''Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman'' is a 2003 American

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

based on the animated series ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

''. Released in the U.S. in October 2003, the film was produced by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...

and is the fourth film in the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televi ...

, taking place between the end of ''The New Batman Adventures'' and the flashback sequence depicted in '' Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker''.

Plot

After the events of ''

'', the Joker and

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

have been married and are on their honeymoon out of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...

, leaving

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

to face a brand new mystery, a new heroine,

Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Batwoman, Kathy Ka ...

has arrived in the city whose identity is a mystery. While she claims to fight for justice, Batwoman forsakes Batman's code to never take a life. Batman must figure out who she is, while stopping the

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

and

Rupert Thorne Rupert Thorne is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a crime boss and enemy of Batman. Publication history Created by Steve Englehart and Walter Simonson, the character first appeared in ''Detect ...

from selling illegal weapons to the fictional nation of

Kasnia This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...

. The two villains employ gangster Carlton Duquesne to provide protection. Batman, with Robin, sets out to stop Batwoman from making mistakes as she tries to take out the villains and as he encounters numerous twists, setbacks, and apparent false leads in determining her true identity. The newest gadget on display is a wind glider used by Batwoman that utilizes some of the most advanced technology ever seen in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, also becomes romantically involved with Kathy Duquesne, the crime boss' daughter. In addition to Kathy, Bruce is introduced to two other women who, as his investigation into the Batwoman's true identity continues, seem to fall well into suspicion: Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine, a new employee of Wayne Tech, who seemingly but briefly forms a bond with Tim Drake and whose technology development is used by Batwoman against Penguin; and Detective Harvey Bullock's new partner Sonia Alcana, who seems to know too much about the weapons being smuggled by the Penguin and Carlton Duquesne. With Carlton unable to stop Batwoman's raids on the facilities used to hold the various weapons, the Penguin calls

Bane Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Gu ...

for additional support to ensure that there are no more losses as a result of the Batwoman. Not long after Bane's arrival in Gotham, it is revealed that there is not one, but three Batwomen, all of whom were the women suspected by Batman. Kathy and Sonia met taking art classes at college, and Sonia and Rocky were roommates; and they all harbor grudges against the Penguin, Thorne, and Carleton Duquesne: the Penguin had framed Rocky's fiancé Kevin, Thorne had bankrupted Sonia's family, and Carlton Duquesne's war with a rival gang got Kathy's mother (his wife) killed. They had taken turns posing as Batwoman to remove suspicion on any one of the three: Rocky invented Batwoman's gadgetry with Kathy's funding; and Sonia invented the Batwoman persona itself as a tribute to Batman, who had saved her life nine years earlier and inspired her to become a police officer. Kathy plants a bomb in the ship taking the weapons into international waters for the exchange - but not before Bane unmasks her. Kathy and Batman narrowly escape as the bomb goes off, while Carlton forsakes his ties to Thorne and the Penguin to save his daughter's life, and Bane falls into the Gotham River. Sonia takes the fall for the Batwoman operation, resigns from the GCPD, and decides to leave Gotham. Batman gives Sonia evidence that he discovered which helps clear Rocky's fiancé. Carlton agrees to testify against Thorne and the Penguin. After she reconciles with her father, Kathy drives off with Bruce.

Voice cast

Kevin Conroy Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...

as Bruce Wayne / Batman *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

as Kathleen "Kathy" Duquesne *

Kelly Ripa Kelly Ripa (; born October 2, 1970) is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show '' Live! with Kelly and Ryan'' in various formats. As an actress, Ripa's best known roles ...

as Dr. Roxanne "Rocky" Ballantine *

Elisa Gabrielli Elisa Gabrielli is an American actress and comedian, who played "Pepper" Potts in the animated movie '' The Invincible Iron Man'', among other roles. Gabrielli also played the part of Miss Linley in ''The Brady Bunch Movie''. In the 2005 animated ...

as Detective Sonia Alcana *

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (; born August 19, 1965) is an American actress, producer and director. For her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama ''The Closer'', she won a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Awa ...

David Ogden Stiers David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in ''The Magic Show'', in which he appeared for four ...

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

as Carlton Duquesne *

Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...

Robert Costanzo Robert Jason Costanzo (born October 20, 1942) is an American film, television and voice actor. He has an acting career spanning over 40 years and is often found playing surly New York City types such as crooks, low-level workers and policemen, an ...

as Detective Harvey Bullock *

Tim Dang Timothy Dang is an American actor and theatre director originally from Hawaii of Asian origin. He served as the artistic director at the Asian American theatre company, East West Players (EWP), in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California until 201 ...

as Kevin (uncredited) *

Bob Hastings Robert Francis Hastings (April 18, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Lt. Elroy Carpenter on ''McHale's Navy'' and voicing Commissioner James Gordon in the DC Animated Universe. Early life Hast ...

Commissioner James Gordon James W. "Jim" Gordon, Sr. is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the ...

Eli Marienthal Eli David Marienthal (born March 6, 1986) is an American actor. Family & Personal life Marienthal was born in Santa Monica, California in 1986, the son of Penny Marienthal and Joseph Cross. He has two siblings, actors Harley Cross and Flora Cr ...

as Tim Drake / Robin *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as ''The New Batman Adventures ...

Barbara Gordon Barbara Gordon is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character was created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardne ...

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...

Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, ...

