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"The Adventures of The Dark Deco Knight!"

- W.J. Flywheel, Webporium Curator

BATMAN ANIMATED

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN

The New Adventures of Batman is an animated series produced by Filmation in 1977 featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The current distributor is Warner Bros. Television due to parent company Warner Bros's ownership of DC Comics, which publishes the Batman titles. It is a continuation of the 1960s Batman TV series which had been canceled eight years earlier.

The New Adventures of Batman originally premiered February 10th, 1977 on CBS. The episodes from this series were later aired along with other Filmation shows, such as Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976, CBS) and as part of The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (1977–1978 CBS), Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–1980 CBS), and Batman and the Super 7 (1980–1981 NBC).

In The New Adventures of Batman, the "Dynamic Duo" fights crime in Gotham City, encountering the classic Batman rogues gallery as well as some original villains. Complicating matters is Bat-Mite, a well-meaning imp from another dimension called Ergo, who considers himself Batman's biggest fan. As a result, he wears a variant of Batman’s costume and attempts to help him, only to often create more problems (although he is occasionally an asset). Missing is Alfred, the faithful butler of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne; also notable in this series are the inverted colors of the "R" on Robin's costume.

In September 1968, before The New Adventures of Batman Filmation Associates had created and aired an animated Batman series (pre-Bat-Mite), named The Batman/Superman Hour, for CBS. This series, the first Saturday Morning vehicle for the Caped Crusader, paired up new Batman and Robin adventures with old Superman/Superboy episodes. In 1969, it was repackaged into 30-minute episodes without the Man of Steel and renamed Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder.

The New Adventures of Batman was produced concurrently with Super Friends, which was produced by the competing Hanna-Barbera Productions and included Batman and Robin as members, marking a rare occurrence in animation history which saw two studios simultaneously producing series featuring the same characters. The main distinction was that in Filmation’s series, Batman and Robin were voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward, the lead actors of the 1960s Batman series. Hanna-Barbera's Batman and Robin were voiced by Olan Soule and Casey Kasem, who also voiced the Dynamic Duo for Filmation's 1968 version, The Batman/Superman Hour.

Riddler and the Scarecrow were off limits to the show, as Hanna-Barbera already had the rights to the characters for Challenge of the Superfriends (though Riddler does appear in the opening credits of the show in a pink colored costume, and was mentioned being arrested at the beginning of the episode Deep Freeze). This is also the reason why Joker could not appear in Challenge of the Superfriends, though he was planned as a Legion of Doom member.

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES

Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on the Fox Network from September 5th, 1992 to September 15th, 1995. The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, dark tone, artistic quality, and faithfulness to its title character's crime-fighting origins. The series also won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program.

When the first season of the series aired on weekday afternoons, it lacked an on-screen title in the opening theme sequence (for episode recaps shown at the beginning of the second half of two-part episodes, the narrator would simply say "Previously on Batman..."). When the series' timeslot was moved to weekends during its second season, it was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin. The series was the first in the continuity of the shared DC animated universe, and spawned the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993).

The series took influence from Tim Burton's live-action films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), and the acclaimed Superman theatrical cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940s. In designing the series, Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated Burton's films' "otherworldly timelessness", incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards, police blimps (though no such thing existed, Timm has stated that he found it to fit the show's style) and a "vintage" color scheme with film noir flourishes. In addition, Radomski issued a standing order to the animation department that all backgrounds be painted using light colors on black paper (as opposed to the industry standard of dark colors on white paper). The distinctive visual combination of "noir" imagery and Art Deco design was dubbed "Dark Deco" by the producers.

The series initially took a variation of music written by Danny Elfman for the Burton films as its theme; later episodes of the series used a new theme with a similar style by Shirley Walker (Walker was occasionally Elfman's conductor for films on which they collaborated). The score of the series was influenced by Elfman and Walker's work on the Burton films, as well as music of 1940s film noir.

