contained zero tension because all of the problems presented to Batman were easily resolved. For god sakes Penguin's plot to kill the firstborns, that he was working on the whole film, was stopped in two seconds. All we got to see his Batman's hands grab the train driver. But despite all those problems, I still love this movie for some reason. Could it be nostalgia, or because I had a boyhood crush on Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman, or maybe it's because I have a massive Danny Devito bias? I don't know what it is, but I watch this movie every year around Christmas. Gotham just looks great in the snow you know? But at the end of the day I got to give this flick a reasonable rating, so Batman Returns gets a 6.5 out of 10. Danny Devito was born to play the Penguin, the real Penguin, not this fucking strange perverted version. 

Now here is a real villain!

Thanks for reading. Stayed tuned for an analysis of Batman Forever tomorrow. And make sure to follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73 for all your comic book and Caped Informers news and stories.

Check out the rest of our look back at Batman's film history by clicking the link below.

Batman (1989)

More great are by Francesco Francavilla

Gotham "Penguin's Umbrella" Review

Jim Gordon meets a new friend named Victor Zsasz while Penguin pits idiot mob bosses against one another on this week's Gotham.

Synopsis: As violence between Maroni (guest star David Zayas) and Falcone continues to escalate, Penguin reveals a new element of his manipulative strategy, forcing Gordon to deal with the consequences of his decision to spare Penguin’s life.

High Points:

• Jim Gordon is the local badass
• Enter Victor Zsasz
• Penguin amps up the mob war by playing both sides of his chess board
• Love how Penguin has Maroni's ear
• Beating or a bullet?
• Jim and Harvey attempt to enforce the law
• Harvey Bullock is a chubby chaser and I dig it
• A fun twist for the Penguin at the end
• No Riddler!

OSWALD FOR MAYOR!

Low Points:

• I would rather drink Mama June's piss than hear Fish Mooney speak
• Falcone would rather play with his cocks (chickens) than his new girlfriend
• Much prefer lone serial killer Zsasz to mob enforcer (I know its early on, but only 28 kills so far that is some weak shit, Victor)
• When Penguin said "Honk, Honk", it was bad enough, but actually having him explain a goose noise to Maroni made me lose faith in humanity.
• Barbara Kean is an absolute dumbass
• Why is Vic Zsasz's ringtone "Funky Town"?

Verdict: Thank god for the Penguin. Week in and week out, he is the best part of this program. So because he was the focus this week, it was my favorite episode of Gotham so far (which ain't saying much, but still). Ozzy is playing for keeps and has all three mob bosses at each other's throats. He is the best "politician" I have ever seen. When I go to the voting booth tomorrow I'm voting Cobblepot. Elsewhere Jim and Harvey actually attempted to deal out some real justice this week. Usually their cases are the weakest parts of the show, but surprisingly going after the Mayor and Falcone was very compelling. Good on you Gotham! But none of this changes the fact that Fish Mooney needs to die. Jada Pickett Smith overplays her so much that she has become unbearable. Other characters are starting to grow on me, but Fish never will. Overall "Penguin's Umbrella" gets a 7.5 out of 10. Definitely an improvement over last week.

Bald Villains: Anthony Carrigan played The Mist on The Flash a few weeks back. Tonight he was on Gotham as serial killer supreme Victor Zsasz. The question isn't will Anthony play another bald DC villain, it's how many bald DC villains will he play? My guess is 20 or 30 at the least. Just wait, he will to nab the role of Lex Luthor for Greg Bertlani's upcoming Supergirl show. You go Anthony Carrigan, you naughty boy, you!

Gotham "Spirt of The Goat" Review

Harvey reflects back on better days, while Oswald takes a bath on an all new Gotham.

Synopsis: A killer targets Gotham elite’s firstborn children, and the case brings back painful memories for Bullock. Elsewhere, Gordon is forced to deal with the consequences of his past decisions.

