The concept of Stalker seeing Batman as a spirit that must be conquered to conquer his own fears sounds very much like what drives Bane to want to destroy Batman
That also reminds me of the plotline in Spider-Man where all Spider-powered characters are believed to be channeling the spider 'Totem', and there is a special kind of immortal being which seeks out and devours Totem-users to sustain itself.
@@SerumLake this actually reminds me of scarecrow and how in certain stories he want to defeat batman because of his deep fear of him, once his only fear was conquered, he would've been the true master of fear.
@@SerumLake you know what?, seeing your video essays on Batman Beyond's villains makes me appreciate them more given that I remember that TV shows and movies back in the late 90's and early 2000's were obsessed on trying to create the next big zeitgeist or using really cheap and equally stupid gimmicks to sell themselves.
Something I like about Stalker is how twisted his backstory is. Being mawled by a black panther, becoming paralysed and then going through a horrific surgery to fix himself, being able to take revenge on the panther yet still needing to prove his worth to himself and himself only is downright tragic. It honestly is enough to make you sympathise with him, even if you don't agree with his actions.
@@WobblesandBean That's likely why despite how horrible his life is based on the story, he's never painted in a way that makes him "sympathetic" as much as "pitiful". The way he loses to Batman by seeing the vision of the Panther is cathartic as knowing WB is pretty progressive in nature, they wouldn't play the "Humans > nature" card that easily. Later we see him still acting impatient and impulsive but on Terry's side ultimately in pursuit of that eventual revenge, but that's the most we get out of him being "sympathetic". he wasn't malicious, but he wasn't good enough to make us want to really root for him and in the end, despite ultimately helping Terry and respecting him, we still see him as a broken man who has the live with the corposes and consequences of those animals he killed. "Content" but stoic. effectively that's all there is to him. Very well written.
There's something to be said for the power of ritual in regards to PTSD, for better or worse. (Prove oneself, hunt the spirit, never be vulnerable again, in the case of Stalker) Its usually a twisted protective instinct that can lead to exhaustive or even destructive compulsions, (like a car crash victim being unable to be in a vehicle when it rains) but if handled carefully, is one of the fundamentals behind why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is thought to work. Restructuring these patterned expectations can be freeing.
Part of me wonder if Ultimate Black Panther is based on that. In that version, T’Challa was mutilated by a black Panther and had to be saved by Shield agency (who are badiclalg more “skeleton in closet”) via cybernetics but became a hostage until Cap helped him escape.
In terms of Spidey's villains given the Batman treatment, I think Stalker is probably the one who gained the most from the concept. Those flashbacks are amazingly twisted. It's also interesting to think about why he feels no catharsis after killing the panther. One might see his "it was too easy" reasoning as him misinterpreting how empty vengeance feels.
I never really thought about it much but this video helped me realize how Stalker is more morally gray than a straight up villain and that’s pretty interesting and I like that
Especially since most Batman Beyond villains are so one-note. Greedy, creepy, evil, yeah yeah we've seen that before. Stalker was actually interesting.
@@WobblesandBeaneh, characters can still be interesting or fun without being morally grey. Lotta people are kinda sick of the belief that deeper, morally grey, or tragic/sympathetic villains are better when we can still have our Jokers, Jack horners or Gideon graves’
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I liked Stalker's evolution after his defeat by Batman. It makes me think that in addition to the respect he holds, he believes perhaps Batman should be untouchable.
Stalker is definitely one of the most interesting characters to me because of how well written he was. His actions weren’t evil to him. It simply just felt like nature. He doesn’t aim to kill randomly, he only goes after the best of the best to challenge himself mentally and physically. He hungers for the thrill of a good hunt. I also like how fought alongside Terry for the time being. I can’t help but love hero and villain team ups.😄✊🏽
The 'Great Hunter' is not a archetype that's easy to make anything other than a straight-up villain. Time goes by and the idea of a rich man killing animals for no reason other than to prove his own ego becomes more and more detestable, even in the Mandalorians of Star Wars. But Kraven and Stalker have grown beyond that somewhat, becoming villains with codes of honor similar to their opponent's own that can make them allies at times. I can see the leap from here to Kyodai Ken as well.
I actually hate the idea of Mandalorians being more campy in the Disney Alt-universe stuff. At least Legends kept them balanced, unless we're talking some of Karen Traviss' messy work in the Denning-verse. Alas, I still think Kyodai Ken isn't as good as a lot of Japanese anime ninja types out there.
@@michaelandreipalon359 The only time I really liked the Mandalorians was in SWTOR. There, they're just another of many factions fighting for supremacy and they live in a setting where killing is often a necessity of life, so the 'hunter' thing doesn't seem as obnoxious. Torian Cadera for life.
@@WhiteFangofWar Alas, not a fan of that MMO. It belittles a lot of Star Wars Legends lore, especially the original KotOR duology, all while its mere existence is why games like Mass Effect 3 unfortunately decreased in quality by way of its best makers and writers moving on to the MMO. At best, it deserves to be an Infinities/Elseworlds game separate from both Legends and even the Disney Alt-universe. At worst, well, it'll get shut down as almost all MMOs do, so why must people like me bother to play it?
11:14 Perhaps the best way to describe Stalker is he's more of an Anti-Hero. Yes, he can do heroic things, but he does them in shady, often frowned upon ways (like when he was interrogating the cobra member through intimidation and threats.). However, I do think he is one of the underutilized characters in Batman Beyond and I would have liked more episodes that showcase interactions between him and Terry.
Stalker was a far more nuanced adversary for Batman II, I'll give you that! His mental state is good to note. When he keeps Matt captive in order to lure Terry, Stalker takes time to talk with Matt, keeping the interaction amicable and sincere.
I have a theory that the stalker used to fight Anansi the spider from static shock. Anansi was a minor character from the show who appeared a couple of times but his whole gimmick was illusion magic, disappearing, making copies of himself, that kind of thing. Some of the stalkers gear feels like it was made for someone who could pull those kinds of tricks, like the tracking powder that he finds Terry with. Also his theory on how Batman is a spirit that is passed down from generation to generation is pretty similar to how Anansi works. By now Anansi would be an old man so he very well could’ve been defeated, which could be why Stalker decided to move on to going after Batman. I know it’s all probably a coincidence since Anansi was a pretty obscure and Static Shock hadn’t even aired yet. I just think it’s fun to make these connections. Batman Beyond and Static Shock are such great shows I wish more people talked about them.
@@michaelandreipalon359 Anansi said in one episode that his powers were passed down from one generation to another, so maybe there’s a new Anansi running around.
A video about the Jokerz would be a treat. I wonder what the source material reveals about this group of kids who model themselves after Gotham’s most evil psychopath.
One thing's for certain, a sad shame misguided kids like them also exist in real life (Ted Bundy idolizers, anyone?), all while the Joker sure won't stay dead if he still has an infectious legacy.