The series was more adult-oriented than previous superhero cartoons. It was the first such cartoon in years to depict outright physical violence against antagonists (though only one character was depicted as having been shot. Commissioner Gordon, in the episode "I Am the Night", is shown lying unconscious due to a gunshot wound he received offscreen) and one of the first animated shows in years to depict realistic firearms. First-time producers Timm and Radomski reportedly encountered resistance from studio executives, but the success of Burton's first film allowed the embryonic series to survive long enough to produce a pilot episode, "On Leather Wings", which, according to Timm, "got a lot of people off our backs".

The series was also notable for its supporting cast, a number of well-known actors provided voices for various classic villains, most notably Mark Hamill (previously famous for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy), who later found success in voice acting thanks to his "cheerfully deranged" portrayal of the Joker. The recording sessions (under the supervision of voice director Andrea Romano) were recorded with the actors together in one studio (as opposed to industry standard of voice actors recording dialogue separately). This method would later be employed for all subsequent series in the DC animated universe.

One of the series' best-known innovations was the Joker's assistant, Harley Quinn, who became so popular that DC Comics later added her to mainstream Batman comic book continuity. The Penguin underwent change for the series; his appearance was remodeled after the version seen in Batman Returns (though still incorporating classic elements of the character), which was in production simultaneously with the series' first season. New life was also given to lesser-known characters for the series such as the Clock King. In addition, dramatic changes were made to villains such as Clayface and Mr. Freeze. The latter character, for example, was changed from a gimmicky mad scientist to a tragic figure whose frigid exterior hid a doomed love and vindictive fury.

New villains such as Red Claw, Baby-Doll, Kyodai Ken, Tygrus and the Sewer King were invented for the series, but to little acclaim. On the other hand, the Joker's accomplice Harley Quinn, Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya and the vigilante Lock-Up achieved such popularity that they became characters in the comics. Older villains that were lesser known from the comics, such as Count Vertigo, the Mirror Man and the Clock King, were modified for the series in both appearance and personality. The series was also the first to suggest that Harvey Dent had a pre-existing dual personality before becoming Two-Face. This idea came from Alan Burnett, one of the series' producers and head writers.

The Animated Series was accompanied by a tie-in comic book, The Batman Adventures, which followed the art style and continuity of The Animated Series instead of other Batman comic books. The Batman Adventures, through several format changes to reflect the changing world of the series and its spin-offs, outlasted the series itself by nearly a decade, finally being cancelled in 2004 to make way for the tie-in comic of the then-new, unrelated Batman animated series, The Batman. There was also a short-lived series of tie-in novels, adapted from episodes of the series by science fiction author Geary Gravel. To achieve novel-length, Gravel combined several related episodes into a single storyline in each novel.

Aside from creating characters that crossed over into the main line of DC Comics, several of the series' reinterpretations were carried over as well. Mr. Freeze was revised in the comics to emulate the series' tragic story, the success of which actually compelled DC to bring the character back after "killing" him off some years earlier; Clayface was revised to be much more similar in appearance to his animated counterpart; and Two-Face's double-sided, black-and-white suit has become a common appearance for the character.

One of the most noteworthy changes made in The Animated Series was the treatment of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne. In nearly all other media, including the comics, television shows and films, Bruce deliberately plays up his image as a vacuous, self-absorbed and not-too-bright billionaire playboy. In The Animated Series, his character is instead treated more seriously; he is assertive, extremely intelligent, and actively involved in the management of Wayne Enterprises, without jeopardizing his secret identity. Kevin Conroy is notable for being the first person in animation to use two distinct voices to portray Bruce Wayne and Batman, which was his own idea.

Another noteworthy change in the series was the redefining of the original Robin, Dick Grayson. While much of Dick's past remained the same, his Robin costume was updated to a more modern look of the 1990s (with short sleeves and long tights), exactly like Tim Drake's original Robin outfit, but with a non-italicized "R" symbol. In addition, Dick was given a more serious personality to match the tone of the series. The episode "Batgirl Returns" establishes that Dick and Barbara Gordon attend the same college and that they have a mutual romantic attraction to each other, but neither one knows that the other is secretly Robin and/or Batgirl, respectively. Their relationship is one of the plot elements of the film Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.

