Does the Bat-Embargo make ANY sense?

[Fone Bone]

Hi. I was at the chat-a-thon yesterday and Merlin Missy said something to me that gave me pause about the Bat-Embargo. We have been *****ing that little kids CAN tell the difference between two different versions of the same character but I've been thinking that really may not be true. Missy even noted a great example: Teen Titans.

Two completely different versions of Robin and after How Long is Forever? there was a HUGE debate among the ADULTS on this board whether or not Teen Titans' Robin was Tim Drake and whether or not Teen Titans was in DCAU continuity. There were a MESS of people still insisting that Tim COULD conceivably take up the mantle of Nightwing despite the fact that

1. It contradicted Return of the Joker

2. At the end of the episode Robin spoke of the name Nightwing as if he had never heard it before.

3. Folks "in the know" on this board had already told us it was Dick.

4. Robin LOOKED completely different from the DCAU version and had a different voice.

It seems that as recently as six months ago we have had newbies on this board asking whether or not Teen Titans was in continuity or not. This has inexpicably stopped recently but I can't help feeling if teenagers and adults are still confused about this that little kids probably never had a chance.

When I was a young-un I could tell the difference between different interpretations of a character. But usually that was because the characters were in a different MEDIUM so I could more easily seperate the Uncle Scrooge comics from DuckTales and Superfriends from the Superman movie. I honestly don't know how well I would have guessed if they were the same characters but animated differently. I personally did not know that there was a difference in the Filmation Batman cartoons and the Superfriends when I was little.

The radically different designs would probably make it easier for kids to tell the difference. But considering what happened with Teen Titans on this very board, that is far from garaunteed.

Thoughts?

[Phantasm]

Bird Boy is going to freak!:p

[Style]

I DO share an indirect responsibility for the Bat-Embargo concept.

Early May 2004, B.T. mentions for the first time that they can't use Ra's al Ghul on Justice League. Everyone was confued and disappointed. "Why? Why no Ra's Al Ghul?"

But me, being the dashing genuis that I was, stepped up to the plate. "Because he's the main baddie on Batman Begins, that's why!" (This was before very many people were rabidly following the progress of the film.)

This revelation sent shockwaves through the Toonzone community. It was the birth of the Bat-Embargo concept. The idea that certain characters couldn't be used on the show because they were being used in other media. I was the one who introduced the direct link in concept. What am I saying?

I am responsible for the Bat-Embargo! It was me! I created my own worst enemy, and the most annoying concept ever discussed on Toonzone.


And that is my "Epilogue" esque darkest secret. Now you know. Oh, and Bird Boy shares a perfect histo-compatibility rating with me. Perfect.

[efumf]

Confused kids buy more toys.

[Fone Bone]

I DO share an indirect responsibility for the Bat-Embargo concept.

Early May 2004, B.T. mentions for the first time that they can't use Ra's al Ghul on Justice League. Everyone was confued and disappointed. "Why? Why no Ra's Al Ghul?"

But me, being the dashing genuis that I was, stepped up to the plate. "Because he's the main baddie on Batman Begins, that's why!" (This was before very many people were rabidly following the progress of the film.)

This revelation sent shockwaves through the Toonzone community. It was the birth of the Bat-Embargo concept. The idea that certain characters couldn't be used on the show because they were being used in other media. I was the one who introduced the direct link in concept. What am I saying?

I am responsible for the Bat-Embargo! It was me! I created my own worst enemy, and the most annoying concept ever discussed on Toonzone.


And that is my "Epilogue" esque darkest secret. Now you know. Oh, and Bird Boy shares a perfect histo-compatibility rating with me. Perfect.Hey, if it hadn't been you, it would have been somebody else. Besides I think the first person who spilled the beans on the Bat-Embargo was Batman's Biggest Fan who revealed the contents of a PM from a ticked Dwayne McDuffie. You may have THEORIZED about it but BBF was the one who confirmed it's existance.




Confused kids buy more toys. Excellent counter-argument. :D Ooooh, this is going to be a fun thread. Unless Bird Boy kills me first. (Thank you for the warning Phantasm.):anime:

[James]

Inevitably with shows orientated to selling toys, I think a lot is focused on toy franchises. and different toy lines needing space to sell their range. When you have three different cartoons based on the same characters, with different toy ranges expecting a certain amount of exclusivity for their range of characters an embargo makes sense.

What I say here has been said in the countless threads on this subject. I'm not at WB or any involved company, but I would guess it's to cater for the toy ranges and allow said toy ranges work together without competition threatening any specific manufacture/supplier/company. Whatever the small print is, I'm guessing that's the issue between movie, TT, JLU and "The Batman".

Perhaps best to let this rest before BB closes it anyhow. :) EDIT: Hell, I'm a mod, I forgot. I'll close it myself. Bat Embargo is a subject which has been done to death and is, as vets know, is embargoed in itself. Do a search for more details of this issue and it's responses.