the Gray Ghost appreciation thread

[American_Idiot]

My wife recently picked me up the Gray Ghost figure to complete my TAS collection. That was awesome. :yay: Needless to say, I went back and re-watched the episode for the first time in years. I like the character. I see potential in the Gray Ghost, ie. a the Shadow-type movie of his own.

Well, here's an original piece of art I drew up paying homage to the character...as he "clocks" another BTAS c-lister who also finally got his own figurine in the past few years. :woot:

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/260102_10150674860240089_509855088_19327243_409308 0_n.jpg

[Knight Rise]

...who?

[Ponyboy]

The first time I ever saw him was on the Batman Animated Series sometime in the early 90s. I thought he was pretty cool. I just googled this...

http://hobotastictoys.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/gray-ghost-package-front.jpg

[American_Idiot]

The first time I ever saw him was on the Batman Animated Series sometime in the early 90s. I thought he was pretty cool. I just googled this...

http://hobotastictoys.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/gray-ghost-package-front.jpg

The box it comes in is way rad. The one she picked up for me was in the standard DC Universe packaging. Not as cool, BUT it did come with a brand new/old TAS-style Joker, which now stands vibrant as ever next to Harley Quinn in my collection. :woot:

For the guy who asked "Who?"...Simon Trent/the Gray Ghost was a one episode character voiced by Adam West. He was Bruce's hero as a child, and while it was definitely a nod to the Shadow and/or the Spirit, I felt it was moreso Bruce Timm's way of paying homage to West and his portrayal of Batman.

[Knight Rise]

oh.....hm, guess ill have to look into it more

[Ponyboy]

He was Bruce's hero as a child, and while it was definitely a nod to the Shadow and/or the Spirit, I felt it was moreso Bruce Timm's way of paying homage to West and his portrayal of Batman.

Or all of the above! :woot:

[Mako]

"Beware the Gray Ghost" is easily one of my fav. episodes.

[The Joker]

"Beware the Gray Ghost" is easily one of my fav. episodes.

Ditto.

It was also cool that Bruce Timm voiced the villain in that episode.

[American_Idiot]

Ditto.

It was also cool that Bruce Timm voiced the villain in that episode.

That's true too. If I remember correctly, the villain was actually modeled to resemble Bruce Timm as well. He (the Mad Bomber) was an obsessed fan of the Gray Ghost, while Timm is a huge fan of West's Batman. The parallel is kinda funny.

As for the Gray Ghost, Superman made reference to him in JLU, and Bruce Wayne actually donned his goggles and hat to conceal his identity after in Inque infiltrated the cave in an episode of Batman Beyond. Bruce has his costume on display next to the other heroes. :woot:

[American_Idiot]

"Beware the Gray Ghost" is easily one of my fav. episodes.

I actually appreciate more now when I watch it then I did as a kid. The artwork in that ep was great, and the story beneath the story was fun.

[RedSkull]

That version in the single carded packaging wasn't available to the general public. I'd agree that the Beware the Grey Ghost ep is one of the better ones in BTAS. It's so cool to see that Batman idolized someone as a hero as a child in the same way that I idolized Batman. The last time of the episode at Trent's signing still brings me chills. It's a fantastic episode and I'd wanted a figure of the grey ghost since I saw that damn New Batman Adventures comic which had a kenner two pack of Batman and Grey Ghost drawn on the cover as a hypothetical. As such, I paid top dollar (which I regret) for the Grey Ghost 3 pack to have it as soon as it came out.

[American_Idiot]

That version in the single carded packaging wasn't available to the general public. I'd agree that the Beware the Grey Ghost ep is one of the better ones in BTAS. It's so cool to see that Batman idolized someone as a hero as a child in the same way that I idolized Batman. The last time of the episode at Trent's signing still brings me chills. It's a fantastic episode and I'd wanted a figure of the grey ghost since I saw that damn New Batman Adventures comic which had a kenner two pack of Batman and Grey Ghost drawn on the cover as a hypothetical. As such, I paid top dollar (which I regret) for the Grey Ghost 3 pack to have it as soon as it came out.

Yeah, it was like $20 at Target here.

I got a pretty good deal on the Clock King off eBay. Pretty much completes my whole BTAS collection. :yay:

[BatBat]

I often walk around whistling the Gray Ghost theme from that episode. As much as I had grown to dislike the old 60's show, when that episode aired I was nostalgically pleased that Adam West voiced the Grey Ghost.
Still one of the best episodes of BTAS both in story and animation.

[The Joker]

Why do you dislike the 60's show?

[BatBat]

Because of the false tone and reputation it gave comics in general. It also hurt the character's more serious side badly. Their original intention for that show was to portray Batman and Robin as homosexual. But at the last minute the studio threw in Aunt Harriet at the last minute to throw audiences off from that idea.

[The Joker]

They never ever intended to portray Batman and Robin as homosexual. Where did you hear such a thing?

[BatBat]

They never ever intended to portray Batman and Robin as homosexual. Where did you hear such a thing?
Read that in a few articles back in 1989 -1990 from magazines and the hardcover Official Batman Souvenir Book.

[The Joker]

That's got to be BS. I've read Adam West's autobiography and he is brutally honest about the show and everything related to it. From the lame decisions they made to the actors and directors he didn't get along with.

Not once did he mention them ever initially planning to make Batman and Robin gay.