High Points

• Interesting to see Harvey's past
• Jim Gordon can kick some serious ass
• They got the Penguin's middle name right
• Fish Mooney didn't show up

You can cut the sexual tension with a knife

Low Points

• Couldn't come up with a better name for the killer than The Goat
• Edward Nygma is nauseating
• Nevermind he is fucking worse than nauseating
• I would rather eat my own shit than to watch him on screen
• Cobblepot's mom is a caricature joke
• Nice Silence of the Lambs ripoff with the penny
• Selina breaks into Wayne manor for no apparent reason
• Umm that Penguin and Mama bath scene...
• The villain was hypnotism

Verdict: This week Jim and Harvey go after a serial killer that has ties to a case Harvey solved years back. Now this ep. kinda reminded me of last year's episode of Arrow entitled "Broken Dolls" (If you haven't seen it, go watch it, it's great). That being said Arrow did this scenario much better than Gotham. Det. Lance on Arrow had a strong emotional connection to the old killings because the victims were all women in their early 20's and his daughter, who was that age, had recently died. Lance thought that if he could stop this killer (The Dollmaker), it was almost like her could save his daughter. Now on Gotham, Harvey had no real emotional trauma from his old case. In fact the writers could have killed off his old partner (appropriately named Dicks after what kind of bag this show sucks) to give Harvey more of a connection to the case. But there was no emotion. Instead it was an easily solved case (Solved by looking at who took days off from work!) with an easily caught baddie who went by a terrible name (Spirit of the Goat, really?). Yes there was a twist that a random therapist and her hypnotism caused these Goat men to go on killing sprees, but that was laughable explanation  As for other story lines, Edward Nygma's portrayal is irritating and unneeded. We get that he will be The Riddler, but stop having him talking in riddles and start having him be a person. Eddy in the comics has always thought he was the smartest person in any room he stepped into. Show him doing something mildly intelligent. Any asshole can google riddles and say them aloud. On one final note, Oswald couldn't even save this episode. He took a bath with his mom. That's about it. overall I give "Spirit of the Goat" a 3.0 out of 10. This show needs to be better than this because if this is the best Gotham has in store then it's gonna be a long season.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's sixth episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Believe it when I say i like Jim Carrey's better

Famous Baths: Penguin shared a bath with mother tonight So I thought we should look back at history's most famous bath. It was of course the time President Taft got his fatass stuck in the presidential tub at the White House. Just think about that anytime you are feeling down. Also Penguin's bath reminded me of Blazing Saddles. "Mother that's not froggy"

Gotham "Viper" Review/Thoughts

Free Drugs! Get your free drugs here! Gotham is overtaken by a new "super" drug. Mild SPOILERS!

Synopsis: Gordon and Bullock search for the source of a new street drug that causes euphoria then death. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot works his way deeper into Maroni’s inner circle and Fish Mooney continues her plot against Falcone.

High Points

• Bullock likes pickles
• Bruce is the best detective on the show
• Bullock and Gordon's interplay still fun
• Edward Nygma didn't make me puke this week
• Penguin tells Maroni the truth
• David Zayas is a great Maroni
• Penguin compromises Gordon again

You haven't earn the right to call me Mama, Jaden!

Low Points

• No one questions random guy handing drugs to everyone
• Viper (Later Venom) leads to milk addiction
• Low grade special effects
• Cases are very linear
• Jada Pinket Smith's overacting has worn its welcome
• Van Gough wannabe and Super Old Man were shit villains
• No suspense
• Awful villain motivation
• Villains only exists to show Wayne Enterprises sucks
• Another episode more dead villains to never return
• Falcone is thinking with his dick

Verdict: Arrow is great. The Flash is great. The Walking Dead is usually fun. But unfortunately Gotham is quickly becoming The Agents Of SHIELD (otherwise known as Agents of SHIT) of DC comics shows. This week the new Fox hit decided to bastardize Bane's favorite drug Venom (I NEED MILK!!!). By having it created by two badly motivated villains who's grand plan was thwarted by simple having people run out of a room. The whole situation just had no suspense and was just plain boring. Five straight weeks of uninteresting cases and undeveloped quickly dead villains. Once again the redeeming part of the ep. was the Penguin. His confession to Maroni and how it subsequently affected Jim was the only exciting event to take place. Otherwise this episode was just a set up to show that Wayne Enterprises is run by shitheads. Huge surprise, since we have yet to find one decent person in the city besides Bruce, Alfred, Jim, and maybe Harvey. Well at least this WE plot thread allows lil' Batman to go on a detective case into his parents' company. Could actually be something worth watching. Unlike Fish Mooney's scheme to trick Falcone to fall in love. I thought this was a mob war not Gossip Girl. I understand Mooney is playing both sides of the coin by banging the Russian dude too, but this fake girlfriend plan is overused on TV. Overall I give "Viper" a 5.0 out of 10. Scarecrow looks to be the villain next week perhaps he can get this show out of it's early growing pains.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's fifth episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

What did you do to Venom?

