Batman Mystery of the Batwoman

• Title:  Batman  Mystery of  the Batwoman
• Director:  Curt Geda
• Voice Director:  Andrea Romano
• Date:  2003
• Studio:  Warner Brothers
• Genre:  Action, Fantasy, Mystery
• Cast:  Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, David Ogden Stiers, Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa, Elisa Gabrielli, Bob Hastings
• Format:  Color Animation, Standard
• DVD Format:  R1, NTSC

"The last thing Gotham City needs is a vigilante running amok."  -- Bruce Wayne

"As they say on the streets - 'I ain't touching that one.' " -- Alfred

A mysterious new vigilante appears in Gotham -- the Batwoman, but is she a force for good, or a criminal?  That, and just who is the Batwoman, is a mystery that Batman must solve.  Bruce meets Kathy Duquesne, the daughter of  famous gangster, Carlton Duquesne, and begins dating her, in part because he wonders if she might have something to do with the sudden appearance of  the Batwoman, a masked vigilante.  He also meets a brilliant, and pretty, and blonde female metallurgist, nicknamed Rocky, who is newly employed at Wayne Enterprises.  When Batman finds her new programmable metal at the scene of  Batwoman's attack on the Penguin's club, he wonders if she might be involved.  And he also runs into Harvey Bullock's new partner, Sonia, but doesn't initially realize the importance of  that meeting.

Meanwhile, Carlton Duquesne, Penguin, and Rupert Thorne (another gangster) are plotting how to deliver a cargo of weapons to whatever-stan (a made-up name that's not really that important).  Batwoman had destroyed their first shipment, being transported by truck, so they plot for the next shipment to leave Gotham on a ship -- a ship disguised to look like a cruise ship.  For insurance, Penguin calls in Bane (the muscle-bound, steroid-addicted, South American merc, famous for once literally breaking the back of  the Bat).

Batman, with help from Robin, and the ever present support of  Alfred, investigates the mystery, trying to determine who the Batwoman is.  He comes to the conclusion it might be Rocky and Kathy working together, but Robin finds no evidence that the two ever met.  But, Batman then discovers a link:  Sonia -- who knew them both.  Batman, or Bruce, as the case may be, has also discovered what the three have in common:  a reason to be angry at the unholy triumvirate of  Penguin, Thorne, and Duquesne.  Sonia, as a child, saw her parents business destroyed by Thorne -- a disaster from which the family never recovered and tore them apart (tho' it was Batman who saved her life in the fire).  Rocky's boyfriend was framed by Thorne and Penguin and sits in jail.  And Kathy lost her mother when a rival gang shot at her father and killed her mother instead.

But Bruce also cannot condone someone else being a vigilante in his town, especially when innocent people get hurt, or even criminals get killed.  He sets out to stop them.  Meanwhile, Kathy's taken a bomb to the ship that carries Penguin and Thorne's guns -- but she gets caught by Bane.  She's unmasked, but Batman arrives to save her, followed by Robin in the Batboat and the other two Batwomen on their glider-rockets.  The bomb explodes, sinking the ship, but all three Batwomen are rescued and Throne, Penguin and Duquesne are caught.

I enjoyed this Batman animated movie.  This was the second time I'd seen it, so I knew who the Batwoman was, yet the care the storyline takes in drawing character studies of  these three women, who have all be affected by crime and violence, makes the story very re-watchable.  Also, the cast is excellent, bringing back many of  the regulars from Batman:  The Animated Series -- Robert Conzanso as Bullock, Bob Hastings as Gordon, Tara Strong as Barbara, and, of course Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred.  Yes, a Robin is in this, but since Barbara is away at college, I suspect Dick is too (and possibly not yet Nightwing) and the Robin is Tim Drake, tho' he's never actually called by name.

Recommendation:  See it
Rating: 4 Stars
Next Film:  Batman Under the Red Hood