Andrea Beaumont, also known as the Phantasm, is a supervillain and antiheroine created by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, and designed by Bruce Timm. Beaumont first appeared as the main antagonist in the 1993 DC Animated Universe (DCAU) film , where she was established as the fiancée of Batman. Dana Delany provided the voice acting for Andrea and Stacy Keach provided the electronically modified voice of her "Phantasm" alter ego; Keach also provided the voice of Andrea's father, Carl. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
Andrea Beaumont / Phantasm has made occasional appearances in various DCAU media. In December 2020, Beaumont made her main DC Universe comic book debut in Tom King's Batman/Catwoman 12-issue maxiseries.
Timm designed the Phantasm's costume to reflect Alan Burnett's initial description of a Grim Reaper-esque character. Burnett wanted the villain to be reminiscent of the Ghost of Christmas Future, a similarity that the Joker mentions in the film.HBO. "HBO First Look: Batman Mask of the Phantasm". HBO (circa 1993). [1]. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Dir. Eric Radomski and Bruce W. Timm. Perf. Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Mark Hamill, and Hart Bochner. 1993. DVD. Warner Home Video. October 4, 2005. Timm went through approximately 20 different character designs for the Phantasm before creating a version that would evolve into the final design. Five alternate designs for the Phantasm's costume were featured in HBO's "First Look" television preview for Mask of the Phantasm.
Described by Timm as resembling a "tall, gaunt Death character", the Phantasm's costume is hooded and features a metal, skull-like mask. The Phantasm carries a large blade, reminiscent of a scythe, in her right hand. The blade was not part of Timm's original design, and was added later at Burnett's insistence.
The Phantasm's facade is completed by a masculine voice provided by Stacy Keach, which was digitally altered in post-production to be deeper and echo. Portions of Keach's unmodified performance can be heard in Mask of the Phantasm's theatrical trailer, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm theatrical trailer. 1993. Warner Brothers. [2] including the Phantasm's signature phrase: "Your angel of death awaits". The Phantasm's on-screen presence is accompanied by an eerie theme composed by Shirley Walker that prominently features the theremin.
In Mask of the Phantasm, producer Alan Burnett "wanted to do a big love story with Bruce because we hadn't really done it on . I wanted a story that got into his head". Burnett centered Andrea in his conception of the film's story: "We wanted to make a big movie story. We were telling a story about 'the girl who got away'. The one woman who could have stopped Bruce from ever becoming Batman". The resulting narrative, which dealt with Bruce's decision to become and remain Batman, hinged on Bruce and Andrea's relationship.
Andrea's role in Mask of the Phantasm corresponds with that of the femme fatale from hardboiled detective fiction and Hawksian woman from film noir. Burnett felt that the film's narrative should be removed from Batman's traditional rogues gallery. The fact that Andrea is revealed as the main villain in a plot twist is a convention of the femme fatale stock character.
Andrea serves as a foil for Batman. The characters are very similar; they both don an intimidating costume and speak to the gravestones of their parents (as if holding a conversation with the deceased). The paralleling of their characters — most importantly the death of their parents at the hand of criminals — highlights how different they are: Though they both became , Andrea chose to become a killer, following a warped code of "eye for an eye" justice, while Bruce chose a code of ethics that forbids killing.
Andrea discovers that her father has set up dummy corporations in Gotham with Mafia bosses: Chuckie Sol, Sal Valestra, and Buzz Bronski. When the mobsters want repayment, Carl and Andrea flee to Europe. Andrea breaks off her engagement with Bruce and he becomes a vigilante. Andrea and her father bounce around Europe before settling on a Mediterranean coast.
Ex-Beaumont lawyer Arthur Reeves, the only one with knowledge of the Beaumonts' flight, has run out of money in his campaign for election to the Gotham city council. Carl won't contribute, so Reeves sells the Beaumonts' whereabouts to the mob. Although Carl returned the money the mobsters want his life for unpunctuality. Their goon Jack Napier, later to become the Joker, does the job. Leaving, he passes by Andrea. She tells him her father paid them back, but Napier ignores her. Andrea screams when she sees her father's corpse.
