Is the pixelated and physic defying world of video games a perfect playground for the over-the-top characters found in comic books? There is only one way to find out:
What is Print-N-Pixel?
Print-N-Pixel is an in depth Group look at Comic Books In Video Games. Print-N-Pixel is more than just playing comic book related video games, its also a “book club,” a month long video game AND comic book club.
Even if you don’t play video games and you only read comic, or vise versa, stick around and participate in the discussion of either the game or the comics. And if you missed the introduction to Print-N-Pixel you can find it here.
Recommended Reading
The last installment of Print-N-Pixel introduced Sunsoft’s Batman for the NES as the featured game and recommended a couple comics to read. This week we will be looking at the characters featured in both the game and the comics. We will also take an look at, and hopefully discuss, the Batman stories tsuggested last week.
For more about the history and how to play the game check out the first installment of “Print-N-Pixel: Batman NES.”
Characters
Characters in the Game:
Characters in the Comic:
- Good Guys: Batman, James Gordon, Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, Michael Akins, Oracle
- Bad Guys: Killer Moth, Two-Face, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Riddler, Charlatan, and the Joker
Recommended Reading: Introduction
I have to admit, when I decided to feature Sunsoft’s Batman, I was more excited about playing the game than reading the comics. I read Batman comics on a weekly basis and feel like he and his rouge gallery are part of my extended, and fictional, family. Not wanting to write about one of the already popular Batman vs Joker stories, I decided to focus on some of the other villains featured in the game. After rereading some of the single issues with Firebug, Heatwave, and Maxie Zeus, I could not find any that I really thought worth of discussion, until I remembered (with the help of the DC Database) Ed Brubaker’s “Dead Reckoning” story.
Published in Detective Comics at the same time that “Hush” was being told in Batman’s self titled book, this overshadowed story is one of my favorite Batman tales and one I prefer over Hush. This story may not be the first one to come to mind that coincides with the Batman video game since the only character I remembered being in common with the game was the Joker, but I was wrong. The whole storyline is set up by Killer Moth who just happens to be the video game’s first level’s boss and the one most players of the game are familiar with. Killer Moth introduces the featured villain, sets in motion the creation of the villain (all of Batman’s rouges have tragic origin stories,) and is the first targeted victim at the beginning of the story.
Recommended Reading: Review
“Dead Reckoning” - Detective Comics #777-#782
Dead Reckoning begins with a small time crook named Lenny being released from Arkham, only to be found dead a few days later wearing Killer Moth’s costume.The only clue left at the scene of the death was a double sided coin full of scratches similar, but definitely not, Two-Face’s signature coin.
The only witness for Killer Moth’s imposter’s murder was one Charlie Tann; an older man living in the building where Moth was killed. After some interrogation of the dead man’s associates, Batman learns that an older man named Charlie wanted to hire Killer Moth, and since Lenny knew where Moth kept his costumes he decided to cash in and take the job and impersonate Moth. Little did Lenny know that Charlie Tann didn’t want to hire Killer Moth, instead he wanted revenge.
After finding out about the death of Killer Moth and the imitation “Two-Face coin” found at the crime scene, the Gotham Underground begins to get restless. Especially restless is the Penguin, who receives a double sided and scared coin in the mail.
Retired Police Commissioner, Jim Gordon is the second target of Gotham’s newest villain. During the attack on Gordon, the former commissioner fights back noticing that the attacker was wearing a prosthetic or some kind of mask to hide his true identity. Like the previous attack a double sided and scared coin was left at the scene of the crime.
Batman decides to pay Harvey Dent a visit in Arkham Asylum, since this new villain is somehow connected to Two-Face. Two-Face reflects on a “job” that the Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, and Killer Moth were planning eight years ago and how he declined the offer to “team-up” with the other villains. Two-Face then flips his coin and decides not to share his recollection or any information at all to the Caped Crusader.
The Penguin scared by the coin he received in the mail decided to hide, only risking going out in public once, but one time was enough for the new villain to attack. The Penguin risks his life to visit a nursing home and on his way back he is attacked and left for dead with the coin in his hand.
The Penguin thought the ghost of an actor named Paul Sloane was causing all of the ruckus involving the fake “Two-Face” coins. The Penguin decided to rid himself of the “ghost” by visiting a retired “Spiritual Detective.” But to his surprise, the haunting was real but the ghost wasn’t. It seems as if Paul Sloane was not dead like the Penguin thought.
Now that he had a lead to who Gotham’s newest villain was, Batman decided to interview the actor’s widow. Sloane’s widow tells about her husband’s addiction to perfecting any role that he played. She told how the actor would want to be in perfect character for every performance, and that he sometimes took it too far by fully believing that he was really that character. This obsession ended eight years ago when he disappeared while working on an “opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.” His widow could only imagine that whatever caused her husband to go missing was “something truly unique, to have attracted Paul the way it did.”
Back at Arkham, the Mad Hatter notices something odd in his dinner – a double sided scratched coin. Almost immediately he realizes that he had been poisoned, and is rushed to the hospital. With members of the “villain team-up” dropping like flies, the Riddler beefs up his security. Even with bigger guns and more men, Batman pays the Riddler a visit to find out more about the fall of Paul Sloane.
