Mask of the Phantasm is everything great about B:TAS. Can you imagine if Andrea Beaumont had been the love interest in Batman Begins? She could have her own arc over the course of the trilogy and everything.
At first a childhood sweetheart of Bruce Wayne’s, heartbroken by his disappearance. Then an idealistic ADA, hopeful at Bruce’s return, but disgusted by his new playboy persona. She sees a purity in The Batman’s vigilante justice, but Bruce keeps the secret of his dual identity from Andrea, knowing it will only put her in danger.
In The Dark Knight, Andrea has fallen for the charming Harvey Dent. Meanwhile, the chaotic Joker plays the police, mob, public, and Batman against each other, bringing the city to its knees. Lovesick Bruce outs himself to Andrea in hopes of winning her back, but his timing couldn’t be worse: Joker has just publicly exposed ADA Beaumont’s own familial ties to organized crime and how she pulled strings to achieve career success. The public’s newfound hope is strained further by this betrayal from one of their city’s shining stars.
Andrea pleads with Bruce that she only did it to get an edge, to enforce justice from the top down, but this conflicts with Batman’s mission and he rejects her. When Joker sets his death trap, it is Bruce who decides to save Harvey over Andrea, leading to her apparent death. Rather than being tricked by the Joker, Bruce sees himself as solely at fault for letting his emotions get the better of him.
The Joker is finally apprehended, but not before he inspires Harvey ‘Two-Face’ to go on a roaring rampage of revenge. He dies and Batman takes the fall, in order to protect what remains of the public’s fragile hopes. Bruce hangs up the cape, but for years, stories persist of a cloaked vigilante acting as judge, jury, and executioner. All of this builds upon the urban legend of the Batman.
Infamous terrorist Bane comes to Gotham, seeking the Batman but finding a grim new face, the Phantasm. A brutal shadow war begins, pulling Bruce out of retirement. He discovers that the Phantasm is Andrea Beaumont, who had escaped Joker’s death trap and gone into hiding, shamed by her public humiliation and personal falling out with Bruce.
In Batman’s absence, Andrea took up a mantle of her own to strike at the monsters of the world, whom she sees as the ones responsible for the tragedy in hers and Bruce’s lives. This had brought her into conflict with the League of Shadows, including its front man Bane and the League’s mysterious new leader…
At least, I think that would have been cool. The inclusion of Selina Kyle/Catwoman is easily the weakest part of Dark Knight Rises. Her subplot is so disconnected from everything else and the romance with Bruce feels rushed. Faking his death to run away with Selina didn’t feel like it was earned.
But if Bruce had finally reconciled with his lost love, Andrea, together defeating the League once and for all. Yeah, that would have felt right. Ah well, what could have been.
