Highlights
- Batman's origin story in "Mask of the Phantasm" reveals that his motivation to fight crime stems from a traumatic experience and a desire to honor justice.
- Bruce Wayne's relationship with Andrea Beaumont highlights the internal struggle between his desire for love and his commitment to being a masked vigilante.
- The film explores the theme of vengeance versus justice, showing the consequences of choosing vengeance and emphasizing the importance of staying true to oneself.
Every superhero has their own reasons for embarking on a life of fighting crime behind a mask, protecting their city or, in some cases, the whole world from danger. Oftentimes, they experience some sort of injustice in their lives and see the only way to honor that is to enforce justice themselves.
Batman sure does come to mind quickly when thinking about that idea of enforcing justice after being wronged. Perhaps it's because he's one of the original comic book superheroes, so his character provided a lot of the framework for future heroes. But it might also be because his many, many stories give a plethora of background to his character, allowing readers/viewers to really understand not only who Batman is, but who Bruce Wayne is.
Batman And Bruce Wayne: Which Role Each Movie Actor Played Better
Batman and Bruce Wayne are as different as night and day, even if they're the same man. But which actors played each side the best?
A great place to look to get nearly every aspect of Bruce Wayne's complex character is the 1993 animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The story follows Bruce as he tries to unravel the mystery of the Phantasm, who is running around Gotham murdering mafia members with a dark suit that resembles that of the Caped Crusader's. He soon finds out that the mystery is a lot closer to Bruce's heart than he would have ever thought.
It Shows Why Bruce Wayne Became Batman
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | |
|---|---|
Director | Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski |
Writer(s) | Screenplay by Alan Burnett & Paul Dini & Martin Pasko & Michael Reaves Story by Alan Burnett |
Cast | Kevin Conroy Dana Delany Stacy Keach Mark Hamill Efrem Zimbalist Jr. |
Release Date | December 25, 1993 |
Runtime | 78 minutes |
In Mask of the Phantasm -- which plays within the canon of Batman: The Animated Series -- Bruce's origin is the same as any other Batman story; his parents are murdered when he's a child and as he grows up, he has the unwavering desire to fight crime in a city that is so violent. But something happens while Bruce is going through the city in a ski mask, putting his kung fu practice to work: he finds love. The beautiful and smart Andrea Beaumont comes into his life, making him reconsider everything he once thought was an absolute.
Bruce and Andrea share the tragic experience of losing a parent at a young age, which attracts Bruce to her as a companion because she understands the brutal pain and weight that he carries each and every day. They quickly fall in love, but Bruce keeps fighting crime as an amateur masked vigilante. It isn't until Andrea witnesses one of Bruce's fights that he realizes something.
In the film, Bruce fights against these bikers committing a robbery while he and Andrea are taking a walk. Before he intervenes, Andrea tells him to "come back to [her] in one piece". Bruce begins the fight, and appears to be unfazed, beating each biker one by one with ease. But as a third biker charges at him on his motorcycle, Bruce looks over to Andrea to see the fear on her face. Once he looks back, he's frozen, and is hit by the bike as the remaining bikers escape while Bruce is on the ground.
What happened at this moment was Bruce had a realization. He fought crime because he figured he was the only one who would or could, seeing as though he had nothing to lose and no one who depended on him. In other words, he had very little value of his own life. But that all changed when he saw that look in Andrea's eyes, because he'd be leaving her behind if he was ever killed in his line of work.
This was a rare feeling for Bruce, so he did what he felt was necessary for him to never look back: he proposed to Andrea. She said yes, and Bruce made a promise to himself that he'd leave the vigilante life behind him. But the next day, Andrea left him the ring and a note saying that her and her father were leaving town. Heartbroken, Bruce had no one left who cared for him (besides Alfred), and he dressed himself in the Batsuit for the very first time. Alfred looked on horrified, not only because of how frightening the suit was, but because he too realized that Bruce's desire to live had disappeared with Andrea.
