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The origins of Batman have been told and retold many times, but the version from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm rises above the rest.
Superhero origin stories have become something of a slippery slope for big-budget productions. They provide an instant narrative without expending much creative thought and can bring newcomers to the characters up to speed very quickly. But it can get tedious very quickly, especially after multiple reboots. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, for instance, wisely skipped Spider-Man’s origins after two previous franchises had delivered their interpretation. And no superhero has been exposed to it as many times as Batman, whose enduring popularity has led to numerous recasts, reboots and re-imaginings since the 1940s.
Now, the new trailer for The Batman suggests another possible itineration of Bruce Wayne’s beginning, in keeping with its updated story. But in all the decades since the character appeared, no version of his origin story feels quite as perfect as the one in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
What Is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm About?
Mask of the Phantasm takes place within the continuity of the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series, shuttling back and forth between Batman’s early career as a crimefighter and the events that led him to become the Dark Knight. The appearance of a new vigilante in Gotham, who murders criminals instead of just brutalizing them, evokes memories of an earlier time in Bruce’s career when a woman named Andrea Beaumont came very close to giving him a normal life. The mystery is intriguing in and of itself, and the storytelling team from The Animated Series draws heavily from the comics in their version of events. They even bring Mark Hamill’s Joker into the mix, and the film’s surprisingly adult tone lets him be far more sinister than he could in The Animated Series.
But the details of this Brue Wayne’s beginning give the film its real power. That begins with a faithful interpretation of some of the key elements of the story. Most notably, Bruce attempts to become a vigilante without a disguise, only to find that criminals aren’t frightened of him. He must also deal with Alfred, who’s pleading with him to leave the cape and cowl behind, as well as confronting corruption in his city that has spread beyond the police’s ability to contain. But most of all, the film teases Bruce with the promise of happiness, only to tear it away. The early scenes depict him as deeply torn between the “promise” to his parents and his love for Beaumont, with the Wayne family headstone a pitiless judge of his self-perceived failures contrasted against the compassion and companionship of a woman who truly seems to understand him. Not only does it cover the important details in spectacular fashion, but it demonstrates how much Bruce gives up for the sake of the greater good, and what a terrible tragedy that turns out to be.
What Makes Mask of the Phantasm the DCAU’s Best Batman Retelling?
There certainly hasn’t been a shortage of renditions over the years, as a young Bruce Wayne witnesses the death of his parents at the hands of a street criminal and vows a systemic war on crime that culminates in his vaunted secret identity. DC’s various animated endeavors have taken their share of shots at it, and yet none have approached the strengths of this one. Indeed, the comparisons go beyond animation and into live-action adaptations. Tim Burton’s 1989 version held the scene until late in the proceedings, presenting it as a mystery that love interest Vicki Vale had to solve, while the Adam West TV show limited the story to a few lines of dialogue, in keeping with its light and upbeat tone. Zack Snyder took the exact opposite approach with Batman v Superman, revealing the scene as operatic and intense. 2005’s Batman Begins did things significantly better and earned praise at the time as much for simply focusing on the character’s origins and allowing it to develop organically.
But even Nolan drew influence from Mask of the Phantasm, including a number of key plot points. The animated feature was released in theaters in 1993, and while it did only a tiny fraction of the business that the Burton movies were doing, the very fact that it saw the inside of a movie theater was impressive on its own. The Animated Series broke ground in a number of ways, most famously with the creation of Harley Quinn, but also with first-ever non-comic appearances of such key characters as Two-Face and Ra’s al Ghul. It even landed a brief spot-on network prime time, unheard of for a show developed as children’s programming. And The Mask of the Phantasm took full advantage of the opportunity, exploring the specifics of the event 12 years before Nolan did.
Interestingly enough, Alan Burnett, who co-wrote the screenplay and receives sole storytelling credit for the film, also wrote what might be the second-best Batman origin story. Super Friends, Season 10, Episode 6, “The Fear” provided a similarly mature and intense rendition, this time with West himself voicing Batman. And as it turns out, that was just a warm-up. The Mask of the Phantasm is beloved among fans for many reasons, but when it comes to this all-important facet of the character, it may have no equal.
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