WB's use of DC animated characters

[Norrin Radd]

Sometimes there are WB "embargoes" on DC characters. For instance, the JLU cartoon was not allowed to use virtually any Batman characters expect Batman himself. WB didn't want this to conflict with other Batman media.

But how does that gel with WB allowing a Superman TV show (Smallville, natch) to continue its run while attempting to create a new Superman film franchise with a separate continuity? I mean, wouldn't that confuse viewers more than anything else?

Just seems weird to me.

 

[Christopher]

I think maybe the difference is that Clark in Smallville isn't actually going by the name Superman and wearing the costume, so somehow that makes them distinct enough characters. Also, it would take a couple of years to get a new Superman movie developed, produced, and released, and I doubt Smallville will be around that much longer.

On the other hand, the "embargo" doesn't usually apply between live action and animation. The "Bat-embargo" on JL/U was because of the Teen Titans and The Batman series; the existence of The Batman didn't preclude Batman Begins, and the existence of The Dark Knight didn't preclude Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Nor did Superman Returns preclude Superman's involvement in Legion of Super Heroes. It only seems to be a problem for DC to allow two different live-action interpretations or two different animated interpretations at the same time, with the exception of the DCAU Batman being "grandfathered" into JL/U.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Though I believe Aquaman disappeared from the last group of JLU episodes due to that Aquaman pilot. Which is why Black Manta was renamed.

The Batman was prevented from using Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul because of Batman Begins.

 

[Nick Ryder]

Its just silly honestly, like the movie going public and the cartoon watchers are going to be "confused". Heck, I don't remember any such embargo against any Spider-Man cartoons or X-Men cartoons when their movies came out. And each cartoon had a different continuity too.

Course the one cartoon I wish DIDN'T HAPPEN is that new "teen" Iron Man cartoon... BLE-ECCH.

 

[Dream]

People should be happy with the embargoes. I know I'm pleased that only Nolan is allowed to use Batman in live action right now. The last thing we need is the Smallville writers getting their hands on Batman and making him fall in love with Lana.

 

[Christopher]

Though I believe Aquaman disappeared from the last group of JLU episodes due to that Aquaman pilot. Which is why Black Manta was renamed.

I thought it was because there were concerns about the racial implications of the name. Though such concerns have evidently faded by now, since Black Manta has appeared twice in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Its just silly honestly, like the movie going public and the cartoon watchers are going to be "confused". Heck, I don't remember any such embargo against any Spider-Man cartoons or X-Men cartoons when their movies came out. And each cartoon had a different continuity too.

Well, as I said, WB only seems to have a problem with two animated or two live-action versions existing at the same time.

And maybe the concern isn't with actual watchers of the shows/films being confused, but with the respective promotional campaigns being confused. If you're seeing 30-second promos and print ads and such for two different live-action versions of the same character, it could be harder to tell which is for which. Not sure if that would really be a problem, though, since it would presumably bring more attention to both. But maybe if people blur the two in their minds and assume they're for only one thing, then they might go to the movie and skip the show, or vice-versa.

Sometimes, though, studios don't like overlapping versions of the same story regardless of medium. The '90s Spider-Man animated series was initially forbidden to depict Spidey's origin or feature Electro and Sandman, because those were elements of the James Cameron feature film that was in development at the time. Once the film fell through, the show got around to doing Spidey's origin, and in its final season it introduced a version of Electro, though Sandman never appeared.

 

[nx1701g]

People should be happy with the embargoes. I know I'm pleased that only Nolan is allowed to use Batman in live action right now. The last thing we need is the Smallville writers getting their hands on Batman and making him fall in love with Lana.

That actually happened - somewhat. Adam Knight in Smallville season three WAS Bruce Wayne until Warner Brothers pulled the authorization in the eleventh hour.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I thought it was because there were concerns about the racial implications of the name. Though such concerns have evidently faded by now, since Black Manta has appeared twice in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

No, it was because they couldn't use Aquaman's mythos; Devil Ray's (which is a cooler name, in my opinion) debut episode was supposed to be an Aquaman episode, but when the rights weren't available they subbed Wonder Woman in (true to form, the chuckleheads made Diana's best episode by accident).

 

[Christopher]

^^You're talking about "To Another Shore," right? I'd hardly call Dwayne McDuffie a "chucklehead." And I'd hardly call that Wonder Woman's best episode; "Maid of Honor" (also by McDuffie) has it beat by a mile.

 

[CaptainCanada]

In terms of rendering Wonder Woman properly, "To Another Shore" comes by far the closest: Diana finally is the warrior-diplomat she should have been all along. True to form in their handling of that character, it was an accident.

"Maid of Honour" was very good too, the start of trying to make anything out of the hackjob done in adapting the character in the first season.

 

[Christopher]

^^I still think it's grossly unfair to Dwayne McDuffie to call it an "accident." Yes, maybe the premise and character selection for the episode were shaped by corporate restrictions, but those are just the bare bones of the episode. McDuffie chose how to build a story on those foundations. Writers often have to work within limits or predefined parameters, but we choose what to do within those limits, and they can often inspire valuable new ideas. It wasn't an "accident" -- it was a writer capitalizing on an opportunity.

 

[CaptainCanada]

They wrote an episode where Aquaman is a competent warrior-diplomat, then, when they couldn't use him, they gave it to Wonder Woman, thus giving her her most accurate portrayal on that show's sad, sad history with the character. Had they gotten what they wanted and intended, it would never have happened. Nothing they have ever done with Diana suggests they would have thought of doing that with her had the episode not already been conceived of with another character in mind.

 

[Christopher]

^^I think "Maid of Honor" showed Diana beginning to grow beyond her warrior role and experiment with being more diplomatic (though it didn't last once Vandal Savage showed up).

Besides, JL's version of Aquaman was normally even more warlike and less diplomatic than their Wonder Woman (see "The Enemy Below" and "The Terror Beyond"). So I find your characterization of events rather hard to believe.