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THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES

The New Batman Adventures (often shortened as TNBA) is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and is a continuation of the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on The WB Television Network from September 13th, 1997 to January 16, 1999. According to the reference book Batman Animated, series writer Paul Dini originally wanted the new show to be titled Batman: Gotham Knights, but this idea was rejected by the other producers. To better adhere with the prior DVD sets of the original series, the DVD release of this series was titled Batman: The Animated Series - Volume 4 (from The New Batman Adventures) and was given the opening theme from the prior series.

Stories in this series tend to give more focus to Batman's supporting cast, which include fellow crimefighters Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, among others. The show also features guest stars such as Supergirl, Etrigan, and The Creeper; characters who would later appear with Batman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In addition, the series takes place around the same time as Superman: The Animated Series. The 2001 video game Batman: Vengeance and its follow-up Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu are based on this series.

The New Batman Adventures premiered on The WB just two years after Batman: The Animated Series ended its original run on Fox. The animation style was changed significantly from BTAS due to budgetary issues and to have the show more compatible with the smoother Superman: The Animated Series which TNBA would air in tandem with as part of The New Batman/Superman Adventures on The WB. TNBA was later given the same opening theme of BTAS when aired in syndication.

The show had a significant change in focus from the original series, with episodes focusing less on Batman and more on the many characters that inhabited Gotham City. The art became more streamlined and darker with simpler color schemes, while the Art Deco and film noir imagery from the original series were replaced with a much more modern look. Batman was given a sleeker, brawnier appearance with an all-black bat-emblem and a pouch belt instead of a utility belt. His gadgets and vehicles were given a sleeker, redesigned look with a more black color scheme. Bruce Wayne's appearance was also changed from the previous series; his hair was brushed back to highlight his face, with blue eyes instead of black. Kevin Conroy's voice for Batman also became more stern, as well as less distinguishable from his voice for Bruce than in the original series. The writers made an effort to keep the character's dialogue as terse and grim as possible, in order to heighten the contrast between him and the lighthearted supporting cast.

Batgirl's costume was changed to a look similar to her original outfit from her comic debut in Detective Comics #359. Producer Paul Dini said that Batgirl would appear in every episode of the series because "Kenner wants to do a line of toys, we're taking advantage of the publicity from her being in Batman & Robin, and we just love Batgirl." Melissa Gilbert was replaced by Tara Strong as the voice of Batgirl. Strong would reprise her role nearly a decade later in another Batman animated television series Beware the Batman and Strong also reprised her role as Batgirl on the DC Nation short, Super Best Friends Forever.

Tim Drake was introduced as the new Robin in the episode "Sins of the Father". However, Dini remarked that "The Tim Drake origin in the comics as written now didn't work for us with him having a father and living so close to Wayne Manor. It seemed to work fine in the comics, but we needed our own little family unit of Batman, Robin, Batgirl and occasionally Nightwing - and Alfred of course." For these reasons, the production team came up with their own origin for Tim Drake, though they later realized this new origin was extremely similar to Jason Todd's. The new color scheme was simplified to red, black and yellow, eliminating green entirely. The costume retained the familiar red short-sleeved shirt, as well as the black cape with yellow inner lining. New elements included black sleeves, gloves, trunks and boots with red leggings. The familiar domino mask had also changed, giving the new Robin a more wide-eyed, innocent look.

Dick Grayson, having abandoned his Robin persona as a result of a falling out with Batman seen in "Old Wounds", had now adopted the identity of Nightwing. Grayson's build became sleeker, with broader shoulders, showcasing his emergence as a mature hero in his own right. The short spiky hair that Grayson wore as Robin had grown longer, styled to flow down the back of the neck. In his civilian guise, he wore it in a ponytail. As Nightwing, he wore a V-shaped mask and an all-black unitard with light blue hawk emblem that borrowed some elements of the comics version from the 90s. The costume also featured collapsible wings under the arms that allowed Nightwing to glide for short distances.

Commissioner Gordon had slimmed down considerably with shorter hair, giving him an older, more gaunt appearance, and Detective Bullock also gained a drastic change having the toothpick in his mouth removed with short hair, darker clothes and a slightly thinner build.

The designs of villains from his rogues gallery had also changed. The Joker's white skin now had a bluish-gray tinge, while the eyes had their scleras removed, and were replaced by cavernous black spaces with white pupils. The ruby-red lips were gone, focusing more attention on the teeth, and the green-tinged hair now was completely black.

