Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is the last of the animated Batman films that ties into the original animated series. From this point on, the Batman animated movies would no longer follow the same character designs nor would they feature the same production team or voice actors. Curt Geda directs, whose previous work was directing Return of the Joker, and it also credits Alan Burnett for the story and Paul Dini as a consultant. It’s sad that this was to be the final film, considering that the animated universe created for Batman was so rich and developed, but every good thing must come to an end.

The movie begins with a truck carrying a shipment of guns being attacked by a vigilante as it enters Gotham City, which should come as no surprise to anyone (least of all, the criminals). The crooks think its Batman, but soon realize that it’s a woman dressed in a similar fashion. Unlike the Dark Knight however, she seems to have no problems with killing her foes. Because of her moniker and costume choice, she’s immediately assumed to be one of Batman’s allies, much to his dismay. Because he doesn’t want to be associated with a reckless vigilante, he goes about uncovering her identity while tangling with crime lords like the Penguin and Rupert Thorne.

The story is well written and interesting, if a bit predictable. The mystery is finding out who the Batwoman is (as the title so subtly suggests), and it’s presented in a way that keeps you thinking and guessing. Three female leads are introduced as potential suspects, and each one is given a motive and a surprisingly fleshed out back-story. To keep it from being too easy, all of the women are given a different voice actor from Batwoman, who is voiced by Kyra Sedgwick. In the end, there’s actually a fun and surprising twist on the idea of a whodunit.

Her costume is a bit like the Batman Beyond suit.

The animation is consistent with the style of the animated series, specifically The New Batman Adventures. It’s very colorful, sleek, and stylized, complete with a red skyline over the city. The characters have very fluid and smooth animations, much like they did in Return of the Joker. Everything looks very polished and modern, which is an interesting mix with the retro design of the city and its locales. The Iceberg Lounge, the Penguin’s nightclub (complete with seals living in the fountain) is a particular highlight. The music and voice acting is, as always, very strong with this crew and most of the actors from the show reprise their roles. Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy (and always should be as far as I’m concerned), Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is Alfred, Bob Hastings is Gordon, Robert Costanzo is Harvey Bullock, and John Vernon is Rupert Thorne. There are some voice changes, such as Eli Marienthal taking over Robin, Hector Elizondo voicing Bane, and David Ogden Stiers voicing the Penguin instead of Paul Williams (the absence of Paul Williams is particularly noticeable and disappointing). The music, by Lolita Ritmanis, adds a jazzy theme for the Batwoman and incorporates it seamlessly with the classic themes from the series.

Despite the relatively small scale of the story, there’s some good action in this, with the grand finale being the most memorable. Even though he plays a relatively minor role in the scheme of the story, Bane provides Batman with a very epic battle aboard a burning cruise ship. The problem with this mystery being the plot isn’t that it’s a bad plot; it’s that it doesn’t feel like a story that needs a movie to be told. This would have been better suited to an episode or two. The stakes aren’t very high, even with the inclusion of a few of Batman’s super villains. It all comes down to stopping a shipment of guns the Penguin’s trying to sell. Its small scale as far as villainous schemes go, and doesn’t really present the danger or personal threat that a full length film should have. The story isn’t so much about Batman, Robin, or Batgirl (the latter is only in the movie for a few seconds), but instead entirely about this new character.

That said, Mystery of the Batwoman is still an entertaining Batman story that displays the quality that has become a staple of the entire animated Batman mythos. It doesn't match nor even reach for the heights that Return of the Joker and Mask of the Phantasm achieved, but for fans of the animated series, it’s not to be missed.