Batman (60s) and Batman (90s)

[JordanS.]

Hello Boomerang-Fans. Can you tell me this question.

What's different with Batman?

Jordan

[Anthonynotes]

In what way do you mean "what's different"? As in what the differences between the 60's and 90's comic Batman is? Or their cartoons?

The former:
The 60's comic book Batman tended to be much more personable and much less dark (but more serious than he was in the late 50's "wacky space aliens" era) than the 90's version of Bats; however, by around 1970, Batman began to become darker, with artists like Neal Adams coming on board and new writers like Denny O'Neil taking Batman in new directions (such as meeting Ra's Al Ghul and dealing with a murderous Joker, along with sending Dick off to college resulting in Bats becoming a lone hero again). Despite getting darker/more serious, though, 70's Batman still had close friends (like Superman) and allies (Robin and Batgirl, and Alfred too I guess...).

The main split in the 60's comics came with Julius Schwartz (the editor for most of DC's various non-Superman titles at the time) took over reign on the Bat-books in 1964, and decided to eliminate the previous "wacky" story tone (Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, etc.) and install the "New Look" Batman---a makeover to make Batman a more serious/down-to-earth crimefighter again (and dealing mainly with gangsters and such).

As for the TV show, Batman's first animated appearance was in his Filmation-animated series of cartoons in the late 60's; Robin and Batgirl also appeared on this series.


-B.
Yeah, so I like the

[JordanS.]

In what way do you mean "what's different"? As in what the differences between the 60's and 90's comic Batman is? Or their cartoons?

The former:
The 60's comic book Batman tended to be much more personable and much less dark (but more serious than he was in the late 50's "wacky space aliens" era) than the 90's version of Bats; however, by around 1970, Batman began to become darker, with artists like Neal Adams coming on board and new writers like Denny O'Neil taking Batman in new directions (such as meeting Ra's Al Ghul and dealing with a murderous Joker, along with sending Dick off to college resulting in Bats becoming a lone hero again). Despite getting darker/more serious, though, 70's Batman still had close friends (like Superman) and allies (Robin and Batgirl, and Alfred too I guess...).

The main split in the 60's comics came with Julius Schwartz (the editor for most of DC's various non-Superman titles at the time) took over reign on the Bat-books in 1964, and decided to eliminate the previous "wacky" story tone (Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, etc.) and install the "New Look" Batman---a makeover to make Batman a more serious/down-to-earth crimefighter again (and dealing mainly with gangsters and such).

As for the TV show, Batman's first animated appearance was in his Filmation-animated series of cartoons in the late 60's; Robin and Batgirl also appeared on this series.


-B.
Yeah, so I like the

Well, I certain can agree with that. Thank you so much for pointing those facts out they were very illuminating. I guess when it comes to super heros cartoons everything goes. Perhaps, that is good, since it bring a new edge to the characters. And a whole new generation get to experience them from a different point of view.

Jordan

[Anthonynotes]

Well, I certain can agree with that. Thank you so much for pointing those facts out they were very illuminating. I guess when it comes to super heros cartoons everything goes. Perhaps, that is good, since it bring a new edge to the characters. And a whole new generation get to experience them from a different point of view.

Jordan

Oops, my post got cut off... sloppy editing. Originally ended with noting that I like the 70's comic book Bats better than his current comics counterpart. :-)

But yes, Batman's been all over the board in the way he's been portrayed, as everything from Adam West's live-action show to Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns."

On-topic, the 60's Filmation cartoon was probably a more lighthearted version of the comics of the time (with one "camp" villain thrown in, "Simon the Pieman") tonewise. Don't know what the 70's Filmation Batman cartoon (where Bat-Mite appeared) was like, not having seen it before.

[Chris Wood]

The main difference is that Batman was a moron in the 60s. Possibly from too much hashish.

[JordanS.]

Did they also change the backgrounds?

Jordan

[Anthonynotes]

Did they also change the backgrounds?

Jordan

Uh, the 60's and 90's Batman cartoons were as different as night could be, to sum up what we're getting at.

