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Trailer released for Bruce Timm's new Batman animated series. Didn't know it was going to be on Amazon Prime and not Max.

Gonna miss Kevin Conroy but so far looks promising, Bruce Timm has been involved for some of the better direct to video DC animated movies (mainly Gods and Monsters and Under the Red Hood) but there's been some duds too like the adaptation of the Killing Joke and Batman and Harley Quinn, so let's hope it's more of the former.

Very excited for this.

Batman The Animated Series is of course undeniably superb, and I’ve droned on about that before.

That this shares DNA, and may even be a prequel to that? How can I not tune in.

Looks good! I like that they're going with a 30's aesthetic.

Surprised by the lack of The Joker in the trailer, I think he gets overused, but people tend to want anything Batman to be crammed full of Joker.

 Grimskul wrote:
Gonna miss Kevin Conroy but so far looks promising, Bruce Timm has been involved for some of the better direct to video DC animated movies (mainly Gods and Monsters and Under the Red Hood) but there's been some duds too like the adaptation of the Killing Joke and Batman and Harley Quinn, so let's hope it's more of the former.

It tends to directly depend on how much he's using it to insist Batman has a relationship with his best friend's daughter.

 LunarSol wrote:

 Grimskul wrote:
Gonna miss Kevin Conroy but so far looks promising, Bruce Timm has been involved for some of the better direct to video DC animated movies (mainly Gods and Monsters and Under the Red Hood) but there's been some duds too like the adaptation of the Killing Joke and Batman and Harley Quinn, so let's hope it's more of the former.

It tends to directly depend on how much he's using it to insist Batman has a relationship with his best friend's daughter.

Yeaaaaah, that part of the original DCAU was the sore thumb that stood out a lot, particularly in Batman Beyond once it was confirmed by Barbara herself and in the Batwoman movie. Especially when you have the Bruce Wayne Rizz to have someone like Wonder Woman and Zatanna instead.

Missed this but I do love the throwbacks the BTAS in this. Hopefully it's pretty good too. Animation has felt so dry and I feel like the last good Batman series (for me at least) was The Batman. Brave and Bold wasn't really my style.

But a throwback to BTAS?

I'm down.

 aku-chan wrote:
Looks good! I like that they're going with a 30's aesthetic.

Surprised by the lack of The Joker in the trailer, I think he gets overused, but people tend to want anything Batman to be crammed full of Joker.

There were two guys who clearly got hit with joker gas.

It was a serious knock against Beware the Batman imo that they chose to focus on obscure villains and ignore the more famous ones. A bold choice I give them, but Batman's popularity I think hinges a lot on his great cast of villains.

Ten episodes dropped today; It's good so far. Not BTAS good but I don't think we can expect that. But good.

The show takes an interesting angle focusing as much if not more on characters besides Batman in the first 2 episodes.

Sweet Gordon (can't tell if she's supposed to be a stand in for Barbara or a separate character) the defense attorney is the co-star of the first episode and Detective Montoya the second. They make it work imo but people who want a Batman show to be predominantly about Batman might dislike the way the story splits focus.

Not sure if that's supposed to be the norm for the show going forward or just a way to introduce the cast at large yet.

The animation is a nice mix of BTAS and Year One if you've seen the animated film. Character designs aren't all hits but they're at least interesting. Visually I enjoy that the series stands out from other animated features by mixing old-school DCAU style with newer styles designs. Even the misses (Catwoman is... eh) are at least memorable.

EDIT: Catwoman's visual design is meh, but I gotta say. This version of the character is very entertaining, especially in how they make her a foil to Batman/Bruce Wayne complete with her own sarcastic Alfred XD

Yeah. The first 2 episodes are solid, but it's episode 3. Episode three is when this series goes from being good to feeling like the start of a great Batman series.

 LordofHats wrote:
Ten episodes dropped today

Ah. I wasn't sure if it was going to be one episode a week or a binge drop of episodes.

Binged the 10, and I think it's pretty good.

Some episodes are better than others, but I like the energy. This season kind of builds like the prologue to a longer show and I hope we get a few more seasons to carry it.

I like the style of the show as an ensemble cast series and I wouldn't mind if they kept it that way. Same time, I do think Bruce Wayne could use a little more screen and character time. That was something that I think really helped BTAS stand out. It understood the dynamic between Wayne and Batman, which is a similar dynamic issue that Superman often suffers from.