The Riddler retained his green bowler hat, but left behind his purple mask, green sportcoat, gray slacks, black shirt and white tie with purple question mark to don a light green unitard with purple question mark chest emblem, purple slippers and black question mark cane. His red hair was also gone, with the character's head shaved bald. The Penguin was redesigned to match his classic counterpart from the comics, reflecting the character's attempt to appear as a now-legitimate nightclub owner (though he continued to operate covertly as a fence after hours).

Catwoman's costume was revamped to an all black unitard and cowl with spiky cat ears. The haircut was now short and black. Poison Ivy's familiar green strapless swimsuit, gloves, boots and red lipstick were all now black with green highlights, while her red hair became darker, green eyes became paler, and normal skin tone took on a pale gray pallor.

Bane was also given a new look with the blue sections changed to black, the red lenses on his mask becoming more transparent, the mask covering his nose, a spiked collar around his neck, gloves on both hands, the Venom tube's color was changed from white to red and was made a lot more bulkier from the comics.

The color scheme of Mr. Freeze's sub-zero suit abandoned the color scheme of blue, black, gray and purple for just black and silver, while his facial features became noticeably colder and more inhuman, with red eyes replacing the red-lensed goggles. The Scarecrow's new design also took on a more chilling look, as he became a dark, corpse-like figure with a hangman's noose around his neck. Killer Croc was given a new look and a new color scheme with his gray skin and blue pants changed to his green skin and bluish-purple pants, and looks more reptilian-like from the comics.

Harley Quinn, Two-Face and Clayface did not receive any drastic change in appearance or color alterations. Harley Quinn is the only villain aside from the Joker who appeared in six or more episodes. Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia also did not receive any drastic re-designs, although their only appearance during this time was in the episode "The Demon Reborn" from Superman: The Animated Series.

The Kids' WB censors were much more flexible with the content featured in the episodes than the Fox Kids censors were with Batman: The Animated Series. Producer Bruce Timm recounted that "When we were at Fox, after every single storyboard, we would get five single-spaced pages of notes on things we couldn't do. On the WB, we usually get maybe two paragraphs of stuff we can't do. At Fox, they were really picky, not just about things you couldn't do, but just in terms of content and story. They had a million opinions about what we should be doing. Nobody bothers us like that at the WB."

Shortly after The New Batman Adventures aired on Kids' WB, a mini-series set in the continuity of the series was published. In a total of five books, Hilary Bader, Bo Hampton, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge, and Tim Harkins, explained the two-year gap between Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. It explored Dick Grayson's journey after leaving Batman's side, and his path to becoming Nightwing.

On December 6th, 2005, The New Batman Adventures was released onto DVD under the title of Batman: The Animated Series - Volume Four (from The New Batman Adventures) to coincide with the previous three volume DVD sets of Batman: The Animated Series. The series was released a second time on November 4th, 2008 as part of a DVD release entitled Batman: The Complete Animated Series, which contained the episodes of all four volumes that were released in 2004/2005.

Batman: The Animated Series premiered on the Fox Network's children's block Fox Kids on September 5, 1992 and aired in that block during weekday afternoons at 4:30pm. In December, just three months after its debut, Fox also began airing episodes of the series on prime-time Sunday evenings, marking one of the few times a show created for Saturday Morning Television was scheduled for prime-time broadcast. However, the TV ratings fell short (as the show aired opposite the perennial favorite 60 Minutes), and the series was removed from this time slot in March 1993.

After the series produced its 65th episode (the minimum number necessary for a TV series to be successfully syndicated), Fox Network executives ordered a second season of 20 more episodes that was later reduced to airing weekly on Saturday mornings. The second season featured Robin more prominently and, as a result, was retitled The Adventures of Batman & Robin in the title credits; this run of episodes had two new opening sequences and ending credits. In total, Batman: The Animated Series reached 85 episodes before finishing its original run of episodes on September 15th, 1995.

