"Beware the Batman" in 2013! New Animated Series

[Christopher]

So Glen Murakami is leaving the Ben 10 franchise and returning to Batman (where he formerly made his mark in The New Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond). That's too bad as far as Ben 10 is concerned; I really liked the design style of Alien Force/Ultimate Alien, and the promo I've seen for Omniverse doesn't appeal to me as much in terms of its visual style. And of course, with Dwayne McDuffie no longer with us, the storytelling's bound to be different too.

I'm not crazy about the increasing preference for 3D animation over 2D; I still think 3D only really looks good on a feature budget, and has to be stripped down too much for television. The look of Green Lantern: TAS is a little too sparse for me at times. Still, within those limits, Bruce Timm has done a good job translating his style to the medium, and it should be interesting to see how Murakami, whose designs are always impressive, adapts.

I'm disappointed to see that there's no mention of Generator Rex on the list of returning series. Apparently there are still six unaired episodes of that show, but it's completely disappeared from CN's lineup.

[Admiral_Young]

Well, we know why Alfred wields a gun now, he's an ex "secret agent" in this. Nothing wrong with that since he has had military experience in previous incarnations and his current comic incarnation. Looking forward to seeing Professor Pyg and Mister Toad who are Morrison Batman villains!

[ToddKent]

Very short teaser:



Sounds like the guy is doing a great Kevin Conroy impression.

(here's the link in case the embed doesn't work)

[Christopher]

Hm, it's a "lighter" voice than Conroy's (or Bader's or Greenwood's), higher in tone and younger-sounding. I don't recognize it.

[CorporalCaptain]

For some reason the comments on the youtube page are not kind.

[Mr. Adventure]

Mind you this is truly just the slightest of teasers but the CG art style seems promising.

I've come to appreciate the different styles and designs that go into cartoons and think people sometimes don't respect these as a collaboration between comics and pop cartoons and shortchange the need and contributions of the animation artists. The end results don't always work for me either but I think it's unfair to expect every show to be a throwback to BTAS or everyday comic book art.

[Venardhi]

Christopher wrote:

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Hm, it's a "lighter" voice than Conroy's (or Bader's or Greenwood's), higher in tone and younger-sounding. I don't recognize it.

MUCH better than McKenzie's "young Batman" though, thankfully.

I'm not sold on the animation or the attempt at creating new villains without having the foundation of the classic baddies around, but I'm happy to give it a shot.

[davejames]

Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

[Venardhi]

Batman is a proven winner for the last 20 years or so. I don't expect we'll see more than a couple years without a Batman series for another decade or two.

[Christopher]

Venardhi wrote:

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MUCH better than McKenzie's "young Batman" though, thankfully.

I thought McKenzie's version of Batman in the Year One movie worked very well for that particular version of Batman, an aloof, forbidding, half-crazy vigilante. He sounded edgy and dangerous and cold, and reminded me vocally of a cross between Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson of Person of Interest (the show from The Dark Knight screenwriter Jonathan Nolan). He wouldn't have been a good choice for something where Batman is the figure of audience identification, but in Year One, Gordon is the hero and Batman is more of a remote, mysterious figure, so the more off-putting vocal performance works.

I'm not sold on the animation or the attempt at creating new villains without having the foundation of the classic baddies around, but I'm happy to give it a shot.

The villains mentioned in connection with the show aren't original creations, but character who have been introduced in the comics in recent years and haven't been adapted for animation before. But it's been stated that BtB "won't shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes."

Oh, and I just read that Kurtwood Smith is playing Lt. James Gordon in the show. Apparently this is a Batman early in his career and still learning, a similar premise to The Batman, though there are obvious differences as well.

davejames wrote:

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Batman already got a number of great series in BTAS, Batman Beyond, Brave and the Bold, and even The Batman. I don't really see a pressing need for another one right now.

I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

Well, Batman is more popular and brings in more ratings. As always, the most pressing need for a television network is profit. Cartoon Network profits from having a Batman show on the air, but for whatever reason, they don't want any of their shows to run longer than 65 episodes, so every few years we get a new version of Batman.

Maybe if Snyder's Man of Steel is a hit, it'll create a market for a new Superman show. And Superman's already a supporting character in Young Justice, though some are unsatisfied with his characterization there.

[Venardhi]

Christopher wrote:

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The villains mentioned in connection with the show aren't original creations, but character who have been introduced in the comics in recent years and haven't been adapted for animation before. But it's been stated that BtB "won't shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes."

Interesting. I vaguely recall Anarky but the rest have slipped me by in my on-again off-again comic habit. I guess if you're going to reinvent villains you may as well pick forgettable ones. One could argue they never caught on for a good reason though.

[Admiral_Young]

I like the voice whoever it is, and I don't recognize him either. Awesome that Kurtwood Smith is Jim Gordon. He seems to be the only cast member revealed for the series at this time. I'll be giving this a chance. I'm actually looking forward to it.

[Christopher]

Venardhi wrote:

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I guess if you're going to reinvent villains you may as well pick forgettable ones. One could argue they never caught on for a good reason though.

Some of them are characters who were only introduced a few years ago and just haven't had time to catch on beyond the comics themselves. Professor Pyg, for instance, first appeared five years ago and has been a major recurring character in Grant Morrison's acclaimed run on the Batman titles. He's already made a brief cameo in a Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.

And even if a character "never caught on for a good reason" in the past, that doesn't mean the character can't be transformed into something special. Keep in mind that Mr. Freeze was an obscure joke villain, mainly remembered from his appearances in the '60s sitcom, until Paul Dini's unforgettable reinvention of the character in B:TAS, which has been the basis for every subsequent portrayal of the character. Not to mention that Two-Face fell into obscurity in the early '50s, but then in 1971 Dennis O'Neill reintroduced the character and he went on to become one of the most important members of Batman's rogues' gallery.

[Captain Craig]

^^^
Even Firefly has been upgraded from joke to B-lister in Batman's Rogues thanks largely to the animated portrayals.

[Mr. Adventure]

davejames wrote:

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I'd much rather see a new Superman series, considering the last one was the rather generic and simplistic STAS.

I think a Catwoman series could be cool but I don't know if the "boys" demo would go for it.