Season 1 covered the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Iron Man to Endgame, Season 2 reviewed the Star Wars saga, Season 003 tackled all 24 James Bond films, Season 4 was an epic countdown to Godzilla vs Kong,Season 5reviewed the Mortal Kombat movies / games, Season 6 was all things Ghostbusters, in Season 7 we plugged into The Matrix, and for Season 8 we watched every live-action Batman movie!
With the upcoming release of Matt Reeves’s “THE BATMAN”(in theaters on March 4th, 2022), we figured we’d take the opportunity to do a quick rundown of every confirmed character appearing in the new movie (as well as a couple who *might* make an appearance?), along with where they first appeared in the Batman comics, who played them in previous movies, and some of our recommended stories to read before (or after) seeing the new movie!
“You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” – Harvey Dent
This week, with the upcoming release of Matt Reeves’s “The Batman”, Chris and Erik are teaming up with graphic designer Justin Ache (from Podcasters Assemble and Significant Otter Co), to revisit and discuss Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne!
With the recent (long-awaited) release of Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” (2021) now on HBO Max and 4K Blu Ray, we now have the fully realized vision that first started in 2013’s “Man of Steel”, and continued with 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”! Considering this is essentially the third chapter of a trilogy, it only feels right to revisit the first two acts of this epic superhero saga before diving into this new (and very different) version of 2017’s “Justice League”…
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is the upcoming sequel to the somewhat divisive 2016 film simply titled Suicide Squad. Acclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is taking a very different approach this time around, though. The movie boasts an even bigger cast of random, throwaway characters from the DC Comics universe with the tagline “Don’t get too attached.”
In Part 1, we did a rundown of every confirmed character from the new movie, this time we’re taking a look back at some of the Suicide Squad’s heroic villains/villainous heroes that didn’t make the cut…
With the release of “MORTAL KOMBAT” (2021) – now on Blu Ray and 4K and an all new animated movie (“Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms” – debuting on August 31st), we figured what better way to prep than *another* deep dive into the rich mythology and ever-evolving backstories of this epic video game franchise?
MK11: Ultimate Edition
In Round 1, we covered the fighters from the original game (Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Goro, and Kano). For Round 2, we broke down the roster introduced in MKII (Shang Tsung, Jax, Kitana, Mileena, Baraka, Reptile, Kung Lao, and Shao Kahn). Then in Round 3, we delved into some of the fighters introduced in MK3 and MK: Deadly Alliance, while Round 4 focused on some of the newer characters from Mortal Kombat X and MK11. In our “Final Round” we took a look at basically everyone else that we couldn’t fit into the first four.
In this *Bonus Round* we’re covering all the third-party characters that have appeared in the MK franchise! (Not including DC vs Mortal Kombat)
With another new animated Batman series in the works (Batman: The Caped Crusader), we figured it would be a great time to revisit the classic that has stood the test of time and remains to this day one of the absolute best superhero cartoons to date!
Created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, “Batman: The Animated Series” first premiered in 1992 and lasted 4 seasons (including “The New Batman Adventures”), spinning off into several other animated series throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s – Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Justice League, Justice League: Unlimited, and Young Justice! Inspired by the style of the 1941 Fleischer Superman cartoons, the 90’s Batman series was a dark and faithful adaptation.
Batman: The Animated Series is, in my humble opinion, the absolute best version of Batman to date. Sure, the Tim Burton movies are great, Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy is a masterpiece of cinema, and the Arkham games are a lot of fun, but nothing has really captured the magic of the old school Batman comics quite the way that this show did. Not only did Bruce Timm and Paul Dini draw heavily from the source material, in some cases they streamlined and improved on some of the classic storylines and characters from the comics!
Unlike the campy Adam West series from the 60’s, this one took a darker and grittier look at Gotham, while still retaining the fun elements. Further, the voice talent on this series is incredible, including but not limited to Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne and of course, Mark Hamill as The Joker! And to top it off, the show was actually geared towards adults, while still being appropriate for kids, which is not an easy task.
The following list is 100% up for debate, so feel free to yell at me on Twitter @ErikSlader!
Chris and Erik return from the dead to bring you their own personal secret origins into comic fandom *and* how they first met! They also discuss what they’ve been reading recently, including Tom King’s “Mister Miracle”, Donny Cates, Garth Ennis, and “Spider-man: Life Story” by Chip Zdarsky, as well as some recommended starting points for those new to the world of comic books and highlight a couple of their all time favorite Batman graphic novels.
This podcast is a production of the We Can Make This Work (Probably) Network. Follow us below to keep up with this show and discover our many other podcasts! The place for those with questionable taste!
In their first episode: “Holy Bad-Movies, Batman!” – Chris Carroll and Erik Slader endure 8 hours of Batman films (two of which were good) so that you don’t have to!
We did it! We made it! I was worried for a second…
In Part One – we covered Batman ’66, Batman ’89, and Tim Burton’s Batman Returns…
Then in Part Two – we tore apart Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and the god awful Batman and Robin…
Now it’s time to review Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy!
Batman Begins (2005)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale (Batman), Liam Neeson (Ra’s Al Ghul), Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow), Ken Watanabe (fake Ra’s), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes), Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone), Rutger Hauer (Mr. Earle)
Batmobile:
Plot: A true origin story following Bruce’s life periodically from the murder of his parents to his travels around the world making himself into Batman, one step at a time. He becomes a member of, and eventually turns against, the League of Shadows, who come to Gotham to get their revenge and destroy the city. As Batman, he must face the Falcone mafia, the Scarecrow, and Ra’s Al Ghul, while trying to rekindle his relationship with childhood friend turned assistant district attorney Rachel Dawes, establishing a relationship with Jim Gordon (one of the only honest cops in Gotham), and working to get his company back from Mr. Earle.
Comic Zombie 