BATMAN BEYOND

Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future in Europe, Latin America, Australia and India) is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy. Depicting teenager Terry McGinnis as a new Batman in a futuristic Gotham City under the tutelage of an elderly Bruce Wayne, the series began airing on January 10th, 1999, and ended its run on December 18th, 2001. After 52 episodes spanning three seasons and one direct-to-video film, the series was put on hold for the Justice League animated series, despite the network having announced plans for a fourth season.

Batman Beyond is set in the chronological future of the DC animated universe (despite being released before Static Shock, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited).

Batman Beyond is said to explore the darker side of many Batman projects, playing on key elements such as emotions, personal relations, fear of the unknown, technological malfunctions, and the disturbing psychological elements of the character of Bruce Wayne. As such, it was considerably darker than most other children's programs at the time, although producer Bruce Timm recalls it was conceived as a kid-friendly Batman cartoon. It is also the first Batman series to portray the hero as a teenager. IGN named the show 40th on their list of "Top 100 Animated TV Series." The premise of Batman Beyond has been used in various comic book stories published by DC Comics, including an ongoing series beginning in 2011.

The pilot episode, titled "Rebirth," initially begins in the year 2019, 20 years after The New Batman Adventures. An aging Bruce Wayne continues his role as Batman in a high-tech Batsuit, having severed his ties with those of his former allies (such as his former sidekicks, the officers and detectives of the Gotham City Police Department, and the Justice League) and enemies who are still alive. In the rescue of a kidnapped heiress, Batman suffers a mild heart attack and, at risk of being beaten to death by one of the kidnappers, is forced to betray a lifelong principle by threatening to use a gun. Ultimately, Bruce reluctantly decides that his time as Batman is over and vows "never again" as he shuts down the Batcave.


The story fast-forwards to 2039 in Neo-Gotham, a futuristic megalopolis featuring staggering high rises and flying vehicles. Bruce is now a recluse living in bitter isolation in Wayne Manor, with no companion but his guard dog Ace. Terry McGinnis is an athletic 17-year-old high school student and reformed troublemaker with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice. Living on poor terms with his father Warren, Terry disobeys his curfew one night to meet up with his girlfriend Dana Tan, only to incur the wrath of a group of the Jokerz gang harassing them. A high-speed motorcycle chase between Terry and the Jokerz leads them to the grounds of Wayne Manor, where they run into the elderly Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Terry fend off the Jokerz side-by-side, but the exertion aggravates Bruce's heart condition. Terry helps Bruce back to the manor and, while exploring the mansion, stumbles upon the entrance to the Batcave, only to be chased out by a recovered and angered Bruce.

Terry returns home to discover that his father has been murdered, apparently by the vengeful Jokerz. Soon after, though, he discovers that his father had stumbled onto information about the production of illegal chemical weapons by the merged Wayne-Powers (Wayne's former company, bought out and run by CEO Derek Powers) and that the man actually responsible for his father's murder is Mr. Fixx, Power's bodyguard. Terry goes to Bruce for help, but Bruce refuses, feeling he is too old and too weak to be of any use. Terry then "borrows" the Batsuit, intending to bring Powers to justice. Bruce initially opposes all of Terry's efforts and vehemently demands he return the suit (at one point even paralyzing the suit while Terry is wearing it in the midst of a fight), but Terry convinces Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle, partially by drawing on the fact they both lost a parent to criminals, and subsequently defeats Mr. Fixx. Realizing that crime and corruption are running rampant in Gotham without Batman's presence, Bruce offers Terry the chance to assume the role of Batman.


Terry's Batman soon develops his own rogues gallery, with both new villains (Powers' irradiated alter-ego, Blight; seductive shape-shifter Inque; hypnotist Spellbinder; sound weaponizer Shriek; deadly assassin Curare; insane terrorist Mad Stan; cybernetically-enhanced African big game hunter Stalker; nerdy psychokinetic Willie Watt; a new version of the Royal Flush Gang) as well as some of his mentor's old foes (a rejuvenated Mr. Freeze; Bane's strength-enhancing Venom substance reborn as slap-on patches; the longevous Ra's al Ghul; and, almost inevitably, the Joker himself).