The 60's Bat-cartoons were animated by Filmation, the bargain-basement animation studio---thus, it was lucky it had backgrounds at *all*. (Generic stock-shots of Gotham City's skyline and lots of close-ups on Batman or the villains' faces, to save on animation effort). ;-)

[hobbyfan]

Take it from someone who's seen every incarnation of Bat-toons.

1st series, 1968-70:

Filmation was forced to wait until after the live-action series ended, since 20th Century Fox had the rights (which is why Batman was left off the JLA and Robin off Teen Titans the year before). When the series finally launched, Filmation limited the Rogues Gallery to five regular foes (Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze), plus at least one appearance by Scarecrow, and created their own villains (Simon the Pieman, the Judge).

It's worth noting that Olan Soule (Batman) was the only cast member to have appeared on the live-action show, and when the toon was on the air, he concurrently had a recurring role on "Dragnet".

Super Friends, 1973-86:

Hanna-Barbera snatched up the rights to the Dynamic Duo a year earlier, having them appear on The New Scooby-Doo Movies. You'd think that would've given CBS the inside track on landing Super Friends, but it wasn't to be. Initially, the characterization of the Caped Crusaders still carried over from the live-action show and didn't reflect the changes made in the comics.

In fact, by the time Super Friends reached the "Legendary Super Powers Show" season (1984-85), Dick Grayson had morphed from Robin to Nightwing in the comics, a change that was left ignored by television. The final season, "Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians", had better stories and characterization, written presumably with a more mature audience in mind.

The New Adventures of Batman, 1977-81:

Somehow, the rights were split between Filmation & HB during this period (maybe Mr. Intensity has the answer to that riddle?), enabling Filmation to bring the Dynamic Duo back to CBS in February '77, 7 months before Super Friends was revived on ABC. Bat-Mite, a supporting character introduced in the comics as Batman's answer to Mr. Mxyzptlk several years earlier, was added as comedy relief. Mite also had a crush on Batgirl, which allowed the writers to avoid the more likely temptation to follow the comics and slowly develop a relationship between Robin & Batgirl (who were often teaming in the comics with much flirting). Unfortunately, Filmation only made a small handful of eps that were replayed over and over until the series was cancelled.

1992-present:

The definitive animated Dark Knight. 'Nuff said. Fabulous Dark Deco artwork. Hints of romance with not only Catwoman, but also Zatanna, the latter a childhood sweetheart.

I would strongly recommend to WB to release the 1968 & 1977 series on DVD, not so much to compare to the 1992 series, but to allow Bat-toonologists to complete the collection.

[Mister Intensity]

How Filmation got the animation rights to Batman and Robin between the end of production of Super Friends (1973) and the beginning of production of The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977) is a question that hasn't been answered publicly to my knowledge? I would love to know the answer to that question. Maybe it will be dealt with as part of the extras of the The All-New Super Friends Hour and/or The New Adventures of Batman DVD release (if either or both ever gets released).

Also, it's weird that The New Adventures of Batman debuted in February 1977 since it was unheard of in those days of a Saturday Morning series debuting in mid-season (usually low rated shows are replaced by an older show). I wonder if the show was supposed to debut in September 1976 or 1977 but was held back or moved forward because of questions about Hanna Barbara's rights to Batman?

Although only 16 episodes of The New Adventures of Batman were produced, those episodes constantly aired for about five years. Maybe because of H-B using Batman for Superfriends, there were only 16 episodes were made despite strong enough ratings for a five year run on two networks (CBS and NBC). Maybe because the show remained on the air for those years, Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman lost their spots in the Legion of Doom (replaced by Riddler, Scarecrow, and Cheetah, respectively). The Animation by Toth book features concept desgins from Challenge of the Superfriends that featured the original line-up. Also, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Joker, and Penguin didn't make a Superfriends appearance until the final season, even though Wayne Manor and the Batcave made several appearances throughout the series and Alfred, who didn't appear on New Adventures, did make a cameo on Challenge.

Hopefully, there both Filmation series will be released on DVD in the future, to continue the Batman animated DVD collection, since every episode of B:TAS will be released after Volume Four hits the shelves later this year. Maybe someone else on the board knows the deal about Batman's animation in 1976-1977.

Mister Intensity