Batman: Revenge
Encyclopedia
Batman: Revenge is a 2003, non-commercial, independent stop motion
brickfilm
created by director
and animator Jonathan Markiewitz. The film has been credited by BatmanFanFilms.Com and TheForce.Net among many spotlight web sources as the production which brought Batman
fan films into the art of stop-motion animation and sparked a Batman LEGO MOC (My Own Creation) phenomenon. It is notable for being the first Batman LEGO
fan film
in history and one of the earliest fan film
s to use the building bricks as its creative medium, retaining an extensive fan-base and popularity. In 2005, Infuze Magazine stated "It might just be the ultimate fan made film!" Within its "opening weekend" on the Internet, the download number spiked to the multiple thousands with a SuperheroHypeDotCom member poll rating the film a 4.5/5 stars, and BatmanFanFilms.Com giving it 4 stars. Recently, the film was featured in the September 2008 issue (#145) of Total Film Magazine, ranking at #3 in the publication's "50 Coolest YouTube Moments".
escapes from Arkham Asylum
with the sole purpose of exacting revenge on the Dark Knight, doing so by placing one of Batman's closest allies, Commissioner Gordon, in jeopardy. With the use of the Batmobile
and the Batplane
(Batwing), the Caped Crusader must again defend the people of Gotham City
against the question-marked villain and his gang of henchmen.
and Batman Returns
, ranging from the design of the inner-city skyscrapers to the gritty alleyways to the look of the Batmobile, the Batwing, and the Batsuit. The newspapers in the film read "The Gotham Globe", which is the newspaper seen most often in Batman and Batman Returns. Another example of how Batman: Revenge uses the Tim Burton
style include the use of the Batman and Batman Returns music score by Danny Elfman
, accompanied by a very dark tone both visually and creatively.
leaves no riddles, nor does he act as his "typical" character. The director has stated that the Riddler in "Batman: Revenge" purposely acts much more classically psychotic than witty in response to the character's mental breakdown and demise during the closing sequences of the third Batman film to hit the silver screen, Batman Forever
. Batman: Revenge however, was designed to visually and artistically resemble the Tim Burton Batman films and not the Batman films made by director Joel Schumacher
. Although the film is not intended to act as a complete sequel to Batman Forever, it does use the character's ending in the film as a springboard for his actions, therefore simply as a continuation, though with elements of the first two films. Another noteworthy element of its relation is the use of the character, Doctor Burton, the psychiatrist seen in the close of Batman Forever. Though the LEGO version of the character seen in Batman: Revenge looks different than the character played by Rene Auberjonois
, the director had titled the character this name.
is a personal touch by Markiewitz to add one more variant to the character. It was reported in an interview that the director gave the Riddler a top hat because no other LEGO appliance seemed to work, and the top hat gave a classical style to the character. The typical apparel worn by the citizens of Gotham City
in the film include a full suit with a top hat.
Batman Returns Wayne Manor playset, cinematography direction, and similarities in plot. Most notably, however, may be the fact that Batman: Revenge seemed to standardize the introductory credits in Batman LEGO fan films, as well as earning director Jonathan Markiewitz an "inspired by" credit at the beginning of several fan films.
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
brickfilm
Brickfilm
A Brickfilm is a film made using LEGO, or other similar plastic construction toys resembling LEGO toys. They are usually created with stop motion animation, though CGI, traditional animation, and live action films featuring plastic construction toys are also usually considered brickfilms...
created by director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and animator Jonathan Markiewitz. The film has been credited by BatmanFanFilms.Com and TheForce.Net among many spotlight web sources as the production which brought Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
fan films into the art of stop-motion animation and sparked a Batman LEGO MOC (My Own Creation) phenomenon. It is notable for being the first Batman LEGO
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
fan film
Fan film
A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...
in history and one of the earliest fan film
Fan film
A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...
s to use the building bricks as its creative medium, retaining an extensive fan-base and popularity. In 2005, Infuze Magazine stated "It might just be the ultimate fan made film!" Within its "opening weekend" on the Internet, the download number spiked to the multiple thousands with a SuperheroHypeDotCom member poll rating the film a 4.5/5 stars, and BatmanFanFilms.Com giving it 4 stars. Recently, the film was featured in the September 2008 issue (#145) of Total Film Magazine, ranking at #3 in the publication's "50 Coolest YouTube Moments".
Plot
The RiddlerRiddler
The Riddler is a fictional character, a comic book character and supervillain published by DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #140 ....
escapes from Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum
The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, commonly referred to simply as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital in the DC Comics Universe, usually appearing in stories featuring Batman...
with the sole purpose of exacting revenge on the Dark Knight, doing so by placing one of Batman's closest allies, Commissioner Gordon, in jeopardy. With the use of the Batmobile
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting...
and the Batplane
Batplane
The Batplane, later known as the Batwing, is the fictional aircraft for the comic book superhero Batman. The vehicle was introduced in "Batman Versus The Vampire, I", published in Detective Comics #31 in 1939, a story which saw Batman travel to continental Europe...