Terry also makes allies in Neo-Gotham, such as the 17-year-old computer genius Maxine "Max" Gibson, who discovers Batman's secret identity and helps Terry with everything from computer hacking to babysitting, and police commissioner Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl who is unhappy about another person following in Bruce's dark and dangerous steps (though she admits the city needs Batman and that Terry could not be deterred from being Batman any more than she could have been from being Batgirl).

In the third season of Batman Beyond, a two-part story entitled "The Call" featured (for the first time) the futuristic Justice League, a springboard for Bruce Timm's next series Justice League. The setting and characters of Batman Beyond were also briefly revived in 2004 for an episode of Static Shock in which Static is accidentally transported 40 years into the future.

Justice League Unlimited revisited the world of Batman Beyond twice in 2005, first in the first season finale, which featured Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern being transported 50 years into the future to stop a time-travelling villain with the help of the future Justice League (Terry as Batman, a future Static and Warhawk). The second time occurred during the second season finale, where Terry McGinnis's true origin is learned in a story meant to be the de facto series finale for Batman Beyond.


The Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", the unofficial series finale, reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry's biological father. The story, set fifteen years after Terry became the new Batman, grows out of Bruce's kidneys failing and doctors needing a tissue donor to clone him new ones. When Terry shows a perfect histocompatible match with Bruce, he becomes suspicious and has a DNA test run on himself, which shows half of his DNA is from Bruce. Terry confronts Bruce and accuses him of orchestrating the whole thing, possibly using old Cadmus nanotechnology to rewrite his genes to match Bruce's, similar to what the Joker did to Tim Drake. Terry tracks down government agent Amanda Waller, who reveals his origins to him.

She explains through flashbacks that, even though she trusted and respected Batman, she was aware of him growing older and slower. Finding the idea of a world without Batman unacceptable, Walker used her Cadmus connections to gather the technology for "Project Batman Beyond", whose goal was to literally create a new Batman, starting with a collected sample of Bruce's DNA. After finding a young Neo-Gotham couple, the McGinnis', with psychological profiles nearly identical to those of Bruce's parents, a nanotech solution was injected into Warren McGinnis to rewrite his reproductive material into an exact copy of Bruce's. The result was, a little over a year later, Mary McGinnis giving birth to Terry, a child biologically the son of his mother and Bruce.


When Terry was 8 years old, Waller employed an elderly Andrea Beaumont (the enigmatic killer from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Bruce's first love) as an assassin to kill Terry's family, hoping the trauma would put him on the path to becoming Batman. However, Beaumont could not commit the act, arguing that Batman would never resort to murder to achieve his goals. Waller eventually conceded that Beaumont had been right and made no further attempts to push Terry into becoming Batman. Waller reminds Terry that he is Bruce's son, not his clone, and that despite his genetics, he still has free will and makes his own choice in becoming Batman.

Whether Bruce was the genetic father of Terry's younger brother Matt as well was not clearly established in-story, as nothing was stated as to the longevity of the alterations made to Warren McGinnis; however, the series' creators have said that this is the case.

Batman Beyond spun off an animated series called The Zeta Project, featuring a revamped version of the synthoid Zeta from the Batman Beyond episode "Zeta." Batman would guest-star in the episode "Shadows." The supervillain Stalker was to have appeared in The Zeta Project episode "Taffy Time," but did not make it. The second season episode "Ro's Gift" has an appearance made by the Brain Trust from the Batman Beyond episode "Mind Games." Terry McGinnis/Batman was originally slated to appear in this episode as well, but was cut since Bruce Timm and company were working on Justice League.

A direct-to-video feature film, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, was released on December 12th, 2000. The original release was censored for elements of violence and death, though a second, uncensored version was later released.

Among the live-action films proposed between the critical failure of Batman & Robin and the reboot of the Batman franchise was a live-action Batman Beyond feature, to be written by Paul Dini. In August 2000, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing a live action film adaptation of the TV series Batman Beyond with Boaz Yakin attached to co-write and direct. The TV series' creators, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, were hired to write a screenplay for the feature film, with author Neal Stephenson consulting the duo. By July 2001, a first draft was turned in to the studio, and the writers were waiting to see if a rewrite would be needed. The studio, also exploring other takes of Batman in development, eventually placed Batman Beyond on hold in August 2001. On July 18th, 2013, according to Warner Bros. the new Batman movie (reboot which is coming after 2015) might be the Batman Beyond live action movie or a Justice League film.

