Why hello there! And welcome to another exciting installment of: That Thing That Might Get Updated Quarterly! I'm your host, Alex!
Now, let's see... where to begin... ah yes! Rather then bore you with another long winded post about Transformers. My soul. The black pits and eldritch powers I have sold myself and others to, to attain greater power and more valuable robot collectibles, I have decided to bring you up to speed on my newest diversion: That of the Dark Knight.
Now, Marvel comics and DC comics were a tightly knit part of my childhood, possibly eclipsing even that of my robot masters. I would say a great deal of that also came from my father as he had grown up with the stories of Super Men and Winged-Nocturnal-Mammal Men. I was of course absorbed quite swiftly by the tales of wonder that superheroes can bring, though I must admit, my interest waned a bit more as I reached my teenage years. Not to say that it ever truly disappeared, oh no! I always found joy in watching the cartoons or films produced about them, though in specific, I suppose that came down to two particular figures: Batman and Spider-man. Ironically two of the 'poster boys' for their respective companies.
But as it came down to it, I found myself revisiting one of my most beloved shows, though I cannot say from my childhood, as it aired around the turn of the millennium. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. This film... is gold. It brings together the world of Bruce Wayne as the Batman and the world of Terri McGinnis, his successor 20 years in the future, in a way, I had never dreamed. Sure the show had it's moments, revisiting old enemies and the like... but this film was the real deal. But then again, it revolved around the true final showdown between Batman and his twisted nemesis. How could that not be pure unadulterated win?
Censorship boards and 9/11 is how. Yes, that's right. A dark, brooding masterpiece was cut, spliced and hacked into a simple, ordinary masterpiece. You see, both the unaltered and altered films are similar enough to be fantastic... but the changes that were made... were ludicrous at times! There was a scene with red spray painted words changed to purple, simply because it looked too much like blood. Seriously? The color red for paint is off limits? Fine. Why not. Yellow looks a bit too much like urine as well. Right out. Green? Bile. No. But I digress.
Next we had the real kicker. The death of the Joker. Now.. I won't say to much, but, suffice to say, cutting out the Joker's final words should have been a crime. He had finally pushed the envelope too far, and the censored version gave him an easy, clumsy way out. No. He died the only way he could have. Leaving you with a grim smirk on your face. Other then that it was merely a few changed lines here and there, things that were just juvenile, and could easily have been ignored.
I know I've rambled alot about one little film, rather then any large, over arcing topic, but... well... there will be plenty of time for that later. Till then...
~Signing off
On to greener pixelated pastures
16 years ago
