Batman set the stage (and paid the price) for DC's endless customization potential. (2023)

When it comes toDC stripscharacters, the mid-2000s were years of tumultuous change in almost every medium they could be found in. On the comics side, the Infinite Crisis plot promised a pure multiverse that would solve the continuity issues that had become the norm in publications. In the cinema,Christopher Nolan i Warner Bros. odbudowali The Caped Crusaderwith much praiseBatman Begins, avoiding all traces of the vilified efforts of the late 1990s and turning the audience into a grittier, grimmer Dark Knight. In TV,Smallvillestill towed, and producers were eager to mine it for derivative potential (although there are separateCarrier,green ArrowiJustice Leaguenever noticed).

And when it comes to animation, the DC Animated Universe, the vast mythology that has begunBreakthrough Batman: The 1992 Animated Seriesended with 2004justice league without limits. premiered in the same year (and now streamed in its entirety on Netflix) wasCake, a new origin story for the title character that will take him out of his rookie years and first encounters with deadly foes like the Joker and the Penguin.Allpath to becoming a key member of the Justice League. Over the course of five seasons, it basically tells the entire story of Batman.

Fans' immediate reaction was scathing. But still,CakeIt continues to be an interesting show to review and re-evaluate, especially with the way it reflects the period's rapid metamorphosis and Batman's endless potential for customization.

This is evident from the first episode.Cakenot trying to be likeBatman: The Animated Series, a cartoon often considered one of the best ever.BTSmerged its noir roots with superhero raunch like no other series since, and ended a 50-year drought of solid superhero cartoons since Fleischer.Supermanshorts in the 40s IBTSwas so successful demographically that it briefly becameprime time hourscompete with60 minutes. On Sunday evenings, viewers could choose between the fantastic adventures of Batman and Robin and the slightly less fantastic adventures of Leslie Stahl and Mike Wallace.

Photo: Warner Media

But a lot has changed since 1992 andCakereflected it. In particular, the influence of the anime was everywhere, from the angular character designs (Jeff Matsuda's work, fresh from the underratedThe Adventures of Jackie Chan) to hyperkinetic fight scenes. Even the penguin does backflips and roundhouse kicks here.Cakethis was for the kids who grew up on the Toonami diet, the ones who will probably stick to it eventuallynaruto WBleach. He was also naturally funny (although later seasons lessened this) and had many episodesCakeThe first few seasons are characterized by the arrival of a cool new suit, vehicle or robot ready for action.

Combine all this with the initially reduced emphasis on pathos (BTSMr. Freeze was a tragic figure, incapable of desperation to connect;CakeFreeze had ice powers and enough puns to embarrass Arnold Schwarzenegger), and you have a series that was meant to be seen by older fans as a minor Batman outing. It didn't help that he also had to compete.Unlimited, a series that treated DC's expansive mythology with a sort of dignified grandeur, filled with characters we've come to know over the last 12 years.Unlimitedit was a whole universe, rivaling and often better than the comic book stories it was based on. In its shadow, and often seen as little more than a 20-minute toy ad,Cakewould get terrible reviews; one of the first to appear on Toonzone called it "absolute disaster and plague in the name of Batman.”

Photo: Warner Media

Photo: Warner Media

It goes without saying that this kind of online hand-wringing is now a staple of any beloved character's reboot. ANDCakeit would evolve over time, especially when it removed an entire season of villains' origin stories. Then, in the Season 1 finale, he turned 180 degrees in the relatively shallow narrative of the first 11 episodes, giving us the harrowing transformation of one of Bruce Wayne's close friends into a vengeful Clayface. Batman's Rogues Gallery has always been a collection of pathetic people driven by personal obsession and paranoia, and ultimately,Cakegiven to those who seek it.

CakeIt should always wrestle with a Saturday morning cartoon with a heavy toy line, but the storytelling would only get more inspiration from it. Over time, we've seen some really great stuff like "Night in the City" (clown,penguinand the Riddler takes control of Gotham as the police close in on Batman); "A Fistful of Felt" (a ventriloquist leaves Arkham with a clean certificate of sanity, only to play corrupt psychologist Hugo Strange with him); and "A Matter of Family" (Robin's introduction to the show in a candid episode withBTSmainstays such as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who play Dick Grayson's father and Grayson family killer Tony Zucco, respectively). All of them would have been filled with thrilling anime-inspired action, but now there's the emotional curiosity that's at the core of any good Batman story: who are these characters and what do they want from the endless cycle of "villains doing all sorts of things? And will Batman stop them?"

Throughout the run, we've gotten visual reviews of most of the major villains, as well as everyone who now apparently knows karate. Bane would transform into a huge radical giant while the Riddler would dress up in cyberpunk gothic style, with his voice actor,Robert Anglund(vanFreddy Kruegerfame) happily whistling his text. As the series grew in popularity, fans began to eagerly wait to see what these new incarnations would look like, especially when compared to their often comedic pals.BTSshape.

Photo: Warner Media

But not every Batman villain would transform. With so many reboots and gameplay changes on the air in the mid-2000s, it meant DC would be a little apprehensive about introducing him. The fear that the child would notice the cartoon and suddenly become confused as to what he was actually watching with Batman hit the executives. In 2023, with over half a dozen Batmans on screen or in film and television production, that kind of thinking seems outdated. Children are smart. They will understand.

In 2004, this would lead to what became known as "bat embargo". Under the direction of then-DC Comics president Paul Levitz, characters from the Batman universe were analyzed in various projects.justice league without limits, as of the middle of the second season, Batman and some of his lesser foes and colleagues, such as the Clock King and the KGBeast, were allowed to stay. In animated form, the heavyweights of his world would belong exclusively toCake, as a new show on Kids' WB would probably not attract public attention promising remakes of Electrocutioner and Kite Man.

Despite seemingly holding the keys to the Batman Kingdom,CakeI wouldn't have carte blancheAll. meetingBatman BeginsDuring production, characters such as Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow (and rumors of future Nolans such as Two-Face) seemed unavailable, further complicating the script. Given the fact, Two-Face would be a nuisance anywayCakehe's less violent, so it's quite appropriate that his "trusted friend becomes hostile foe" narrative duties have been shifted to Clayface. But overall, it became a very frustrating situation for Batman fans, especially those who wanted to see their main opponents reappear in the final roundUnlimited.

At last,vain requests were madebut perhaps more clear was Bruce Timm, the main creator of the DC animated universe from the beginning:Batman's only ingredient in Justice League... I don't mind taking a break from these characters after so many years of working on them. While this limited the number of villains that could appear, the bat embargo allowed for a deeper dive into DC's pantheon of interesting villains. After all, this was a Justice League show, right?Batman: The Animated SeriesPart 8.

The "bat embargo" would be a thorn in the side of those working on the show at the time and a major wound to the fandom for subsections of the audience, and we're not quite sure what.justice league without limitszCakeIt would seem if they had complete freedom in this area. Still,justice league without limitswill go down in the books as a spectacularly fitting conclusion to the DCAUBatman Beginsthis would set a precedent for DC Comics movie reboots that it continues to try to follow today. ANDCakehe would have put aside his sarcasm-fueled dissent in his early years and taken the decisive step he would have taken himself. There he would create a whole new generation of fans, his mission from the beginning.

five seasonsCakestreaming teraz na Netflix i HBO Max.