[usiel]

Something that had been bugging me so I finally wrote it down. There's no comic book section so I guess here is the best place since it's kind of my Deep Thoughts.

Quote:

My View on Batman Beyond and Batman The Animated Series

I watched the Batman Animated Series over the span of a week. Batman the Animated Series happens to be my favorite Batman series. It's great in every way. The music, the stories being told. Everything had depth, and feeling. This is what made me love Batman. This was what made Batman my favorite super hero.

Then I was reminded that there was the series Batman Beyond. I remember that series, and now as an Adult I have to say; I do not like Batman Beyond, nor the last season of Batman TAS.

What happened? As I watched the final season he apparently never smiles, he seems harsher, and not as caring. These were things I would have liked to have seen. Did something happen? The relationship between Robin and Batman for example. They said that it was a long time coming but I didn't see it. Batman respected Robin. He saved him multiple times. He cared about Robin, and yet Robin acted like he just didn't give a damn.

Sure he was harsh, but you can tell he cared. Hell he even explained himself a few times and apologized for it during the series.

Then there's Batman Beyond. A series that took a symbol, a being of greater good as Batman and shattered him to the ground turning him into less than a man. His company was almost taken away from him. He had no kids, He had no loved ones. His ex-partners all hated him. No one visited him to see if he was okay. He was bitter, angry, and just a shell of himself.

People visited him because of the new Batman, and not to check up on Bruce Wayne, to see if he was alright. When someone like Sherlock Holmes passed away (fake death) people showed up. Those that knew whom he was came by and showed their respects. There were people that showed remorse and kindness. There were people that were genuinely sad that he passed away. Sherlock Holmes was a sociopath, narcissist, drug addicted man.

When Bruce Wayne passes away people will show up, sure, out of obligation however. Terry, the new Batman will be sad however. He'll be the only one. Everyone else? Superman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, and anyone else that may be alive at that time whom may know Batman was in fact Bruce Wayne will simply be there out of obligation, or some sense of "duty."

This is why I do not like Batman Beyond. It took a great symbol as Batman, and it told me that every action that Batman had done, the sacrifice Bruce Wayne performed was almost for naught. I say almost because all the good he had done did wonders, but I have to wonder if his sacrifice was too great. Police, Soldiers, and Firemen all lose their lives for the greater good, but at least they have a group of people willing to cry for them, willing to show compassion and understand their sacrifice.

I sit here baffled, and wonder what he had done. These are stories I'm curious about so then we can see a justification in what broke this man.

And this, is my view on Batman Beyond and Batman The Animated Series.

[Ghenos]

Well, they never really explain what happen between the time gap. It look to me like Batman just one day just decided to retire and no one know why or where he went. Most doesn't know that Bruce is Batman. He never died so there is no great announcement and no grave.

It's like what happen at the beginning of Kingdome Come when Superman leave. He just disappear but never die. People just sort of forgot about him.

[HeavyGrimm]

I disagree. I think Beyond perfectly showed the future of Wayne. Think about it, this is a man who is so fundamentally broken as a human being that he chooses to dress up as a bat at night and beat up criminals. Even though he's a multi-billionaire who could well legally fund law-firms and such, or hell, even run for political office in Gotham and probably win. A position where he can do a lot more good on the whole than running around punching people in the face.

Being Batman is all he knows, he pushes away those close him to make more time for him mania. Who in their right minds would be friends with someone like that? The man is insane, he breaks his body daily out of a sense of false superiority. He's a brute thug who doesn't believe in a country's, or a city's, justice system. That's what makes his character so appealing and fascinating as opposed to his superhero brethren. He CHOOSES this, he wasn't born with powers, he's a broken human being who can have nothing but tragedy in his future.

Nolan made the correct psychological interpretation of his character in TDKR. A man with no future, like a shell-shocked war veteran with PTSD, who jumps every time a door slams. Showing Wayne with a happy future would make no sense. You can't trudge through shit fighting villains all your life without becoming one as well, or the very least, becoming irreversibly corrupted on a moral level and rendered unable to connect with society and people in general.

For this portrayal alone, I hold Beyond as an awesome series, even though the actual quality of the episodes are not up to the level of BTAS's first 3 seasons.

[L1b3rta]

Batman Beyond is an excellent Batman series. I still have fond memories of it... watching it on Toonami as a kid when I was supposed to be asleep. :)

Then again, I don't really compare both Batman series to eachother as they're a completely separate genre (Batman Beyond being cyberpunk, which BTAS is obviously not). But probably the main reason why I like Batman Beyond is because I'm just naturally attracted to cyberpunk, being one of my all-time favourite genres, along with Batman one of my all-time favourite franchises.

[EvilToeKnee]

You should read the Batman novel by Frank Miller. The Dark Knight Returns. Best of them all. I do agree that the original Batman The Animated Series was the best.

[Adamthegrim]

Beyond And TAS are both awesome...

[robertoparker]

Everyone, IMO, always misses the point. Bruce died with his parents. Batman was born that day even though he didn't know it.The opening of the Beyond series does explain why Batman left. If you look closely as hes rescuing the hostage, he picks up the gun, then his hand starts shaking so he drops it, and fades away. People I think miss-interpret that as a physical problem, I don't agree with that, as I fully believe Batman was going to shoot him. The Shaking was the inner struggle, therefore he knew he had to walk away or he'd slide into Joker territory, total madness rather than controlled madness.
If they do write a Batman Death story, they should reveal his identity, so people will know {story wise} what he sacrificed. He could have given massive money to the law enforcement but it would have been way less effective than Batman's efforts.
I for one was a bit put off in the Beyond series {and in the Last year of TBSA} of everyone blaming Batman for manipulating them when he didn't. I also didn't care for them not having the other characters realize that he couldn't walk away because his mask was Bruce Wayne, not the other way around.

Also while the Flashback sequence in BBROTJ maybe the best Joker sequence ever, the only way that Joker can die, for me, is if Batman is forced into a Moriarty Endgame and they both die. Tim shooting Mr. J was wrong for me.
Final Thoughts:
Batman; The Animated Series is THE Definitive Batman.
Mark Hamil Is The Joker.
Kevin Conroy is Batman.