I think Stalker works really well as a villain. He's a good example of the little flashes of genius Batman Beyond showed. Even if I don't like the show, it really did well with the villains, and the haunting feel of Batman Beyond's world really made them feel more dangerous.
It could have been so good if the studio execs weren't so obsessed with "appealing to the youth". The villains in Beyond are genuinely creepy, and I love the Batman stuff, but it's bogged down by the obnoxious teenage stuff. Like, I don't care about Terry's girlfriend, she's annoying, I don't care about high school shenanigans, just give me Batman and Bruce.
@@WobblesandBean If Terry had been an adult, I'd have a COMPLETELY different view of the show. I genuinely despise the whole 'adults bad' narrative of shows like Batman Beyond. It's why I hate 99% of anime/manga too.
Funny. I love Batman Beyond simply because of what it is and how differentiates itself way from any traditional Batman and especially Spider-Man depiction. Helps that it's easily rewatchable compared to almost all Spidey cartoons out there; sorry, dated The Animated Series and woefully unfinished Spectacular. Also, don't diss on anime too much. Not even the finest of Western animation can somehow compare in my eyes and that's not even nostalgia talking; comparing Fist of the North Star against He-Man is easily like day and night.
What made BB haunting for me was the lack of nature. For me, a person who has fond memories of visiting his grandmother in a secluded lush forest area, that's quite depressing.
@mattcolville has a wonderful axis of alignments in one of his D&D videos that kinda of addresses the thought you had near the end of this video about hero vs. villain: Hero, Anti-hero, Villain, and Anti-villain. I think that Stalker falls into the anti-villain camp as he "wouldn't be villain except for x"; the "x" in this case is his loss of self and eventually loss of joy in the regaining of his physical capabilities through that cyberring up via surgery. Thanks for the video as always and good luck with the next project!
Stalker: "I must test myself with the most dangerous prey!" "Superman? Lobo? Wonder Woman?" Stalker: "... uh, no. I was thinking Batman. .. I'll work my way up to the rest." "Batman is respectable. ...you know he doesn't kill people right?" Stalker: "I can't hear you and imustleavenow!"
I do love this video essay it shows how much detail and deep this characters had for a new entry in the batman media. Also i for about Willie Watt for some reason i always thought his relationship with the golem was like a twisted version of the iron giant and Hogarth
I always did like how Stalker kept Terry's secret for him. Your video summed up the reason perfectly: his hunt was always after the persona-spirit of Batman, not the individual behind the mask. Looking forward to your Kyodai the ninja episode; after rewatching BTAS recently, I felt that he'd've made a cool addition to Arkham series games, especially as a named lieutenant character to Shiva in Origins, or to Talia in City, or a captain of the 'militia'(truthfully, they were an organized paramilitary) ninja-swordsmen squads of the Arkham Knight; a plain cloth martial artist merc who knows Bruce Wayne from the past, and deduces him as Batman due to the fighting style.
Hes a cool Villain from Batman Beyond, wish we had more episodes with him, hes basically DC's Version of Kraven The Hunter, if we ever get a live action Batman Beyond movie, Id love to see Stalker in live action My Depiction of a live action Stalker: Shaka Okoro is a notorious wealthy African Hunter (whos a descendant from The Zulu Tribe who fought the british in 1879 at Rorkes Drift) whos hunted one each of every African Animals and took a piece of them as mementos as a child he was fascinated by Batman and saw him as A Mythical Spirit who haunted a City in America called Gotham, as an adult, he decided to confront Batman and the cybernetics enhancements were from his own desire not from being mauled, he would balance and blend between Ancient Hunting styles and Futuristic Cyberpunk Weaponry). I think it would be cool if Stalker fought a Predator Alien, id love to see Kraven The Hunter, Stalker and Khyber (from Ben 10) teaming up, they'd get along and u can have Spiderman, Batman Beyond and Ben 10 team up
2:25 Interestingly, I do think the original comic version of Stalker made it to BTAS in at least one way: Josiah Wormwood from “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy”. While their occupations and motivations for why they go after Batman are different, they’re both villains who create these highly elaborate traps with the intent of unmasking and/or killing Batman.
2:18 They do stay dead in comics for two reasons. 1: If their death is a major factor in the heroes origin story. 2: If the character is unpopular enough to not bother with. The Spider-Man villain The Thousand is a prime example of this. Mr. Rogues did a video on that guy, and you can see what I mean.
Can't wait for the next episode. I loved the Stalker as a kid. Great analysis. I'm excited to hear about the ninja from BTAS. Another underrated character.
Good job, as always. You always have interesting insights into the characters' mental states and motivations. Regarding the depiction of the African village, maybe it was a nice place and then some villain wrecked it. (I've never read it, but that's a way they could retcon it.) One thing that annoyed me about Kyodai Ken was that, although these episodes in part took place in Japan, they never got Japanese studios to animate them.
Same. A successor to Static Shock's Osebo would be really nice. And the Kyodai Ken eps sorely needed anime writers, advisers, and even seiyuu to have kept tabs on things. Expensive, sure, but it should have been quite worthwhile to avoid datedness and insensitivities.
I didn’t realise that he was motivated by self doubt as like Kraven he just crazy as he thinks that Spider-Man is a animal not a guy in a mask and as Terry is a guy dressed as an animal
Stalker seems like a good example of an anti-villain. He is definitely a bad guy (he kidnaps a child and tries to murder a guy!) but he does have a code of ethics central to his character. He recruits Batman to help him defeat other, greater villains and even saves Batman, but all so he has the excuse of killing the guy himself. He has evil intentions but does good deeds as readily as evil to achieve them. At least that's my take. Ooh, Kyodai Ken. He had a lot of unused potential. Do you think he inspired Ghostmaker?
A good part of the Stalker backstory also seems to be inspired by one of DC’s Golden/Silver Age characters: Paul Kirk, Manhunter. As written by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson, Kirk was also a game hunter mauled by an animal and repaired to be an enhanced human; unlike Stalker, his repairers were an evil organization called The Council. Kirk appeared in the CGI Beware the Batman series.
