SEEKERS OF THE BAT

Pandemonium reigns when the theft of a molecular mass divisor signals the first domino to fall in a nefarious crime wave to topple the noble city of Gotham. Who will rescue the fair citizens of this great metropolis?!?! Holy obvious set up, old chum!! It’s none other than that dynamic duo Batman and Robin, the caped crusaders of justice, freedom and tortured aphorisms!  Written and directed by Jim Fourniadis, this play spoofing the 1960s television show had a 2005 run at San Francisco’s Darkroom Theater.

The Joker/Riddler;   Two-Face/Solomon Grundy?; Mad Hatter/Scarecrow

Killer Croc/Bane;  Mr. Freeze/Penguin;  Catwoman/Poison Ivy

Dustin Nguyen gives us this awesome group shot of the major characters in the Bat universe. It must have been a blast to put together. The only character I had trouble identifying was the little girl sitting on Clayface’s shoulder. It turns out she’s Annie, Clayface’s “daughter” from the animated series. For such a loner, Batman sure does have a lot of people in his life :)

Christopher Mitten gives us a great sketch here of the Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot, and a very creepy Batman looking over his shoulder.

Simon C. Page gives us a great reversible image here for his Criminal Underworld project. It has the Penguin right side up, and the Batman upside down.

This wonderful fan trailer depicts an alternate future where Dick Grayson, the original Robin, has to come out of retirement to avenge the death of the Batman.  They appear to ignore Dick’s time as Nightwing, as well as [his wife!] Barbara’s crippling at the hands of the Joker (although one shot alludes to it). Superman appears to play a minor role as a boy scout blindly following orders, as well as several great appearances by Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman?, Batgirl, Catwoman, the Riddler, Penguin and of course the Joker. If there was one fan trailer I’d want to see made into a full film, this would definitely be it.

via Untamed Cinema

Next up in Batman’s rogues gallery is the Penguin, a bird obsessed aristocrat known more for his trick umbrellas than for his actual crimes. The Penguin is a remnant of the Golden Age of comics, where Batman fought crime in a Gotham full of giant typewriters, had rocket roller skates, and went on adventures through time with a Doc Brown-ish scientist friend. Less relevant in today’s more realistic stories, he has been recast as either a misshapen freak taking his revenge on society in film or as a fairly innocuous nightclub owner with connections to the underworld in the comics.