Phantasm's technique to disappear with mist and smoke

[Mr.E.Nygma]

WTH!!!!?????

It doesn't steal anything from the story of the tremendous "Mask of the Phantasm", in fact it is a technical detail, but it always got me question, how the hell can the Phantasm teleport or I don't know? We know that Batman is a ninja, so he learned techniques to camouflage and disappear, theatricality, etc., but Phantasm and his magic tricks??? How can it be?

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Well, i don't think she has super powers as some others have stated...


However, i don't think you are going to get the definitive answer your looking for - though here are some suggestions:

• The Smoke conceals her as she dodges (Highly unplausible, even i don't believe it)
• It could be magic - Zantanna showing it can happen
• She could have been involved with Cadmus as alluded to in JLU (they may have toyed with her)

However, all this seems unlikely in the mind of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as this stage of their career. None of these answers will be satisfying for you so i'll just say...

Suspension of disbelief - hey i got nothin' else

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

Well thanks, at least it's a theory that lighten that dark deep mystical issue

This is clearly something openly WTH about the movie ...

 

[spiderfan970]

I like it, it doesn't bother me at all, and it adds a bit more mystery to her.

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

^Yeah, but it's like the most unbelievable point of the movie...but seeing it on your angle is also interesting

 

[Kevin Roegele]

WTH!!!!?????

It doesn't steal anything from the story of the tremendous "Mask of the Phantasm", in fact it is a technical detail, but it always got me question, how the hell can the Phantasm teleport or I don't know? We know that Batman is a ninja, so he learned techniques to camouflage and disappear, theatricality, etc., but Phantasm and his magic tricks??? How can it be?

You're absolutely right, it is an odd omission by the writers. At first the audience are supposed to wonder if the Phantasm is a ghost or not, but when it's revealed it's a real person, it's Andrea, the disappear/reappear in smoke should be explained somehow. Along with why she appears so big in the costume, how she changes her voice, etc. Unless you look at it symbolically as Andrea being both a ghost from Bruce's past and re-incarnated as the Grim Reaper coming back to get her father's killers....great film, Mask of the Phantasm.

 

[I Am The Knight]

WTH!!!!?????

It doesn't steal anything from the story of the tremendous "Mask of the Phantasm", in fact it is a technical detail, but it always got me question, how the hell can the Phantasm teleport or I don't know? We know that Batman is a ninja, so he learned techniques to camouflage and disappear, theatricality, etc., but Phantasm and his magic tricks??? How can it be?

I always wondered that. I figured she was fast enough to move or something, while the smoke covers her (Batman has done this) ....

 

[Mr. Socko]

All illusions to make it appear as if she could disappear into the mist. We don't know how it was done because it was shown from a 3rd person point of view, so to us, it really appears as if it were magic.

In Batman '89, from Commissioner Gordon's point of view(which would be 3rd person to the film), in the Ace Chemical Factory scene, he sees smoke appear beneath Batman's feet, quickly covering him, then he sees the Bat flying upwards to which he replies "My god!". But, from our first person point of view the film gives us, we can see that Bruce throws down smoke pellets and uses his grappler to shoot into the air and fly upward- so the illusion is revealed to us. In MOTP, we were never given a first person point of view from the Phantasm's perspective so we don't know exactly how she escaped but I imagine quick trickery and illusions did it.

 

[Mr.E.Nygma]

ooooooohh

I see, interesting!

 

[GPbatfan]

Well Andrea did know martial arts cuz she kinda messed around with Bruce in the film when they got know each other. So ya she must use the gas to cover her moving really fast that makes it seem like she disappears.

 

[weezerspider]

This bothered me also. I also thought of Batman as a superhero story with characters without extremely fake powers. This was a real curveball for me. It doesn't take away from the movie, but it seemed out of place. I watched the movie last night ironically, and man, is it good. I wished they had made another full-length film from TAS.