There was an episode of the early 2000s The Batman animated show where the plot with cat woman and the rich big game hunter was sort of used. I think it was called The Laughing Cats or smth but the plot was similar to what you described
The comic version of The Stalker kind of reminds me of a one and done BTAS villain (who I affectionately refer to as Oops, too early for Riddler) Josiah Wormwood from 'The Cape-and-Cowl Conspiracy'. While Wormwood wasn't aware of Batman's true identity, his various traps did prove too much for Batman who was always one step too slow to catch him...only for it to be revealed that Batman (disguised as another villain) was the one to hire Wormwood in the first place to try and get info to lead to the trap maker's arrest, with Batman using himself (more importantly his cape and cowl) as bait This version has an...admitedly warped sense of honour to him, and I actually enjoyed his return episode more than his debut, where he aids the Government (possibly a future version of Task Force X/Suicide Squad sort of deal) to find a partial shapeshifter called False Face (big fan of the powers for totally no reason, ignore my flag cough cough) before he assists the snake cult from unleasing a powerful virus using cred cards
Stalker is so Kraven the Hunter 😎 and I like that about him . Funny enough watching Spider Man 94 really got me into the character as a kid .😂 I remember in Spider Man unlimited they did a futuristic version of Kraven there around the same time as Beyond. The DCAU Stalker is interesting he has really had Terry on his Ropes in his Debut episode in Beyond. I like that Beyond has a Horror movie vibe to it I'm surprised that this Stalker didn't get adapted into the mainline continuity of the DCU
I do not see The Stalker as a villian. I see The Stalker as a character who embodies the culture of his people and holds his beliefs in his heart and mind. The Stalker will follow his beliefs without question even if that means being on the wrong side of Batman at times. The Stalker could be comparable to Marvel's Kraven. Both characters are great hunters. Kraven sees Spiderman as his ultimate hunt just as The Stalker viewed Batman as his ultimate hunt. To me The Stalker is a great hunter, protector of his people and maybe a little misguided but not a villian. Keep up the great content!
And yet Terry still thinks of him as a baddie! I guess he did kidnap his brother, terrorise his friends, and expose him to radioactive material so that’ll be hard to get over…
I like the Anti-Villain aspect to Stalker. Like he does have somewhat of a moral code, but that doesn't completely stop him from doing not-so-moral stuff in pursuit of the hunt
I like how nuanced and layered Stalker is as a character. He maybe ruthless, he has a sense of Honour and under the right circumstances he could have been a hero, which is ironic since he is voiced by Carl Lumbly aka Martian Manhunter.
For Blight, I look at it as the villainous one we know is truly Dead...the amnesia version isnt the same, but merely a husk of what he was. Still fitting he met his end as a trophy and sits lonely in a room that few will ever remember...much like his ' original death!'
Wait a minute, a hunter who believes his prey is guided by a powerful totem spirit that grants him great power beyond his already physical capabilities... This is Ezekiel Sims and the Spider Totem! And I just looked it up, this episode predated that Marvel comic storyline by two years. What are the chances that this episode inspired Straczynski?
Ah, good old JMS. Bless him for making The Real Ghostbusters Seasons 1 and 2 (plus a select six eps from Seasons 3, 5, and 6) and Babylon 5 Seasons 1 to 4+"Sleeping in Light".
And also from a respectable and awesome African traditional game hunter to a somewhat incongruous and dated stereotypical Japanese ninja type... ugh, I'd rather rewatch those corny space ninjas from Planetes.
I have another theory about the inspiration for the Stalker. I think the Stalker was based on the Mad Hatter's henchmen, in the Batman Animated Series episode "The Worry Men". The Mad Hatter's henchmen wear leopard skin, one of them uses a blowgun, they wear leopard skin which reminds me of that scene where the Stalker wears the panther skin when he holds Matt hostage, and they look like tribesmen.
There was a similar(ish) character in BTAS. I don't remember his name, but I remember that Thorne (the crime boss) hired him to acquire Batman's cape and cowl.
3:46 terry´s litlle brother was to stupid. When i first saw this scene my tought was: how he could not realize that for all the people in the world, he chosen him to lure batman?
Yeah, I sure hoped he got more character development screentime, complete with him getting the "Rescued from the Scrappy Heap" treatment and maybe even becoming Robin Beyond. Alas, he sure is no Pop Harukaze or Kim Possible's little twin brothers.
As brutal as the shot of the extracted vertebrae would have been, I think the right call was made to just leave it at the silhouettes and Stalker's screams. It's wince-worthy (positive) enough as is! Somehow they still got away with him being blood-splattered after killing that cat? I guess being in shadow helped (like that ONE shot of Joker in The Batman vs. Dracula) I remember wondering why everyone seemed to despise the Stalker vs. Blight issue, then I actually read it and yeah that seemed a little cheap.
Such are the surprising advantages of "Gory Discretion Shots" and fine lighting. You should see Volume II's issues 3 and 4, featuring Cuvier and the Royal Flush Gang. Now those felt off.
@@michaelandreipalon359 that episode's plays on red/black contrasts is so nice. I did read those issues and they immediately dropped out of my brain. I forgot that Cuvier even came back. If that Royal Flush issue is the one where every member had identical twins all vying to replace them as the Gang, then yeah that was real weird.
I don't even get the revenge on the panther part. Imagine this from the panther's pov. Just chilling and surviving in the jungle doing your thing. Out of nowhere, this crazy man with a boom sick decides to try you. Doesn't even want to kill you for food or territory. Just a certified menace doing it for the love of the game. Outta of pure chance, you beat the gun. You maul the man and go on about you business. Only for the SAME man to return, wearing a loincloth, to beat you to death with his bare hands. 😭 Stalker took vengeance on this poor jungle cat because the panther was able to defend himself. And when Stalker was hallucinating, he had the gall to call the panther evil. Dude! He just prevented himself from dying. The panther slander is outstanding.
I touch on it in my Caped Crusader video, but will start doing separate video essays about all of the villains seen in Batman Caped Crusader over the coming months. Penguin is first on my list!
I really wonder if there's a worldline or two out there the DCAU cast and crew worked on Marvel stories instead, while the contemporary Marvel makers we got made their own DC Animated Universe... who knows if the former would have created really good Spidey cartoons that don't look and sound dated, had awesome sequels featuring the rest of Marvel's finest, and even very memorable Avenger/Fantastic Four/X-Men/Defenders/etc. team-up arcs up till the very end, via their own "Epilogue". Darn, no talk about comparing Stalker and S-M: TAS' nicer take on Kraven. 1:00: Sounds like Shining Knight and Winged Victory. 2:04: Brutal. 2:19: Different Multiversal iterations do not count. Also, "Canon Events" are not all absolute, and I hope the third Spider-Verse movie realizes that by showing worldlines actually not targeted by such reality warps. 2:23: Sounds like the recycled this into S1E42 - "Tyger, Tyger". The cut verterbrae viscerality should still be canon, in hindsight. 5:44: Like Bizarro in S: TAS' "Identity Crisis", I really wished Stalker was a one-shot character. His supposed demise was already perfect "Ensemble Darkhorse" material. 6:02: Give or take a minute and 15 seconds. On a sidenote for BB S2E20 - "Plague", I like Agent Bennett. Shame he didn't appear at least one more time in Batman Beyond, since his The Zeta Project appearances felt nerfed and lite. Oh, well, at least we got Agent Bishop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003... oh, scootch over, TMNT 2012 Bishop and Amphibia's Mr. X. I can at least allow you to headcanon away Batman Beyond Vol. II issue 18. I feel the same way with issue 4, with its outrageous twins tale for the Royal Flush Gang; also, issue 3, which somehow had Abel Cuvier still alive and not as grotesque as he should be. [And let's not forget the Inque issues (Vol. I 6 and Vol. II 2) incompatible with S3E6 "Inqueling".] 8:32: A great format used by GunBuster Ep. 6, The Lighthouse, and some rereleases for stuff like, say, Godzilla: Minus One. Surprisingly costly too, despite feeling cheap. 8:59: Permission to make this name part of DCAU canon too? Oh, and him using an RFG flying card makes perfect sense when one rogue thinks of them as worthy craft to steal and implement. Would love to have Stalker be a cyborg in Terry's later years, but since he doesn't look like one in "Epilogue"... oh, well, canon should stay paramount compared to pleasure. 9:55: Gotham is still riddled in crime, aliens still haven't started living on Earth just yet, and Earth seems to not have a grand and powerful space navy yet to hold back if not retaliate against the Gordanians and Apokoliptians, far as I know. Africa still being a Third World continent in the DCAU's 2050s onwards is still very much believable, like it or not, even in grateful alternate universes out there with interdimensional defense force handouts. (...OK, I think I may have unintentionally deemed Africa as cursed as much as any Gotham City when it came to unending instability.) Oh, and I can understand if certain native villages deliberately stay with their traditional huts and livelohoods away from city excesses and ultrascientific mumbo-jumbo. That's one thing a lot of modern fiction and real life media nowadays really need to tend and accept more. I'm surprised you didn't talk about how Stalker's VA, Carl Lumbly, ended up becoming the ever interesting yet sheltered J'onn J'onzz a.k.a. Martian Manhunter. Kyodai Ken has his moments, but boy, B: TAS and a lotta Western animation never did do Japan well. Leave that to the local experts in good old anime, "onegaishimasu". (Or perhaps have very active and passionate collaborations between Western and Japanese animation authorities, if possible.)
