Beware the Batman's logo
Beware the Batman is the latest Batman series, it aired on Cartoon Network's DC nation block on July 13th 2013. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. The series ran on Cartoon Network until it was pulled from the schedule four months after its premiere, without official explanation
Premise[]
Crime-fighting vigilante Batman teams up with swordmistress Katana and his gun-toting ex-secret agent butler Alfred Pennyworth to face the criminal underworld led by Anarky, Ra's al Ghul, Professor Pyg, Magpie, Mr. Toad, King Kraken, Humpty Dumpty, Lady Shiva, Gentleman Ghost and Axel Alex. Anarky, particularly, will be the main antagonist in the series.
Official poster for Beware the Batman
After Batman: The Brave and the Bold ended its run in November 2011, a new series went under production, so that Batman could return to a more "serious tone." When the series was first unveiled it was announced that lesser known villains would be introduced. For example, two of the shows villains, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad are from Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin comics. Sam Register explained "We went in deeper into the villain library and pulled out some other villains" and the studio did not want the series to do another "Joker story". With Batman receiving a new sidekick, Outsiders member Katana, Register even commented that "Katana is gonna be his new Robin, but not necessarily." The series will be computer-animated in a CGI format, similar to Green Lantern: The Animated Series's animation style, the CGI has been described as "cutting edge."
Mitch Watson, co-producer of Beware the Batman, explained how the crew behind the series approached Batman for the show the way they did, stating "In the way we approached Batman for this show, he’s at the beginning of his career, he’s probably been doing it for about five to six years, he’s in his early 30s. And character-wise, we broke him into three parts. There’s the public Bruce Wayne, who we modeled slightly after Richard Branson. We wanted to make Bruce Wayne more of an altruistic guy and the company’s Wayne Enterprise trying to do good. So, that’s the public Bruce. The private Bruce is more introspective guy who really only deals with Alfred, and Alfred at the beginning of the series is really the only person who sees that side of Bruce Wayne. He’s quiet; he’s a little bit obsessive about particular things." Barbara Gordon (known as Batgirl in the comics) will also be seen on the upcoming show. It has been stated that she is a teenager who is tech savvy, and admires both Batman and his sidekick, Katana, for their bravery.
Several of the villains to be newly featured were also revamped for the series. Producers announced that Anarky was chosen to function as the primary antagonist, and was re-characterized as a criminal mastermind who would challenge Batman through complex schemes and machinations. Acknowledging the violent nature of Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, the creators toned down their depiction to make them less violent than their comic book counterparts.
Reaction[]
Some critics did not like how Alfred was helping Batman and shooting guns, because it was not like Alfred in the comics to do that. Also, the story has received criticism from TV reviews.
Series nominated an "Annie" as "Best Kid Show".
Trivia[]
- Beware the Batman was set to air in late 2012, but due to The Dark Knight Rises movie theater incident, the show was put on halt so the creators could make the guns less realistic.
Hiatus[]
Beware the Batman was put on hiatus unexpectedly in October 2013. It was rumored to return in March of 2014, but has not been announced. Cartoon Network gave out this statement, "Currently, Beware the Batman is no longer in our air. DC Nation will continue on Saturday mornings at 10/9c with new exclusive shorts and a full hour of encore episodes of Teen Titans Go!"
Cancellation[]
Cartoon Network did not provide an official explanation, leading fans to believe that the series had already been canceled.[ Cartoon Network then moved the series to the Toonami block on the network's late-night programing Block Adult Swim . Toonami first aired the series on Saturday, May 10, 2014, during the early-morning time slots. Cartoon Network then declared the series a financial failure and decided to "write it off" preventing it from airing on Television in the US ever again. On September 28, Toonami ran a marathon consisting of the final seven unaired episodes.
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