Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Eight)

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Eight)

Here at last is the stunning conclusions to “Heart of Steel, Part Two”, wherein 

I present pages 104 through 122. I am posting the storyboard in serialized fashion. I boarded this section. 

As I have mentioned in previous installments of this serialized blog, most of my section of Act Three was cut for length from the episode-as-aired. I regret losing the bit where Barbara whacks Robo-Batman with the oversize wrench (as shown in Installment #5). 

In this current installment, I’m sad to have lost the bit where Barbara throws Woobie at Robo-Batman, causing him to reveal himself when he goes in T2 mode and skewers the beloved stuffed animal. This causes Dad (Commissioner Gordon) to flip out and ram the killer-robot down with his truck, pinning him against a cement wall as it explodes in dramatic immolation.

Amusingly, the conflagration only burns off Robo-Batman’s false patina, leaving him otherwise willing and able to wreck further violence. However, before he can move a step, he is crushed beneath a chunk of falling masonry. Just to make sure, I skewered the chunk with a steel girder, putting a fork in it, so to speak.

I watched “Heart of Steel” Parts One and Two for the first time a couple months ago, along with the DVD commentary track. In it, Bruce Timm (the producer) and Kevin Altieri (the director) talk over Part Two. They mention having to cut the Robo-Batman character out of the episode entirely. I remembered the storyboard fondly, so I combed through my files in hope that I had kept a copy of it. I am gratified to have found this board, present it to the world, rescuing it from the Akashic Library.

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Seven)

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Seven)

Herein I present pages 93 through 103 to Act Three of the storyboard to the Batman Animated series episode #44, entitled “Heart of Steel Part Two”. This episode was directed by Kevin Altieri. I am posting the storyboard in serialized fashion. I boarded this section. 

What I recall about boarding this sequence is that it seemed to keep going on and on; each new paragraph of script was a whole new set-up that had to be established and played out. I was bearing down on the Noon Friday deadline for rough boards and felt like I was chasing an ever-receding finish line. In desperation, I went to Kevin (Altieri’s) office and said, “I don’t think I can make deadline!” Kevin said “Do your best.”

So I did. My objective was expediency, of getting through each new development as tersely as possible. I think I made deadline at 5:00PM instead the the expected noon.

To be concluded.

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Six)

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Six)

Herein I present pages 82 through 92 to Act Three of the storyboard to the Batman Animated series episode #44, entitled “Heart of Steel Part Two”. This episode was directed by Kevin Altieri. I am posting the storyboard in serialized fashion. I boarded this section. 

I’m sort of embarrassed by this 11 page bit, looking at it 25 years on. The only fight beats I could come up with is Robo-Batman trying to slash or skewer Batman with its wrist fins or pointy ears. I recall tearing my hair out, trying to come up with pieces of action that hadn’t already been done by Mark (Wallace) and Kevin (Altieri). 

I like some of the drawing, though.

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Five)

Heart of Steel, Part Two, Act Three (Part Five)

Herein I present pages 65 through 81 to Act Three of the storyboard to the Batman Animated series episode #44, entitled “Heart of Steel Part Two”. This episode was directed by Kevin Altieri. I am posting the storyboard in serialized fashion. I boarded this section. 

At long last, the climactic moment has arrived, storyboard presentation-wise. The  rest of this storyboard is unique and special in that it was cut, in its entirety, from the episode-as-aired. It was simply TOO LONG, in spite of all my efforts to be as cinematically terse as possible. Bruce Timm (the co-producer who had his fingers in the storyboarding pie) and Kevin Altieri (the episode director) were unable to find any way to trim the fight scene, so they simple excised it, saving Robo-Batman to feature in a later episode. 

Once again, I was working ahead of the design crew, and had to design C86 myself.

Re: Robo-Batman’s telescoping Batglove spines (and later ears); I, no doubt, had seen Terminator 2, and was influenced by the advanced second-generation Terminator, with its shape shifting capabilities. I don’t recall how much help I got from the script in staging this fight. I don’t know if I was familiar with Kevin’s fight scenes with the old men robots and Randa Duane. It’s interesting to note the different in “acting” styles twixt Kevin’s sections and mine; his robots were agile, spider-like; my Robo-Batman was stiff, mechanical

My favorite part of this section is C93-97, where Barbara tries to whack Robo-Batman with a really heavy wrench and is knocked onto her ass for her troubles.

To be continued…