All THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY (2005-2012) Characters © DC Comics, Warner Bros. Pictures, Bob Kane, & Christopher Nolan, etc.
All BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993) Characters © DC Comics, Warner Bros. Pictures, Bob Kane, Eric Radomski, & Bruce Timm, etc.
The Dark Knight: Mask of the Phantasm
Chapter 1: Phantasm killed Chuckie Sol
The sound of cracking. Splintering. A shape appears in ice. The shape of a bat symbol. A Death's Head face mask.
(Meanwhile, The Shady Lady Casino at Night in Gotham City…)
Above the entrance a seventy-foot, neon Rita Hayworth lookalike seductively posed with one hand on her hip, the other behind her head, winks at the traffic below. You can almost hear, Put the blame on Mame, boys…on Rita's head.
"This has been a long time coming, fellas. Three years on the plates alone. I think you'll find the product worth the wait. Go ahead. Take a good look, boys…" The old man said.
Batman circles behind her head on a bat glider and lands silently on the roof. He steps from the glider and looks around, making sure no one is up there with him. He moves to a certain spot and pulls out a device which he aims at the roof. It fires a dart into the roof with a thwump. The portion sticking out of the roof looks like a small antenna.
Batman pulls an earphone from his belt which he puts to his ear. We hear filtered voices from below…
(At The Suite Below…)
It's a plush garish hotel suite. Marble fountain, gold lame wallpaper ... the room they give Sinatra. A fifty-ish, squat racketeer, an old man: Chuckie Sol (Joe Pesci in a good suit) is showing off a suitcase full of counterfeit one-hundred dollar bills to his goons. One of the Goons holds it up to a light and squints.
"Jeez, Mr. Sol, I can't tell the difference." Goon 1 said.
"You'd need one of them neutron microscopes. It's identical down to Ben Franklin's stubble." Chuckie said.
Chuckie plucks it from the Goon's hand. As he steps over to the suitcase and places the bill back with the stacks of other bills.
"I want it laundered through the casino at a half mil a week. Three-quarter mil by March. Anybody got a problem with that?" Chuckie asked.
Just then the Dark Knight crashes through the window. Glass flies like a bomb just hit.
"HEY!" Goon 2 yelled.
"HEY!" Goon 3 yelled, as he turned to Batman.
The goon 2 turned around to Batman.
"THE BATMAN!" Goon 1 yelled.
Batman stood up.
"Jeez! Get him!" Chuckie said.
The goon 2 ran and got Batman. He punched Batman down. Batman punches him on the desk, he falls to the floor by Batman, Chuckie grabs the stacks, the bad guys are already pulling guns, Batman throws a batarang. No sooner does the first two goons have their pistols out than two batarangs hit it and the guns go flying. The goon 1 was hit by Batman. Another Goon 4 gun to Batman, he got down the desk. The goon 4 shotgun to the table. Batman pulls up the table and smashes the goon 4. Chuckie gasped and back. Batman side-eyes to the goon 3 was running. Batman turns around and down to the goon 3 punches. Batman grabbed and threw the goon 3 and smashed the picture of the woman. The goon 3 falls to the floor. The picture of the woman was dropped to the goon 3.
As the fighting continues O.S. Batman looks at Chuckie out of the room. He sweeps up the briefcase and bolts out the door. The goon 4 slowly grabbed the gun. Batman's right foot pulled the goon 4. Batman walked and grabbed Chuckie.
(At Open-Air Moving Sidewalk…)
The sidewalk is about 200 feet long, several stories above the ground, connecting the hotel to a parking structure. As Chuckie rushes across we pull back to see that we're looking over someone's shoulder, someone standing inside the structure. The shadowy stranger moves off.
At Inside The Parking Structure, Chuckie rushes in, looking over his shoulder. Suddenly he stops
in his tracks as he sees what's before him. Chuckie gasped.
The figure is about a hundred yards away and approaching,surrounded by swirls of smoky mist.
"Chuckie Sol." Dark Figure said.
"Batman! How did you get here?" Chuckie asked.
Who immediately pulls out a gun. He starts firing on the Dark Figure almost appearing as if he's gliding on the mist. Chuckie continues firing but the bullets have no effect.
*BANG!*
As Chuckie runs out of bullets.
*CLICK CLICK*
As the figure gets closer we see that this is clearly not Batman, but a ghoulish looking character with a Death's Head face mask. We'll call him Phantasm.
"Your angel of death awaits." Phantasm said.
Chuckie realizes this ain't no Batman.
"You ain't the Batman." Chuckie said.
At that instant Phantasm glides in and knocks the gun from his hand. He then backhands the gangster, sending him flying. As he crashes against one of the pylons. The valise goes flying
from his hands. He falls to the ground, feeling his lip. A trickle of blood is at the corner.
"Who-Who are you? What do you want?" Chuckie asked.
"I want you, Chuckie boy." Phantasm said, as he glided in.