@@michaelandreipalon359 it’s from a parody dub of the episode. Willy breaks the glass and says “Finally. With the glass ceiling broken, all of the oppressed groups shall prosper! Especially the most oppressed group of all… GAMERS.”
I swear any low tier villain that discovers who batman is has a 100% chance of meeting the grim reaper, sure no villain (unless you are joker) should know who batman is and that's why comic writers usually kill them off but I find it funny how Figuring out who Batman is can also be a sign of tempting Fate and asking for trouble.
I find that Stalker could be written on either side, hunting either heroes or villains. Both could provide him the challenge he seeks. He is one of the few I would get flip flopping sides often as long as hunting the strong is his goal. Hero,Villian, whats the difference to one that hunts the powerful?
@@SerumLake True that many of Batman Beyond villains are more cruel and selfish, but this isn't an universal rule. There are definetly some villains who are driven by tragedy, like Armory, Payback, or your favorite, the Earthmover. Also, Melanie Walker is driven by family tragedy and actually doesn't want to do bad things, she just gets pushed into it.
Blight’s demise would have been a perfect ending if it was meant to be an ending. It was strongly hinted at the end of season one that Blight would return when Terry warned his son that he made a dangerous enemy for betraying Blight as they watched the news mention Blight’s body was never found. Blight was meant to return to the show but it got canceled before that happened. Why the heck does WB refuse to use Batman Beyond for anything when it would obviously make a lot of money? Rhetorical question. WB has incompetent people in charge
Think of it as a neat subversion on the somewhat annoying "oh, noes, the missing villain returneth" trope, which I slowly but surely adore more, said subversion. However, I don't think Batman Beyond got cancelled. Rather, the creators knew when to stop, since they didn't have great scripts anymore, all while they're moving on to bigger things via Justice League+Unlimited, Teen Titans, and so on.
The concept of Stalker seeing Batman as a spirit that must be conquered to conquer his own fears sounds very much like what drives Bane to want to destroy Batman
Good observation. It was one of the things I didn’t like about Vengeance of Bane, but I think it works here
@@SerumLakeyeah because he barely knew Batman as he grew up in a prison which he didn’t put him there
That also reminds me of the plotline in Spider-Man where all Spider-powered characters are believed to be channeling the spider 'Totem', and there is a special kind of immortal being which seeks out and devours Totem-users to sustain itself.
@@SerumLake this actually reminds me of scarecrow and how in certain stories he want to defeat batman because of his deep fear of him,
once his only fear was conquered, he would've been the true master of fear.
@@SerumLake you know what?, seeing your video essays on Batman Beyond's villains makes me appreciate them more given that I remember that TV shows and movies back in the late 90's and early 2000's were obsessed on trying to create the next big zeitgeist or using really cheap and equally stupid gimmicks to sell themselves.
I distinctly remember the first time I saw Stalker as a kid when watching the show and thinking to myself "So he's kinda like Kraven huh".
Except Kraven is Russian, or something closeby
Hey me too, I thought he similar to Kraven just a bit weaker maybe
And I must say, he seemed a more faithful Kraven compared to Spider-Man: TAS' own Kraven.
Spiderman tas was still being played, I was like this is kraven but from the future
Something I like about Stalker is how twisted his backstory is. Being mawled by a black panther, becoming paralysed and then going through a horrific surgery to fix himself, being able to take revenge on the panther yet still needing to prove his worth to himself and himself only is downright tragic. It honestly is enough to make you sympathise with him, even if you don't agree with his actions.
Nope. I'm on Team Panther.
@@WobblesandBean That's likely why despite how horrible his life is based on the story, he's never painted in a way that makes him "sympathetic" as much as "pitiful". The way he loses to Batman by seeing the vision of the Panther is cathartic as knowing WB is pretty progressive in nature, they wouldn't play the "Humans > nature" card that easily. Later we see him still acting impatient and impulsive but on Terry's side ultimately in pursuit of that eventual revenge, but that's the most we get out of him being "sympathetic". he wasn't malicious, but he wasn't good enough to make us want to really root for him and in the end, despite ultimately helping Terry and respecting him, we still see him as a broken man who has the live with the corposes and consequences of those animals he killed. "Content" but stoic. effectively that's all there is to him. Very well written.
There's something to be said for the power of ritual in regards to PTSD, for better or worse.
(Prove oneself, hunt the spirit, never be vulnerable again, in the case of Stalker)
Its usually a twisted protective instinct that can lead to exhaustive or even destructive compulsions, (like a car crash victim being unable to be in a vehicle when it rains) but if handled carefully, is one of the fundamentals behind why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is thought to work.
Restructuring these patterned expectations can be freeing.
Part of me wonder if Ultimate Black Panther is based on that.
In that version, T’Challa was mutilated by a black Panther and had to be saved by Shield agency (who are badiclalg more “skeleton in closet”) via cybernetics but became a hostage until Cap helped him escape.
In terms of Spidey's villains given the Batman treatment, I think Stalker is probably the one who gained the most from the concept. Those flashbacks are amazingly twisted.
It's also interesting to think about why he feels no catharsis after killing the panther. One might see his "it was too easy" reasoning as him misinterpreting how empty vengeance feels.
Yes, that’s very true. I think he feels like he cheated with his enhancements and keeps challenging himself to compensate.
