Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote:Overall, the visual design of Freeze for the show is just about perfect, the voice acting was amazing, and his first appearance was one of the greatest episodes in an exceptional series. They just probably should have left Freeze as a one-shot character given what followed.
The visuals apparently come from Mike Mignola, and they really fit the stylistic motif of the series (which is the one thing I find Batman: TAS has above all other superhero adaptations- NONE of the other art styles are so singular and artistically consistent). One YouTube commenter points out the brilliant move of adding red goggles- the only hint of warm color in an otherwise cold, unfeeling design- they blaze forth from this cold exterior, yet also cloud the very human emotions Freeze claims not to have.
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Summer Gleeson

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SUMMER GLEESON
Created By:
Bruce Timm & Paul Dini
Role: Nosy Reporter, Miss Exposition
Mental Problems: Obsession With Getting The Story
Voice Actor: Mari Devon
First Episode: "Christmas With The Joker"
Finest Moment: Breaking character for a second to insult "The Joker Casino", before realizing it's live
PL 1 (24)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 3 (+6)
Insight 5 (+6)
Investigation 4 (+5)
Expertise (Reporter) 9 (+10)
Perception 5 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)

Advantages:
None

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +1

Complications:
Reputation/Obsession (Snoopy Reporter)- Gleeson will do anything to get the scoop, and everyone in town knows it.
Responsibility (Celebrity)

Total: Abilities: 10 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 0 (24)

-Summer Gleeson was a bit of a necessity in the show- a recurring minor character who could be counted on to give important exposition. See also: Every other cartoon with it's "Comedic Reporter" (Kent Brockman, Kent & Diane on Family Guy, the gay guys on American Dad, South Park and its run of goofy reporters). She was never really that important to any story, but she was always there to be a damsel in distress or a snoopy Lois Lane type. Curiously, the show never used Vicki Vale (a sometime love interest of Bruce Wayne's) in that role.

About the Performer: Mari Devon is primarily an anime dub Voice Actor. Which means she's played hundreds of characters, and I've never heard of any of them.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 07, 2022 5:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Commissioner Gordon

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

"One of these days, I'm going to nail his feet to the floor!"

COMMISSIONER GORDON (James Gordon)
Created By:
Bob Kane & Bill Finger
First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)
Role: The Commish
Mental Problems: None (!!)
Voice Actor: Bob Hastings
First Episode: "On Leather Wings"
Group Affiliations: The Gotham City Police Department
Finest Moment: Saved Batman at least once.
PL 6 (72)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Police Commissioner) 11 (+13)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 8 (+12)
Perception 3 (+7)
Persuasion 6 (+10)
Ranged Combat (Pistols) 4 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+3)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Police Pistol, Police Car), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Pistol), Leadership, Ranged Attack 1

Equipment:
"Police Pistol" Blast 5 (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Pistol +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- Gordon is a "by the book" type of cop, but is interested mainly in the safety of Gotham from those who would hurt her. To this end, he will ally with vigilante forces, and will give them any help he can.
Relationship (Barbara Gordon, Daughter)- Jim is a devoted, and worried, father. Barbara is his most-important relationship.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 6 (72)

-Commissioner Gordon's been a vital part of the Batman mythos for as long as anyone can remember, and for good reason. He's almost as much of an icon- a hard luck, honest cop in a crazy world, always as steadfast in pursuit of justice as Batman is, if a little left behind because of Bruce's effectiveness. Alot of his best moments in the show happen to the people around him- the mess that happened as a result of his near-death at the hands of "The Jazzman", which showed just how important Jim was to Batman, and his fatherly reactions to daughter Barbara.

-Gordon is a tricky role to play, but I've generally always seen it done well- a steadfast, honest, just cop who hates going "over the line", but acknowledges the necessity of it in a city full of freaks and master criminals. He both respects and admires Batman, but never hero-worships the man- it's always a professional relationship of equals. When Batman thinks that he's failed Jim (when Gordon is shot by the Jazzman), he goes through a complete breakdown, fearing himself lost- he always figured someone might get HIM ("Joker, Two-Face, or just some PUNK who gets lucky- my way; no regrets"), but can't handle the knowledge that someone ELSE had to suffer because of his War on Crime- now he's wondering if Robin or Alfred could be next.