Chuckie was horror. Phantasm killed Chuckie…
*BRAKES SCREECH*
Just then Phantasm hears the sound of brakes screeching. He also turns in that direction. Who steps back into the shadows as a car comes turning around the corner, heading downstairs to the exit. As soon as it passes Phantasm steps forward again and suddenly sees…
As Chuckie runs and reaches the car. He opens the driver's door and heaves the valise into the
back seat. Chuckie turns and gasps as Phantasm should feel like a ghost rising in the mist. Chuckie starts the key to the car. The car finally starts, to his relief. He looks at the approaching Phantasm as he puts his car in gear.
"AAH!" Chuckie screamed.
Who stops in the center of the parking lot as the lights from Chuckie's car bear down. With a wave of his arms Phantasm completely envelops himself in mist once again. Chuckie swerved out of the car and turned left, Phantasm fell to the floor. Chuckie seat mirror and turns around to Phantasm. Chuckie evil smiled.
Chuckie's car turns around and faster, Phantasm knees and turns to Chuckie's car.
"This time I got you, you lousy, stinking-" Chuckie said.
There's still a section of mist intact and from it Phantasm appears, pointing his hand at the vehicle and pressing a small device.
"What?" Chuckie asked.
At that instant the canister in Chuckie's back seat explodes with the black mist, which fills the car. Chuckie see… As he gasped, swerving toward a low wall and railing. Chuckie's car through the wall of the structure right over the sidewalk.
"AAH!" Chuckie screamed.
Chuckie's car flies through the air, spiraling in a slow corkscrew.
*SMASHES!*
Until it smashes into the side of the hotel.
*HONK!*
The car's horn blares, stuck, as the smoke from the canister pours out of the car. Chuckie is dead.
As Batman runs out onto the walk, presumably after Chuckie, he hears the burning tures and looks up. Batman's hand as he lifts up the shard and looks at it.
A Casino Guard and Man in Tux step out to see the sight.
"Look at that." Casino Guard, as he walked and looked at Chuckie's car in the hotel.
"Lord." The man in Tux, as he walked and looked at Chuckie's car in the hotel.
"Look!" Casino Guard said.
The man spots Batman and points.
"It's the Batman!" The man in Tux said.
"Where?" The woman asked.
Batman looking back at them.
"Yeah. Up there." The man in Tux said.
"Oh, my god." The woman said.
Suddenly something catches his eye. He looks up as he fits the canister piece into a belt compartment.
The silhouetted form of Phantasm is glancing down. He steps back out of sight almost immediately. Batman turns and quickly shoots his grappling hook skyward.
Even as the hook imbeds into the concrete, Phantasm has turned and is walking away, becoming enveloped in mist once again. As Batman is running and pulled up to the wall. He climbs over and looks around.
Blowing away as if Phantasm disappeared with the mist.
Batman alone, looking puzzled. All is quiet.
(Later at TV Studio…)
We don't know where we are, and won't for a few beats. Councilman Arthur Reeves, a handsome, thirty-something, hot-headed slick politico, is throwing a fit.
"I'm telling you, friends, it's vigilantism at its deadliest." Reeves said.
To include Commissioner James Gordon, he with Detective Gerard Stephens, sitting near Reeves, looking uncomfortable
"How many times are we going to let this happen? How many times are we going to let the Batman cross the line?" Reeves asked.
"I'm sorry, Councilman, you can't blame Batman for what happened to Chuckie Sol." Gordon said.
"Why not? He's a loose cannon, Commissioner." Reeves asked.
To show that Reeves is speaking to a studio audience on the set of "GOTHAM INSIDER." Summer Gleeson stands nearby. Reeves points to Stephens, Gordon, Summer, and audience looked at Stephens.
"It's not just my opinion. A lot of people, including the police, think the Batman's as unstable as the crooks he brings in." Reeves said.
Selling it to the audience.
"What kind of city are we running when we depend on the support of a potential madman?" Reeves asked.
The audience was O.S. and cheers, hisses, etc.
(Later at the Batcave…)
To show we are watching this on the TV monitor. Alfred Pennyworth, who has the bat costume and belt draped over one arm, clicks off the broadcast. Alfred with Lucius Fox.
"Such rot, sir. Why, you're the very model of sanity." Alfred said.
Alfred and Lucius turned and walked.
"By the way, I've pressed your tights and put away your exploding gas balls." Lucius said.
To include Bruce Wayne bent over his lab table, studying the charred remains of the gas canister.
"Thank you, Alfred and Lucius." Bruce said.
Alfred and Lucius lean over Bruce's shoulder and raise an eyebrow at the canister.
"Might one inquire what this is?" Alfred asked.
Bruce looks at it, rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"A piece of windshield from Chuckie Sol's car." Bruce said.
Bruce's hand as he presses buttons on the console to the Batcomputer. They looked at the viewscreen.
"There's a chemical residue on it- some kind of dense long-chain polymer." Bruce said.
"Adapt-O-Genic, of course. Of course. Ahem." Alfred said, as he walked.
As Bruce continues to stare at the puzzle. Bruce and Lucius smiled.
To Be Continued…