Batman: 80 Greatest Ever Moments

42. Shirley Walker's Incredible Score - Mask Of The Phantasm

Goosebumps. Pure, goosebumps.

The opening titles of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm conjure everything the character and his world embodies, but while audiences were already familiar with Bruce Timm's art-deco/retro-futurist image of Gotham City, less focus was perhaps given to composer Shirley Walker, the woman behind Batman: The Animated Series' signature score.

Walker passed away in 2006 at 61, but her work on BTAS and Mask of the Phantasm in particular is legendary. The first on the film's album, simply titled 'Main Title', serves as an ominous, operatic reintroduction to the world the TV show created, and one that deserves greater recognition.

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41. Zur-En-Arrh Returns - Batman R.I.P.

batman rip zur en arrh
DC Comics

Batman R.I.P. is a mind-bending tale that brought back some of the most bonkers elements from the Silver Age back into mainstream continuity. Grant Morrison is at his best here, and if the image of a purple, red and yellow Batman doesn't sell you on it, what will?

Reimagined as a failsafe personality for Bruce to fall back on, Zur-En-Arrh enters the scene after the Caped Crusader is nearly destroyed by the Back Glove. It's one of the best Bat-images of all, and one artist Tony Daniel should be especially proud of.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.

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I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.