-Gordon was a solid, chunky man in the early seasons, appearing aged but big enough to maintain a physical presence (even though he never got physical- he was too dignified, in a sense, to be lowered in a way that Batman or Harvey Bullock would). The later seasons would make him REALLY gaunt, as suddenly he looked frail and weak. I'm not sure it was a great look- most Gordons in other media are pretty thin, but standard older mustached dudes- since this Gordon had snow-white hair, he looked REALLY old. In a sense, most of the best versions of Gordon maintain the inherent dignity of the man- he's not hapless buffoon or a desperate whiner who needs Bats to solve his crimes for him.

-Gordon is a bit more accurate than his fellow GCPD officers, and has a bunch more Skills and the Leadership Advantage. He's a great cop, spending a ton of points for basically an NPC, but he's not going to take down The Joker or Scarecrow single-handedly.

About the Performer: Bob Hastings was an actor who went all the way back to the radio days- Gordon wasn't the FIRST time he'd played a comic book character at all! In fact, his first comic role was ARCHIE ANDREWS, which he played on radio for eight years (1945-53). His most famous role was as the suck-up Lt. Elroy Carpenter on "McHale's Navy", but he did bit roles on all kinds of shows, including a recurring bartender role on "All in the Family", and on "Sgt. Bilko" in the '50s. He had a regular gig as a "wandering actor" at Universal Studios back in the day, as the studio started paying legitimate actors to walk around and speak to guests. His later years were mostly done playing Jim Gordon- he gave the character the requisite dignity, doing a low, gravelly voice that was an eternal straight man, despite his background in comedy. Hastings died in 2014.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jun 05, 2019 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Harvey Bullock

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

"Dis ain't over Bats! Not by a long shot!! Do you hear me!!??"

DETECTIVE HARVEY BULLOCK
Created By:
Bob Kane & Bill Finger
First Appearance: Detective Comics #441 (June 1974)
Role: The Annoyance (to Batman), The Slob, Big Brute
Mental Problems: Anger Issues, Slovenliness
Voice Actor: Robert Costanzo
First Episode: "On Leather Wings"
Group Affiliations: The Gotham City Police Department
Finest Moment: Took out a handful of goons all by himself in the flashback sequence of "P.O.V."
PL 6 (65)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Deception 6 (+5)
Expertise (Police Officer) 7 (+8)
Insight 5 (+7)
Intimidate 7 (+7)
Investigation 6 (+8)
Perception 5 (+7)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 3 (Police Pistol +5, Car), Improved Aim, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Taunt

Equipment:
"Police Pistol" Blast 5 (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Pistol +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Justice)- A good cop, Bullock is loyal to Gotham City and it's Police Department.
Relationship (Commissioner Gordon)- Bullock is gruff and antisocial at the best of times, but he admires Gordon deeply. When Gordon is felled by a criminal's bullet, Bullock is beside himself with grief and rage, swearing vengeance upon Batman (who should have been there to protect him).
Rivalry (Batman)- Bullock despises The Bat as an interloper, a grand-stander, and a bother.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 6 (65)

-Harvey Bullock was another great character in the cartoon who I never knew existed outside of it. Turns out Bullock's been one of the biggest recurring non-Gordon GCPD characters, and pretty much like his cartoon version (dislikes vigilantes/Batman, slovenly, rude, portly). Both versions have been necessary foils for Batman, being anti-vigilante crusaders and regular faces in the Police section of the show to make them more than just faceless masses of helpless types. The fact that he was a genuinely just person at the heart of a bastard made him a much more interesting person than Montoya, for example, who was just "good cop".

-There are a handful of "Bullock-Themed" episodes which aren't terribly great (he's one of those guys who's better as a supporter than a main character), but establish the way he is- in one, Batman believes him to be on the take, but a defiant Commissioner Gordon insists that "Bullock may be hard to work with, and even harder to LIKE, but he's a good cop!"- Batman even confesses that he himself was wrong in the end. In another, Bullock uncharacteristically recruits Batman into helping him figure out how to find out who's trying to kill him- the two fail to get along, however, with Batman being disgusted that Bullock would be so slovenly that his landlord would try to whack him. But Bullock has great moments in other episodes- in one that takes the "POV" of three separate cops, Bullock is heard making up all sorts of stuff about the case, but legitimately whupping on some criminals in hand-to-hand. And then there's that great bit where Gordon is gunned down by a crook, and a furious Bullock personally threatens Batman with violence for his part in it.