While the idea of Batman Beyond seemed as if it was "not a proper continuation of the legacy of the Dark Knight", it gathered acclaim after its release. The show was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, two of which it won in 2001 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Music Direction and Composition. In addition, the show was nominated for five Annie Awards and won two of those nominations in 1999 and 2001.

THE BATMAN

The Batman is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. It ran from September 11th, 2004 to March 22nd, 2008, on the Saturday morning television block Kids' WB.

Although the series borrows many elements from previous Batman storylines, it does not follow the continuity set by the comic books, the film series, nor that of Batman: The Animated Series and its spin-offs. The character designs were provided by Jackie Chan Adventures artist Jeff Matsuda; he also directed the ending. The series won six Daytime Emmy Awards.

In the first season of The Batman, Bruce Wayne, (voiced by Rino Romano), is 26 years old, and has been the Batman, protector of Gotham City, for three years, (before his existence was publicly confirmed in the first episode). Along with a secret Batcave, high tech Batmobile, and supercomputer, called the Bat-Wave, he has his trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan), who guides both Bruce Wayne and The Batman when needed. Other characters include Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steven Harris), a cop who believes The Batman is needed in Gotham, and at odds with Chief Angel Rojas (voiced by Edward James Olmos in his initial appearance, Jesse Corti in all his subsequent appearances), who has no room for vigilantes, and Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na), Bennett's partner who is torn between her belief in law and order and her personal feelings toward the Batman. Both Bennett and Yin are charged with capturing the Batman throughout Season 1. Adam West, who played The Batman in the 1960s The Batman TV series, provides the voice for Gotham’s Mayor, Marion Grange, for the first four seasons. West is also provides the voice of Mayor Adam West (no relation) in the popular Family Guy series.

While crime in Gotham is at an all time low, new foes emerge and The Batman confronts his rogues gallery for the first time. The first season featured new interpretations of The Batman's villains such as Rupert Thorne (voiced by Victor Brandt), The Joker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), The Penguin (voiced by Tom Kenny), Catwoman (voiced by Gina Gershon), Mr. Freeze (voiced by Clancy Brown), Firefly (voiced by Jason Marsden), Ventriloquist and Scarface (voiced by Dan Castellaneta, AKA Homer Simpson), Man-Bat (voiced by Peter MacNicol), Cluemaster (voiced by Glenn Shadix), and Bane (voiced by Joaquim de Almeida in the first appearance, Ron Perlman in the second).

At the end of Season 1, Ethan Bennett turned into Clayface after being tortured and mutated by the Joker. At that time, Yin changes her view on the Batman and, from that point on, the two become allies.

Season 2 introduced more villains: Riddler (voiced by Robert Englund), Hugo Strange (voiced by Frank Gorshin, replaced by Richard Green after Gorshin's death), Rag Doll (voiced by Jeff Bennett), Spellbinder (voiced by Michael Massee), Killer Croc (voiced by Ron Perlman), and Solomon Grundy (voiced by Kevin Grevioux). At the end of this season, Yin is found out to have been working with The Batman. At the same time, another main character to the Batman mythos, Commissioner James Gordon (voiced by Mitch Pileggi) is introduced, along with the Bat-Signal. Yin and Chief Angel Rojas make their final appearances in the season finale.

Season 3 introduced a young Barbara Gordon, who becomes Batgirl (voiced by Danielle Judovits) and plays a major role along with her father. Barbara tries to be The Batman's sidekick, but he refuses to accept the need for a partner until the end of the season. This differed from the comics, in which Robin was The Batman's first sidekick; this was due to the Teen Titans animated series using the character, limiting his ability to appear in other shows.

Several villains are introduced this season: Poison Ivy (voiced by Piera Coppola), a different version of Gearhead (voiced by Will Friedle), Maxie Zeus (voiced by Phil LaMarr), Toymaker (voiced by Patton Oswalt), Prank (voiced by Michael Reisz), Temblor (voiced by Jim Cummings) and D.A.V.E. (voiced Jeff Bennett).