Helps that he's basically a more faithful Kraven the Hunter compared to how Spider-Man: The Animated Series did the guy.
@@michaelandreipalon359
True.
I never really thought about it much but this video helped me realize how Stalker is more morally gray than a straight up villain and that’s pretty interesting and I like that
Especially since most Batman Beyond villains are so one-note. Greedy, creepy, evil, yeah yeah we've seen that before. Stalker was actually interesting.
@@WobblesandBeaneh, characters can still be interesting or fun without being morally grey. Lotta people are kinda sick of the belief that deeper, morally grey, or tragic/sympathetic villains are better when we can still have our Jokers, Jack horners or Gideon graves’
I liked Stalker's evolution after his defeat by Batman. It makes me think that in addition to the respect he holds, he believes perhaps Batman should be untouchable.
I like that during Stalker's surgery, the shadows of his eyebrows look like Batman's cape and cowl.
Stalker is definitely one of the most interesting characters to me because of how well written he was. His actions weren’t evil to him. It simply just felt like nature. He doesn’t aim to kill randomly, he only goes after the best of the best to challenge himself mentally and physically. He hungers for the thrill of a good hunt. I also like how fought alongside Terry for the time being. I can’t help but love hero and villain team ups.😄✊🏽
One of my favorite Villains of BEYOND. Merciless, but still honorable. Determined to prove he’s the ultimate hunter.
The 'Great Hunter' is not a archetype that's easy to make anything other than a straight-up villain. Time goes by and the idea of a rich man killing animals for no reason other than to prove his own ego becomes more and more detestable, even in the Mandalorians of Star Wars. But Kraven and Stalker have grown beyond that somewhat, becoming villains with codes of honor similar to their opponent's own that can make them allies at times. I can see the leap from here to Kyodai Ken as well.
I actually hate the idea of Mandalorians being more campy in the Disney Alt-universe stuff. At least Legends kept them balanced, unless we're talking some of Karen Traviss' messy work in the Denning-verse.
Alas, I still think Kyodai Ken isn't as good as a lot of Japanese anime ninja types out there.
@@michaelandreipalon359 The only time I really liked the Mandalorians was in SWTOR. There, they're just another of many factions fighting for supremacy and they live in a setting where killing is often a necessity of life, so the 'hunter' thing doesn't seem as obnoxious. Torian Cadera for life.
@@WhiteFangofWar Alas, not a fan of that MMO. It belittles a lot of Star Wars Legends lore, especially the original KotOR duology, all while its mere existence is why games like Mass Effect 3 unfortunately decreased in quality by way of its best makers and writers moving on to the MMO.
At best, it deserves to be an Infinities/Elseworlds game separate from both Legends and even the Disney Alt-universe. At worst, well, it'll get shut down as almost all MMOs do, so why must people like me bother to play it?
Same with Yautja and to a VERY lesser extent the Z-Saiyans.
Stalker feels like the kind of character that would straddle the fence between chaotic neutral and true neutral
11:14 Perhaps the best way to describe Stalker is he's more of an Anti-Hero. Yes, he can do heroic things, but he does them in shady, often frowned upon ways (like when he was interrogating the cobra member through intimidation and threats.). However, I do think he is one of the underutilized characters in Batman Beyond and I would have liked more episodes that showcase interactions between him and Terry.
Nah that's exactly like batman interrogates
Stalker was a far more nuanced adversary for Batman II, I'll give you that! His mental state is good to note. When he keeps Matt captive in order to lure Terry, Stalker takes time to talk with Matt, keeping the interaction amicable and sincere.
I have a theory that the stalker used to fight Anansi the spider from static shock. Anansi was a minor character from the show who appeared a couple of times but his whole gimmick was illusion magic, disappearing, making copies of himself, that kind of thing. Some of the stalkers gear feels like it was made for someone who could pull those kinds of tricks, like the tracking powder that he finds Terry with. Also his theory on how Batman is a spirit that is passed down from generation to generation is pretty similar to how Anansi works. By now Anansi would be an old man so he very well could’ve been defeated, which could be why Stalker decided to move on to going after Batman. I know it’s all probably a coincidence since Anansi was a pretty obscure and Static Shock hadn’t even aired yet. I just think it’s fun to make these connections. Batman Beyond and Static Shock are such great shows I wish more people talked about them.
they are both voiced by Carl Lumbly aka Jonn Jonz
...I'd rather prefer Anansi not being killed or defeated though. He's too likable to deserve such a fate.
@@michaelandreipalon359 that’s fair. He’s so cool and I wish we got to see more of him.
@@michaelandreipalon359 Anansi said in one episode that his powers were passed down from one generation to another, so maybe there’s a new Anansi running around.
A video about the Jokerz would be a treat. I wonder what the source material reveals about this group of kids who model themselves after Gotham’s most evil psychopath.
One thing's for certain, a sad shame misguided kids like them also exist in real life (Ted Bundy idolizers, anyone?), all while the Joker sure won't stay dead if he still has an infectious legacy.
I think Stalker works really well as a villain. He's a good example of the little flashes of genius Batman Beyond showed. Even if I don't like the show, it really did well with the villains, and the haunting feel of Batman Beyond's world really made them feel more dangerous.
It could have been so good if the studio execs weren't so obsessed with "appealing to the youth". The villains in Beyond are genuinely creepy, and I love the Batman stuff, but it's bogged down by the obnoxious teenage stuff. Like, I don't care about Terry's girlfriend, she's annoying, I don't care about high school shenanigans, just give me Batman and Bruce.
@@WobblesandBean If Terry had been an adult, I'd have a COMPLETELY different view of the show. I genuinely despise the whole 'adults bad' narrative of shows like Batman Beyond. It's why I hate 99% of anime/manga too.
Funny. I love Batman Beyond simply because of what it is and how differentiates itself way from any traditional Batman and especially Spider-Man depiction. Helps that it's easily rewatchable compared to almost all Spidey cartoons out there; sorry, dated The Animated Series and woefully unfinished Spectacular.
Also, don't diss on anime too much. Not even the finest of Western animation can somehow compare in my eyes and that's not even nostalgia talking; comparing Fist of the North Star against He-Man is easily like day and night.
What made BB haunting for me was the lack of nature.
For me, a person who has fond memories of visiting his grandmother in a secluded lush forest area, that's quite depressing.
@@ashlirabid9614 That's one reason why some fans are bummed Poison Ivy didn't have a vengeful return in the show.
Serum Lake: Nobody stays stays dead forever, except maybe the Waynes.
Booster Gold: Until I decide to give Bruce the best birthday gift ever!
@mattcolville has a wonderful axis of alignments in one of his D&D videos that kinda of addresses the thought you had near the end of this video about hero vs. villain: Hero, Anti-hero, Villain, and Anti-villain. I think that Stalker falls into the anti-villain camp as he "wouldn't be villain except for x"; the "x" in this case is his loss of self and eventually loss of joy in the regaining of his physical capabilities through that cyberring up via surgery. Thanks for the video as always and good luck with the next project!