It Explains Why Bruce is a Loner
With Andrea's departure, Bruce had it in his head that everyone who cares for him, or that he cares for, would eventually leave him alone. His parents, not by their choice, had left him very early in his life, and he figured the only reason Alfred stuck around was because he had a duty to fulfill in honor of Bruce's parents. As soon as Bruce put the mask on, he made an unspoken oath to never make any new connections with anyone, because the pain of them leaving would just be too unbearable.
One of Batman's phrases that comes up through nearly every story is, "I work alone". Looking at the bigger picture, Batman in fact doesn't really work alone. He has Alfred helping him from the Batcave, Lucius Fox at Wayne Tower, and even Commissioner Gordon as his inside guy in Gotham PD. But what Batman means when he says he works alone is that he is the only one out on the field. Again, it goes back to this idea that he has very little value for his own life. He doesn't care about risking his life to keep criminals at bay in Gotham, but he would never ask anyone to do the same.
Bruce figures that there are others capable of doing what he does, but if they were to get hurt or worse, lose their lives, he would without a doubt blame himself. As Batman, Bruce fulfills his purpose as a civil servant, because in his eyes, he, as Bruce, has no purpose in anyone else's life as a friend, companion, or romantic partner. Thus, becoming Batman serves a greater purpose: being the protector of Gotham City.
But even then, he's even more of a loner because he doesn't even have the full support of Gotham's citizens. He is so often made out to be just as much a criminal as those in which he fights, especially in Mask of the Phantasm. The Phantasm's suit is eerily similar to Batman's, and word gets around quickly that Batman is actually the one committing the murders on the mob, and he's soon hunted down by the police. But he takes the heat willingly, because he knows the sacrifice of being Batman is working utterly and completely alone.
It Shows Bruce the Fine Line Between Vengeance and Justice
It's revealed that Andrea was forced out of Gotham because her father couldn't pay back the mob after asking for their help in business dealings. Before they could get away, though, her father was killed by them. So, Andrea left for some time before coming back and taking vengeance on those responsible for her father's murder. Andrea came back to Gotham as the Phantasm.
Her mind was blurred with hatred and revenge, and she relentlessly hunted down those who wronged her. Andrea's mission soon found her in the presence of the Joker, at which point Bruce had figured out that she was the Phantasm, and he urgently sought her out to stop her. But he was too late, because once he found her and tried to convince her to leave it all behind, her sanity was already gone. Andrea had let vengeance cloud her mind, and any purity left in her soul had diminished down to nothing. And so, she disappeared in the flames of the Joker's exploding lair.
Bruce couldn't figure out why he couldn't save Andrea, and Alfred explains to him that she "didn't want to be saved" and that she "fell into the pit" of vengeance years ago, something he constantly worries that Bruce will do as well.
I don't think she wanted to be saved, sir. Vengeance blackens the soul, Bruce. I always feared you would become that which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night. But you haven't fallen in, and I thank heaven for that. But Andrea fell into that pit years ago, and no one -- not even you -- could have pulled her back. - Alfred Pennyworth
The movie perfectly shows how a mere decision to choose vengeance over justice could change who Batman is entirely, personifying the character of vengeance through the Phantasm. In the end, Andrea feels no peace within herself, because she sees she has become the very thing she fought against. Bruce, however, recognizes that staying true to who he is in enforcing justice over vengeance is not only the right thing to do, but the most difficult thing to do. But that is the sacrifice of being Batman. Because if Bruce loses himself to the darkness of revenge, then all hope is gone for the people he selflessly protects.
Batman
Batman is one of the most popular and well-known superheroes of all time. Created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman has evolved over the decades into a cultural icon.
As a child, Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered in front of him. Since that day, Bruce made it his mission to fight back against the criminal element in Gotham City. Taking on the appearance of what scares him most, Batman faces off against powerful villains like the Joker, Two-Face, Bane, and the Penguin.
- Created by
- Bob Kane , Bill Finger
