Batman - Year One

@AlphawolfX

I highly suggest you also check out Batman: Gotham Knight and Batman: Under the Red Hood if you want a dark, serious Batman animated film.

Back on topic, though: Couldn't agree more with you and LaughingMan. It's mystifying how everything that Batman: The Animated Series has done for Batman (yeah, Burton's movies might've started the trend, but it was no doubt the animated series that solidified the image of a dark, serious Batman) is being destroyed right in front of our very own eyes. First there was that godawful 2004 WBkids schlock where Batman listened to techno and drove a sports car, and now there's this crap.

Look, I know that they're making this show as a tribute to the Silver Age of comics, but here's my question: Who now remembers the said age? Hell, wasn't Batman: TAS created to erase people's memories of the Silver Age bullshit like the Super Friends? What baffles me more is that no one — and I mean no one — at Warners Brothers at some point said the following: "Hey, you know, The Dark Knight is doing really good in the box office and amongst both the critics and the Batman fans; same thing with that recent 'Arkham Asylum' game... You know, maybe it's a sign that the audience wants a dark, serious Batman animated series, so how about we cancel this shit and start working on a series that would continue the legacy of Nolan films, just like the original TAS continued Burton's?"

I mean, just look at all the recent direct-to-video films that are based on serious, tragic Batman stories like 'Under the Rood Hood" — not only are they well-written, have solid animation and voice acting, but they also do justice to the character. Now take a look at 'The Brave and the Bold'. Yeah...

Actually guys, I do have good news. After brave and the bold, they're making a brand new batman series that returns it to it's darker roots. I don't mean crappy 'the batman' style either, I'm talking proper BTAS possible paul dini style. He's already working on Ultimate spider man and they're spreading him out amongst projects. Needless to say TAS was my bread and butter for years, so i'm really looking forward to what they come up with.

I will defend brave and the bold a little bit. When I was a kid I would watch Batman, the animated series version and the adam west show back to back, and I could not tell that either of them were not the same batman. Sure, I was fully aware that they were different in being live action and animation, but I always assumed they were one and the same. These days, I still enjoy watching both. I think the camp version of batman is just so fun and yet so true to the character in an entirely different way. Brave and the Bold is a tribute to the dick sprang style of Batman, and it's no less true to the history or image of batman than TAS. From what I can gather working on something like BATB is quite liberating, and people enjoy it for the same reason they enjoy My little pony- friendship is magic. Also, there's a big difference between a classic like the adam west movie, and the absolute shit that is the schumacher films. Goddamn ice puns.

But I do have much more pressing gripes with batman BATB. Mainly the fact it has to shoehorn in the rest of the DC universe. I get why, they're trying to generate interest with a new audience of children, and it's doing wonders on my younger cousin. But jesus, blue beetle? Elongated man? There's a reason we forgot about some heroes and let Batman take centre stage.

I think with Arkham city coming out soon (which I feel is the true sequel to the animated series) and Nolans new flick next year, we've got our fix of classic batman. BATB is allowed at this stage to co-exist in the same bat-world right now.

Plus TBATB did allow Jonah Hex to get some spotlight. That man is a bonafied badass.

I actually watched the Batman Movie (the Adam West one) last night and I face palmed so many times that I almost broke my nose and I think I've lost memories from my childhood. It's campy, it's goofy, and while it is a little fun to watch, it's like watching a Batman mockbuster.

Clue: "What has yellow skin and writes."
Me: "A pencil...?"
Robin: "A ball-point banana!"

*facepalm*

To clear my head I actually did what B-Mask had done and I watched an episode of Batman: TAS, specifically the first Mad Hatter episode which is one of my personal favorites (Synopsis: goofy neurologist obsessed with Alice in Wonderland wants to impress a girl named Alice, can't impress her, she goes back to her ex, he uses his mind control device to stage a breakup, things get progressively worse until the Hatter's gone over the deep end at the end he loses Alice and, realizing what he's done, quotes the Mock Turtle: "Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance...")

See, to me Batman: TAS not only has style but also oodles of substance. Some of the best episodes, such as the award winning "Heart of Ice" starring Mr. Freeze are not only great to watch, but are also emotionally DEVASTATING, devastating to the point where (like any proper story) you are left physically and mentally reeling from what you've just experienced.

And that's what I think makes for the best Batman interpretations. Under the Red Hood was not only very dark, but it was tragic and unnerving (Joker setting a shipping container full of people on fire); Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker may not have had a logical climax, but the back story of how the Joker tortured and warped Robin into an insane image of himself was so disturbing that it made the resolution of the entire film more powerful; The Mark of the Phantasm is one of my personal favorites because not only is it a movie adaptation of Batman: TAS, but it showed a new side of Bruce Wayne who almost didn't become Batman because of a woman he fell in love with, and ultimately lost. The recent Batman movies (Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight) play with moral ambiguity, blurring the lines of right and wrong and makes you second guess your own moral standards.

