Beware the Batman

It's been the same cycle with every new animated interpretation of Batman since TAS. "I don't like the way it looks!" "The writing's not as good!" "They ruined (insert character's name here)!"

A few years go by, cooler heads prevail, and eventually most seem to come around and appreciate each of these shows for what they are rather than holding them to up to their own preconceived notions of what Batman "should" be.

I get it. You're a "hardcore" Batman fan. You know what it's all about and every little nuance of the mythology. But here's the thing - there is no one true Batman. The character's been around so long and gone through so many permutations that there is no definitive version. There are depictions that strike a chord with certain generations for different reasons, but in the end the Adam West show is a valid as Christopher Nolan's films. Each incarnation highlights and honors different aspects of these characters. That's what's so great about Batman. That's why he's survived as long as he has. He's malleable. As long as you keep the cornerstones of his mythology in place, he's pretty flexible when it comes to adaptations.

This is not TAS. I think we can probably all agree that that's still one of the better representations of Batman and the most successful show overall. But we live in a world of hyperbole so if something's not amazing, that means it must suck. I don't think Beware the Batman is as good as TAS. Not by a long shot. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it.

Adjusting to a new look always takes some time, but I've grown to like it. And I think the voice cast is strong. For a show aimed at kids, the writing strikes me as more sophisticated than anything from The Batman - and especially The Brave & The Bold.

I like seeing new villains. I like the detective side of Batman getting more attention. And I like the risks they're taking with characters like Alfred. Borrowing from the Earth One/Sean Connery take definitely sets this apart from previous series. In my opinion, the more traditional take on Alfred makes more sense - but I do admire their decision to do something different.

It's not a perfect show. But I'm interested to see how it evolves. Fans always hate anything new or different. Give it time. When they roll out another new Batman cartoon in a few years, everyone will probably be moaning about the good old days of Beware the Batman.

This is not Batman the Animated Series. It will NEVER be Batman the Animated Series. That being said, this is still a pretty solid show once you get past the boring bits.

The first few episodes are the worst. Granted, that's not unheard of for a new show, but it's only when an overarching storyline is established that the show starts to take off.

The show seems to take the Batman: Year One approach of giving us a Batman who hasn't quite fleshed out his routine yet. In the early episodes, he makes mistakes in battle and gets clocked more than once which results in a pretty noticeable injury. Anthony Ruivivar is no Kevin Conroy but his Batman sounds right nonetheless. It's his Bruce Wayne that's not quite up to snuff, since there's usually a subtle voice change between the two characters. Still, nothing distracting.

The supporting cast, for the most part, are good as well. The show takes the former MI6 version of Alfred and runs with it, though I'd be lying if I said it would've been stronger if they HADN'T told us about it from the get-go. Lt. Gordon keeps with the Batman: Year One feel in that he doesn't wholly trust Batman at first and even makes a few attempts to arrest him. That and he's Lt. Gordon, not Commissioner Gordon. Katana takes a while to flesh out her character, but eventually the plot allows her to develop a character that is similar but still different from Batman's. If only her costume was the same...

The one character they messed up was Barbara. They took this great female character and turned her into the Barbara Gordon from Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin series: a devoted fangirl who spends just a little too much time thinking about Batman. This is sorted out later when she becomes Oracle (thankfully without taking a bullet to the spine), but not until the post-cancellation episodes.

The villains are a mixed bag. The best of the bunch is Deathstroke, to whom the entire storyline of the post-cancellation season is dedicated. I say he's the best because he'll be involved without you knowing it until you watch the entire arc, after which all the pieces fall into place and you realize just what an awesome villain Glen Murakami made him into. Then again, Glen made him just as awesome in his Teen Titans cartoon, so I think he's just good at it. Second best is Professor Pyg, who's not as violent here as he is in the comics but his professional approach to villainy makes some of his dialog pretty funny to boot. He gets a bit weaker in his final outing in Season 1, mostly due to the generic plot of the episode. For third-placer Anarky, it's the opposite. He starts off as this weak pseudo-Nolan Joker out to spread anarchy and chaos, though in post-cancellation his dialogue's finally ironed out and he becomes engaging, even pairing up with Harvey Dent. Yeah, Harvey Dent's in the series, and I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that he goes bad by the end. In fact, he's pretty much rotten from the get- go, constantly at odds with Batman while being best friends with Bruce Wayne. Tobias Whale is more or less your clichéd crime boss character, and Magpie... Well... I really don't know what to say on Magpie. She's the only reoccurring villain who's rather inconsistent. First she's a mental case (you know, ASIDE from the usual mental cases), then she's a pseudo-Catwoman, then she's a DIFFERENT mental case, and then she's just a prop in the background. Fortunately, there are only a few episodes devoted to her, and then she's sort of forgotten about. I like to think she's replaced by Deathstroke.

