Bat Freak: The Riddler Post Part II

This Friday Edward Nygma has taken over the Friday Feature / Minx Review spot!

 

First things first (to set the scene) a playlist:

 

Enigma from rachel.yelding on 8tracks Radio.

1. The Riddler - Frank Gorshin
2. Bad Days - The Flaming Lips
3. The Riddle - Nik Kershaw
4. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy
5. Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
6. You Sexy Thing - Stereophonics
7. Mannequin's Theme - The Curse OST
8. That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain
9. Need You Tonight - Inxs
10. Badman - Cory Branan
11. Li'l Red Riding Hood - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
12. Big Bad Wolf - The Sham-Ettes
13. That's the Trouble with Love - Frank Gorshin
14. Loverboy - You Me At Six
15. Just Be Good To Green - Professor Green featuring Lily Allen
16. VCR - The XX
17. Perfect Day - Lou Reed

Secondly my full scale sized replica Riddler Trophy arrived yesterday! Here is what it should have looked like (click the photos for hi-res versions - blogger is being bratty about resizing photos):

 

And here are copious amounts of fanatical photos of what it did look like:

 

 

 

You can plug it into the mains but you can also plug it into your computer because...you're a geek...and if it doesn't come with a USB connection you're not interested ;-)

Also the big question at the moment is will Riddler be in Arkham Origins? Well according to May's cover of Game Informer magazine yes he will...(good luck spotting the clue though).

 

 

And now Enchanted Blogging will be returned to its usual service.

 

Holy Riddler Freak! Mr Green

So I was reading the news on yahoo when a banner for a gambling site called 'Mr Green' popped up. The mascot looked kind of familiar so I clicked on it.

"Hmm," I thought, "he's totally cute but still very familiar..."

 Hmm...

Ahh...

Holy Bat Freak! Batman-Bradford

It looks like before Batman Inc got hit by the recession Bruce Wayne expanded his company as far as Bradford:

This is not the first time I've spotted a local Batman though. When living in Beaconsfield a man dressed as Batman used to cycle the streets...yet no one else ever saw him.

Have any of you guys seen Batman on a bicycle in Beaconsfield?

Have any of you guys got a local Batman? I'd love to see pictures!

Holy Bat-Freak! Riddler Trophy Replica

I should be writing or something but £$^*$%*!!!! I bought this instead:

It's a scale size Arkham City (I guess Arkham Asylum too then) Riddler Trophy! It's actually much bigger than I thought a Riddler Trophy would be at 19 x 4 x 5 inches / 49 x 10.5 x 13.25 cm (H x W x L). That's pretty damn tall! Heaven knows where Batman stored them all...or how Eddie managed to fit them in all the places he hid them!

You can also buy a pink / red Catwoman trophy too!

There will only be 440 green Batman trophies made (hehe in-joke) and 100 pink Catwoman trophies. I suppose since the pink ones will be rarer I should of got a pink one...but Edward Nygma's my fictional crush not Selina Kyle...and I wanted a green one XD

Before you go, "OMG Rachel - what a waste of money!" I never spend this much on myself (and was feeling down) so I figure when something comes along that you really really want and you know will make you really really happy be it a Chanel dress, a BMW car, a piece of Kobe beef or a Riddler trophy...get it!

Check out more details of how to get your own at Triforce's official website.

Holy Bat-Freak! Holy Musical B@man!

Just when you think it's safe to check your updates another Bat Freak comes flying at ya! I've known about this one for a few weeks now but I've been trying not to spam you with more than one post a day.

To be honest though, you're probably more aware of this musical if you're a Harry Potter fan (which I shall henceforth be calling Potheads) than a Batman fan. Holy Musical B@man was created by Team Starkid, a musical theatre company best known for their Harry Potter musicals. You just have to take a look at the comments for the B@man vids to see them spammed by Potheads. You do not, however, have to be a Pothead to enjoy B@man (thank goodness) - in fact the more of a bat / DC geek you are, like me, the more you will get out of it.

Holy Musical B@man embraces the fun of the 1960s Batman series, the style and wit of the 1990s animation and pokes a hell of a lot of fun out of the overly-serious Christopher Nolan trilogy (and Nolan fans). If you only like Nolanverse Batman then this musical really isn't for you. Though...if you only like the Nolanverse then probably no musical is for you.