The Riddler confesses that the group of villains didn’t think they could pull off the “job” eight years ago without Two-Face’s involvement. So they hired Sloane to act as, or impersonate, Two-Face. According to the Riddler Sloane was dead before they ever attempted the “job,” which was to kill Batman.
Since hiring Sloane to impersonate Two-Face was the Joker’s idea, Batman pays the Clown Prince of Crime a visit. The Joker confirms the Riddler’s story and tells how Sloane didn’t just want to impersonate Two-Face, but instead he “had” to become him. To make sure that he was in character, Sloane’s obsession caused him to try pulling off a heist as Two-Face. Like most crimes committed by Two-Face, Sloane’s crime was publicly thwarted by Batman. The real Two-Face didn’t like the bad press created by Sloane’s failure and wanted revenge on the imposter.
Once Two-Face caught up to Paul Sloane he tortured him for two days “slicing his face to pieces” so that Sloane could really “feel” what it was like to be him. Annoyed by his fellow criminals attempt to impersonate him, Two-Face dropped off the lifeless body of Sloane at the villain’s hideout. Scarecrow pronounced Sloane dead and had his body delivered to his personal lab.
The Joker reveals that not only was hiring Sloane his idea, so was tipping Batman off about Sloane’s crime. The Joker realized that the team-up of that many villains would never work, so he decided that it would be more fun to mess with Sloane’s mind and turn him into a monster.
Batman realizes that the only member of the villain “team-up” that had not yet been attacked by Sloane was the man who pronounced him dead – the Scarecrow. Upon being interrogated, the Scarecrow admits that Sloane was not dead when Two-Face dropped him off at the hideout. The Scarecrow saw the near dead man as an opportunity to conduct some experiments of his own. With “willing test subjects” hard to find, the Scarecrow used Sloane to help him isolate the chemical receptor in the brain that controlled fear. The painful experiment was a failure, but Sloane survived. Yet his ability to fear did not. After Sloane escaped, Dr. Crane now feared his creation that could not, and did not, fear anything anymore.
The Scarecrow told Batman that Paul Sloane wanted revenge and to finish what he started eight years ago. Batman tracked both Sloane and Two-Face to an abandoned factory where the two men were having a standoff with pistols pointing at each other. Batman disarms both men only to have Sloane change his focus from Two-Face to the Caped Crusader. Sloane takes a couple shot at Batman stating that he was originally hired to kill Batman, and that he has been in character for 8 years in preparation to finish the job.
Two-Face flips his lucky coin and decides to flee instead of fighting leaving Sloane to take on Batman by himself. Batman takes care of Sloane in just a few panels and delivers him to Arkham Asylum. With the job still undone, Sloane remains in the character he spent eight years creating that will one day kill the Batman – the Charlatan.
Recommended Reading: Conclusion
To me, this is the ultimate Batman story. It’s a story where the villain has just as powerful of an origin and motive as the hero, making the reader care for him as much as the hero.
One of the draws to the Batman universe is the fact that all of the characters are created out of emotion and exaggerated flaws we all have. The Charlatan, Paul Sloane, is a perfectionist who felt he had to go all out to be successful even if that meant truly becoming an evil entity powerful enough to rival the Batman.
Add that characterization with thrilling detective style story and you have a perfect “Batman vs” story.
What is your favorite Batman vs ____ (insert villain team-up) story?
Share it in the forums.
This week’s SpaceBooger Achievements
SpaceBooger Achievements are earned by playing the featured game, and also for comic book related tasks such as reading and obtaining recommended comics. SpaceBooger Achievements can be earned for any game or comic at any time, but I encourage all participants to attempt to earn the achievements when they are posted.
This week’s SpaceBooger Achievements are:
“Recommendation”
Suggest other comics that may be relevant to enjoying this feature. (Medium)
“Another Castle”
Short for “I’m sorry, the Princess is in another castle.”
Beat the Game using cheats, continues, or extra credits. (Medium)
“1-1″
Defeat One Level with One Quarter or No Continues. (Easy)
“1-2″
Defeat Two Levels with One Quarter or No Continues. (Medium)
Past Achievements:
“Member” – Become a member of the SpaceBooger.com forums. (Easy)
“Input” – Suggest a game and/or comics for upcoming Print In Pixel features. (Easy)
“Press Start” – Play the featured game at least once during the time it is featured. (Easy)
“Hard Copy” – Obtain and play an Original Hard Copy of the game. (Hard)
“Comic Book” – Read one or more of the “Recommended Reading” books. (Medium)
“Comic Collector” – Obtain a Hard Copy of one or more of the “Recommended Reading” books. (Hard)
Remember to leave a comment letting me know what achievements you earned along with posting them here in the forums.
Next on Print-N-Pixel:
- An in-depth look at the levels in the game.
- My review of the game.
- And the final wave of “SpaceBooger Achievements” for this game.
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Yeah, I know it was a low blow…
In last week’s comic strip I said Keith Apicary was ”like the Booger, he thinks very highly of himself.”