[BatBat]

Just relaying what I've read. Don't shoot the messenger.

[The Joker]

LOL I'm not. Just saying it's not true. No way could any studio think they would have gotten away with a TV show where a grown superhero was having a homosexual relationship with a teenage boy.

[BatBat]

LOL I'm not. Just saying it's not true. No way could any studio think they would have gotten away with a TV show where a grown superhero was having a homosexual relationship with a teenage boy.
you're right. They couldn't get away with it. And there Aunt Harriet was born. You may not want to believe it but that was the original conception. I will see if I can find those articles and show you so that I'm not just talking trash.

[The Joker]

Her character Aunt Harriet was added to the series partly so that there was someone else in the house to prevent the two heroes from spending all their time in their Batman and Robin costumes and partly because they did not want people think that they were both gay lovers.

http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/heroes/auntharriet.php

That's why she was introduced. Not because the original conception was that they were gay. Why would they need to bring in Aunt Harriet to dispel a conception that was never even used in the first place? She was brought in to stop any possible talk of them being gay.

But go for it. Dig up the article you read. In fact if it's true then you should easily be able to find some source on the net to confirm it.

[BatBat]

http://www.bat-mania.co.uk/main/heroes/auntharriet.php

That's why she was introduced. Not because the original conception was that they were gay. Why would they need to bring in Aunt Harriet to dispel a conception that was never even used in the first place? She was brought in to stop any possible talk of them being gay.

But go for it. Dig up the article you read. In fact if it's true then you should easily be able to find some source on the net to confirm it.
It's in this book
http://www.fotolode.com/images/batbat29640/batbook.jpg
I can't tell you what page but it's in there including why Aunt Harriet was introduced by the show. I don't have the book anymore (god I wish I did) but hopefully there's a torrent out there for it or someone on here has the book and can quote it for me.
On a side note . . .I always loved that pic of Keaton as Batman.

[The Joker]

http://books.google.com/books?ei=6Q8ZTsXOCYaDhQeWl93MBQ&ct=result&id=bQFZLZsRppgC&dq=john+marriott+batman&q=aunt+harriet#search_anchor

You must have a fuzzy memory, mate. It says the same thing as the link I posted above. She was put in there to not make them look gay.

[BatBat]

http://books.google.com/books?ei=6Q8ZTsXOCYaDhQeWl93MBQ&ct=result&id=bQFZLZsRppgC&dq=john+marriott+batman&q=aunt+harriet#search_anchor

You must have a fuzzy memory, mate. It says the same thing as the link I posted above. She was put in there to not make them look gay.
LOL that was my point. At the last minute, because they couldn't get away with making them gay, Aunt Harriet was put in to NOT make them look gay.

[BatBat]

http://books.google.com/books?ei=6Q8ZTsXOCYaDhQeWl93MBQ&ct=result&id=bQFZLZsRppgC&dq=john+marriott+batman&q=homosexuals#search_anchor

[The Joker]

"At the time when the Batman TV was first a hit, that the two chaps were indeed homosexuals"

This doesn't even make any sense. They were never homosexuals, especially when the show was a hit. Your book is still wrong. It doesn't even mention it being part of the original conception of the show like you said it did.

Here's your proof. I scanned this from Adam West's autobiography:


http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6563/imguxm.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/273/img0001rw.jpg


There you go. Nothing about the original conception of the show having Batman and Robin being gay lovers. The very idea is absurd.

[BatBat]

"At the time when the Batman TV was first a hit, that the two chaps were indeed homosexuals"

This doesn't even make any sense. They were never homosexuals, especially when the show was hit. Your book is still wrong. It doesn't even mention it being part of the original conception of the show like you said it did.

Here's your proof. I scanned this from Adam West's autobiography:


http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6563/imguxm.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/273/img0001rw.jpg


There you go. Nothing about the original conception of the show having Batman and Robin being gay lovers. The very idea is absurd.
Hey I agree the idea is absurd. The tone of the show itself was absurd. Maybe the book was wrong. I just know I read in it that was the producers original intention. Google books cuts off most of the paragragh but I know it's in there. If I had it to scan in I would do so.
If I have offended you by my dislike for that show then I apologize to you personally. But please understand my point of view. That is how i was introduced to Batman. But as I grew and started reading comics I felt that show was a bad misinterpretation. The show did in fact spawn many a gay jokes about Batman. It took away his dark side which took DC years to get back.

[The Joker]

You don't have to apologize. I'm never offended by anyone disliking anything about Batman. It's your right to like or dislike what ever you want. We were just talking facts here. The fact is that they never ever intended to make the Batman TV with the premise that they were gay.

The comic books had been campy as hell long before the TV show came along. The TV was based on those campy comics. The TV show is probably the most loyal adaption of the Batman comics to date.

[BatBat]

I don't know, man. BTAS was pretty close. I would much rather Bruce Timm and co. produce a live action Bat film than Burton or Nolan anyday.

[The Joker]

BTAS is awesome but it still took it's liberties with established characters. Putting Andrea Beaumont into Bruce's origin. Merging the characters of Matt Hagen and Basil Karlo for Clayface. The whole inclusion of Harley Quinn etc.

Not that these were bad changes but they were still changes. Adam West's show was pretty much the campy comics come to life on screen with minimal if any changes to the characters.