Huge shoutout to Jeff Blim, Nick Gage, Scott Lamps, and Mark Swiderski for contributing their stories for this doc! The only way I can keep making these is with the support of Patreon so if you feel so obliged, check out my page and some of the sweet community perks you can get in return: www.patreon.com/witw PS I unknowingly used a hurtful slur as a description for the character of Sweet Tooth that's associated with people who have cerebral palsy and other disabilities. I wanted to apologize. Depending on when you see it it may or may not still be in here (I trimmed it out in editor because if I'd known that's what it meant I never would have used it.) Either way, I'll be more vigilant on word choice in the future and thank you for helping me continue to learn.

they always leave Joe Walker out of the "best live action Batmen" debates because if everyone knew about him he'd sweep every time

I feel like "Holy Musical B@man" walked so that "The Lego Batman Movie" could run

"We felt our hands were tied by using the Joker, who's whole shtick is that he's a clown that tells jokes and kills people. So we created our OWN character, who's gimmick is he dressess like the joker, tells PUNS and kills people."

As a big StarKid fan, I am very glad that you are making this. I liked everything in this musical, except, as an Asian person, for... that part.

I’ll never get the “I wanna be a modern dancer!” bit out of my head from that musical

One of the jokes that remain stuck on my brain after all these years is “ calendar man , your days are numbered!!” Idk why that always cracks me up

“Look B@man, a dog.” “Quick Robin, go pet it”

"Glee had just started airing" Man the fact that you didn't include the clip of "Damn that G.L.E.E.!" from Team Starkid's "Starship" is a crime.

there is a SHOCKING lack of praise for june saito in this video. june’s costumes are one of if not the most memorable thing about this show

I really think one of the funniest jokes in HMB is when they play off of people voting to kill off Robin. R.I.P to Jason Todd but that shit was funny as hell and frankly I think DC should do it again.

My two favorite Batmans are Joe Walker (the silly melodramatic asshole) and Robert Pattinson (the dramatic emo boy). Polar opposites but both so delightful in different ways. Oh also Lego Batman!

The biggest tragedy is that the opening number isn't on the official album.

So these guys did Lego Batman just like 10 years earlier? Dang the Starkid Prophecy Theory still goes strong.

I find it very interesting that they voted on Dick Grayson as Robin in the musical. In the comics, it's Jason Todd, the second Robin, whose death was decided in a phone vote. He was widely disliked because he replaced Dick in the role.

I feel bad that Jeff didn't get that role, but tbh, it was fate. he belongs with Team Starkid. ( not that it stops him from future acting/writing jobs, as the others have done other jobs too, but he fits right in with Starkid, almost like a puzzle piece we didn't know we were missing until he finally arrived. ) I absolutely love Team Starkid and have yet to dislike anything they've made. the fact they all are just good friends and easily become friends with new cast members just makes it all so wholesome too, plus they're all so down to Earth and genuinely nice and funny.

Every Starkid production feels like a passion project, that’s what makes them so freaking amazing!!!

Holy Musical B@man is my favorite Starkid musical. I adore the puns and the way they lean into the comedic quirks of every villain in the rogues gallery. They do the one thing modern major Batman adaptations won't do: make Bruce happy. They saw how sad he was and decided to give that man a child and let him be happy with said child! And it worked. I wish live action Batman movies would give him Robin again. Batman is nothing without the Batfam except sad.

When you said “Me and My Dick” I thought for sure you would make a “Sadly, they weren’t talking about Dick Grayson” joke. My disappointment is immeasurable, but the video is great

this is honestly one of my favourite jeff blim's performances, and the fact that it was his first Starkid role blows my mind.

That memory card saga is so on brand for Starkid. Always making it work, but doing is as unconventionally as possible.

My friends and I were huge Starkid fans during their 2010s golden age and you're so right about how well they treat their fans. I was lucky enough to live in Chicago at the time, so I got to see Twisted and their sketch comedy show Airport for Birds and Other Great Ideas live. After every show, they would come out to meet fans and stay for hours talking to them. It's something none of us expected, but as tweenage/teenage fangirls it meant the world to us!

I had a friend who is into comics in general and I told him about this musical parody. You know how you really like something and pitch it to your friends but also expect just a lukewarm reaction from them? I expected he wouldn't enjoy it so much as he isn't exactly a musical fan. BUT OH MY GOSH! When I saw him laugh and genuinely enjoy the show, understanding the references of Alfred's character and all that, I was so happy. Just to see a friend genuinely enjoy something you suggested.