Gotham Conspiracy Theory: Is Harvey Bullock actually Bubble Bass from SpongeBob Squarepants? I don't see anyone saying he isn't the Sponge's arch nemesis. Expect the crossover soon. You heard it here first!

Gotham "Arkham" Review/Thoughts

The gang war starts as councilmen are killed off left and right in this week's Gotham. SPOILERS

Synopsis: As a contentious city council vote on the future of the Arkham district approaches, politicians from both sides are in danger. Gordon and Bullock must race to protect the council and an old friend visits Gordon.

High Points

• The Asylum look cool
• The gang war starts
• Bruce Wayne starting to be a detective
• The Penguin and Gordon's evolving relationship
• Penguin's promotion
• Gordon and Bullock's dynamic
• Ozzy manipulating and killing
• Arkham will be reopened

Arkham sure is lovely this time of year

Low Points

• Again slow episode with little tension
• Edward Nygma sucks
• "It was just a box of paper clips!"
• Villain once again a bore
• Fish Mooney "Chick Fight" scene stolen from The Dark Knight
• WE GET THE BEST OF BOTH PLANS!

Verdict: This show should really be renamed Penguin because he is the only interesting part of the story. His crawl to the top of the mob world is filled with manipulation and murder. The rest of this show is just filler really. Filler with crappy Batman teases. Sure Arkham Asylum will be reopened but did anyone really feel the Councilman serial killer case was interesting at all? Just another by the numbers investigation that ends in killing the suspect. I enjoy seeing Harvey and Jim's separate philosophies on solving cases go head to head, but otherwise that story arc was just bland. Meanwhile Maroni and Falcone war began in the most boring way possible, fighting over a vote. In the coming weeks I hope the battle for top Don really picks up. As Penguin gets more involved (especially by playing both sides of the coin by working with Gordon) it definitely should. Overall I give the episode a 5.5 out of 10. Ain't good ain't bad.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's fourth episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out our reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Jim Gordon's Movie Pick of the Week: Jim should really pick up Chasing Amy this week. He seemed uncomfortable with his wife's past lesbian relationship and Kevin Smith's flick would really help Jim figure out his feelings on the situation. Perhaps he could resolve his inner problems the same way Batfleck's character tried to. Bring Barbara and Montoya together and say...

Gotham "The Balloonman" Review/Thoughts

This week in Gotham The Balloonman terrorizes the city's untouchable criminals which leads Jim and Harvey to finally learn how balloons work.

Episode Description: Detectives Gordon and Bullock track down a vigilante who is killing corrupt Gotham citizens by attaching them to weather balloons. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot returns to Gotham and gets a new job close to an influential figure in the underworld.

High Points

• Jim Gordon vs. Everyone
• Harvey Bullock getting his ass kicked
• Barbara and Montoya ;)
• Penguin's kill streak continues
• Alfred is growing on me
• Intro to Sal Maroni
• The corruption of Gotham runs deep
• Villain presents interesting moral conflict for Gordon

Low Points

• Balloonman was ridiculous villain
• Lameass Bullock interrogations
• Gordon easily tricked by Selina
• Fish Mooney is beginning to wear thin
• Once again overall episode was just boring
• And once again little tension or excitement

Verdict: This show's heart is in the right place. Jim Gordon's characterization is great and the show continually demonstrates how shitty the city of Gotham is. The problem is so far no bad guy has really been worth investigating for a full episode. Hell, no one in the city even wants these cases solved except for Gordon. The Balloonman was a ridiculously stupid villain. His balloon kills were more hysterical than scary which made this villain of the week a real joke. His only plus side was he that he's a murderous vigilante which presented an interesting moral dilemma for Gordon. On the flip side of the episode, Oswald Cobblepot meeting Maroni was interesting. I'm excited to see what part Ozzy plays in the impending mob war. Overall I give "The Balloonman" a 6.5 out of 10. Well, at least Jim and Harvey learned how balloons work.

Thanks for reading. What did you think of Gotham's third episode? Sound off in the comments. Make sure to check out my reviews every week and follow our live action tweeting of every episode @Caped_Informers and @cstrand73. See you next week folks!