The one thing that I admire about the Batman universe is that both Batman and the villains are essentially normal people; no alien homeworlds, very few superhuman abilities, very very little magic. For the most part, the core character roster are normal people driven to extremes, and it's far more interesting to watch how Bruce Wayne, a normal person, was driven by tragedy to become Batman, and how characters like Joker, Scarecrow, and The Mad Hatter were just normal people who were driven insane by tragedies and became homicidal maniacs.

That's called character development, and with great character development comes great stories.

Looking back at Adam West's version of Batman, it's corny, but it's also an empty experience in comparison. The villains dance and giggle maniacally as they plan death traps with exploding sharks apparently for nothing more than the shits and giggles and the triumph over Batman. Batman exists within the law, holding press conferences and being admired and supported by the police and the citizens. Robin is annoying as fuck, but that's never changed.

My biggest problem is that the characters were all completely 2D. Criminals are bad just to be bad, and Batman and Robin are the only two people in the entire world who can straighten shit out. I'd rather see a Batman that has to fight crime and contend with being a criminal himself, all while being tortured by his childhood tragedy. I'd rather see a "Killing Joke" version of the Joker where he is a complex character who was driven so far over the edge by "one bad day" that he can't even remember his own past, let alone really control his own actions.

Hopefully I'll see more of the Batman storytelling that I like in Batman: Year One.

Well with Bruce's films I have never been disappointed. And I'm always happily proven wrong when its never the same cast from TAS.

The stories are always awesome and wonderful, for me, to the point when it ends youre like "ahhh FUCK!! >< Show more!! Show more damm it!!!"

And even though there seems to be a different animation style for each one, it always seems to work... though I must admit the character designs for Public Enemies is like "W..T...F...?!"

Really? That's fucking awesome!

That is, of course, if they stick with the stylish, 2D style of animation like TAS and the recent feature-lenght animated flicks, and don't go the same rode as that upcoming 3D Green Lantern malarkey...


Want to hear something funny? There are actually some Batman mockbusters. Want to hear something sad? They make as much sense, if not even more, than the actual Adam West series...


You know, at times I wonder if we weren't separated at birth or something (you know, despite the fact that you're minimum nine years older than me), 'cos, once again, I couldn't agree more! To me, what always made Batman so great is that if you strip away all the fancy gadgets and bat symbolics, you'll see that Bruce Wayne is actually a flawed, tragic character. He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider or discovered some mystical ancient artifact that basically turned him into a demigod and decided to fight crime just for shits and giggles.

No, the reason why Bruce Wayne risks him life every night is 'cos he knows that he's the only one who can do it. Now, I know what your thinking: Isn't the DC Universe filled with superheroes? Yes. Yes, it is. However, ask yourself: How many time do you see, say, Superman or any other super powered remnant of the Golden Age fight actual crime, and not some flamboyant Scooby-Doo villain is a gimp suit? Thought so. Same thing with the villains — they're not evil just 'cos they're written that way. More often than not, they have a reason. Hell, I'll admit that in some cases, I actually felt sorry for them! I mean, take for instance Mr. Freeze. He doesn't want all that money or respect amongst the Gotham underground; he only wants to save his wife. Think about it: How often do you symphatize to the villain more than you do the hero? Thought so.

P.S. As for Batman: Year One, trust me, LaughingMan, if the film keeps faithful to the original source material, you're gonna love it! There are no quirky sidekicks, no annoying Justice League to babysit — just Batman taking down the Gotham underworld figures one by one, as well as making an image for himself (i.e., the best kind of Batman stories).

Oh I'm sure you two are brothers from a different mother! Wouldnt surprise me in the least. Off the top of my head I cant recall you disagreeing about much if anything at all lol



Speakin of which, not to change the subject, just a quick response. What DID you think of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series that Timm and i think Dini did on CN?

@Cinemax- me too, the green lantern cartoon looks like complete ass. I think it's either to do with them being really cheap on the budget or bruce overstepping himself. Either way, it looks absolutely terrible.

As for substance in batman...I would go as far to say that the adam west show does have the same kind of substance, even if it's played for laughs. They never played the show as if they were making fun of the characters, they took these characters very seriously and never showed themselves thinking 'jesus, I'm dressed like a flasher out to stalk some kids.' It's a testament to their conviction as actors to take those kind of roles seriously.

The adam west show was also the show to make TAS possible. It was also the show to actually do something with the villains. Just take the riddler- before the adam west show he was a lame duck who didn't really do much, just give out riddles and giggle. But on the show? They really brought it into a new dimension by giving the part to frank gorshin. He gives it an extra dimension that we just hadn't seen before. Watch him next time one of the episodes re-runs- he's not only certifiably insane and in character, he spends a lot of it adding his own touches and adding some pretty contrasting sinister undertones to his performance.