Always nice to see another fan of MattColville's.
I think it would be cool for Stalker to get his version of Kraven's Last Hunt.
Agreed
"They said my mother was insane."
Stalker: "I must test myself with the most dangerous prey!"
"Superman? Lobo? Wonder Woman?"
Stalker: "... uh, no. I was thinking Batman. .. I'll work my way up to the rest."
"Batman is respectable. ...you know he doesn't kill people right?"
Stalker: "I can't hear you and imustleavenow!"
I do love this video essay it shows how much detail and deep this characters had for a new entry in the batman media. Also i for about Willie Watt for some reason i always thought his relationship with the golem was like a twisted version of the iron giant and Hogarth
Even as a kid I loved how layered he was it really made the character stick with me even now.
I always did like how Stalker kept Terry's secret for him. Your video summed up the reason perfectly: his hunt was always after the persona-spirit of Batman, not the individual behind the mask.
Looking forward to your Kyodai the ninja episode; after rewatching BTAS recently, I felt that he'd've made a cool addition to Arkham series games, especially as a named lieutenant character to Shiva in Origins, or to Talia in City, or a captain of the 'militia'(truthfully, they were an organized paramilitary) ninja-swordsmen squads of the Arkham Knight; a plain cloth martial artist merc who knows Bruce Wayne from the past, and deduces him as Batman due to the fighting style.
Hes a cool Villain from Batman Beyond, wish we had more episodes with him, hes basically DC's Version of Kraven The Hunter, if we ever get a live action Batman Beyond movie, Id love to see Stalker in live action
My Depiction of a live action Stalker: Shaka Okoro is a notorious wealthy African Hunter (whos a descendant from The Zulu Tribe who fought the british in 1879 at Rorkes Drift) whos hunted one each of every African Animals and took a piece of them as mementos as a child he was fascinated by Batman and saw him as A Mythical Spirit who haunted a City in America called Gotham, as an adult, he decided to confront Batman and the cybernetics enhancements were from his own desire not from being mauled, he would balance and blend between Ancient Hunting styles and Futuristic Cyberpunk Weaponry).
I think it would be cool if Stalker fought a Predator Alien, id love to see Kraven The Hunter, Stalker and Khyber (from Ben 10) teaming up, they'd get along and u can have Spiderman, Batman Beyond and Ben 10 team up
2:25 Interestingly, I do think the original comic version of Stalker made it to BTAS in at least one way: Josiah Wormwood from “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy”. While their occupations and motivations for why they go after Batman are different, they’re both villains who create these highly elaborate traps with the intent of unmasking and/or killing Batman.
One of my favorite characters from either Batman and wish we had more episodes with him
2:18 They do stay dead in comics for two reasons. 1: If their death is a major factor in the heroes origin story. 2: If the character is unpopular enough to not bother with. The Spider-Man villain The Thousand is a prime example of this. Mr. Rogues did a video on that guy, and you can see what I mean.
Stalker's too cool 4 school!
And Carl Lumbly (Martian Manhunter), as always, turned in an AWSM performance!
Stalker kinda felt more like an Anti-Villain to me. Still a bad guy but with some admirable traits.
11:54 I think Kyrui Ken is an underrated character who could be genuinely menacing at times so looking forward to that.
I was just watching through your Batman beyond villains earlier, so this was a pleasant surprise.
Stalker is such a cool character, would be great to see more of him because of how complex he is as an antagonist
Can't wait for the next episode. I loved the Stalker as a kid. Great analysis. I'm excited to hear about the ninja from BTAS. Another underrated character.
Good job, as always. You always have interesting insights into the characters' mental states and motivations.
Regarding the depiction of the African village, maybe it was a nice place and then some villain wrecked it. (I've never read it, but that's a way they could retcon it.)
One thing that annoyed me about Kyodai Ken was that, although these episodes in part took place in Japan, they never got Japanese studios to animate them.
Same.
A successor to Static Shock's Osebo would be really nice.
And the Kyodai Ken eps sorely needed anime writers, advisers, and even seiyuu to have kept tabs on things. Expensive, sure, but it should have been quite worthwhile to avoid datedness and insensitivities.
The Stalker from the comics sounds like he'd be a fascinating 'Most Dangerous Game' take on a Batman villain. Pity he didn't appear more.
He’s like a jungle version of Bane.
I didn’t realise that he was motivated by self doubt as like Kraven he just crazy as he thinks that Spider-Man is a animal not a guy in a mask and as Terry is a guy dressed as an animal
Stalker seems like a good example of an anti-villain. He is definitely a bad guy (he kidnaps a child and tries to murder a guy!) but he does have a code of ethics central to his character. He recruits Batman to help him defeat other, greater villains and even saves Batman, but all so he has the excuse of killing the guy himself. He has evil intentions but does good deeds as readily as evil to achieve them. At least that's my take.
Ooh, Kyodai Ken. He had a lot of unused potential. Do you think he inspired Ghostmaker?
At the end there, you basically gave the textbook definition of an "anti-villain."
A good part of the Stalker backstory also seems to be inspired by one of DC’s Golden/Silver Age characters: Paul Kirk, Manhunter. As written by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson, Kirk was also a game hunter mauled by an animal and repaired to be an enhanced human; unlike Stalker, his repairers were an evil organization called The Council. Kirk appeared in the CGI Beware the Batman series.
There was an episode of the early 2000s The Batman animated show where the plot with cat woman and the rich big game hunter was sort of used. I think it was called The Laughing Cats or smth but the plot was similar to what you described
Now that you mention it...
Gotta say, he’s a pretty cool Beyond Rogue but imo, not on the same level as Spellbinder, Inque, Blight, and Shriek
Stalker ranks on the Top 3 alongside Inque and Blight IMHO.
5:20 That cilp lives rent free in my head.
That cat got stomped.
So I would say he's on the villian spectrum, inching towards Anti-Hero status. Of course the only way to make that leap would to bring him back.
That surgery flashback scene gives me massive Mignola vibes.
Judging by my limited experience, I’m pretty sure this is somebody I knew when I was in school.
"the deadliest prey known to man...batman" who doesn't kill
The comic version of The Stalker kind of reminds me of a one and done BTAS villain (who I affectionately refer to as Oops, too early for Riddler) Josiah Wormwood from 'The Cape-and-Cowl Conspiracy'. While Wormwood wasn't aware of Batman's true identity, his various traps did prove too much for Batman who was always one step too slow to catch him...only for it to be revealed that Batman (disguised as another villain) was the one to hire Wormwood in the first place to try and get info to lead to the trap maker's arrest, with Batman using himself (more importantly his cape and cowl) as bait
This version has an...admitedly warped sense of honour to him, and I actually enjoyed his return episode more than his debut, where he aids the Government (possibly a future version of Task Force X/Suicide Squad sort of deal) to find a partial shapeshifter called False Face (big fan of the powers for totally no reason, ignore my flag cough cough) before he assists the snake cult from unleasing a powerful virus using cred cards
Judging by the JL vs. the Fatal Five movie, guess you're assuming the Stalker was sanctioned by A.R.G.U.S..
