Batman: Knightfall

[ZariusTwo]

According to the EIDR Registry, the animated adaptation of Batman's seminal 90s epic Knightfall is finally in the works

https://ui.eidr.org/view/content?id=10.5240/C218-8677-4D93-4390-2D9C-9

[Andrew NDB]

Way to strike while the iron is hot on that one...

[IMJ]

Clearly works as an animated movie, but - yeah why now? I haven't checked out the last many DC animated movies though, but if this looks solid I might sit through it.

Has Crisis wrapped up? Was it solid?

[Andrew NDB]

I would've paid top dollar to see some or ANY kind of Knightfall movie 20, 25 years ago. Now? Who cares. And they'd probably just muck it up and include bisexual Tim Drake or Bruce banging Barbara again or something.

[neatoman]

Speaking of the recent animated adaptations, did anyone else watch part 1 of the Watchmen animated movie? It's more accurate than the Snyder movie but it's kind of sterile, and I can't help but think it's only being made to pave the way for a Doomsday Clock adaptation.

[Drose18]

Has Crisis wrapped up? Was it solid?

welllll

all three parts have been out for a good while. I liked the first one best, the next two were eh.

[ZariusTwo]

Speaking of the recent animated adaptations, did anyone else watch part 1 of the Watchmen animated movie? It's more accurate than the Snyder movie but it's kind of sterile, and I can't help but think it's only being made to pave the way for a Doomsday Clock adaptation.

I'd love to see how JMS (who adapted Watchmen for animation) fares with adapting Doomsday Clock, and whether or not he can salvage it.

[IMJ]

welllll

all three parts have been out for a good while. I liked the first one best, the next two were eh.

Someday maybe I'll find a way to sit through them. And the Watchmen cartoon.....

[Coola Yagami]

I would've paid top dollar to see some or ANY kind of Knightfall movie 20, 25 years ago. Now? Who cares. And they'd probably just muck it up and include bisexual Tim Drake or Bruce banging Barbara again or something.

Hmmm you never know. I remember Tim was the Robin at the time of Knightfall, and eh, they might slip in a reference or two that shows that this is the modern-day gay Robin. Maybe show Tim dating Bernard or something.

[Andrew NDB]

Maybe not?

https://www.darkhorizons.com/animated-batman-knightfall-was-planned/

[Andrew NDB]

https://i.ibb.co/NdpZD1qB/728469134-1725060168507112-3574673923033209073-n.jpg

Interesting. I never thought for a moment they'd visually go in the direction of Kelley Jones, who did most of the Knightfall covers. In fact, if you'd have told me that as a kid when I was collecting these I'd be pissed, as I rather disliked Kelley Jones' work back then. I appreciate it more now but it definitely wasn't for me at the time.

[IMJ]

First animated DC flick I've been a little excited about for some time.

[sdp]

As a teenager I was obsessed with this youtube Knightfall trailer made in the BTAS style

cVjEhz0vd4s

[Andrew NDB]

6z4QlS1d7YQ

[IMJ]

This looks really good. It's probably going to lead to hangover once it wraps because of the inevitable wait for the other two parts to make to animation....

[Andrew NDB]

I'd hope they keep going with the "Big" stories that came after from that era. Stories like "Prodigal," "Cataclysm," "Legacy" (probably with parts of "Contagion" peppered into it as well as "Bane of the Demon"), and so on.

[ZariusTwo]

I'd like to see someone make sense of Tom King's run as an animated feature, it's a bit of a scattershot mess but there was a good story buried somewhere in there, "City of Bane" can be salvaged, and it has the perfect ending for a Batman elseworld take if you count Annual#2.

[IMJ]

I'd hope they keep going with the "Big" stories that came after from that era. Stories like "Prodigal," "Cataclysm," "Legacy" (probably with parts of "Contagion" peppered into it as well as "Bane of the Demon"), and so on.

Wouldn't it just be "Knightfall", Knight's End" and "Knights' whatever it was called" from back in the day to complete the trilogy of sorts?

[Andrew NDB]

Wouldn't it just be "Knightfall", Knight's End" and "Knights' whatever it was called" from back in the day to complete the trilogy of sorts?

Yeah. So Knightfall would end with AzBats beating Bane but still seeming overall sane. KnightQuest would end with AzBats killing Abbatoir (though he didn't REALLY kill him) and Bruce getting his back healed (and hopefully they can find a way to do it that isn't Shondra Kinsolving's never before seen mutant healing powers), and KnightsEnd having Bruce get his nerve back and then fighting AzBats.