Gotham's Weird Fact Of The Week: For some reason all three episodes so far have some weird mention of shoes. First episode had Jim Gordon notice that Mario Pepper owned no shiny shoes. The second had Bullock get told that he had nice shoes. And now in third episode, Oswald kills a bro for his shoes. This leads me to the conclusion that Bruno Heller has a foot fetish. That is all!

DC TV Updates For 'Flash', 'Arrow' and 'Gotham'

Hey everybody! Sorry for the hiatus. I just took the last week for a little R+R, but now I'm back and more dedicated than ever. Let's talk some DC TV.

Wentworth Miller Cast as Captain Cold

Last Friday TV Guide tweeted that Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller will portray the ice villain and leader of the Rogues on Flash. The character will be first introduced in episode 4.

Miller is a great cast for Leonard Snart. He fits the new 52 look of the character which is the direction I believe the show should take. Ice Powers > Ice Gun every time. With Cold being added there is only a matter of time before this show brings in the rest of the Rogues. Can't wait.

Arrow and Flash Will Have a Two Hour Crossover!

TV Guide also nabbed another a big DC TV scoop this week from an interview with Flash and Arrow producer Andrew Kreisberg. He revealed that both shows will have a crossover event that will take place across each of the show's 8th episodes. The producer also mentioned that everybody's favorite Arrow character, Felicity Smoak, will be making a stop in Central City in Flash's 4th episode.

These shows exist in the same universe so a crossover was inevitable. Thats not meant to say that I'm not excited for it though. It's going to be cool seeing Ollie team up with super powered Barry. The dynamic between the characters will be much different than Barry's Arrow guest stint considering they are both superheroes now. Bring on the mash up.  

By the way the most exciting question about this crossover is who's the bad guy causing this little team up? Could it be the Rogues first assembling? Or maybe Deathstroke breaks free? Or could Gorilla Grodd bringing his own brand of whoop ass to Central City? (I'm still riding on an Ape-high because of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) Well whoever it is must be tough to catch the attention of both our CW heroes.

Geoff Johns Confirms DC TV and Movies Are Not Connected

DC Entertainment Chief Geoff Johns had a recent interview with IGN Movies where he revealed that the DC Movie and TV universes are not connected. Johns said "You'll see a lot of DC universe characters [on The Flash and Arrow]. You won't see Batman or Superman. We're on production on Batman V Superman now. So you'll see characters like The Atom or Firestorm, but no not Batman or Superman right now [on TV]." That makes sense, but Smallville aired when Superman Return was released, so why not?... It's a separate universe than film so that the filmmakers can tell the story that's best for film. While we explore something different in a different corner of the DC universe. We will not be integrating the film and television universes."

We live in a world today where everybody expects every comic related media to be connected. Marvel Studios has revolutionized the genre by weaving a larger tale with their interconnected films. Last year the studio attempted to integrate TV into it's MCU cannon by adding Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. Now that show blows. Like seriously sucks ass. And while I believe that Marvel's Netflix series will fair much better, I think AOS proved that making your TV show connected to your movie universe is not always a good thing. 

Yes having a Movie Flash and a TV Flash will not please everyone. But I actually like what Johns said about having the universes separate allow the writers to explore different characters in the TV corner of the DC Universe. I mean let's face it, not every comic character is going to be brought to film. The Flash and Green Arrow might get film adaptions yet characters like Firestorm, The Atom, and Katana probably never will. So having heroes like Flash and GA on TV allows for these more obscure DC characters to make it into the limelight. And if the two heroes are played by different actors and make it into film, then they can deal with their fellow Justice Leaguers. I think it just means more stories being told about our favorite characters. So its not the end of the world that Ben Affleck will not be taking selfies with Colton Hayes anytime soon.

Gotham show runner Bruno Heller Dishes on Batman Prequel

Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) has been talking non-stop about his new show Gotham. Heller told IGN Movies about the potential Joker appearances, Poison Ivy's name change, the inclusion of Hugo Strange, an older Harvey Dent, and Arkham Asylum all in season one.

