Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm Gets An Honest Trailer

The animated Batman movie, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, made headlines earlier this year after the fan favorite made its way onto Netflix, offering convenient streaming for Bat-fans. Now a different online realm has set their sights on the feature with Screen Junkies’ revealing an Honest Trailer for the film. Noting that the movie comes from the “cartoon that babysat an entire generation of latchkey nerds,” some of the other choice jabs include calling the titular Phantasm “a grim reaper with the power of atmospheric farts” who uses “martial arts and crab claw,” plus an extended joke at Joker’s inclusion in the film. Watch it in the player above!

Mask of the Phantasm tells the story of a wrinkle in Bruce Wayne’s time as Batman by introducing an old flame from his past that returns to Gotham and whose loss in his life was one of the key elements that pushed him to becoming the Dark Knight. Furthermore the film introduced a new villain into the canon, the terrifying and titular Phantsam. As the name implies, it has a ghostly appearance but its reaper like mask and giant-clawed right hand give it an even sinister vibe. The killer vigilante is out for revenge on criminals in Gotham in the film, with one of their targets being none other than The Joker.

Despite a prime opening date and the popularity of the animated series on television, the film was a colossal flop in theaters. The film brought in just $5.8 million and failed to match its production budget from its theatrical release alone. In the years since though the film has become a cult classic and fan-favorite. One person who witnessed first hand the production of the film, the poor reception upon release, and the reputation it has now is star Mark Hamill, who reprised his role of The Joker for the film. Hamill shared his memory of seeing the film in theaters on Christmas last December.

You can watch Batman: Mask of the Phantasm on Netflix by clicking here.

Though a fan favorite character, the titular Phantasm has never appeared in the main continuity of DC Comics before or since the movie was released. That’s about to change though as writer Tom King previously confirmed he’ll be bringing the character into the fold with his highly anticipated Batman/Catwoman comic series. It’s unclear if the version from the film will be the one seen in the comics or not.