Andrea trains for years, planning revenge on those who arranged for her father to be killed. She returns to Gotham as the Phantasm, with a smoke generator, scythe-bladed gauntlet, and a voice changer embedded in her mask, which makes her voice sound like her father's. She kills Sol and Bronski. Batman had thwarted Sol's plan to flood Gotham with fake money and is blamed for the killings of Bronski and Sol. Reeves demands peace and, over Commissioner Gordon's objections, orders the Police to hunt Batman. Andrea visits her mother's grave. Batman, also drawn to his parents' grave, sees her and flees, but Andrea guesses his secret identity. She rebuffs his questions about the mobsters and Carl Beaumont. Valestra's appeal to Reeves for protection from Batman fails, so he seeks out the Joker to kill Batman.
The Phantasm breaks into Valestra's home to murder him, only to find Joker has already done so and set a trap for Batman. Andrea changes out of her costume and helps Batman escape. She lies to Bruce that the Phantasm is her father and that she is trying to stop his killing spree. They spend the night together. Meanwhile, Reeves is visited by Joker, who needles Reeves over his past dealing with Valestra, and reveals the new vigilante, not Batman, is responsible for the killings. He also suggests Reeves either carried them out himself or hired someone to protect his career...just as Andrea calls Reeves' office to cancel their date. Joker gleefully remarks how Carl's daughter called just as they were discussing him, poisoning Reeves near-lethally with Joker venom. Batman sneaks into Reeves' room and forces his confession to betraying Carl, before leaving Reeves to his hysteria.
The Phantasm tracks the Joker to his hideout at the derelict Gotham World Fairgrounds, but he has guessed her identity and anticipated the attack. They battle and the Joker lures her to a giant turbine. Batman intervenes before the blades can crush the Phantasm. She attempts to justify her actions by relating them to Bruce's vow, and Batman begs her to leave. She disappears in a cloud of smoke. Batman and the Joker fight to the brink of exhaustion when the fairground - rigged with explosives - detonates and begins to crumble. The Phantasm reappears saying "one way or another, it ends tonight". With the Joker in her power, the Phantasm disappears with her captive.
Escaping the fairground through the sewers, Batman grieves that he couldn't save Andrea. Alfred assures Bruce that while he's kept above vengeance's influence, Andrea chose her path and Bruce alone couldn't have changed it. Suddenly noticing a glimmer, Bruce races toward it to find Andrea's locket left for him, revealing she survived. She stands alone at night on the deck of an ocean liner. A male partier attempts to make conversation, but notices her solemnity and asks if she wants to be alone, to which she replies, "I am."
In 2004's , Andrea goes undercover in Black Mask's organization, the False Face Society. During this story arc, she meets Bruce (who was also infiltrating the organisation as his criminal disguise "Matches Malone") at Wayne Manor and asks him not to interfere with her operation. He coldly rebukes her, calling her a "killer". She eventually fights Barbara Gordon and has her captured and put in a water tank to kill her only for her to be freed by Bruce who was present there and then later tries to kill Black Mask.
After an initial attempt on Jake's life fails due to Terry's intercession, Andrea visits Bruce in the Batcave. Bruce reveals that he searched for Andrea, and attempts to convince her that it is not too late for them. Andrea acknowledges that, despite their similarities, they are at loggerheads: "I do things Batman can't. I always have". Beaumont abandons her second attempt on Jake's life when he accidentally dies from exposure to Joker venom.
DC Comics describes Beaumont's role in one of three timelines featured in the comic: "And in the present, Bruce and Selina's union is threatened by the arrival of one of Batman's past flings, Andrea Beaumont, a.k.a. Phantasm. Beaumont's return calls into question how each character chooses to operate in their costumed, and personal, lives, and any move by Phantasm could change the fate of Bruce and Selina's future".
In 2016, DC Collectibles released a new action figure in their 6-inch highly-articulated toy line based on Batman: The Animated Series, packed with a re-release of the Batman figure from the series. This figure is more precisely sculpted and has more articulation, though does not include an unmasked Beaumont portrait or feature seen in the 4-inch figure.
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