"Beware the Batman" in 2013! New Animated Series

[davejames]

Shame there's never been a Nolan-inspired Batman cartoon (softened a bit for the kiddies, obviously). Would have loved to have seen what an animated Tumbler would look like.

[bigdaddy]

I'm not a super hero fan, but I love Batman.

The new series sounds weird for sure. But we shall see. I haven't watched animated Batman shows besides Batman Beyond (my favorite) and The Batman, so I have high hopes.

Also they keep making new Batman shows they can keep making different Batman toys. it's the same thing with TMNT. After toy sales fall you make up a new show. TMNT Flash Forward, then going back to the Lost Tales and such.

[Christopher]

Leroy wrote:

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I'd wish they'd realize there are other characters besides Batman to make a cartoon out of. Think of all the superheroes with plenty of great material to work with.

Umm... Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a series that teams Batman up with different DC superheroes every week. They've featured dozens of characters from the famous to the obscure -- even the likes of Kamandi, Detective Chimp, and Bwana Beast have had recurring roles. And Young Justice, which airs right after BB&B, features pretty much the entire DC Universe, with Batman in a supporting role.

They keep headlining cartoons with Batman because that's who the viewing audience wants to see -- because shows starring Batman have been perennially more successful than shows he wasn't in. But they're using that interest in Batman as a means to expose that audience to the whole panoply of DC characters. Which is an entirely sensible way of going about it.

JD wrote:

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Is this the same Katana who is one of the nuDCU Birds of Prey (well it probably won't be that version of the character, but you know what I mean)?

Yes, apparently so.

davejames wrote:

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Shame there's never been a Nolan-inspired Batman cartoon (softened a bit for the kiddies, obviously).

There has been. The Batman: Gotham Knight direct-to-DVD feature was a series of anime shorts set in the Nolanverse between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (although it had a couple of continuity discrepancies with TDK). And it wasn't softened for the kiddies; it was a pretty hard PG-13.

[Admiral_Young]

Yes Katana is the same character in Birds of Prey right now and as I mentioned in one of my previous posts is a former Outsider.

[davejames]

Christopher wrote:

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There has been. The Batman: Gotham Knight direct-to-DVD feature was a series of anime shorts set in the Nolanverse between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (although it had a couple of continuity discrepancies with TDK). And it wasn't softened for the kiddies; it was a pretty hard PG-13.

They might have had a few small nods to the Nolan movies, but they never struck me as being literally set in the Nolanverse.

Most of them were so arty and abstract it could have been ANY Batman.

[Admiral_Young]

It was heavily promoted as taking place between "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" as Christopher pointed out. There were a couple shorts that made it seem like it didn't belong but it was very much meant to be set in the NolanVerse.

[RJDiogenes]

The most interesting part of the article for me was the news about the animated shorts featuring Doom Patrol.

[Mr. Adventure]

davejames wrote:

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They might have had a few small nods to the Nolan movies, but they never struck me as being literally set in the Nolanverse.

Most of them were so arty and abstract it could have been ANY Batman.

From the linked article:

The producers have acknowledged that it is not necessarily meant to be canon to the "Nolanverse," and indeed any of the six segments could easily fall into almost any Batman continuity.

[Christopher]

davejames wrote:

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They might have had a few small nods to the Nolan movies, but they never struck me as being literally set in the Nolanverse.

Well, you said "Nolan-inspired" in the post I was responding to, not "actually in the Nolanverse." Indeed, you specifically proposed something inspired by the Nolan movies but toned down, which would pretty much require not being set in the same universe. So I gave you something that fit the parameters you defined, except that it was not toned down.


Anyway, there's some promotional art for Beware the Batman and some of the cartoon shorts in this article:

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/1...rtoon-network/

That Batman design is very off-putting. But then, it took me a while to warm up to Timm's design back in the '90s.

[Broccoli]

Gun-toting Alfred is now even more strange!

Doesn't Batman who has an active partner (as Alfred is implied to be) who uses guns seemingly against what Batman is somewhat about?

[JacksonArcher]

He's got a top hat and everything.

[Admiral_Young]

Bruce is against using guns. He doesn't care if any one else uses them, although he would prefer them not to and Alfred has military training in his back story. I do have to admit though that shot looks pretty wild! I can't wait to see Professor Pyg! Toad is there too, who in the first run of "Batman and Robin" is the first person that Dick and Damian capture. The design of the costume reminds me of Dick's suit, especially the belt design. Katana looks great.

[RJDiogenes]

Gun-toting Alfred is pretty stupid. Let the freaking characters be who they are, for crying out loud.

[Admiral_Young]

Again...Alfred has military service in his back story. He's been shown in the comics as being able to use a rifle. It's not out of character just because some fans are used to seeing him depicted in one certain way most of the time.

[Captaindemotion]

davejames wrote:

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Shame there's never been a Nolan-inspired Batman cartoon (softened a bit for the kiddies, obviously). Would have loved to have seen what an animated Tumbler would look like.

When The Batman was announced, I assumed that it would be in the vein of the Nolanverse, much like how the 1990s animated show was obviously influenced by the Burton movies. I was very surprised that it was so unlike the Nolan movies.