Still. I give the season a solid 8/10 and I'll watch another.

I’m loving this show, but am struggling to describe it.

It’s the same palette, aesthetic and feel as The Animated Series. But, it’s not a Kids Show. It is largely child friendly, but the writing is more…mature, I guess? In the good meaning, not the “we put boobs and swears in cos we is matyooa”.

Only two episodes in but I'm enjoying it so far.

I wonder how much Penguin must spend on suitcases?

Has to be at least 3p.

Unless, like Peter Parker, Penguin won a lifetimes supply in a competition?

Huh, they really went to town on the character redesigns/reimaginings, didn’t they?

As did Batman The Animated Series.

I’ve finished watching, and I really enjoyed it.

As said before, this isn’t a kid’s show. People die, but not graphically. The sort “been shot, no blood, but we won’t be seeing them again” type stuff.

But the mood of the show really works for me. We’ve a Batman finding his feet, and figuring out just how narrow the line he walks is. To the point it could almost be B:TAS Batman used to cartoon physics suddenly encountering Real World Physics, and that actions have consequences.

Absolutely wonderful stuff in my book.

Saw some previews while watching other stuff and my wife says, "Let's watch that next."

Who am I to argue?

Cat Woman is fun.

4 Episodes in. Some interesting twists.

I really like how they do not bother telling you much about Batman, they just get into it. Refreshing in a way.

This is very clearly about the ensemble, it is a snapshot of Gotham's history.

They give you snippets, glimpses of Batman’s backstory here and there. Like it’s a mystery that’s slowly revealed to you. It’s quaint.

I think the show could afford a little more.

A big part of what made BTAS such a standout was how often it emphasized Batman's essential humanity. That he was a broken man, but one who held fast to the essential empathy that is necessary to be a good person. He'll beat up muggers and bank robbers sure, but Batman at his core is someone who understands what leads people to be broken inside and he'll stop them as necessary but he understands them. This sort of unspoken understanding is a big part imo of what makes the Killing Joke such a longstanding comic. It is all about how Batman and Joker, under all their rivalry and animosity, are two sides of a coin and they know it.

There were touches of it in the show but I think the balance could use just a bit more.

I think that's kind of the point in this though. It's Year One Batman who isn't the ally of the GCPD and is doing his thing out of anger and a need for vengeance alone.
This Batman hasn't matured enough to be the hero of Gotham.

Four episodes in and I'm still enjoying this somewhat darker take, but I do miss the sympathetic villains that TAS did so well.

Curious to see if all the name dropping ends up being more than nerd bait.
Going to try and finish it up over the weekend.

...And finished.
I like their sheer commitment to doing things their own way, but overall I didn't like the second half as much as the first, I felt they really rushed the Harvey Dent stuff, it was still pretty decent though.

Finished as well.

We get some Bat-char dev, which is nice. Still, they keep the Batman origins mostly off-screen, which is a huge benefit to the show.

Surprised the number of peeps that get killed off on screen. I guess older folks are the target audience?

It definitely feels like the show wants to appeal to old BTAS fans, and anyone who grew up on BTAS has to at least be in their 30s now.

Yeah I’d mostly agree with that.

But, BTAS is still well regarded for good reason. Well written, decently animated, fantastic voice cast. To the point I’m pretty certain anyone with even a passing interest in comic book heroes would consider it well above par.

I mean BTAS came out in 92' and spawned a whole universe of shows with the last project for it being released in 2019.

They've all had a lot of re-runs across various networks since the 90s and have been on streaming services for the last decade as well. Throw in the fact that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were the go-to VAs for Batman and Joker for a load of different projects including the Arkham game series and it's pretty easy to get into it.

Watched up thru episode 5 now.

 AduroT wrote:
Watched up thru episode 5 now.

Spoiler:

Not sure I like this version of Harley. Not really at all crazy or chaotic. Instead relies on weaponizing her psychiatry. Still wearing the outfit then feels out of new character and kind of inexplicable. I did chuckle at the Pudd’n reference though.

She seems like a combination Harley and Hugo Strange.

I imagine we'll see her again in Season 2 with the teaser at the end of 1. Then we'll see where they go with her.

It's interesting here cause the guy behind this show is the guy behind BTAS, which is the show that introduced Harley. If anyone has a right to reinvent and tread new ground for a character, its the original creator.