[Batman]

My six-year-old son and I unanimously concluded that this was the greatest Saturday morning EVER.

First there was the LoSH movie, Sundown, (an adaptation of the Sun-Eater storyline) and--as if that wasn't enough--that was followed by The Batman movie, The Joining, with a "The Batman" version of the Justice League debuting.

Anybody else watch these?

Awesome.

[Lucky]

I started DVRing Batman and LoSH last week just to see what they are and I noticed both were scheduled for an hour this morning. So I guess I have them on the DVR. I'd been meaning to give these shows a chance so I guess maybe I will and get back to you.

[Lucky]

Watching Batman. Meh. It was alright. I'm probably more than a little spoiled on the Timm stuff but it struck me as very similar to my past viewings of the show. Very mediocre. Hard to do a mediocre Batman when a great one is so recent in the memory. And when JL is just a year or two off the air.

I was more than a little disappointed to have nothing more than a League cameo. As the show kept going I was like "uh... where the fuck are they?" And it wasn't just you mentioning them. Between the alien invasion, "the Joining" title, and Manhunter I would have been going "OH CRAP, JUSTICE LEAGUE!" anyway. They were hyped for next week so I'll probably watch but The Batman really doesn't do much for me. And his teenage sidekicks were very much... there.

I dunno. I guess if you're a fan and regular viewer of the show that was probably cool 2 Parter what with Manhunter showing up and the League cameo. But I'm neither a fan nor a regular viewer. And it struck me as blah as that series always has.

I've never seen The Batman's Joker. He was... weird.

[Stu]

I watched a few episodes of the first season of The Batman, and I didn't like it. It's just no susbstitute for the Timm stuff, IMHO, and JLU gave them way more possibilities for stories.

[OpTard]

well, that batman "movie" is a little weird to explain.

first of all, this originally aired as a 2 part SERIES finale. yes, series, not season. that's why the justice league were only a cameo at the end. this wasn't about the justice league, and it wasn't about batman joining the justice league. it was about ending a solo batman series, and then as an epilogue type of thing, they brought the justice league in as if to say "the series ends but batman's story continues."

it was not written with the thought that the show would actually be brought back this season.

as far as the quality of the show itself, the first season blew. somewhere around mid-second season it started to pick up and i've been pretty much enjoying the show since then.

[salmonjunkie]

I'm with Lucky,. It's hard for me to watch The Batman with Timm's Batman having been with us for over 10 years and just two years ago leaving us when JLU ended. It's not as good, and to be honest, I just didn't feel like starting all over again. I know it's not fair to The Barman's creators, but it is what it is.

[Stu]

There's just some really stupid design decisions in it. Bane's a Cyborg or something, Joker's a rasta, Mr. Freeze was just some bank robber who got in an accident, at least in the episode I saw. I thought the Penguin was alright until he started doing kung fu. Also, this freaking show was partly responsible for the Bat-Embargo!!

[Batman]

I'm with Tard. It took a few episodes for it to find its feet, but the show is really good. Yeah, their Mr. Freeze isn't as good as the B:TAS version. But they had two choices: they could have made him basically the same, and just been in the shadow of the old show. Or they could try something completely different.

Their Mr. Freeze isn't as cool as the TAS version, but I think their versions of Clayface and Clock King are better.

[Lucky]

Its just really tough to try and COMPLETELY reinvent the subject when there was an absolutely genius version of it that ran for basically the last decade. And which hadn't even finished by the time you were starting your new interpretation. Its going to be hard to get that same generation to go for it.

But The Batman isn't gunning for 25-35. Its aimed at kids. So its cool. A lot of that stuff rubs me the wrong way but I'm not an old fogie and I have my old shows to go watch if I don't think the kids can do as well.

Zig's context for this episode as a SERIES finale helps make that JL cameo make a lot more sense. "'The Batman' is done, he's stepping into a new spot. And maybe DCU and Time Warner will even let us do that cartoon." The 2 parter seemed plenty interested in having Batman come to terms with his respect and need for partners and his 2 kid sidekicks so it seems theoretically like a nice capper. I was watching it as a just a random thing and saw the promo for the JL episode for the season premiere next week. Just struck me as odd pacing. But it obviously wasn't intentional so I get it.

[Stu]

sergeial said:

Their Mr. Freeze isn't as cool as the TAS version, but I think their versions of Clayface and Clock King are better.

Really? What's he like, because TAS Clock King was pretty cool.

But The Batman isn't gunning for 25-35. Its aimed at kids. So its cool.

I can respect that, but my point then is that the kids show was created at the expense of a show kids and adults could enjoy. Though I know it's not a perfect world, and when it comes to animation, superheroes are always going to be thought as stuff for kids, but I just can't see the sense in them starting all over again with The Batman, when JLU's format could have been used to introduce and popularise a wider array of characters, which could have led to the comics making more money and widened their options for live action films a bit more.

[Lucky]

I don't think adults can't enjoy this. Zig an Serg both do. Its just got to be tough to rope in the Timm audience. Its hard to jump like that and start over.

But I can't blame them for not wanting to be beholden to a world some other guy created. Why have to rely on that? You want to tell the stories on your own. Just like Batman Returns does. Just like Timm did. Why didn't Timm stick to comic continuity? Picking back up where Timm left off is a losing battle. New viewers are unfamiliar with the past, most of the good stories have already been told, and you're picking up for a guy many believe to have been damn near a genius. The Batman wanted to start over. I don't blame it, I probably would too.

[Stu]

I've heard they don't intend to do Twoface in The Batman because when you come right down to it, the character's really just a mutilated gangster, and doesn't transfer that well to a child friend cartoony supervillain.

[Batman]

Clock King: Technically, he never calls himself "Clock King," but he's definitely the same character concept. Obsessed with time and all. But he has a pretty unique superpower. When something doesn't work the way he wants, he goes back and tries again. He can do this as often as he likes, within a limit of fifteen minutes or so. The episode was called "Seconds" and it was quite awesome.

Another awesome one is "Artifacts," where archaeologists in the far future have to unlock the secrets of the Batcave in order to stop Mr. Freeze.

Two Face: He's not just a mutilated gangster, he's a good guy who goes bad because he's mutilated. And I would guess that they decided to skip it, not because it wasn't "kiddie" enough, but because they had already done that, except with Clayface.

The first season finale, "Rubber Face of Comedy" / "Clay Face of Tragedy," where Joker mutilates a cop who is a lifelong friend of Bruce's, and he is slowly alienated to the point where he decides to just use his new powers as an outlaw--and to get revenge on the Joker--is a real highlight of the show, too.

Also, there's Batman vs. Dracula. That was awesome enough that I nominated it in the Animation Showdown.