It’s funny, when you mentioned in a different video that there was almost a Broadway Batman musical, I immediately thought of Holy Musical B@man. Specifically, I was thinking of that snippet of the dead parents song you mentioned and then immediately compared it to “Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight.” Holy Musical B@man is probably my favorite starkids show next to the Oregon trail musical.

I quote “you got my hopes up so high and then mugged and shot them in an alleyway.” Every day 😂😂😂

Voting on Robin's death was almost certainly a reference to the incident in the comics where this happened (with a 1-900 number where the readers could call in to vote, and there are conflicting reports on whether the end result was in any way rigged). Considering the level of references and detail, I find it very hard to believe that they "didn't know" Sweet Tooth was an existing character. Sounds much more likely that they wanted to use the fun elements of the Joker but without all the heavy angst and drama and seriousness that the character has picked up since the 60s show (he really wasn't that threatening back then!). So they made their version of Sweet Tooth as he might have been if he'd existed in the 60s show plus some elements of the Joker-and-Harley setup of the 90s. also: Kevin Conroy. Obviously.

Ah, the rouges are honestly my favourite part of Batman anyway but Sweet Tooth was AMAZING especially committing to have every sweet on hand

The Adam West Batman will always be my favorite. Partially because my grandfather was the stunt coordinator on the show as well as the stunt double for Robin so naturally I'm a bit biased. And partially because I love drugs.

I think Holy Musical B@man is StarKid's best musical. The songs are actually legitimately good. The comedy is on point. The characters feel like they make sense. And they gave Batman a Robin, and he is all the better for it! Because of course he is! Imagine that, love and family makes someone better. What a novel concept!

I’ve literally never seen a single Batman movie, but I have watched holy musical b@man about 10 times 😂 This has actually helped me understand a lot of the references I never got before, so thank you!

It's funny how Sweet Tooth was a acceptable Batman musical stage villain. But not the Joker. Seeing how they both have such strong parallels to each other.

Nice comprehensive history on the development of this musical - didn't know a lot about this backstory! What I always loved about this show in particular was that it was surprisingly warm and hopeful about humanity, even with all the jokes and throat punching. Like, Batman's whole monologue to Superman in the second act and the citizens voting to sacrifice themselves for Robin when the audience was set up to expect the opposite, just... contrast that with Starkid's most recent musical, Black Friday. Black Friday is a well-done show, of course, no shade on it. But between the cynical shift in tone and Walker deciding to take a break from acting post-2016, it makes this show particularly poignant to look back on.

Batman acting like a bratty child makes sense. He lost his parents as a kid, has almost infinite money to do whatever he wants with, and his only guardian is literally his butler. Of course he's a mess.

That first song, the first line, "One shot, one shot in the night and there gone" Soooooo good! Goosebumps!

23:07 [and slightly onward] Thanks KZfaq, I'm emotional about Jeff Blim tonight.

How did this deliciously strange piece of pop culture go above my consciousness?!

Joe Walker may be the only Batman who looks good in a Batman costume without padding

Very obsessed with you for making this

This was a really interesting vid and I learned quite a lot of extra trivia that I wasn't aware of before such as Act Two very nearly not being filmed due to "technical difficulties" and Jeff Blim almost missing out on the Sweet Tooth role completely due to another audition that ended up not working out anyway! I distinctly remember tuning in when the show was first posted to the Starkid channel and thinking when I first saw Jeff perform, "Wow, this guy is great! Starkid need to keep him!" And, well, they did! 😄

I love Jeff. He plays all his characters so well and I love his goofy ass smile. Team Starkid is amazing and I am so glad I discovered them.

I was thinking about this show all through The Batman (2022). Especially the line "he's so angsty!"

This sounds like something Grant Morrison would have done during their run in the comics. Morrison made every iteration of Batman’s history canon. My favorite run in the Batman comics from the last couple decades. Highly recommended.

I love to see people recognizing Starkid musicals. Some of their earlier musicals have some cheap laughs but you can see the way they honed in their niche throughout the years.

Thank you for this. I grew emotional a few times during this video. Starkid was one of the things that got me through high school in so many ways, and their work will forever have a special place in my heart. Also, to this day, I remember seeing Jeff Blim for the first time and how immediately gobsmacked and enthralled I was with his performance. Genuinely, one of my favorite theatre performances. Please do a video on Twisted (their Aladdin parody)!