Stalker is so Kraven the Hunter 😎 and I like that about him .
Funny enough watching Spider Man 94 really got me into the character as a kid .😂 I remember in Spider Man unlimited they did a futuristic version of Kraven there around the same time as Beyond.
The DCAU Stalker is interesting he has really had Terry on his Ropes in his Debut episode in Beyond.
I like that Beyond has a Horror movie vibe to it I'm surprised that this Stalker didn't get adapted into the mainline continuity of the DCU
3:35 Like when Kraven went mad in Last Hunt and believed Spider-Man was a monstrous spider creature not a man in a suit.
I hate to say it, but Stalker seems a perfect antihero
So…would Stalker be more accurately described as an Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain?
Stalker Yeger.... * RUMBLING *
While he is very derivative of Kraven I did enjoy Stalker. I wonder if you could make him like a hero of an african city since he isn´t entirely bad.
4:38 Oh god that makes my skin crawl. Just eugh 😖
Honestly I don’t know if I would able to handle seeing his vertebrae get ripped out.
4:00 Sooo...Predator?
I do not see The Stalker as a villian. I see The Stalker as a character who embodies the culture of his people and holds his beliefs in his heart and mind. The Stalker will follow his beliefs without question even if that means being on the wrong side of Batman at times. The Stalker could be comparable to Marvel's Kraven. Both characters are great hunters. Kraven sees Spiderman as his ultimate hunt just as The Stalker viewed Batman as his ultimate hunt. To me The Stalker is a great hunter, protector of his people and maybe a little misguided but not a villian. Keep up the great content!
And yet Terry still thinks of him as a baddie! I guess he did kidnap his brother, terrorise his friends, and expose him to radioactive material so that’ll be hard to get over…
@@SerumLake and he later became a member of the Inequity Collective.
Awesome! 👏
I like the Anti-Villain aspect to Stalker. Like he does have somewhat of a moral code, but that doesn't completely stop him from doing not-so-moral stuff in pursuit of the hunt
I like how nuanced and layered Stalker is as a character. He maybe ruthless, he has a sense of Honour and under the right circumstances he could have been a hero, which is ironic since he is voiced by Carl Lumbly aka Martian Manhunter.
So, an Anti-Villain.
For Blight, I look at it as the villainous one we know is truly Dead...the amnesia version isnt the same, but merely a husk of what he was. Still fitting he met his end as a trophy and sits lonely in a room that few will ever remember...much like his ' original death!'
the royal flush gang card bit implies he killed one, ether hunted them or just took it off a member who got in his way.
Or just practically stole one of their flying cards from police storage.
You gonna talk about the ninja next time, Good I feel like he's an underrated character that doesn't go a lot of recognition.
Wait a minute, a hunter who believes his prey is guided by a powerful totem spirit that grants him great power beyond his already physical capabilities... This is Ezekiel Sims and the Spider Totem!
And I just looked it up, this episode predated that Marvel comic storyline by two years. What are the chances that this episode inspired Straczynski?
Ah, good old JMS. Bless him for making The Real Ghostbusters Seasons 1 and 2 (plus a select six eps from Seasons 3, 5, and 6) and Babylon 5 Seasons 1 to 4+"Sleeping in Light".
From an honorable villain (Stalker) to a dishonorable villain (Kyodai Ken).
And also from a respectable and awesome African traditional game hunter to a somewhat incongruous and dated stereotypical Japanese ninja type... ugh, I'd rather rewatch those corny space ninjas from Planetes.
I have another theory about the inspiration for the Stalker. I think the Stalker was based on the Mad Hatter's henchmen, in the Batman Animated Series episode "The Worry Men". The Mad Hatter's henchmen wear leopard skin, one of them uses a blowgun, they wear leopard skin which reminds me of that scene where the Stalker wears the panther skin when he holds Matt hostage, and they look like tribesmen.
This guy is neat. The 2nd origin is okay. But the OG version still impresses more. Though I am a fan of Kraven as well.
5:02 Stalkers eyes form the batman logo, propably not intentional but neat
Wouldn't it be fit to call Stalker an antihero?
Someone with bad goals but does show a sense of morality and does do some good on occasion?
There was a similar(ish) character in BTAS. I don't remember his name, but I remember that Thorne (the crime boss) hired him to acquire Batman's cape and cowl.
6:44 - False Face, perhaps an adaptation of Malachi Throne's character from Batman '66?
i feel like stalker flying on the card shows he also takes loot and weapons when he hunts
3:46 terry´s litlle brother was to stupid. When i first saw this scene my tought was: how he could not realize that for all the people in the world, he chosen him to lure batman?
Yeah, I sure hoped he got more character development screentime, complete with him getting the "Rescued from the Scrappy Heap" treatment and maybe even becoming Robin Beyond.
Alas, he sure is no Pop Harukaze or Kim Possible's little twin brothers.
It’s episodes like there’s that make me believe beyond is the best bar series
And in some manner, really good Spider-Man stories in all but name and subject.
You're going to do the ninja next, It's an underrated character in my opinion, Does it get Moto's attention outside the show.
As brutal as the shot of the extracted vertebrae would have been, I think the right call was made to just leave it at the silhouettes and Stalker's screams. It's wince-worthy (positive) enough as is! Somehow they still got away with him being blood-splattered after killing that cat? I guess being in shadow helped (like that ONE shot of Joker in The Batman vs. Dracula)
I remember wondering why everyone seemed to despise the Stalker vs. Blight issue, then I actually read it and yeah that seemed a little cheap.
Such are the surprising advantages of "Gory Discretion Shots" and fine lighting.
You should see Volume II's issues 3 and 4, featuring Cuvier and the Royal Flush Gang. Now those felt off.
@@michaelandreipalon359 that episode's plays on red/black contrasts is so nice.
I did read those issues and they immediately dropped out of my brain. I forgot that Cuvier even came back. If that Royal Flush issue is the one where every member had identical twins all vying to replace them as the Gang, then yeah that was real weird.
His lawful neutral. He has a code, and he follows that code independent of mortality or the opinion of others.
I don't even get the revenge on the panther part. Imagine this from the panther's pov.
Just chilling and surviving in the jungle doing your thing. Out of nowhere, this crazy man with a boom sick decides to try you. Doesn't even want to kill you for food or territory. Just a certified menace doing it for the love of the game.
Outta of pure chance, you beat the gun. You maul the man and go on about you business. Only for the SAME man to return, wearing a loincloth, to beat you to death with his bare hands. 😭
Stalker took vengeance on this poor jungle cat because the panther was able to defend himself. And when Stalker was hallucinating, he had the gall to call the panther evil. Dude! He just prevented himself from dying. The panther slander is outstanding.