-Bullock is big and tough, and pretty handy in a fight, being much more capable than your average Goon, but not by a great deal. He's PL 3.5 on offense, and PL 4 on Defense, so he's not front-liner or ass-kicker. Just count on him to take out a thug or two, but not to give Two-Face or Batman any trouble in a fight.

About the Performer: Robert Costanzo has made a career out of playing tough "New Yorker" types like cops & criminals. Harvey Bullock is likely his biggest role, being such an ongoing one. He played Bullock just as rough & tumble as he should have, acting like a lout- one of the more unlikable good guys around.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Haha, digging up dirt on behind-the-scenes Disney stuff is AMAZING:

One ex-Jasmine has a series of YouTube videos about her time there (five years! Also working as a beautician), and brings up occasionally that "Yes, there ARE some straight guys in Entertainment", and that they'd have girls fighting over them, as they were among the few straight, available guys in their tier.

Comment:
Q: OMG they were competing for guys?? What was this? School? :P lol I guess they didn't care for the regular male cast members who work the rides or stores for example :P :P
Jasmine: You're HILARIOUS.. YES, it was a LOT like school.. hahahha... reality tv was still new at the time, I think.. and I remember thinking, "Disney entertainment world would make the best reality tv show..." LOLOL we had enough drama. And you make a great point about the "regular cast members" situation. I will say, there were a couple of princesses who dated servers/chefs in the countries at Epcot (Norway/France/Italy)... those guys were considered "exotic/hot guys" if you will.. lol. But, the princesses also worked in the countries in Epcot, which gave them an opportunity to interact with them. Whereas the face roles didn't always get a chance to interact outside of Disney entertainment unless they went out of their way, often times.. for example, break rooms where they hung out were separate from that of the "regular cast members.." but Epcot was laid out a bit diff.. I assume it's that way today still, perhaps.. also, I kind of got the feeling like Disney casting usually plucked out "exceptionally attractive" young men, often times, to work in the male face roles.. and so, naturally, I think girls often fell for them out of physical attraction, of course.. young & single, people are bound to mingle. I feel like I know a lot of people who married by meeting at Disney..
It corroborates the one Snow White "Ask Me Anything" interview where she talks about dating outside of her "tier", and having some of the other Princesses think she was nuts, while trying to fight the stereotype that Princesses thought they were "above" everyone else. One guy from the Animal Kingdom park says that they NEVER spoke to the Face Characters, as it was just assumed that they were "all stuck up".

She also brings up stuff about competition, like how she HATED being Pocahontas because she was the only Face Character at Animal Kingdom and thus had no friends there, and she hated how guys would try to peak at her skirt whenever she bent over to talk to kids. But when she quit, the only two other Pocahontases they had HATED HER for it, because it pulled them off of the sweet "Fantasmic" shift, and so THEY had to perform meet & greets instead, and so they talked constant "Mean Girl" smack about her, to the point where she could barely stand it. And since they were super-respected, they got a big THING going against her.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Jabroniville »

So yeah, y'all may have noticed I'm adding the "About the Performer" stuff in to these builds. I figured since I'd done DCAU builds in 2e, and in 2012 for 3e, even if I change up the commentary in here (like I have for a LOT of these guys), I would add something extra. Unfortunately, it's usually MUCH more interesting for Batman: TAS characters than any other of the DCAU shows.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Tattooedman wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:51 pm Batman TAS is a total throwback to happy times for me since I was in the prime age group it was meant for, added to the fact I was already into comics. I enjoyed the hell outta it.....until I became aware of girls at least. So I missed the last couple seasons.

Still makes for a great nostalgia trip, so thanks for that Jab.
Thanks :). Yeah, it's interesting look in on this show again after all these years- I still can't get the very best episodes out of my head. If my PVR list wasn't so damn full still, I'd probably just watch all my old shows again, lol.
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Renee Montoya

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

"Dios Mio!!"

