Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), an American animated romantic superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman, follows Bruce Wayne as he begins his crime-fighting journey. While visiting their parents’ graves, Bruce meets Andrea Beaumont who is also visiting her mother’s grave. They start a relationship and Bruce learns about his first attempt at fighting crime. However, after foiling a truck hijacking and realizing that criminals aren’t afraid of him, Bruce becomes conflicted with how he should honor his parents’ memory; whether to continue crime-fighting or settle down and marry like they wished. He proposes to Andrea and she accepts, but she unexpectedly leaves Gotham with her father Carl Beaumont, ending the engagement in a Dear John letter. Heartbroken, Bruce takes on the persona of Batman. Ten years later, Chuckie Sol attempts to flood Gotham with counterfeit money but is stopped by Batman. As Sol tries to flee in his car, he is attacked by the Phantasm – a mysterious vigilante resembling the Grim Reaper.

After failing to stop the attacker by driving his car into them, Sol meets a tragic end. Despite the presence of Batman at the scene, witnesses mistakenly accuse him of being responsible for Sol’s death. District councilman Arthur Reeves, who used to work as a lawyer for Carl Beaumont, promises to take legal action against Batman. The Phantasm strikes again, this time killing gangster Buzz Bronski at Gotham Cemetery. Bronski’s bodyguards mistake the Phantasm for Batman. As Batman investigates the crime scene, he comes across Andrea and inadvertently reveals his true identity to her. Looking further into the case, Batman uncovers evidence connecting Beaumont to Sol, Bronski, and another gangster named Salvatore Valestra. He also discovers a photo of the four men together in Valestra’s home. Feeling paranoid that Batman may be after him next, an aging Valestra turns to Reeves for assistance but is turned away.