History WesternAnimation / BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite the police believing that Batman has become a murderer and sending SWAT teams after him, Batman never clears his name with the authorities. Though tie-in comics reveal that Batman was cleared of the murder charges, [[spoiler:especially when Arthur's criminal past was revealed.]] The end of the film has Batman responding to the Bat-Signal, implying that somehow the cops discovered he didn't do it. (Sal's grinning corpse was probably a lbig clue, or would be if it hadn't been blown to pieces.)

!! ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' contains examples of the following tropes

** As Bruce leaves Andrea at her house, he briefly glance at the hitman standing by the door and his eyes are filled with a sense of subconscious anger and hatred only seen in the future Batman. [[spoiler:That's because the hitman will become the Joker, Batman's greatest and most hated ArchEnemy of his RoguesGallery]].

* {{Futureshadowing}}

* AdaptationDistillation: Some elements of the story are loosely taken from ''Batman: Year Two''. The flashback scene where Bruce goes after some crooks before cooking up his Batman persona is also a reference to Year One.

* CompromisingCall: The Joker has paid Councilman Arthur Reeves a visit. During this time, Andrea Beaumont--the daughter of the man they're discussing -- calls, and the Joker, immediately suspicious, forces Arthur to pretend that all is well. Afterwards, the Joker comments on this:

* CounterfeitCash: Chuckie Sol, the first gangster victim of the Phantasm, intended to launder a [[BriefcaseFullOfMoney briefcase]] full of the high-grade variety in his casino before his encounter with Batman (and the Phantasm).

* RetiredMonster: Sal Valestra, once a notorious and ruthless gangster, was living a quiet retirement in a posh house. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by his loss of position, until he finds out about his former associates getting picked off, at which point he panics over having no means to protect himself.

--->'''Joker:''' ''(to Sal)'' Oh, don't mind my home security. Down rusty. ''(cue dog punt)''

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The Phantasm's motivation is to make the mobsters who [[spoiler:ruined her life and [[YouKilledMyFather killed her father]])]] pay for what they've done.

* StaggeredZoom: Onto the Joker as he unpleasantly surprises Arthur by showing up in his doorway.
* StarCrossedLovers: Bruce and Andrea. Just as he decides that she's worth giving up his plan of being Batman for, she has to leave Gotham and disappear thanks to the mob. When she resurfaces years later, they're still in love, but [[spoiler:she has become the murderous Phantasm, hunting down her father's killers, thus placing herself in conflict with Batman]].
* StellarName: Chuckie Sol.

*** This, incidentally, is also another subtle clue that [[spoiler:Carl Beaumont physically ''can't'' be the Phantasm. In the flashbacks, Carl's already a middle-aged man (and while he seems to be in decent shape for his age, there are also no signs he's athletic or combat proficient like his daughter). Even if Carl has maintained his health and body in the decade since the Beaumonts fled Gotham, we're really expected to believe that a man now in his Sixties is performing the Phantasm's incredible feats of agility? That he can now actually evade and fight the Batman himself hand to hand and hold his own? It strains the suspension of disbelief to the breaking point, and had Bruce been on his game and not distracted by Andrea, he likely would've realized this implausibility too.]]

** Reeves having gone from one of Carl Beaumont's rising attorneys to a Gotham Councilman in the last decade. [[spoiler:Even with how lucrative a legal career can be, funding a political campaign ain't cheap. Reeves got part of the money from selling out his boss to Valestra.]]
*** Adding to the above foreshadowing, there's also the car scene between Arthur and [[spoiler:Valestra when the latter tries to get his help again Batman. It shows the two men know each other well and have had past dealings. But as the earlier flashback shows, Valestra's interactions were with Beaumont himself and ''not'' his staff (and even if Valestra and Arthur had met during that time period, there's clearly more than a passing acquaintance at work here). This sets up the reveal that Arthur sold out Beaumont to Valestra in orders to fund his political campaign.]]

* HeroesWantRedheads: Andrea Beaumont. Bruce was actually prepared to marry her. Incidentally, a socialite whom he previously dated, and then calls him out for not bothering to phone her near the beginning of the film, is also a redhead.

*** This, incidentally, is also another subtle clue that [[spoiler:Carl Beaumont physically ''can't'' be the Phantasm. In the flashbacks, Carl's already a middle-aged man (and while he seems to be in decent shape for his age, there are also no signs he's athletic or combat proficient like his daughter). Even if Carl has maintained his health and body in the decade since the Beaumonts fled Gotham, we're really expected to believe that a man now in his Sixties is performing the Phantasm's incredible feats of agility? That he can now actually evade and fight the Batman himself hand to hand and hold his own? It strains the suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. Had Bruce been on his game and not distracted by Andrea, he likely would've realized this implausibility too.]]

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:When Joker briefly suspects that Reeves is the Phantasm, he cites this very Trope as the possible motive for the murders. Any exposure of Reeves' past connections and dealing with Valestra, Bronski, and Sol would understandably cripple, if not destroy, his political career and ambitions. So, Joker thinks Arthur's bumping off the Valestra gang to protect his secrets.]]

** This is also another subtle clue that [[spoiler:Carl Beaumont physically ''can't'' be the Phantasm. In the flashbacks, Carl's already a middle-aged man (and while he seems to be in decent shape for his age, there are also no signs he's athletic or combat proficient like his daughter). Even if Carl maintained his health and body in the decade since the Beaumonts fled Gotham, we're expected to believe that a man now in his Sixties is performing the Phantasm's incredible feats of agility? That he can evade and fight Batman hand to hand and hold his own? It's ''completley'' implauslbe with Carol...but ''not'' with someone younger and who had already been established to be athletic and a fellow martial artist.]]

*** In the preceding scene before Bruce proposes, Andrea also mentions that her father has some business in Europe. He wants her to come along, but he's been very hush-hush about the whole thing and hasn't even said when they'd be coming back to Gotham. [[spoiler:With the later flashbacks and reveals, the implication here on the rewatch is that Carl knew that Valestra either had discovered, or was close to discovering, his embezzling and was already preparing to flee Gotham.]]

*** In the preceding scene before Bruce proposes, Andrea also mentions that her father has some business in Europe. He wants her to come along, but he's been very hush-hush about the whole thing and hasn't even said when they'd be coming back to Gotham. [[spoiler:With the later flashbacks and reveals, the implication here is that Carl knew that Valestra either had discovered, or was close to discovering, his embezzling and was already preparing to flee Gotham.]]