Despite the bright colours and smiley singing HMB is also not for little kids. One of the running jokes is Batman saying, "F*CK YOUUUUUU" in the style of Christian Bale Batman every time he fires Alfred.

The story: Incredibly selfish (this guy really is an ass) billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne / Batman develops an instant bond with fellow orphan Dick Grayson. Grayson becomes Robin and together they fight crime however Gotham is not impressed that their gritty hero is being camped up with such feelings as loyalty and friendship. A new villain in town, Sweet Tooth, sets into motion a plan to get rid of Batman for good and poison Gotham's water supply. He kidnaps Robin and Batman is forced to choose to save Gotham or his new, only friend. What will he do? Who will he choose? Will he ever learn to not be a selfish ass?

I'm not going to lie - it starts a little slow. There is singing and dancing and stuff happens and Batman's frenemy Superman is introduced but it is only until well over halfway through the first act that the villains make an appearance and the actual plot kicks in. After that though all systems are go! Everyone can act, everyone can sing, everyone can dance. The songs are pop and very catchy (one line in To Be a Man is STILL stuck in my head and I haven't listened to it in DAYS). But, despite the slow to kick in plot, what really shines is the script. It is genuinely hilarious. As a big Batman fan I can say right here and now I haven't seen a better parody. It's hard for me to give an example of a good joke, they all are. Fair enough half the time you have to like puns and be able to laugh at jokes that are so bad they're good but...considering Batman's greatest villain relies on bad jokes all Batman fans should be used to that by now! The script is obviously written by a DC fan for DC fans (all of DC's greatest heroes make an appearance). I'm afraid I can't say how funny it is to people who are new to Batman but I think it is probably a good place to start if you are interested in getting into it. The only thing that I wasn't so hot on was the portrayal of Commissioner Gordon. I'm so used to him being noble and ethical (his own set of ethics, not necessarily the right set of ethics) that seeing him as a doddery, helpless old man didn't quite fit.

What I found very refreshing about HMB but may be the biggest disappointment for other Batman fans: the lack of Joker. Never fear though Joker fans, super punster Sweet Tooth and his bicoloured queen of chaos, Candy (not at all anything like Joker and Harley Quinn.......) should fill your Joker void. They are epic in design (what I would give to own a Candy costume or even just her boots or hair). I think they could easily become part of the rogues' gallery...and probably will in some fans' hearts. I've already seen one Candy cosplay.

You can watch the entire show on Team Starkid's website as well as see photos, download music and watch their other productions (including those Potter ones). Just a tip though - if you do like the songs and do want to buy them but not the whole album That's What I Call Starkid Volume 2 (it's £9.99 / $9.99 for the cast recordings but also instrumentals and demos of the same songs which means in some cases the same song three times) then you can buy the songs separately on iTunes for £5.53.

***

A more family friendly Batman stage show is Batman Live which is like Cirque de Soleil meets Batman.

If you're a more diehard Batman fan then please, also glut yourself on the Batman musical that never was - Jim Steinman's Batman: The Musical (yeah just contemplate that combination).

See you soon for another Bat Freak!

Holy Bat-Freak! Harley Quinnfestation

See what I did there? Infestation / Quinnfestation...bah, never mind.

I'm double Harley Quinn-ing with this Bat Freak so if you don't like brash blonde broads you better click away now!

Harley Quinn Freak #1

Hands up who was gutted that Converse offered their Riddler designs in men's and boys' shoes only? *hands up* Well I'm still gutted but it looks like female fans are finally getting their own back with these beauties:

Also available for female DC fans are Catwoman and Joker (exclusive to Schuh) and Wonder Woman. Blokes get their pick from Batman, Joker and Superman. The pretty cool thing about both Joker Converses is that instead of the trademark black line a line of HA HA HAs runs round the sole.

If you're more a fan of Jamie Hewlett you'll be pleased to know there is also a range of Gorillaz inspired Converses available from all Converse stockists.

Edit: I noticed a lot of American visitors for this post. All shoes featured are already available to buy in the UK however American readers will have to wait till September.

Harley Quinn Freak #2

The other recently released Harley Quinn product to brighten my week has been Arkham City's first story based DLC Harley Quinn's Revenge.

For those of you who are new to Internet enabled console gaming DLC stands for 'downloadable content' and are game add-ons such as extra quests, stories, characters or costumes. Often a game will come with a code for a free DLC unique to the shop you bought it from or the console you use to play - later it will become available (usually at a price) for everyone.