But they'll probably just call it Knightfall Part 1, 2 and 3.

[Coola Yagami]

I know Bane's plan was to release all the Arkham crazies so that Batman will wear himself ragged trying to re-capture them all so that he can attack at him at his lowest. I know we get to see a lot of the villains like the Joker, Scarecrow, Ivy and so forth.

I forgot if there any of the villains seen during the other two parts of the story. I'm assuming when Azrael takes over, there has to be at least some of the classic rogues around to find out (the hard way) that there was a new Batman in town? Did any of them show during Knight Quest and Knight's End?

[Andrew NDB]

Oh yes. AzBats fought Joker in KnightQuest and Joker knew right away it wasn't Bruce. Catwoman, too. Then there was that great Punisher crossover special during KnightQuest.

[IMJ]

I know Bane's plan was to release all the Arkham crazies so that Batman will wear himself ragged trying to re-capture them all so that he can attack at him at his lowest. I know we get to see a lot of the villains like the Joker, Scarecrow, Ivy and so forth.

I forgot if there any of the villains seen during the other two parts of the story. I'm assuming when Azrael takes over, there has to be at least some of the classic rogues around to find out (the hard way) that there was a new Batman in town? Did any of them show during Knight Quest and Knight's End?

Yeah... Knightfall was actually sort of the cribbed material for Hush in some ways. "Mysterious background villain guy runs Batman ragged via his villains before a final confrontation".

[oldmanwinters]

Wouldn't it just be "Knightfall", Knight's End" and "Knights' whatever it was called" from back in the day to complete the trilogy of sorts?

Knightfall, Knightquest: The Crusade/The Search, and then Knightsend (never could read it right when looking at that) were how DC used to market the trades for the three major chapters of that saga:
https://www.comicbookherald.com/reading-dc-comics/batman-reading-order/knightfall-trilogy/

The longest was by-far the Knightquest, which took several more years to get complete collected reprints available.

[IMJ]

Knightfall, Knightquest: The Crusade/The Search, and then Knightsend (never could read it right when looking at that) were how DC used to market the trades for the three major chapters of that saga:
https://www.comicbookherald.com/reading-dc-comics/batman-reading-order/knightfall-trilogy/

The longest was by-far the Knightquest, which took several more years to get complete collected reprints available.

Well... they were actually branded that way on the monthlies first. On the covers.
Batman 492 - 510

The trades followed the comics.

[sdp]

As a little kid i was so curious about Knightfall, i actually always thought Batman TAS was adapting the comics and eventually we would get to that story. I thought the comics were an actual bible of sorts and not the countlessly rebooted mess it already was by the 90s and that it didn't really matter. At that time as a kid it felt like it was this HUGE storyline as big as say Robin.

So, it's bitter sweet to actually have a Bruce Timm animated project about this even after all these years..wait is he even in charge of these movies anymore?

[ZariusTwo]

wait is he even in charge of these movies anymore?

Timm produces Caped Crusader for Prime Video.

[Coola Yagami]

As a little kid i was so curious about Knightfall, i actually always thought Batman TAS was adapting the comics and eventually we would get to that story. I thought the comics were an actual bible of sorts and not the countlessly rebooted mess it already was by the 90s and that it didn't really matter. At that time as a kid it felt like it was this HUGE storyline as big as say Robin.

So, it's bitter sweet to actually have a Bruce Timm animated project about this even after all these years..wait is he even in charge of these movies anymore?

I guess it was to be expected given the format but I wasn't expecting Batman to whup Bane's ass in his premier episode... Then send his defeated ass onto Rupert Thorne's desk and pretty much say 'is this the best you can do?'


I don't think Babe broke his back in the DCAU.

[CyberCubed]

I don't think Babe broke his back in the DCAU.

Babe did a lot of things to Bruce. :lol:

[sdp]

Babe did a lot of things to Bruce. :lol:

https://i.imgur.com/JBdh9OS.png

[Coola Yagami]

LMAO I meant BANE, lmao :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[TylerD]

This looks excellent. R rated too, so you know it will be nice and graphic.

Loves the knightfall story and Azrael. Was always a much darker version of Batman. If done right this will be excellent t

https://youtu.be/9b2yE7c3miE?si=b8qIxI0209Z3-xU5

[Autbot_Benz]

Already a thread

https://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=67249

[TylerD]

Already a thread

https://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=67249

God dammit sorry

I sacrifice my toe to you

[TylerD]

I know Bane's plan was to release all the Arkham crazies so that Batman will wear himself ragged trying to re-capture them all so that he can attack at him at his lowest. I know we get to see a lot of the villains like the Joker, Scarecrow, Ivy and so forth.