Cherie Cherie is an English female given name. It comes from the French ''chérie'', meaning ''darling'' (from the past participle of the verb ''chérir'', ''to cherish''). Notable people with the name or stage name include: * Cherie, one of the stage n ...

performs the single "Betcha Never" in the Iceberg Lounge as herself.

Production

Despite that the majority of returning characters retain the same designs from ''The New Batman Adventures'' era, the character animation is brighter and more lively than from the series. Rupert Thorne was featured in the original show '' Batman: The Animated Series'', but not in ''The New Batman Adventures''. As such, the animators had to create a new appearance for him specifically for this film; he is streamlined and seems to have lost some weight compared to his previous appearance. the animation was outsourced to

DR Movie DR Movie Co., Ltd. is a South Korean animation studio that was established in Seoul in 1990 and frequently works with Japanese companies on anime titles. Since 1991, the studio has been in an exclusive partnership with the Japanese animation st ...

. The role of Penguin had previously been voiced by Paul Williams in the animated series, who did not voice Penguin in this film. The reasoning behind this decision was Alan Burnett deciding to experiment with a different voice, and bring more of a threatening ambience to the character. Interestingly,

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

who was not involved with film, mentioned he wouldn't have recast Williams, but that he nonetheless respected Burnett's decision. This film also marked the final performances of

, and

before their deaths in 2014 and 2005 respectively as well as being the final film for Hastings. Series writers

Alan Burnett Alan Burnett (; born February 17, 1950) is an American television writer-producer particularly associated with Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions, DC Comics, and Walt Disney television animation. He has had a hand in virtually ever ...

and Michael Reaves wrote the script. The film also shows further continuity with previous

-developed Batman shows:

's romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne (as mentioned in ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration ...

'') is coming to an end,

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics' ...

has left Gotham to fight crime in

Blüdhaven This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Although ...

, and Robin and Batgirl are older than their depictions in ''The New Batman Adventures'', but have not yet been forced to quit in the wake of the flashback events in ''Return of the Joker'' as the film is set before those events.

Chase Me

The US DVD release of ''Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman'' (October 21, 2003) included the bonus short silent film ''Chase Me''. ''Chase Me'' is a 2003

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

also based on the animated series ''

''. The silent film was produced by

, and follows

as he chases

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

across

. The chase sequences are accompanied by a soundtrack mix of a quiet piano score, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

style score that plays up the chase. The film was written by

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American screenwriter and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) ...

and

and was directed by Curt Geda. It was co-produced by Geda, Burnett, Margaret M. Dean,

Benjamin Melniker Benjamin Melniker (May 25, 1913 – February 26, 2018) was an American film producer and Centenarian. He was an executive producer with Michael E. Uslan on the Batman film series and other DC Comics films. Melniker was also at one time a stud ...

, and Batman-producer

Michael Uslan Michael E. Uslan (; born June 2, 1951) is an American lawyer and film producer. Uslan has also dabbled in writing and teaching, he is known for being the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university. Ear ...

. The score is by

Lolita Ritmanis Lolita Ritmanis (born November 1, 1962) is a Latvian-American composer, known for her film score, film and television scores, including her work on the animated series ''Batman Beyond''. Early life Born on November 1, 1962, in Portland, Oregon, ...

. ''Chase Me'' is also included as part of the main feature on video streaming sites such as

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album, composed by Lolita Ritmanis, produced by John Takis and mastered by James Nelson was released on March 29, 2016 by La-La Land Records. Bonus tracks and the score to the animated short "Chase Me" were also included. ; Track list # Main Title (2:02) # Opening* (4:26) # He's Been Waiting / Weapons Factory (1:12) # Start Flexing (1:19) # The Reason I Called / Rocky Ballantine (1:52) # Bat-Signal* (0:42) # I'll Get Back to You / Factory / After the Explosion (4:47) # Chase Through Store / Rear-View Mirror (2:12) # Bruce and Kathy (2:01) # Real Muscle / Get Out! (1:54) # Paint the Town (1:05) # Revolving Door / Time to Burn a Bat (3:59) # I Was Wrong About You (0:37) # Subway / Identified (0:45) # I Don't Want to See You / High Stakes (1:27) # The Ship Sails Tonight / Batwoman in Flight (1:49) # Close to Our Goal (1:36) # This Is It / Ship Leaves the Harbor (2:22) # Penguin Gets a Call / Trouble (2:22) # Bon Voyage, Señor Batman* (1:21) # Close Look / It Has to End / Explosions (3:18) # Ship Is Going Down (5:17) # Bane's Demise (1:25) # Bullock Sees Sonia / The Badge (1:32) # I Missed You (1:26) # Mystery End Credits (1:25) * Total Score Time: 54:13 Chase Me * Total Score Time: 6:28 Bonus tracks

Reception

The film holds approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

rated the film as 3.5 stars of 5 stars as "Recommended".

References

External links

Warner Bros. website
at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

(archived 9 September 2006)
DC page
*
CW Seed
{{Authority control 2003 films 2003 animated films 2003 direct-to-video films 2003 action films 2000s American animated films Animated films about revenge 2000s animated superhero films Direct-to-video interquel films American children's animated action films American children's animated mystery films American children's animated superhero films Animated Batman films Works based on Batman: The Animated Series Direct-to-video animated films based on DC Comics Warner Bros. Animation animated films Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated films DC Animated Universe films American direct-to-video films Films directed by Curt Geda Toonami Batwoman in other media The New Batman Adventures Films with screenplays by Alan Burnett 2000s English-language films