An older Harvey Dent and Hugo Strange. Great two more villains for this show to ruin. Let's go through which foes have been confirmed for this show. Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Hugo Strange, Two Face, Joker, Scarecrow and some have even rumored Mr. Freeze will make an appearance. That's 9 of Batman's top baddies and they have only shot the pilot. Are gonna introduce fucking Clayface and Professor Pyg this season too? If the writers did they would probably rename them Swine Bacon and Johnny Mud. (The name Ivy Pepper still makes me fucking puke.)  Seriously though I thought this show was about Jim Gordon and the GCPD. Gordon's past now only really seems like a vehicle for these horrendous villain backstories that no one wants to see. The season is supposed to consist 16 episodes, but I starting to think that is 15 episodes to many. Bury this shit before it starts to tarnish Batman's legacy.

Sources: IGN Movies

               TV Guide

That's all the recent DC TV news, but make sure to follow us on Twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73 to keep up on all your comic related news. Thanks for reading.

Carol Kane Cast As Penguin's Mom on 'Gotham'

Carol Kane (Taxi) has joined the cast of Fox's Gotham as Oswald Cobblepot's Mom, Gertrud Kapelput. TVLine broke the news earlier today and was also able to grab a brief character overview, Gertrud will be a "proud and faded beauty with delusions of grandeur." Kane will be working closely with Robin Lord Taylor to bring the Cobblepots to life.

Listen, I have given this show a lot of shit. Most of it is unjustified since it has yet to air an episode. The pilot will air at SDCC in a few weeks and we as fans will hear the first reactions soon. I really am hoping this shows turns out well. I am a Batman fan through and through. What irks me though is from what I have heard about this show, it is very much like the usual cop bullshit on TV today. I just don't want to watch them destroy an iconic Batman villain every week with some crappy cop drama. Every week a fucking goose chase to find out pre-supervillain assholes like Waylon Jones (Killer Croc) were stealing Snickers bars from 7-11's to feed their drunk parents or some shit.

Source: TV Line

Does that mean Pee Wee Herman is no longer his Dad?

Arkham Knight E3 Overview

Arkham Knight E3 Overview
Before I start getting into the coverage from the E3 gameplay trailer, I would like to start off with a little background information about the series and the game for the people that don't know too much of this game series. Arkham Knight is the fourth installment of the latest batman franchise, which also includes Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Origins. These types of games have a sort of Assassin's Creed like game play and combat system going over a wide, explorable map that is riddled with enemies and secrets. The newest installment, Arkham Knight, is the sequel to the Arkham City game and takes place in Gotham City and is voiced by the almighty Kevin Conroy. The original trailer for this game was released in early March and since then, there have been many speculations on the gameplay and the landscape. The best part from that original trailer was the Batmobile and the fact that the player can now officially drive it around Gotham City. Although the game has been pushed back to 2015, it is still one of the most highly anticipated games for the next gen consoles and with the game play footage being released at E3 this year, everyone can now see it in its glory.

With the game play trailer above, lets begin to pick it apart and see what makes this game one of the best games to come out for the next gen consoles.

The Overview
This game takes place one year after the Arkham City game in the City of Gotham. He is helped by James and his daughter Barbara Gordon, as the Oracle, to help rid the city of the criminals that escaped from Arkham Asylum. The main villain, introduced briefly in the first trailer but more so in this one, Scarecrow, enlists the help of many other super-villains to help take out the Batman once and for all. This game also introduces a new villain to the playing field, The Arkham Knight. This villain is like a militarized version of the Batman that wears a coveted 'A' on his chest to symbolize Arkham. The player will have to take down all the super-villains in Gotham to save its citizens and himself from the Scarecrow.

The Suit

One of the first things that is seen in this trailer is Bruce putting on the bat suit. The detail the game designers went into the suit alone makes this game worth while. It's more robotic than the normal cape and cowl, but it makes it more realistic as an armor to protect his body during fights. And the fact that you can see the suit fitting perfectly to his body adds to the game experience to the new and the old fans. If they can get this type of suit into any of the upcoming Batman movies, I think we would all be very happy.

The Landscape

Starting with the Wayne Tower, you can see the amount of details put into the surrounding area. In a small area like the starting place, seeing that much detail can only speculate what Gotham City is going to look like. At first, I thought that if they put that much detail in a small area, the overall map may not be as well done and thank God (or whatever religious deity you thank, if any) I was wrong. The map of Gotham City spans over 5 times the area of Arkham City and every area has so much detail put into it, it probably wouldn't be physically possible for it to work for the previous console systems, such as the 360 and PS3. When Batman first steps out onto the ledge at 0:42, you can see what I mean by a huge landscape. From what is know, everything that is seen from the view is traversable, giving Arkham Knight one of the biggest maps in video game history.