Physical copies of Arkham City came with a variety of DLCs however all were for the challenge maps (either to play as Catwoman, Robin and Nightwing instead of Batman or extra challenge maps themselves), which, if you don't like beating people up purely to get on a leader board, are pointless. A further DLC was a costume pack for Batman. This was exciting and new when Rocksteady did it for Arkham Asylum however with everyone now supplementing their games with DLCs and the challenge rooms only appealing to a certain kind of gamer, the Arkham City DLCs, to be frank, were a bit of a let down. Rocksteady had seemed to have forgotten that not only would 'gamers' be buying Arkham City but Batman fans...and Batman fans want story.

So thank you thank you thank you for Harley Quinn's Revenge!

Harley Quinn's Revenge happens two weeks after the events of Arkham City and features Robin going into AC to rescue Batman from the grieving, angry Harley. It offers players the chance to play as both Batman and Robin (including his own set of gadgets and moves), a new area to explore and a whole new bunch of special Harley Quinn thugs to battle.

Harley Quinn is also sporting a new design. There are lots of tributes to old school Harley (her thugs' designs, the redecoration of the industrial area) however Harley herself looks like something between her Arkham City costume and her Whorey Quinn New 52 design (great way to demean one of the only strong female villains you had DC!) with a whole lot of black. 'Mourning' Harley Quinn is probably the most removed Harley Quinn design to date nearly completely removing her red and black motif, adding fur and replacing her mask with gothic / emo make-up and a veil. It works as a sexy character design and in the world of the story (she is in mourning) however she most definitely looks nothing like a harlequin anymore. I'm all for revamping characters but I do worry that in general Harley Quinn is well on the way to being redesigned out of all recognition and becoming nothing more than a characterless wet dream...but like I said - in this instance it works:

Harley Quinn's Revenge contains about six hours worth of play with a production quality and attention to detail almost the same as the main game (however I did find a few bugs). The difficulty setting is about a medium / normal and you start the game with a different amount of HP than the one you may have built up as Batman in the main game (which I actually found quite frustrating). There is a side mission of bursting balloons however you must burst them all within the span of the story as the game resets on completion (also slightly frustrating).

As a Batman and Harley Quinn fan Harley Quinn's Revenge definitely has bigger appeal and replay value to me than the challenge rooms however including it as a coda to the main game rather than a side mission (such as the Zsasz and Riddler side missions) does lessen its replay appeal slightly. Despite this I whole heartedly recommend it and I hope Rocksteady will release more story based DLC to the Arkham City world!

Holy Bat-Freak! Zellers Adverts

Another new feature! (Though this one will sporadically update rather than to a schedule.)

Today I'm Bat-Freaking about the Canadian department store Zellers' adverts from the late 1980s. The four 30 second adverts feature Batman and Robin saving families from being ripped off by some of Batman's greatest enemies. Despite the graphic novels of the 1980s becoming more serious the adverts are a homage to DC's Silver Age featuring classic costume designs and voice samples of the villains from the 1960s television show.

The featured foes are:

Penguin

Catwoman

Riddler (looking super buff)

and...

Joker

As you can see, though they were only 30 second adverts and before the invention of CGI the quality is fantastic, which is the real reason to Bat-Freak over them. They really bring the spirit of the graphic novels to life. I'd love to see a Batman animation in this style!

Though...the animation is not without its bloopers...

Introducing the 5th Zellers Advert!

In the Batcave Batman and Robin prepare to save another family from department store misery however Robin has a trauma of his own!

Batman is practising Buddhist Rubber Face technique (you never know when you might need to dislocate the whole of your face).

Batman and Robin rescue the family where Robin teaches the family the 'Law of Toyland'. Hmm that face is kind of creepy...

...It's also rather familiar...

AHHH! It's Riddler!

Discovering that Riddler has taken the place of Robin, Batman has no choice but to put his Buddhist Rubber Face techniques into action, dislocate his jaw and consume Riddler-Robin whole.

You can find all four Zellers adverts on YouTube.

Hmmm and where have I seen Batman's rubber face before?

Oh yes!

And finally...for my fellow Riddler fangirls...one more screencap of Eddie:

Oh Edward! Why must you have such a soft spot for blondes yet be 100% fictitious and therefore unable to leer over this blonde blogger! <3