Looks like there’s a new Batman animated series headed to the Cartoon Network. According to reports over at The World’s Finest, Sam Register, executive vice president for creative affairs at Warner Bros. Animation has confirmed that a new Batman animated series will debut in 2013.
The next Batman animated series, debuting in 2013, is titled Beware the Batman. According to Register, the CGI animated series will spotlight a classic-looking Batman teaming up with a gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth and a female ninja sidekick. Beware the Batman is executive-produced by Glen Murakami, and will explore the mythology’s more obscure villains, such as Professor Pyg, but also won’t shy away from featuring some of the more well-known Batman foes. In the series, Batman will team up with a younger female sidekick named Katana.
Wow. So this seems to be a real departure form the Batman animated series we’ve seen before. It is interesting to note that Register said Katana won’t replace Robin in the series, and while the descriptions and details appear to be slim at the moment, it would be kind of cool to see this series turn more toward Batman and the Outsiders type stories.
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Manga-Bat. My initial reaction here is “bleah”.
not even manga…Batman : Child of Dreams by Kia Asamiya was gorgeous. This just looks…squished.
Somebody miss the message about Batman having a pretty serious issue about guns? Alfred is packing heat and Manga Bats. worst. cartoon . idea. ever.
Actually, in the comics, Alfred Pennyworth is the only member of Batman’s…crew that is allowed to use firearms.
Yeah, in Batman/Superman Alfred greeted the eponymous characters at the sewer entrance of the batcave with a shotgun.
On one hand, it might be interesting to see Katana promoted just from being the Outsiders’ token ethnic lady into being a full-blown member of the Bat-Family; after all, like them, she is reliant more on weaponry & training than on powers (even if her sword is cursed or something). And while I wonder about the heat-packing nature of him & how it fits into Batman’s modern philosophy, the prospect of Action Alfred is interesting.
On the other hand, there’s this: the CGI animated series. Television-grade CGI animation hasn’t been too good, and the announcement designs, even if they aren’t final, are really unappealing even by that sub-medium’s low standards. And since Brave & the Bold didn’t sell enough plastic crap to please Cartoon Network, odds are this’ll be a joyless slog with an unlikable lead instead of actually FUN. Bleh.
Notice Toad and Professor Pig are featured over Batman’s shoulder. I wonder if this is based in some way on Morrison’s Batman & Robin.
The idea of having Katana be the sidekick sounds like a network exec wanted it because kids would think it’s cool.
Still it’s sad to see BatB go the wayside, for this project. I hope the new project is as good as BatB is.
Usually from what I’ve seen with CGI is it’s a 50/50 shot. You have your successes like Star Wars Clone Wars, and then you have some horrid animation like what runs on Nicktoons example Speed Racer: The next Generation. Way this Beware the Batman looks Batman Brave & the Bold will be the last Batman Animated Series that I’ll be watching for a while……
I’ll watch it a little, but I’m not digging this. I think they’ve missed the point of Batman. But I’ll be happy to be corrected.
Smells like the Green Lantern crap that they are trying to serve soon…
“Katana” of all people! And Alfred ain’t “Dum Dum Dugan”!
The “suits at DC need to be shot at!
Maybe Jarvis could make the killing shot!
when are we gona get some rest from batman cartoons? face it the well is dry now!! its been almost 20 yes 20 years sins batmen the animated series!! give it a rest!! why dont you better do a superman animated and tell stories like red crsital o crisis of krimsom krptnite or a dcent version of the death of superman!! no everything in dc is batman you know?