(Batwing), the Caped Crusader must again defend the people of Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
against the question-marked villain and his gang of henchmen.
Batman and Batman Returns
The film's neo-gothic tone is largely reminiscent of BatmanBatman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
and Batman Returns
Batman Returns
Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Burton's Batman , and features Michael Keaton reprising the title role, with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.Burton originally did not...
, ranging from the design of the inner-city skyscrapers to the gritty alleyways to the look of the Batmobile, the Batwing, and the Batsuit. The newspapers in the film read "The Gotham Globe", which is the newspaper seen most often in Batman and Batman Returns. Another example of how Batman: Revenge uses the Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
style include the use of the Batman and Batman Returns music score by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
, accompanied by a very dark tone both visually and creatively.
Batman Forever
Viewers will notice while watching the film that the RiddlerRiddler
The Riddler is a fictional character, a comic book character and supervillain published by DC Comics, and an enemy of Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #140 ....
leaves no riddles, nor does he act as his "typical" character. The director has stated that the Riddler in "Batman: Revenge" purposely acts much more classically psychotic than witty in response to the character's mental breakdown and demise during the closing sequences of the third Batman film to hit the silver screen, Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
. Batman: Revenge however, was designed to visually and artistically resemble the Tim Burton Batman films and not the Batman films made by director Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
. Although the film is not intended to act as a complete sequel to Batman Forever, it does use the character's ending in the film as a springboard for his actions, therefore simply as a continuation, though with elements of the first two films. Another noteworthy element of its relation is the use of the character, Doctor Burton, the psychiatrist seen in the close of Batman Forever. Though the LEGO version of the character seen in Batman: Revenge looks different than the character played by Rene Auberjonois
Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
, the director had titled the character this name.
Design of the Riddler
The design of Riddler minifig in Batman: Revenge seems to draw from several aspects of the character's long history in comics, radio, film, and print media, although the use of the top hatTop hat
A top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...
is a personal touch by Markiewitz to add one more variant to the character. It was reported in an interview that the director gave the Riddler a top hat because no other LEGO appliance seemed to work, and the top hat gave a classical style to the character. The typical apparel worn by the citizens of Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
in the film include a full suit with a top hat.
Rating
The film was rated "E for Everyone" by BatmanFanFilms.Com, the equivalent of the MPAA rating system's "G". The director stated in an interview with Brick Journal Magazine, "Many parents have told me they appreciate having a film they can watch with their children, and I love hearing things like that."Setting a Trend
Although there was an approximate one-year gap between the public release of Batman: Revenge and following Batman LEGO films, it is apparent that Batman: Revenge set an obvious trend and tone for Batman LEGO fan-filmmakers who wanted to similarly create large sets without the cost associated with the traditional production. Such similarities between recent Batman LEGO fan films that seem to reference the original Batman: Revenge LEGO film include choice of intro music, the inclusion of the KennerKenner
Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...
Batman Returns Wayne Manor playset, cinematography direction, and similarities in plot. Most notably, however, may be the fact that Batman: Revenge seemed to standardize the introductory credits in Batman LEGO fan films, as well as earning director Jonathan Markiewitz an "inspired by" credit at the beginning of several fan films.
Legacy
- The custom-made Batman mini-fig used in the film has been set at a value of $582.39 USD by an independent auctioneer estimate which makes it the most valued LEGO figure, custom or official, in history. The director has stated that no money whatsoever will ever be made personally from making the film, which is one reason he has declined to place the figure up for auction.
- It premiered in 2003, nearly three years before LEGOLegoLego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
officially announced their Batman product line. The large hype created by the film has been credited as being that which helped sparked the LEGO Group to develop the official Batman line.
- The first showing of the film was in Tehachapi, CaliforniaTehachapi, CaliforniaTehachapi is a city incorporated in 1909 located in the Tehachapi Mountains between Bakersfield and Mojave in Kern County, California. Tehachapi is located east-southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of...
, on December 12, 2003. This was also the location of the film's principal photography, although no part of the actual city is visible on screen.
- The custom-made LEGO batmobile used in the film became so popular among fans of the film it was featured on numerous websites devoted to Batman's famous ride. Such websites included BatmobileHistory.Com and ChicksLovetheCar.Com among several others.
- Many Batman fan film directors credit Markiewitz as the "Tim Burton" of the Batman lego film genre, being the one to not only reimagine the LEGO style, but bring LEGO and Batman together into "main stream" in a newly developed creative medium for the character.