Not to mention how far he drops as well. The closer he gets to the bottom, the more the map expands and you can see the detail put into every little window and door and light etc. Although I still want to keep my old 360, I am glad that this game is a next gen exclusive, just because of the sheer detail put into the design of the game.

The Batmobile

The most anticipated part of this new game, the fully rideable Batmobile. For it being one of the coolest features in the new game, it comes at a cost. The amount of work and detail put into the batmobile made it use up so much data that it would take up an entire 360. How it looks however, it makes a lot of sense in its memory usage. From shown on the game play trailer, the player can summon the batmobile when Batman is nearing the ground and the fabled batmobile appears. The actual driving of the batmobile looks like any other game with cars in it and looks pretty unwieldy. But unlike other games, the batmobile doesn't crash when it hits a lamp post or a blockade, it completely decimates them, not even slowing down. Now the best part of the batmobile starts at 1:52 of the game play trailer; when it gets ready for combat. My jaw hit the floor when I saw the batmobile getting combat ready and I have to say, it is probably the best feature of this game by far. The wheels widening and being put on a pivot point instead of the axle makes the batmobile more mobile and agile, being able to move side-to-side, diagonally, and front-to-back as easy as it is to drive normally. And when the turrets came out of the top, I was ecstatic. The detail put into these guns are just astounding. From the fighting in the batmobile, it looks like you have a rocket, a lock-on missile, and a gatling gun, which I feel is just enough to have, you definitely don't want to go overboard with the amount of weapons, then it would make the game too easy. The last feature that is shown of the batmobile is the ability to rocket yourself out of the batmobile and be able to glide away easily. This, I feel, will be one of the more useful tricks the batmobile can pull off. It makes it easier to dodge enemies while in the batmobile and it makes it so the player can easily start exploring the skies again.

The Combat and Stealth

The combat in this game is just like the other games in the series, where you can gang up on multiple enemies and start combo-ing the crap out of them. One of the newest features added to the combat is called the "Fear Takedown", which is shown at around 2:55 where in the top left corner of the screen, you can see a "Fear Takedown Meter". From what I can understand, the diamonds underneath the Fear Takedown label are the amount of targets acquired. This move can select up to three targets when undetected and slows down the time to be able to take the enemies out quickly and quietly, and all it takes is to look at the target and press one button, easy enough right? This makes the stealth game and combat game a whole lot easier for the player while still making the combat interesting. Like in all the other games, the stealth makes the player essentially invisible to the enemies in the area. We get a good look at the stealth towards the end at around 3:36. I think its cool having the player be able to traverse underneath the enemy in the vent system and then pop out when close enough to the enemy.

The Ending

When I saw the first game play trailer while watching E3, I thought to myself, 'why would they bring in a broken trailer, I feel like they should have checked it out before launching it'. But when Scarecrow was revealed, it took away my sense of shame for the broken trailer and turned it into acting like a giddy little school girl. His reveal as the main enemy for batman, though known from the first trailer, adds a whole new set of questions, like how will his poison be used? or how will he use the Arkham Knight to beat the Batman? All we know for sure is that Scarecrow is enlisting the help of the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and the Riddler to take down the Batman. All in all, I can see this game being one of the best games for the next gen consoles and has a good chance of being "Game of the Year" with all of these added features and superb graphics and game play. All I can say is, I can't wait for this game to come out and be able to see its glory in person.

New Batmobile to be Revealed Tomorrow?

Director Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) posted a picture of a very "batmobilish" vehicle with a tarp over it to his Twitter account today. Then said "Could be time to pull the tarp...Tomorrow?". So expect the Batmobile to be revealed tomorrow. Get Excited!

I haven't see a sexier backside in a long time. The Penguin would love to make a miniature of that baby to ride in. "I played this stinking city like a hawk from hell!"

FOX Releases First Poster for Gotham

Alfred's hand placement is aggressive as fuck.

The idea of Fish Mooney angers me. This unneeded show is going to use every goddamn Batman super villain in the first episode, but they refuse to use any actual Gotham mob rulers like Carmine Falcone or Sal Maroni. Jada Pinkett Smith could have been Sofia Gigante, Falcone's daughter who became mob leader after his death, for fuck's sake. Now she is signed up for one season to be a pawn for Penguin to fuck over. Not too compelling. Plus can't wait to see Jack Napier telling shitty jokes on stage at a gangster club. Going to be glorious. This show is shaping up to be the Agents of SHIELD for DC. A super hero show that has no superheroes and just name drops for ratings. 

