"Beware the Batman" in 2013! New Animated Series

[Christopher]

^But that's what I'm saying. Discussing possibilities means being aware that there are multiple possibilities and that anything you conjecture may be wrong. All I'm hearing is "I'm certain Alfred will be portrayed like XYZ and there's no way that can work." That's like learning about that exoplanet and insisting right off the bat that it can't possibly be inhabited. That's not discussing the possibilities. It's just preempting them. Discussion in this case doesn't just mean whining about how this version of Alfred can't work. It means exploring the question of how it might work, of the various possibilities that this image could suggest.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Yeah that is what is bothering me with all the knee jerk reactions. People have automatically assumed because we saw a picture that it is exactly what it is implying. No one has said that it isn't unusual or strange. I can understand why purists would be bothered by something that implies a drastic change of character for Alfred. I like to try and be open minded as possible with stuff like this. I think if this discussion is going to consume the thread more that I will probably step out until more information becomes available regarding the series...which I'm guessing could be as soon as NYCC.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^But that's what I'm saying. Discussing possibilities means being aware that there are multiple possibilities and that anything you conjecture may be wrong. All I'm hearing is "I'm certain Alfred will be portrayed like XYZ and there's no way that can work." That's like learning about that exoplanet and insisting right off the bat that it can't possibly be inhabited. That's not discussing the possibilities. It's just preempting them. Discussion in this case doesn't just mean whining about how this version of Alfred can't work. It means exploring the question of how it might work, of the various possibilities that this image could suggest.

No, people are saying that this is what it looks like and it's a bad (or good) idea. People are more upset about the opinions than the picture.

 

[Christopher]

No, people are saying that this is what it looks like and it's a bad (or good) idea.

And I'm trying to point out that it's premature to make assumptions about what it looks like, for all the reasons I've explained. There are many ways to interpret the fragmentary information we have, not just one.

 

[JD]

Personally, I'm more interested in Katana, and how she relates to the Robins. You'd think if they wanted to do a female sidekick, they would have gone with one of the Batgirls, or even the Stephenie Brown Robin. As for Robin, does the fact that they say Katana isn't replacing him/her mean that we'll possibly be seeing one or more of the Robins in some kind of a supporting or recurring role?

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'm guessing that Robin will appear in a reoccurring supporting role similar to how Dick Grayson would sometimes appear in "Batman: The Animated Series".

 

[Bob Karo]

As far as Alfred carrying a gun, I can think of several ways that could work.

The most obvious to me comes from RL experience. Most personal drivers/pilots/ etc I've met of billionaires also serve at one point or another as body guards. Would Batman have a sidekick blowing away criminals? Not in a version I'd probably watch.

Would Bruce Wayne have the one man always with him while in public equipped to protect himself and others? That's plausible.

 

[Christopher]

^Good point!

 

[JoeZhang]

How do we even know that it doesn't fire Sleep pellets or the like?

 

[Christopher]

How do we even know that it doesn't fire Sleep pellets or the like?

Like I said, since this is a kids' cartoon, it's a given that even if the guns fire bullets, they won't be used to shoot or kill any living beings. Only to shoot out tires, shoot weapons out of people's hands, take out robots and equipment, futilely barrage heavily armored or bulletproof villains, fire hails of bullets into the ground to deter pursuit, stuff like that. There are network rules about these things.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I think you're making premature assumptions.

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah, right, "premature." Kids' shows on network television have been subject to restrictions on the depiction of gun violence since I was a child in the '70s. All I'm saying is what should be glaringly obvious to anyone who watches cartoons.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

^Yeah, right, "premature." Kids' shows on network television have been subject to restrictions on the depiction of gun violence since I was a child in the '70s. All I'm saying is what should be glaringly obvious to anyone who watches cartoons.

That's true, Christopher, but rules can be relaxed. Anyone remember the TAS episode where Commissioner Gordon was shot and teetering on the brink of death.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^Yeah, right, "premature." Kids' shows on network television have been subject to restrictions on the depiction of gun violence since I was a child in the '70s. All I'm saying is what should be glaringly obvious to anyone who watches cartoons.

Relax. My point is that it's okay to say more than "Acknowledged" when somebody posts a bit of news.

 

[ToddKent]

Here's the link to the announcement and other CN upfront news:

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/03/29/beware-the-batman-leads-new-cartoon-network-lineup/

Seems like they are trying to do something new with Katana as the sidekick and using villains like Anarky & Magpie.

I could probably be up for that I guess. Any hopes for a crossover between this CGI show and the CGI Green Lantern?

 

[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:

[yt]http://youtu.be/Y58FUObbptY[/yt]

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.