The only reason main stream Batman will never include young Robin, his backstory, his journey to hero, or his incredibly important relationship to The Bat is (and I take this from my favorite comment to ever come out of a quora and possibly the entire internet) because of, “Total and complete abject cowardice”

I’m so glad Holy Musical B@man is getting the attention it deserves! I’ve been a Starkid fan since a little after this show came out, and this is probably my favorite show of theirs. I love how silly it is, I love the villains, I love the commentary it has about the fandom/public perception of superheroes. There’s so much heart put into it and the climax always makes me cry. Also Jeff Blim is GOAT lol

So here for more Starkid content!!

I absolutely love Starkid, and seeing their work- especially their parodies- getting some love is frickin amazing.

This is really cool to know the behind the scenes stuff. I didn’t know most of it, so I’m glad you made this.

What a great musical! My best friend introduced me to HMB in high school (~2012-2013). It was "our thing" - we quoted it constantly and watched it together too many times to count! It was the perfect show for two nerdy choir kids. One day I was walking into our choir room - the hallway had pictures of previous choirs throughout the years (~7 choirs a year). Imagine my surprise when I saw Brian Holden in one of those pictures!

I really wish Joe walker could be cast in a Batman movie, he is genuinely good

"Who's your favorite batman?' ...joe walker

Actually the reason that the comics became more “wacky” and “fantastical” isn’t actually cause of robins introduction but cause of the comics code authority. It had ruined so many comics

HMB is still my favourite starkid show, i was too young to grow up on starkid when it was coming out (i'm 20), but i've been an avid fan since discovering AVPM in middle school. I hope to see them live one day, the energy seems electric.

I have to check this out. As usual, you weave a well-crafted story with humor and respect.

“If they like Adam West, they probably really love drugs” I came here to watch a video about StarKid, not to get personally called out

This is such a cool history of starkid, I have learned sooo much about them, and it makes me appreciate them even more. I love starkid so much

Anybody else get a little laugh out of Curt Mega being credited as "Curt Mega (KZfaq User)"? LMFAO poor Curt

8:59 you…you put this there solely for giggles. Well played

You are so fun I love you for making this. As a starkid fan who devours any form of content I can get, this in-depth look showed me things even I didn’t already know! Your channel is so amazing and addicting and to see you talk about something that matters to me so much makes me so happy.

So glad to see Starkid getting some more attention recently!! HMB is hilarious, even to someone who has virtually no prior batman knowledge! :)

I wonder if the people behind Lego Batman were fans or inspired by this musical, I get very similar vibes from both

It wasn’t until this video that I realized how much Holy Musical Batman has in common with Lego Batman

6:56 though DKR is certainly the most famous example Batman’s comics were already moving towards that direction with the late Neal Adam’s run during the Bronze age

I hope he'd forgive me for saying this...but I am so happy Jeff blew his audition. He is one of my favorite starkids and the company would not be the same wothout him.

The way I came into this expecting it to be about the ACTUAL Batman musical that was in development by Jim Steinman in the early 2000s

amazing video! holy musical b@man is one of my favourite starkid musicals, it's such a love letter to the dc comics. also, if darren really did celebrate his emmy win with dark sad lonely knight, it was definitely out of love for the song. he's said on livestreams before how funny he thinks the song is and how much he loves joe's performance in it. iirc curt mega (who was one of the warblers in glee and has been a member of starkid since 2019) said he showed it to him in his first week on the set of glee because he loves it so much lol now brb im gonna go watch hmb again

God I love Jeff Blim so much. So much talent and always so, so fun to watch!

Oh my God, I’m so happy you did a video on Holy Musical B@man. This was my introduction to the Starkid array of musicals and it absolutely floored me. Witty, fun, awesome music and incredible casting. You couldn’t ask for a better show.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful work you put into this video - I loved getting to learn the history and inspirations behind this production. Keeping my fingers crossed you do these deep dives for more of their shows (primarily Twisted)!

I loved that the Lego Batman movie was more structured around Batman breaking out of his reclusiveness and embracing those who care about him.

it's so amazing to see a video made with this much love for Starkid. I would looooooove to see more content like this. I've been a huge Starkid fan since AVPM and I still learned a LOT that I didn't already know. Thank you so much for making this 😊

Team Starkid is one of the reasons I'm so excited for the future of Musical Theatre, there is so much Creativity and Enthusiasm out there that traditional Broadway just refuses to acknowledge because it doesn't cater to old school fans. Like everything, time usually wins in the end and someday I'm sure folks like Team Starkid are going to make waves in the industry.

