Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was followed by SubZero (1998, featuring Mr. Freeze) and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003), both of which were released direct-to-video.

Plotline

A film's story divides into 2 area: 1 in the film's "present", & a single, told across flashbacks, in the early times of Bruce Wayne's crimefighting career.

Bruce Wayne's fledgling career faces deuce major obstacles: number one, he is with pain generating crook to choose him seriously at first glance (non with eventually hit upon a bat motif); 2nd, he has fallen dotty. A recipient of his warmheartedness is Andrea Beaumont, red-haired & blue-eyed, non exclusively beautiful however apparently his match around each way. Realizing that an on-going relationship by having Andrea would massively complicate his crusade against crime, Bruce decides that one of the children has to last. Fallowing an extended internal struggle, a crusade loses. Bruce proposes to Andrea, & she accepts. a next day, all the same, Andrea sends her engagement ring back sustaining a note telling Bruce to forget her, & leaves the united states. Devastated, Bruce throws himself back into crimefighting, discovers a big bat-haunted cavern around his backyard, & becomes the Batman.

In the present, the mysterious cloaked figure is stalking & killing Gotham City mob bosses. the slaying come a operate of a fresh vigilance man, a Phantasm, however several attribute the two to Batman, world health organization becomes the target of a police force manhunt. A situation becomes complicated while Andrea Beaumont comes back to Gotham, forcing Bruce Wayne to treat sustaining a feelings he however has for her. Items come farther complicated once Batman discovers that a hyperlink between a slain mob bosses is Andrea's okay,-deceased father, world health organization experienced business dealings sustaining 100% of the babies prior to his mysterious dying. Too present is the Joker, who in a times prior to his life-changing accident worked for one of the mob bosses. Non exclusively is he a go of the Phantasm's targets, however likewise a endure human however sleep in Gotham world health organization could show you what a Phantasm is as much as. Batman traces a Joker to his den, a abandoned places of the Gotham Globe's Fair, for answers.

& develop the babies he does. A Joker can be a endure human world health organization realizes a Phantasm's crusade, however a single woman does too: Andrea Beaumont, world health organization is the Phantasm; she has returned to Gotham City to complete her payback against her father's liquidator, a survive of which is Napier, a human world health organization actually did a deed. She eventually catches him when a fair evidence run to explode in the area of the babies. Wayne invites her to link to sustaining him, however she food waste, keeping ahold of a struggling Joker to halt his escape; Batman gets away from the park upright prior to it goes higher. When the flick closes, Bruce, today for good alone, comes back to his crime-fighting ways; when, at the Gotham harbors, a cruise ship retreat, carrying on that a woman by owning red hair & watery-eyed eyes.

Critical Reaction
A film was pleasantly swell received by fans of Batman: The Animated Series, and earned the caring read from either just about each critic. E.g., film critics Siskel & Ebert, while regretting that they originally ignored the film in its initial release, gave the film a two-thumbs up, the only Batman film to be given such praise until Batman Begins. Rotten Tomatoes lists it when getting Eleven caring reviews away from Xi posted, too as earning the 100% rating. It has since turn into the cult classic.

Additionally, numbers of fans & critics imagine that it makes a 1st 4 survive-action Batman movies (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin) look embarrassing, especially the latter two.

Box Office
Despite all a caring reviews the film had, it was a immense failure at the pack professional. It barely grossed $5 million domestically & $11 million worldwide, & imputable its moo earnings, virtually all theatres stopped showing it fallowing single of these or even fortnight. Due to the film's failure, wholly first alive Batman movies were released direct-to-video. Yet, while a film was freed to videos in April 26, 1994, it succeeded around turning the benefit, earning hundreds to thousands other than in its limited theatrical release.

Other Connections

In the endure episode of the 2nd year of Justice League Unlimited (titled "Epilogue"), a Phantasm is shown to use at times attempted to obliterate a parents of Terry McGinnis at a asking of Amanda Waller, in order for her to carry out a Batman Beyond project. A Phantasm just can't make love, arguing to Waller that to honor a Batman bequest would mean respecting a superhero's information.