OFFICER RENEE MONTOYA
Created By:
Paul Dini & Bruce Timm
First Appearance: Batman #475 (March 1992)
Role: Background Cop, Plucky Girl
Mental Problems: None (!?!)
Voice Actor: Ingrid Oliu
First Episode: "P.O.V."
Group Affiliations: The Gotham City Police Department
Finest Moment: Saved Batman's Life in "P.O.V."
PL 6 (75)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Police Officer) 8 (+10)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+7)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Police Pistol +5, Car), Improved Aim, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5

Equipment:
"Police Pistol" Blast 5 (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Pistol +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Justice)- A good cop, Montoya is loyal to Gotham City and it's Police Department.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (75)

-A much more likeable (but less interesting) cop character than Bullock, Montoya was a fixture as a background character in the series, giving a dose of "girl power" to a very male-heavy show (until Batgirl started showing up more often). She helped out Batman a few times, dealt with Harley & Ivy a bit (in a fun twist, she's the one to arrest the girls on their Lesbian Crime Spree when no man can stop them), and ended up being popular enough to jump into the Batman comics (much like Harley & Mr. Freeze's origin), where she's became the uber-babe lesbian Question.... right when the JLU incarnation of the character was at its most popular, and run run kind of fizzled out amidst endless reboots.

-Montoya is a bit like a faster, nicer Harvey Bullock, sharing most of his Skills & Advantages. She's weaker and easier to hurt, but a little harder to hit. Altogether pretty good backup for Bats if he needs it, but mainly useful against goons. Though one time she DID bring in Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn, when they made the classic villain mistake of saying "No MAN can stop us now!"

About the Performer: Ingrid Oliu has a pretty minor live-action career, having generally played Latina roles in supporting parts.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 11, 2022 10:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by catsi563 »

Montoya and Harly are two of the prime examples of how the Animated series actually affected the comics, Both women were ported wholesale into the comics Freeze was altered to fit TAS version and so were several others given small changes to fit what was done in the TAS
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Ken
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by Ken »

Naming Mr. Freeze "Fries" was a mistake. Otherwise, his new origin was gold, but Mr. Fries becoming Mr. Freeze was too much.
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Re: Summer Gleeson

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:30 pm Image

SUMMER GLEESON
I never understood why the production team had to create a brand new reporter character instead of using Vicky Vale.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Re: Summer Gleeson

Post by Jabroniville »

Woodclaw wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 6:00 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:30 pm SUMMER GLEESON
I never understood why the production team had to create a brand new reporter character instead of using Vicky Vale.
I think they didn't want to get tied down to a character known from the then-recent Tim Burton movie, since they knew Summer wasn't going to be a love interest/major aspect of the show. If they used Vale, fans would probably be bugging them for five years to give her a push.
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Re: Summer Gleeson

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:03 pm
Woodclaw wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2019 6:00 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:30 pm SUMMER GLEESON
I never understood why the production team had to create a brand new reporter character instead of using Vicky Vale.
I think they didn't want to get tied down to a character known from the then-recent Tim Burton movie, since they knew Summer wasn't going to be a love interest/major aspect of the show. If they used Vale, fans would probably be bugging them for five years to give her a push.
What Jab said. Summer looked more like Vicki Vale than Kim Basinger did, but judging by the Penguin's "hands" they clearly felt beholden to what the movie studio had been doing.
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Re: The Penguin

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 8:40 pmAbout the Performer: Huh- Paul Williams Jr. is actually an Academy Award-winning SONGWRITER, having been a composer for much of the '70s & '80s, where he wrote the theme to "A Star Is Born" and got an Oscar for it, then co-wrote a lot of big Muppet songs (including "The Rainbow Connection"). Also, most spectacularly, he was the shrimpy, wimpy Swan in Brian De Palma's magnificent "The Phantom of the Paradise" (which he ALSO co-scored). I really had no idea this guy played The Penguin- that's neat.
The Penguin was this guy????

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AWESOME!!!
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Batman! Man-Bat! The Penguin! Baby Doll! Mr. Freeze!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Paul Williams also had an appearance (pretty much as himself) in a single episode of Dexter's Lab, and even had a song.
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