Season 3 is ended with Strange becoming one of The Batman's enemies. In "A Fistful of Felt", The Batman discovers that Strange had turned the Ventriloquist, who had been cured of his multiple personality disorder, back into a criminal. In "Gotham's Ultimate Criminal Mastermind", the season finale to Season 3, Strange is brought to justice and becomes a patient in Arkham Asylum. In Season 4's "Strange New World", it is revealed that Strange went to Arkham only so he could come up with new schemes.

This season changed the series' theme music, swapping the original theme, performed by The Edge, for a lighter, 1960s-esque theme.

Season 4 featured a redesign to Bruce Wayne, with a stronger facial and chin structure, making him reminiscent of the DC animated universe Batman design.


Dick Grayson as Robin (voiced by Evan Sabara) was introduced into the show, as the Teen Titans animated series had been cancelled early in the year before this season started. Batgirl is now part of the team and found out the secret identities of both The Batman and Robin, and Lucius Fox (voiced by Louis Gossett Jr.) is introduced in the season finale.

More villains appeared, such as Tony Zucco (voiced by Mark Hamill, who voiced the Joker in the DC animated universe), Killer Moth (voiced by Jeff Bennett), Black Mask (voiced by James Remar), Rumor (voiced by Ron Perlman), Everywhere Man (voiced by Brandon Routh), Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Walch), Francis Grey (voiced by Dave Foley), and the Basil Karlo version of Clayface (voiced by Wallace Langham in the first appearance, Lex Lang in the second appearance). In his final appearance, Ethan Bennett, the first Clayface, is redeemed and cured of his condition.

One of the highlights of Season 4 was "Artifacts", an episode describing a possible future, that had elements from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Set in 2027, with the main storyline in 3027, it features a wheelchair-using Barbara Gordon as Oracle (voiced by Kellie Martin), Dick Grayson as Nightwing (voiced by Jerry O'Connell), with both The Batman and the Batmobile resembling the versions in Miller's series.

The season finale featured an alien invasion by entities called "The Joining", and another superhero from the DC Universe; Martian Manhunter/J'onn J'onzz (voiced by Dorian Harewood). In this episode, J'onn brings The Batman to a Hall of Justice Watchtower orbiting the Earth where he introduces him to Hawkman, Green Arrow, Flash, and Green Lantern as part of the Justice League of America.

This season also marks the departure of Jeff Matsuda and Michael Jelenic from the show.

The fifth and final season was said by producer Alan Burnett to be the show's "The Brave and the Bold season." This season primarily focused on the Dynamic Duo (The Batman and Robin) teaming up with members of the Justice League. Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon were dropped from the show as main characters, and only appeared rarely as guests or cameos. In Batgirl's case, this is because she has graduated from high school and is attending college ("Attack of the Terrible Trio").

In the season's first episode, The Batman teams up with Superman (voiced by George Newbern). Besides Martian Manhunter, other team-ups for the season included Green Arrow (voiced by Chris Hardwick), Flash (voiced by Charlie Schlatter), Green Lantern (voiced by Dermot Mulroney), and Hawkman (voiced by Robert Patrick). The series finale features the entire Justice League.

Villains for this particular season were a combination of rogues from the superheroes appearing on the show with some of the Batman villains. Villains include Lex Luthor (voiced by Clancy Brown), Mercy Graves (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo), Metallo (voiced by Lex Lang), Count Vertigo (voiced by Greg Ellis), The Wrath (voiced by Christopher Gorham), Toyman (voiced by Richard Green), Shadow Thief (voiced by Diedrich Bader), Sinestro (voiced by Miguel Ferrer), Mirror Master (voiced by John Larroquette), and the Terrible Trio (voiced by David Faustino, Grey DeLisle, and Googy Gress). Also, Firefly becomes Phosphorus. The Joining returns in the finale in alliance with Hugo Strange. The final episode was a 40-minute movie, featuring all the members of the Justice League who have made an appearance in the show.

The seemingly clean-cut and straight-laced Dr. Jonathan Crane becomes what Batman villian in Batman Begins?

Scarecrow
Joker
Riddler
Penguin

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