I once heard from someone that works on this show that it would be getting a second season, and just as well since Episode 26 ends on not one, not two, but FOUR cliffhangers, two of which involve The Terminator himself. I only hope CN takes it off Toonami and puts it back on the afternoon block where Justice League and previous DC shows once stood. And now that it's been almost a year since its cancellation, might as well wish Bob Kane and Bill Finger would rise from the dead and tell WB to stop mucking up their comic adaptations.

Taking all Batman animated shows, there wasn't any that was actually bad. Yes, The Batman from 2004-2008 was not that good in animation and design but in all was a nice show. So when I saw this going full CGI, and some of the design paths they optioned, I thought this will probably be the first bad animated series about Dark Knight. I was wrong.

I was wrong and I was wrong in the worst way possible because I thought it would be bad based only on animation method and presentation that I actually forgot that Batman's quality, and most of DC stuff generally, isn't actually based in perfect visual design but in characters, stories and the way they are told.

So yeah, it's CGI, and yeah, Batman's cowl and profile looks weird and too much stylized, but that's about bad as it goes. CGI itself is in fact really good, animations and all. It' kinda videogamey, but in a good way. It feels pretty damn fresh. Sure, it could be a bit more detailed and with more filters and effects, and if somehow we ever get the second season (probably never) that would probably be updated. I would really like that DC tries this method again because there is some pretty solid stuff that you can do this way, just need a bit more polish, but they were on a right track.

But I understand that this CGI just wasn't some people's cup of tea. Beside that, overall Batman quality is still there with acting, stories and characters.

Though I guess there are some novelties and oddities around those characters. Whole thing looks a bit more influenced by Batman: Earth One graphic novel than standard Batman comic run. For example, Alfred is a tough ex MI6 agent, not a washed out stage actor and your classical "jeeves" butler. Prof. Pyg is also wildly different as he is not a rambling homicidal psychopath but a gentleman eco-terrorist that loves animals. There are more and some characters are the same as always, some are not. But all in all they are interesting. If I could pick one odd out it would probably be Anarky. He acts too much as provocateur and Joker-like instigator and I personally didn't find that much interesting. Then again, in contrast, Katana was a very interesting, but good, choice for a Batman sidekick.

Directing was pretty good, though "virtual cameras" were sometimes a bit stiff, pan-shots mostly. Voices were cool and music are overall great.

Stories are mostly connected and well thought out, which in turn makes them interesting and engaging for the audience.

Now, this show had a pretty rough season one as far as TV goes. Not even half season and it was dumped into 3AM slot, which is basically bullet in the head, execution style from Cartoon Network that was on. The show itself was mostly kid friendly in the sense that there was no blood and death, but in essence was a bit dark for younger kids. So I guess that didn't help as well. There is still time to get one more season if DC sort their stuff up internally, but it's mid 2015, no one mentioned anything and it's probably canned for good. TAS, The Batman and Brave and the Bold all got at least few seasons of some truly premium Batman goodness, it's a shame that Beware the Batman didn't got the same chance as those previous shows.

This was a great show. Had multiple episodes story arcs. Great voice cast And featured a great array of lesser known but equally intriguing villians. Shame it got canceled so soon. Great series, which is on par with Batman:TAS,as far as morr mature subject matter and great dark stylistic approach to animation...

Beware the Batman is Batman done with computer animation. And there's no Joker, no Riddler, no Bane, no Catwoman, no - significant villains here to be found in this show. However it does bring to light some lesser known Batman villains like Dr Pyg, Toad, Anarchy and it ACTUALLY does have Ra's al Ghul. However the writing doesn't compare to the well-rounded and thought-out dialogue of The Animated Series and the animation is stuck between deciding whether it wants to be like Green Lantern: The Animated Series or something else not Bruce Timm related.

Beware means well in using lesser Batman villains in place of crooks like The Joker, but they're just there to serve singular episodes and that's it; they don't leave any particular impact on Batman in the series and Batman's character doesn't respect the Batman we know to look like: this one has character-design similar to Green Lantern:T.A.S. but rips off the bat-suit from Batman Begins.

The good: this series has some good fight sequences and Batman is still badass as per his status-quo. And the voice-acting is not too shabby.

The bad: doesn't do anything special with its more niche rogue-gallery. It's a gimmick that doesn't really pay off.

The so-so: the animation itself doesn't respect the aesthetic demands of a character with the cultural caliber of Batman.

Good, but not all that amazing.