Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman / YMMV

Awesome Music: Betcha Never is a catchy beat used decently to tie in to the mood and mystery of the film.
Contested Sequel: Generally it's a few steps down from Mask of the Phantasm, Sub Zero and Return of the Joker. You'll probably never see this on anybody's best Batman movie list. Whether it is actually a bad film or just So Okay, It's Average is another matter though. The fact that the movie was released in 2003 - almost four years after The New Batman Adventures ended - didn't help its case. Underlining this point, of the four animated DCAU films, this is the only one not available on either the Batman: The Animated Series or Batman Beyond boxsets.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Kathy Duquesne, with her being the most remembered character created for the movie, leading to her being introduced in the Elseworlds DC Comics Bombshells as one of the Batgirls.
- Although nowhere as popular as Kathy, Rocky Ballantine has a decent fanbase, at least among those who actually liked the movie.
- Penguin's Bodyguard Babes, for the fight they put up against Batwoman.
- The unnamed blonde Duquesne bodyguard who used to work for the Joker and now is stuck carrying around a Mafia Princess's shopping bags. His Know When to Fold 'Em moment in the face of Batman is also well-regarded.
- The singer at the Iceberg Lounge, in a One-Scene Wonder way.
Fanon Discontinuity: The lack of Timm and Dini's involvement, the poor/lukewarm reception, the No Yay (see below), and the feeling that the movie is a filler sidestory due to not having either the edge of Mask of the Phantasm, the drama of Sub-Zero, or plot twists like Return of the Joker cause fans to ignore the film as part of the DCAU continuity. The fact that of the four animated DCAU films, this is the only one not available on either the Batman: The Animated Series or Batman Beyond boxsets, suggests this may even be Canon Discontinuity.
Harsher in Hindsight: The culmination of the No Yay below would soon be fully shown to us in Batman: The Killing Joke.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Kathy Duquesne resembles actress Halle Berry. The following year, Berry starred in the despised, non-canon film Catwoman (2004).
- Sonia Arcana is nearly an Expy of Animated Series character Renee Montoya and one of the costumed Batwomen. A few years after, Montoya herself becomes a costumed crimefighter in the comics.
- Barbara jokes about the new "Batwoman" being her replacement. Kimberly Brooks the voice of one of the Batwomen, would go on to voice Barbara herself in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Not to mention that Brooks's character is Batman's love interest in this movie, so Barbara does technically get replaced.
- During the mall scene, one of Carlton Duquesne's thugs says "I miss working for the Joker". Kevin Michael Richardson, who voices Duquesne, would later go on to voice the Joker in The Batman.
Jerkass Woobie: It wouldn't be much of a stretch to call Carlton Duquesne one. Yes, he's a gangster, but his wife was killed in an assassination attempt on him, which drove a wedge between him and Kathy, whom he is highly overprotective of. He's treated badly by Penguin and Thorne, and badly beaten by Bane after his daughter is exposed as one of the Batwoman.
Magnificent Bitch: See here.
Misblamed: Bruce Timm gets a lot of blame by fans for the implied Ship Tease between Bruce and Barbara in this film due to his alleged shipping of the two.^note However, he has no involvement with this film.
Moe: There aren't many scenes Rocky's in where she doesn't inspire amused affection or pity. Whether she's deriding her own Open Mouth, Insert Foot tendencies while asking about Bruce's social life, fumbling with the slides for a research presentation, gaining everyone's attention with an In-Universe Show, Don't Tell demonstration, playing video games with Tim, or having a tearful conversation with her wrongfully imprisoned fiancé.
No Yay: The phone call between Bruce and Barbara left a sour taste in many viewers' mouths. It was hinted in Batman Beyond that they had dated and been serious, but actually seeing a Barbara that's still in college flirting with Bruce- who's probably in his late thirties by now- is kinda creepy.
Reused Character Design: A background woman at the high-society gathering in the "Chase Me" short is near-identical to the blonde woman here◊ from The New Batman Adventures episode "The Ultimate Thrill". And a few years afterward, the design was utilized fully in Justice League Unlimited as Black Canary◊.
Signature Scene: "The Smartest Batman Goon Ever!"
Suspiciously Similar Song: "Betcha Neva" to Shakira's hit "Whenever Wherever".
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Penguin's Bodyguard Babes give Batwoman a better fight than anyone else besides Bane, carry over from the last animated series and get a little more personality than the average Mooks. They could have recurred throughout the movie as Co-Dragons but are only onscreen for about two minutes, never get a rematch with Batwoman, and don't even get any dialogue.
The Woobie:
- Rocky and her fiancee Kevin. Kevin was made the Fall Guy by the Penguin a week before their wedding, and has spent years languishing in jail while growing resigned to what's happened to him and telling her that trying to get him free is pointless, and if she comes for another visit he won't see her (leaving her in tears).
- Kathy's mother was killed in a mob hit, and as she bitterly notes to her father he's turned the house and her life essentially into a prison trying to prevent that from happening again, while dragging the family name through the mud.
- Sonia's family business was destroyed by Thorne's protection racket, wiping out everything her parents had saved all their lives for, she didn't get to see justice done, and at the end she's forced to resign from her job after being exposed as the Batwoman.

YMMV / Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

Edit Locked