I am just now having the realization that I have not in fact seen all the starkid productions and I need to remedy that immediately

Great video on something I never really explored before. Though if I had a nitpick, Frank Miller's TDKR didn't single-handedly bring back "dark Batman". The comics were already moving in that direction by the 1970s, in particular in the comics runs by Denny O'Neal and Neal Adams, and later Steve Englehart.

Even though I enjoy Adam West's Batman, I am most certainly NOT on drugs, though I will admit not all of the camp in the show holds up as of 2022. I just like the authentic look of that version of Batman from the old school animations, costume design, & the visuals, it all feels amazing to me.

Thank you so much for live streaming the editing of this! It was incredibly fun and I really hope you do that more in the future. You channel has grown so much over the years and easily has some of the best content on KZfaq.

love this review!! im a huge starkid fan and i learned things i didnt know lol. it makes me wish i got into them earlier, i remember avpm coming out and watching it but not getting any of the jokes cuz i was a child, so a few years ago i went back and watched it again and became obsessed lol

HMB has always been my favorite of their shows-- I really feel like everyone was at their best. Didn't know the story behind its creation though! I love the way artists find each other. Ok, editing to expand on this: HMB is unique in that every role is a comedic role, and the thing about Startkid as an ensemble is that almost everyone of their actors is a comedic actor (or we've sort of adjusted to think of them as so). Everyone felt really appropriately cast in their roles in terms of their acting chops. That's so rare to see in regional theatre, and I would argue-- doesn't happen with the same rate of success in their other shows. I think they also helped themselves by bringing in several new people who brought in their own vibrant energies, and didn't just feel like "replacements" for those who had left. Also, the costumes and set were SO good. If I'm remembering correctly, it was the first time we saw some genuine, clean choreography in one of their shows! The parody was both topical and timeless! The music was not only good, but unique and consistent in its uniqueness. The whole thing was so just polished.

I saw this show live, can’t wait to hear your take on it!

This looks like a bigger put on than the "Rogers" musical featured in "Hawkeye."

I love that you're covering more starkid musicals!! I'd love to see a video maybe about the guy who didn't like musicals and black Friday one day!!

My favourite Batman is a toss up between this one and Lego Batman.

Genuinely one of my favourite musicals

It feels like Lego Batman movie also bases itself similar to holy musical batman.

The first Starkid musical I saw was Twisted, in 2019, and because I was browsing through a bootleg playlist on KZfaq haha. I instantly fell in love with it, and since then I've loved their work. I literally watch Twisted like once a week or so. In 2020 I watched HMB and fell even more in love with Jeff Blim. Him as Sweet Tooth is the sexiest thing in the world, it's ridiculous. He's also extremely talented, and I wish he was more widely recognized. I also had no idea Nick Gage did the music for this show! Truly amazing, so talented! HMB is definitely in my top 3 of favourite Starkid musicals, the originality and creativity that was put into it is remarkable. I wish the rights were available for this show, it would be a huge hit.

What a super video! Thanks for covering Starkid.

who's your favorite batman joe walker ofc on another note: i've just started the video but i already want to thank you because i love whenever starkid gets video essay exposure -- the lang bros are very good as writers like actually insane

I've been listening to this musical for ever and I'm so happy you made this video

starkid shows make me smile for hours. theyre always so brilliant.

The starkid videos are my fav please keep them.coming 😭♥️

I love starkid, and have forever, and holy musical b@man is one of my favorites, so I’m glad you guys made this video

HMBM is one of my favourite musicals of all time, and one of my favourite Batmans. The over-the-top camp, humour and great jams never fail to brighten my day!

Love Starkid, good to see it get recognition for the best piece of Batman media

When I first watched HMB in middle school I has never seen a batman movie then I watched them a couple months later, immediately rewatched the musical and went "ooooooh". I didn't know a lot of this backstory. Very interesting.

I'm a huge fan of batman and holy musical batman. i totally understand how they were tied creatively trying to use the joker. He would be such a difficult character to parody because there isn't much to exaggerate and the joker has already been taken in every direction possible

Interestingly, Bob Kane's original depiction of Batman was a blond-haired man with a red tunic and a yellow cape. You know, more like Robin's outfit! A Batman musical sounds like the kind of thing that should be done once, and then never, ever done again...

THANKBYOU FOR MAKING THIS! This is my fave Batman adaptation

Lego Batman has a very similar energy and execution to Holy Musical B@tman

Only just starting watching this, but excited to hear what you have to say about Sweet Tooth 😅