I forgot if there any of the villains seen during the other two parts of the story. I'm assuming when Azrael takes over, there has to be at least some of the classic rogues around to find out (the hard way) that there was a new Batman in town? Did any of them show during Knight Quest and Knight's End?

It’s hard to tell how far this will dig. Batman and Azrael also have an epic fight when Bruce re-takes the Batman mantle. I’m not quite sure how long they will go into the series to show. Knightfall was fantastic though, so I hope they get this right. Keep it true to the comic. Batman battling his rogue galley, and ultimate has to face Bane. Keep Azrael as dark as possible (which im sure they will , it’s R rated)

It’s been years since I read Knightquest and Knightsend. Regardless I’m pretty pumped for this to come out. As long as they don’t completely butcher it I think it will be really good. As a life long Batman fan I’ve been waiting for this one for a while.

Might have to go back and re re-read the Knightfall series when I have a chance. Something over 100 issues in that series alone lol

[TylerD]

https://i.imgur.com/JBdh9OS.png

Lmao that’s good bahahaha

[Andrew NDB]

Watched it. It was pretty great, though I will say these few things as -- of course -- a big fan of the original comics and Bane:

* Bane's eyes should not be glowing red contact lenses. That's stupid. That's always been stupid when artists do that. They should be BIG RED diamonds on his mask, fabric. Empty and scary looking.

* Bane's fully-envenomed form is way, WAY too big. I know they're going for Kelley Jones, who did the covers of Knightfall but it's too much. It's not like venom is supposed to make your bones grow bigger. And now he's basically bulletproof? I don't like that at all.

* I'm good with gore but... this level? Bane ripping out spines, ala Sub-Zero? Is this necessary?

* Removing Zombie, Bird and Trogg seems like a mistake. Now Bane really has no real trusted subordinates which makes him less believable as a city-wide force to be reckoned with. It also gives him nobody else to talk to in the story who he can "talk shop" with. In the movie he is 100% in full intimidation/angry Bane mode all the time.

* The montage of Batman getting worn down could have been so much longer. Lots of shortcuts and compression there. If they had, say, managed to move the Sword of Azrael and Vengeance of Bane bits into some kind of self-contained prelude that would have been the way to go and it would have given them a lot more room here.

With Shondra, they seem to be doing something new:

They're having her use her mutant healing powers way earlier in the saga and they're also changing the way they work. Now she seems to directly inherit at least a measure of what she's healing from who it is she's healing. For example, she heals a nasty cut on Bruce's arm when he passes out... she passes out while healing it and seems to wake up with the same bloody cut arm. So, clearly, when Bruce gets out of the wheelchair in KnightsEnd she's gonna go into one, in turn, rather than be made some kind of child-like retard which is how they did her at the end of the comics.

On the plus side, they did make SOME things work a lot better than in the comics story. For the mini Vengeance of Bane portion, Bane having the Waynes in that magazine in front of him throughout his years in Pena Duro and that really getting into his head works a lot better than him just randomly having bat dreams, as in the comic. To establish his obsession with going to Gotham. Also, when Bane throws broken Batman off that rooftop it was a pretty nice touch to have him land on the spotlight and it make the broken Batman symbol in the sky at the end. Even if they removed everything cool and memorable about Bane's speech there from the comic.

[TylerD]

Watched it. It was pretty great, though I will say these few things as -- of course -- a big fan of the original comics and Bane:

* Bane's eyes should not be glowing red contact lenses. That's stupid. That's always been stupid when artists do that. They should be BIG RED diamonds on his mask, fabric. Empty and scary looking.

* Bane's fully-envenomed form is way, WAY too big. I know they're going for Kelley Jones, who did the covers of Knightfall but it's too much. It's not like venom is supposed to make your bones grow bigger. And now he's basically bulletproof? I don't like that at all.

* I'm good with gore but... this level? Bane ripping out spines, ala Sub-Zero? Is this necessary?

* Removing Zombie, Bird and Trogg seems like a mistake. Now Bane really has no real trusted subordinates which makes him less believable as a city-wide force to be reckoned with. It also gives him nobody else to talk to in the story who he can "talk shop" with. In the movie he is 100% in full intimidation/angry Bane mode all the time.