Truer words have never been said
@@SerumLake I've also watched tons of your videos and realized I wasn't subscribed. I subscribed the other day. Keep up the quality content.
Why is the title of this feature:”SelfDoubt”? Is it because Stalker may exhibit Imposter syndrome?
Will serum make a episode on that penguin reveal? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON DBZ
I touch on it in my Caped Crusader video, but will start doing separate video essays about all of the villains seen in Batman Caped Crusader over the coming months. Penguin is first on my list!
@@SerumLake less goooo
Thomas and Martha Wayne didn't always stay dead if you count Flashpoint. Thomas Wayne became Batman, and it's implied Martha became the Joker.
I really wonder if there's a worldline or two out there the DCAU cast and crew worked on Marvel stories instead, while the contemporary Marvel makers we got made their own DC Animated Universe... who knows if the former would have created really good Spidey cartoons that don't look and sound dated, had awesome sequels featuring the rest of Marvel's finest, and even very memorable Avenger/Fantastic Four/X-Men/Defenders/etc. team-up arcs up till the very end, via their own "Epilogue".
Darn, no talk about comparing Stalker and S-M: TAS' nicer take on Kraven.
1:00: Sounds like Shining Knight and Winged Victory.
2:04: Brutal.
2:19: Different Multiversal iterations do not count. Also, "Canon Events" are not all absolute, and I hope the third Spider-Verse movie realizes that by showing worldlines actually not targeted by such reality warps.
2:23: Sounds like the recycled this into S1E42 - "Tyger, Tyger".
The cut verterbrae viscerality should still be canon, in hindsight.
5:44: Like Bizarro in S: TAS' "Identity Crisis", I really wished Stalker was a one-shot character. His supposed demise was already perfect "Ensemble Darkhorse" material.
6:02: Give or take a minute and 15 seconds.
On a sidenote for BB S2E20 - "Plague", I like Agent Bennett. Shame he didn't appear at least one more time in Batman Beyond, since his The Zeta Project appearances felt nerfed and lite. Oh, well, at least we got Agent Bishop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003... oh, scootch over, TMNT 2012 Bishop and Amphibia's Mr. X.
I can at least allow you to headcanon away Batman Beyond Vol. II issue 18. I feel the same way with issue 4, with its outrageous twins tale for the Royal Flush Gang; also, issue 3, which somehow had Abel Cuvier still alive and not as grotesque as he should be. [And let's not forget the Inque issues (Vol. I 6 and Vol. II 2) incompatible with S3E6 "Inqueling".]
8:32: A great format used by GunBuster Ep. 6, The Lighthouse, and some rereleases for stuff like, say, Godzilla: Minus One. Surprisingly costly too, despite feeling cheap.
8:59: Permission to make this name part of DCAU canon too?
Oh, and him using an RFG flying card makes perfect sense when one rogue thinks of them as worthy craft to steal and implement.
Would love to have Stalker be a cyborg in Terry's later years, but since he doesn't look like one in "Epilogue"... oh, well, canon should stay paramount compared to pleasure.
9:55: Gotham is still riddled in crime, aliens still haven't started living on Earth just yet, and Earth seems to not have a grand and powerful space navy yet to hold back if not retaliate against the Gordanians and Apokoliptians, far as I know. Africa still being a Third World continent in the DCAU's 2050s onwards is still very much believable, like it or not, even in grateful alternate universes out there with interdimensional defense force handouts. (...OK, I think I may have unintentionally deemed Africa as cursed as much as any Gotham City when it came to unending instability.)
Oh, and I can understand if certain native villages deliberately stay with their traditional huts and livelohoods away from city excesses and ultrascientific mumbo-jumbo. That's one thing a lot of modern fiction and real life media nowadays really need to tend and accept more.
I'm surprised you didn't talk about how Stalker's VA, Carl Lumbly, ended up becoming the ever interesting yet sheltered J'onn J'onzz a.k.a. Martian Manhunter.
Kyodai Ken has his moments, but boy, B: TAS and a lotta Western animation never did do Japan well. Leave that to the local experts in good old anime, "onegaishimasu". (Or perhaps have very active and passionate collaborations between Western and Japanese animation authorities, if possible.)
Cool!! Thank you
The Willy Watt clip took me out solely because I hear the dubbed over version every time I see that clip.
Dubbed over version?
@@michaelandreipalon359 it’s from a parody dub of the episode. Willy breaks the glass and says “Finally. With the glass ceiling broken, all of the oppressed groups shall prosper! Especially the most oppressed group of all… GAMERS.”
I wonder if the writers of this show read Kraven’s Last Hunt while coming up with Stalker.
I swear any low tier villain that discovers who batman is has a 100% chance of meeting the grim reaper, sure no villain (unless you are joker) should know who batman is and that's why comic writers usually kill them off but I find it funny how Figuring out who Batman is can also be a sign of tempting Fate and asking for trouble.
This version of false face sandman mixed with chameleon
I find that Stalker could be written on either side, hunting either heroes or villains. Both could provide him the challenge he seeks. He is one of the few I would get flip flopping sides often as long as hunting the strong is his goal. Hero,Villian, whats the difference to one that hunts the powerful?
Kyodai Ken? Inspiring a recent Batman villain? Wait a second, are you referring to Ghost-Maker?
8:02 Didn't you say that unless there isn't a body we can't label them as dead?
Yes, he did, but I'd rather prefer subversions that actually do kill the villains off.
Intrigued at who Kyodai Ken inspired.
11:16 So… he’s an anti-hero?
My suggestions for your next Batman Beyond video: Curare
She’ll be part of the next poll, so make sure you vote for her!
A surprise bad**s, even when not fleshed out more.
@@SerumLake True that many of Batman Beyond villains are more cruel and selfish, but this isn't an universal rule. There are definetly some villains who are driven by tragedy, like Armory, Payback, or your favorite, the Earthmover. Also, Melanie Walker is driven by family tragedy and actually doesn't want to do bad things, she just gets pushed into it.
Cheeki Breeki Stalker
Jager means 'hunter' as well if I'm not mistaken.
Blight’s demise would have been a perfect ending if it was meant to be an ending. It was strongly hinted at the end of season one that Blight would return when Terry warned his son that he made a dangerous enemy for betraying Blight as they watched the news mention Blight’s body was never found. Blight was meant to return to the show but it got canceled before that happened. Why the heck does WB refuse to use Batman Beyond for anything when it would obviously make a lot of money? Rhetorical question. WB has incompetent people in charge
Think of it as a neat subversion on the somewhat annoying "oh, noes, the missing villain returneth" trope, which I slowly but surely adore more, said subversion.
However, I don't think Batman Beyond got cancelled. Rather, the creators knew when to stop, since they didn't have great scripts anymore, all while they're moving on to bigger things via Justice League+Unlimited, Teen Titans, and so on.
Could he be considered an anti - villain then?
I think the term you're looking for is anti-villain.
He basically kraven mixed with deathlok