Another reason the show worked/works is because we see flaws that could actually fly in any version of batman. I saw one brilliant episode recently where Burt Ward had to try and be a 'hip, happening teenager'. Not only was it hilarious to see a very straight laced robin try and be something he's not, it's something the real character of robin stuggles with. And the great thing is you can play it both ways. There's been episodes where robin has gotten frustrated at his posistion in numerous episodes of other incarnations of batman- I don't think that feeling would matter as much if it weren't for the abject humiliation he went through in the adam west years. And yet, their mutual respect is something that is almost as true in the camp show as it was in TAS.

I mean it wasn't any different to watching the marx bros or chaplin or even the great race- we got to watch a bunch of adults running round enjoying being evil or good. And that's a pretty deep sentiment when you consider it. It's the idea that they might like what they do because it's fun- and for no reason other than that! To me, that's actually a really powerful idea that has actually been the main dichotomy between batman and the joker- do they fight to the death because it's the right thing for either side, or because they love the chase? You wouldn't have gotten that dichotomy without the adam west show, and they wouldn't have gotten it without the sherlock holmes stories when they did the same thing.

BUT I don't want to make it sound like I dislike TAS. As far as I'm concerned the animated series is THE quintessential batman. We see more formed reasons to why these guys do what they do, why costumes and identities become a necessity, but also why they might exist at all. It's ironic that the animated show is just so much more realistic than the live action movies and shows before and after it. It's no secret that everything after it, even DC, takes it's cues from the series, because lets face it, you don't meddle with perfection. I still think the clayface episode (feat of clay) is one of the most perfect pieces of cinema I have ever seen, and Laughingman's reasons for why the series itself work are in my opinion absolutely spot on.

I just don't think the adam west interpretation is any less valid. It's the reason TAS exists at all, and most of the TAS guys were fans of it too. One simply doesn't exist without the other.

It's not to say that batman should only be one or the other either. That's why he's so special- he's meant many different things to just about every person in existence.

@B-Mask

How poetic of you, lol

I have seen the Adam West batman movie and I'm sure at some point the actual series. I like it BECAUSE of the campiness of it, but also remember the era when teh show was originally created and aired, different rules and wants for different times in cinema and television history my friends.

The 60's television era was what?! Mostly happy family shows. With Ma, Pa, Timmy and Lassie all hanging out with grins bigger than the Joker could pull off. And I think the writers and actors knew the show was silly at times and thats what made it fun if not appealing to them to do the show. Who doesn't like acting over the top?! Besides the Adam West film had two of the most epic things ever!!




and



He has a SHARK half way up his leg and the man doesn't even flinch!!! That is epic bad-assness!!!!


I look back at all the variations of Batman from the livation shows, filma dn animated sereis (which rules over all!!!) and I think to myself who is the better, Batman, Joker, etc and honestly they all work. It sounds so contradicting seein how basically its like comparing night and day with how different the character is portrayed.

But really in a sense, I feel, they ALL are part of the same character, it feels more just like 1 or 2 aspects are being shown more than the character as a whole. Make sense?!

@B-Mask: You actually bring up some good points that I noticed but never mentioned in regards to the Adam West Batman. The actors, while playing corny roles, look like they're all having a ton of fun. I remember watching Batman Forever and Jim Carrey's Riddler being an obvious interpretation of Frank Gorshin's performance as a genuinely insane super genius. Does this mean that I like The Riddler to be like Frank Gorshin and not a death trap setting psychopath akin to Jigsaw from the SAW series? No, I like the deeply psychotic version better, but Frank Gorshin is no less entertaining to watch. Other actors such as the immortal Burgess Meredith (Penguin) look like they're having a ton of fun with their characters, and even horror icon Vincent Price (Egghead) said that the set of Batman was one of the funnest experiences he'd ever been a part of. And I can admire that.

Another thing that I realized about the Adam West Batman was that the film is actually somewhat self-aware of its camp value. For instance, the scene where Joker, Riddler, Catwoman and a henchmen pirate named Bluebeard were watching Batman's "demise" through a 4-way para-scope, Catwoman is flamboyantly purring like a pissed off pussy:

Catwoman peers through para-scope: "Prrrrrrrrr meowwwwwwwwwww ggggggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...."
Bluebeard Pirate looks away from the para-scope and at her with the biggest "WTF is that piece of pussy doing?!" look on his face.

Little stuff like that is entertaining as hell to me but the movie is still one facepalm after another because, after being exposed to the 'dark and hardcore' Batmans, it's absolutely absurd and almost jarring in comparison.