* The montage of Batman getting worn down could have been so much longer. Lots of shortcuts and compression there. If they had, say, managed to move the Sword of Azrael and Vengeance of Bane bits into some kind of self-contained prelude that would have been the way to go and it would have given them a lot more room here.

With Shondra, they seem to be doing something new:

They're having her use her mutant healing powers way earlier in the saga and they're also changing the way they work. Now she seems to directly inherit at least a measure of what she's healing from who it is she's healing. For example, she heals a nasty cut on Bruce's arm when he passes out... she passes out while healing it and seems to wake up with the same bloody cut arm. So, clearly, when Bruce gets out of the wheelchair in KnightsEnd she's gonna go into one, in turn, rather than be made some kind of child-like retard which is how they did her at the end of the comics.

On the plus side, they did make SOME things work a lot better than in the comics story. For the mini Vengeance of Bane portion, Bane having the Waynes in that magazine in front of him throughout his years in Pena Duro and that really getting into his head works a lot better than him just randomly having bat dreams, as in the comic. To establish his obsession with going to Gotham. Also, when Bane throws broken Batman off that rooftop it was a pretty nice touch to have him land on the spotlight and it make the broken Batman symbol in the sky at the end. Even if they removed everything cool and memorable about Bane's speech there from the comic.

Great review. Couldn’t add anymore if I tried. I agree I liked it too. Apparently the second one is coming out pretty quick too

[Anarchistguy]

Watched it. It was pretty great, though I will say these few things as -- of course -- a big fan of the original comics and Bane:

* Bane's eyes should not be glowing red contact lenses. That's stupid. That's always been stupid when artists do that. They should be BIG RED diamonds on his mask, fabric. Empty and scary looking.

* Bane's fully-envenomed form is way, WAY too big. I know they're going for Kelley Jones, who did the covers of Knightfall but it's too much. It's not like venom is supposed to make your bones grow bigger. And now he's basically bulletproof? I don't like that at all.

* I'm good with gore but... this level? Bane ripping out spines, ala Sub-Zero? Is this necessary?

* Removing Zombie, Bird and Trogg seems like a mistake. Now Bane really has no real trusted subordinates which makes him less believable as a city-wide force to be reckoned with. It also gives him nobody else to talk to in the story who he can "talk shop" with. In the movie he is 100% in full intimidation/angry Bane mode all the time.

* The montage of Batman getting worn down could have been so much longer. Lots of shortcuts and compression there. If they had, say, managed to move the Sword of Azrael and Vengeance of Bane bits into some kind of self-contained prelude that would have been the way to go and it would have given them a lot more room here.

With Shondra, they seem to be doing something new:

They're having her use her mutant healing powers way earlier in the saga and they're also changing the way they work. Now she seems to directly inherit at least a measure of what she's healing from who it is she's healing. For example, she heals a nasty cut on Bruce's arm when he passes out... she passes out while healing it and seems to wake up with the same bloody cut arm. So, clearly, when Bruce gets out of the wheelchair in KnightsEnd she's gonna go into one, in turn, rather than be made some kind of child-like retard which is how they did her at the end of the comics.

On the plus side, they did make SOME things work a lot better than in the comics story. For the mini Vengeance of Bane portion, Bane having the Waynes in that magazine in front of him throughout his years in Pena Duro and that really getting into his head works a lot better than him just randomly having bat dreams, as in the comic. To establish his obsession with going to Gotham. Also, when Bane throws broken Batman off that rooftop it was a pretty nice touch to have him land on the spotlight and it make the broken Batman symbol in the sky at the end. Even if they removed everything cool and memorable about Bane's speech there from the comic.

Those are my exact feelings about this movie.

Removing Bane's subordinates was indeed a terrible mistake and no, upping the violence this much wasn't necessary at all.

[Daytona]

As someone who can’t stand these animations, due to how cheap and shortchanged they look, I thought this was a big step up, visually. Yes, the animation still moves in a clunky way, with characters occasionally appearing like they came out of an early 2000s flash animation, but now the designs and colors pop with some character and atmosphere. I really do appreciate that.

Unfortunately, the narrative still fails to engage me on a compelling level. I’m not at all drawn into the story. I’m just sort of watching it go by and trying to appreciate the visuals. Maybe the next thing they need to do is step up the voice acting or something. To be fair, I thought Mando sounded suitably intimidating as Bane, but I’m trying to pinpoint what it is that’s still not working for me and that could be part of it.

[Andrew NDB]

zG8TU7GTaoo

[IMJ]

These are going to be a power watch for me once all three are rereleased.