First Images of Harvey Bullock, Gordon, and Penguin from GOTHAM TV series

Comic Book Resources has revealed the first images from Fox's upcoming television series GOTHAM. These images give us the first look at Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), Detective Jim Gordan (Ben Mckenzie) and Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Lord Taylor). At first glance Logue looks a lot like the classic Batman TAS Harvey Bullock. He's got the trench coat, the hat, and the scruffyness that we love to see. Second, Ben, where is the mustache and glasses??? The people are demanding the iconic Jim Gordan here man. This is just an opinion from the one picture so hopefully we will see the glasses/mustache look. Lastly that news paper Cobblepot is holding we can make out something about a young detective and something about the Wayne Family. Is it the article revealing the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne? Can't be 100% sure but we should continue keeping our eyes open for more on-set pictures.

Feel free to speculate and form your own opinions!! here are the pics and article

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=96298

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=51537

Ryan's Top 5 Batman TAS

I remember watching both Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series when I was a kid and immediately loving both of them. It wasn't until I got a little older that I started to fully appreciate the darker and more in-depth elements that make Batman stories great. So without further ado, here is my definitive ranking of the animated series:

5) The Forgotten: While investigating the disappearances of Gotham's homeless in an undercover disguise, Bruce Wayne is kidnapped and imprisoned in a chain gang mining camp, suffering from amnesia. Alfred must thus track him down, help him escape and free the rest of the prisoners. 


Why it's a favorite: Got to love a white-haired Bruce Wayne. But beyond that we get an episode early on in the series that gives us a really good look into the character of Bruce Wayne. This is the first time the audience sees Bruce Wayne as someone who genuinely wants to help his fellow man and not just some guy who runs around in a bat suit "because he can afford it".

4) Showdown: Ra's al Ghul narrates a story from his past in which Jonah Hex stops his plan to destroy the new transcontinental railroad by using a war blimp. 


Why it's a favorite: This episode was a lot of fun because you get a story being told to us by Ra's al Ghul that took place years and years before Batman was around. I love it when you get a narration from a villain because it brings into question: Is the information I am receiving 100% accurate? You also get to see Ra's square off against a hero from a completely different time period: Jonah Hex. Watch as they face off on this blimp.

3) Harlequinade: The Joker steals an atomic bomb, and it is up to Batman and Robin to find and stop him. Since there is no time to spare, the duo enlist the help of Harley Quinn to track Joker down. Throughout the episode, it is briefly discussed how Harley met Joker.


Why it's a favorite: Gotta love the classic unlikely allies coming together story. I am also just a big fan of Harley Quinn in this series. For a character that had no history going into this show, she has come a long way and you even get that brief insight into how her partnership with the Joker came to be. 

2) Almost got Im': Joker, Killer Croc, Penguin, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy all meet at a poker table, each telling a tale of times when they almost defeated Batman. At the same time, Harley Quinn is about to kill Catwoman. Will Batman be able to save her? 


Why it's a favorite: Talk about an ensemble cast. You get four Batman stories in one episode, a ton of villains hanging out exchanging tales, and a surprise twist at the end of the episode similar to the one at the end of Cape and Cowl Conspiracy. Also it is just comical to see a bunch of people sitting around the table talking about Batman like he is "the one that got away". 

1) Over the Edge: During a fight with the Scarecrow, Batgirl is ambushed on a rooftop and falls to her death. Having watched his daughter's demise, Jim Gordon blames Batman for her fate and vows revenge, even recruiting Bane in the process. 

Why it's a favorite: I'm a big fan of the "what if" stories. That is why I am also such a big fan of The Flashpoint Paradox. You get a Batgirl death scenario that results in Jim Gordon waging an all out war against Batman. It ultimately results in the deaths of both Gordon and Batman but you find out at the end that it was just a big hallucination that Batgirl was having brought on by some good old-fashioned Scarecrow fear toxin. Also this Battle to the Death between Bane and Batman.

Honorable Mentions: Heart of Ice, The Man who Killed Batman, The Demon's Quest, Laughing Fish, If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?

Hope you enjoyed the list and be ready for the Top Ten Batman: The Animated Series episodes tomorrow!