In the Good Old Days, comic book writers never tried to closely tie the events in their stories to the events of the real world. Sure, virtually all the leading heroes had World War II adventures, but they remained perpetually youthful and the adventures Batman and Superman had in the 1930s-1950s were selectively forgotten as the decades progressed. For writers like Roy Thomas, who really was a scholar of comic books' Golden Age, the solution to the "Real World" problem was simple - assume that the WWII adventures took place in an alternate universe, and proceed from there. Even then, the aging of most characters was severely retarded (so that the Golden Age Justice Society could periodically team up with their Silver Age Justice League).
And, in that now-discarded continuity known as Earth2, the Golden Age Batman was killed in the line of duty in an extremely moving story line. Evidentially, DC's writers were unable to imagine the adventures of an aging Bruce Wayne. After all, Batman (unlike most DC superheroes) had no magical or alien powers. He was simply the world's greatest detective, and a master of hand-to-hand combat. Aging would weaken him in a way that it would not weaken Wonder Woman or Superman. As for passing the torch, Batman (unlike the Green Lantern or the Flash) was never the type of character who was larger than his civilian identity. Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Rayner may come and go as Green Lantern, but Bruce Wayne was always Batman.
Times have changed. Batman Beyond, the latest Timm-Dini series for Warner Brothers, takes a look at what Bruce Wayne might be like in the 21st Century. Aged, and unable to maintain his strength in battle, Wayne must retreat to his mansion and surrender Gotham to corruption and street violence. But there is hope for Gotham in the persona of Terry McGuinness, who, through a rapid series of adventures, becomes the "new" Batman, the recipient of a powerful costume which magnifies his strength and gives him the power of flight. Terry is quickly but satisfyingly sketched out, and his Batman's origin is similar enough to Wayne's to make the series plausible.
Timm and Dini have put a lot of work into the animated versions of Batman, and truly deserve to have their chance to substantially add to the Batman mythos. They aren't just introducing new characters into the pantheon; they are taking the Batman story in a brand-new direction. There is simply no one else qualified to do this, not even most of Batman's current comic book writers. True, there have been several one-shot and "Elseworlds" attempts to portray a futuristic Batman or prove that "there will always be a Batman," but Timm and Dini are committed to making this more than an interesting diversion. They aim to present a logical conclusion to the events of their early Batman series.
And, to an extent, Timm and Dini succeed. The aged Bruce Wayne (still ably voiced by Kevin Conroy) is an almost Shakespearian figure, and the scenes in which Wayne battles heart failure are among the most moving in any animated series. Fighting crime did *not* free Wayne from his inner demons; he has grown more bitter and dark with each year. Conroy's acting ability simply cannot be praised enough in the amount of pathos he brings to Dini's script. This is a Batman who is a tragic hero, a portrayal that is the equal of Frank Miller's astonishing Batman rewrite. Given the way that Wayne dealt with Dick Grayson's Robin, we cannot assume that his mentor ship of Terry's Batman will run any smoother, and the tension between the young crime fighter and the old pro could eventually reach the breaking point (as it did with Grayson). These scenes are among the best ever written for an American animated series, and occasionally recall the John Wayne film The Shootist as well as the use of Adam West (the 60s Batman) as the voice of the aged superhero The Grey Ghost in an earlier episode of the Batman animated series.
Some of the problems lie in the derivative nature of the futuristic Gotham City. To put it bluntly, this is Akira revisited. Even a motorbike chase in the first half of the pilot is uncomfortably close to the animation of Akira, right down to bikers with clown makeup. While anime has always been openly acknowledged as an influence on Batman:The Animated Series, this scene is uncomfortably close to plagiarism. The move towards big-eyed, leggy, grinning heroines like the Sailor Venus-influenced Supergirl brought the Timm-Dini cartoons closer to the look of anime, but were balanced by Dini's uniquely American writing. Supergirl (and, more annoyingly, Batgirl) may get serious cases of the giggles, but Dini's writing insured that they would not come across as ersatz Sailor Scouts. In a potpourri like Invasion America, a ripoff of Akira would be expected; it is not worthy of Timm and Dini. Timm, ironically, is said to despise anime.
Another problem facing Timm and Dini is the development of Terry McGuinness' character. Most of Robin's angst with Batman occurred not in the TV series but on the pages of the various TV-influenced adaptations of Timm and Dini's work. Will McGuinness continue to conflict with Bruce Wayne over the right way to do things, or will he easily settle into his new role as Batman? These are questions that only more installments of the series can answer. However, given the rapidity of Guinness' mastery of the batsuit (which totally stretches our disbelief), I'm concerned that the series will move too quickly towards whatever goals Timm and Dini have.
Comparisons to Invasion America are perhaps inevitable, and despite Batman Beyond's lapses, it is still far superior to the "adult" Invasion America. Everything about the pilot -from the animation to the writing to the techno music- is so much better than Invasion America that one wonders why Batman Beyond is intended for a Saturday morning time slot. The great (as yet unsubstantiated) fear of many Batman fans is that this is simply a ploy to justify the futuristic-themed Batman toys that have crowded the aisles of toystores for years. Regardless,Batman Beyond is written so well that one wishes that the WB would promote the series in prime-time more often.
Timm and Dini have devoted much of their time to Batman Beyond, so much so that very few new episodes of the Batman/Superman Adventures were available this season. If this is any indication, Timm and Dini are serious about the success of their new series. But Batman Beyond's pilot did not unspool as seamlessly as Batman: The Animated Series did, or even as smoothly as Superman: The Last Son of Krypton. It comes across as a work-in-progress in spots, and there are those fans who would have preferred to see Timm and Dini tackle a Supergirl or Wonder Woman series instead of Batman Beyond. While Batman Beyond may be a hard sell to many, Timm and Dini's track record is enough for me to give them the benefit of the doubt and enjoy the series for the next few weeks.
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