In 1993-94, while the big Batman story Knigtfall was going on, a smaller story, loosely linked to the big fish, was put out in the pages of Showcase '94 #5-6 and Robin #6. The story saw the Helena Bertinelli Huntress team with the Tim Drake Robin to stop a crime baroness from making a bid for power--one that would make her the top mob boss in Gotham, by taking it all in the middle of a mob war.
I thought this would make a great crime drama film, and it barely features Batman (Jean-Paul Valley, in this case), thus lessening the over-saturation of the character. It gives a lot of spotlight to two fan-favorite characters, and gives people an opportunity to explore those same characters. I thought the portrayals in the story were compelling. Here's how it goes down for this fancast:
-The DVD cover art would be done by a combination of Phil Jimenez (the original artist for most of the story) and Nicola Scott.
-The script would be done by a collaboration of Chuck Dixon (the original writer) and Judd Winick.
-The animation would be done by a combination of Madhouse and Production I.G., who both worked on segments for Batman: Gotham Knight. (I just thought this would go great with Batman: Gotham Knight's atmosphere.)
-There'd only be a couple of changes: instead of Jean-Paul Valley as Batman, he'd still be Azrael while abducting the gangster Tommy Fortune at the start of the story. Batman would only cameo early on in the story, as would Nightwing and Spoiler. Huntress's costume would be a combination of the one she wore in the Birds of Prey comics and the one she wore in the Question back-ups in Detective Comics (the late 2000's issues).
Here is my voice cast for this picture:
Cote de Pablo as the voice of the Huntress/Helena Bertinelli
For casting de Pablo, I was inspired by her role as Ziva on NCIS, and thought she'd be a great fit for Ms. Bertinelli.
Dominic Janes as the voice of Robin/Tim Drake
For picking Janes, I was inspired by when he voiced Squidboy on Wolverine and the X-Men. I just thought he'd do great as the more tech-savvy Boy Wonder.
Christina Applegate as the voice of Mandy DePaolo, aka Mandy Paul
Actors can do a wide range of roles, right? When I was reading Mandy's lines in the comic, I pictured Applegate's voice. It's got the right fit, it can be emotional, cold, sly, or ruthless when need be (despite the fact that she's been in a lot of comedic roles). Applegate could do this, I'm sure of it.
Mandy is figured by Huntress to be the true threat in the mob war, and it turns out they have a bit of a history together, having known each other since they were kids. As a means of having a good alibi, while her goons take care of all the jobs, she does confession at St. Anscom's church--the same church where her brother is the priest.
Sam Witwer as the voice of Deathangel/Father Daniel DePaolo
Witwer has had experience with DC Comics (playing Davis Bloome/Doomsday on Smallville), and I thought of his portrayal of Bloome struggling with a darkness within would be great for this character: he's the younger brother of Mandy, who decided to join the priesthood and hates what his sister's become. He crafted the pistol-wielding Deathangel identity (based on a character he frequently drew as a kid) to avenge the crimes committed by her.
Joe Pantoliano as the voice of Mickey Silver
Pantoliano is a good actor, he's had experience in a lot of roles, and for this, I was inspired by his role in the 1983 classic Risky Business and his role on The Sopranos.
Silver is the owner of a car dealership that's a front for a rival mob he works for, making him a target of Mandy DePaolo's bid for control of the entire mafia in Gotham.
Additional voices:
-Keith Szarabajka as the voice of Azrael/Jean-Paul Valley
-Tom Kenney as a mobster Huntress and Robin interrogate for info on the mass hit.
-Kevin Michael Richardson and John DiMaggio as a couple of motorcycle-riding hitmen.
-John DiMaggio as a mobster and a Gotham cop.
-Tom Kane as a reporter.
Sorry if this seems more like a longer DC Showcase short, but hey, I thought this was a good story to bring to life. Whaddaya think?