The Batman (2004)

 A few months ago, I was browsing Netflix to find something to watch while nursing my baby. I found The Batman.

Now, I know what you're thinking, and no it's not that one.

I mean the TV show.

No, not that one either.

I mean this one: 

This show ran from 2004-2008, although each of the five seasons only had 13 episodes. It's not exactly the classic Batman: The Animated Series (BTAM) most people from my generation know and love, but I remembered enjoying it in my teen years (no, I never grew out of cartoons or Batman) and I'm one of those people who likes to watch old shows I'm familiar with, so I made it my nursing time entertainment.

Then my pre-schooler started coming in to hang out while I fed the baby, and was interested in the show I was watching. Because she sees cartoons and immediately thinks it's for her. She would get mad if she found that I'd been watching it without her.

Eventually what was meant to be just for Mommy became the show we watched as a family. That died pretty quickly, though, when she started closing her eyes and begging us to skip parts because it was too scary.

We decided the whole show was too scary, moved onto something else for our family time episode, and by then I had moved onto something else for my nursing time entertainment, so I haven't picked it up again myself.

You're telling me, Bruce

But, I still want to talk about this show, because I feel like it introduced some new things to the Batman universe and it deserves some love.

When the show first came out back in 2004, I remember the ads were all about how this version of Batman was going to be different. They showed off the new Joker, who instead of wearing a purple suit wore a purple and brown straight jacket.

Woah! So different! So edgy! But after a few appearances, he ended up looking like this:

I guess his hair is still different from Mark Hamill's Joker?

I mean, they've even got the same boutonniere

Okay, so Joker wasn't that different, but how about Penguin?

Sure, he still has the top hat and suit of previous penguins (after all, he is Penguin), but this penguin controls birds, and has these two creepy sidekicks that he says he picked up in "the Orient."

The Kabuki Twins

If you're thinking, what do these stick-figure Wolverine ladies have to do with Penguins... I wonder that, too. 

Next up is Mr. Freeze.

Sadly, this version of Freeze is not nearly as complex as the one in BTAM. He's not a scientist trying to find a way to save his wife. He's a thief who blames Batman for making him into a frozen freak because, while fighting with Batman, he ends up falling into a broken cryonic chamber and gets frozen and electrocuted at the same time. Batman actually questions whether he's really helping people after learning that he caused Freeze to become what he is, but eventually realizes the Batman is needed and it is really dumb to blame yourself for someone else being an idiot.

We also see Catwoman, whose costume is a little different, but she's essentially the same altruistic thief we're familiar with. She and Batman kind of have a thing in this version, too.

There's also the Riddler, Firefly, Bane, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat, Black Skull, Killer Croc, Hugo Strange, Clayface, Harley Quin, and pretty much all the bad guys you're familiar with if you've played the Batman: Arkham games (except Zsasz. I don't think there's a way to make that guy kid-friendly). Their backstories are a little different, and some of them look very different, but in the end, they're essentially the same villains with the same shticks you know from the Batman universe.

Now, all that being said, I hope I haven't turned you off to this show because I actually really did/do enjoy it! Perhaps the biggest difference between this version of Batman and most other modern iterations is that this Batman is... happy.

Like, yes, sure, most of the time when he wears the cowl he's serious and looks more like this:

But deep down, this is not the broody, broken, dark Batman we've seen in most TV shows and movies in the last thirty-forty years. He cracks jokes, he smirks, when he's at home with Alfred he out-and-out smiles, he plays basketball with his friend, Ethan, he goes to work at Wayne Enterprises and actually does stuff there because he's a functioning adult.

Yes, his parents were killed in front of him and it does still haunt him and drive him to stop bad guys, but unlike many versions of Batman, this one seems to have found a way to be happy despite that grief.

And I feel like that's worth something. Gotham and its villains are dark. So dark I can't let my preschooler watch this show anymore. But this Batman still smiles. I just like that.

There's a few other storylines that I think make this show worth it. There's a question throughout the first and some of the second season about how the police should deal with Batman. Ethan, Bruce's best friend, is a cop, and although he doesn't know Batman's identity, feels that Batman is helping the city. Ethan's partner, Ellen Yin, believes that Batman is a vigilante and that makes him a criminal like all the others... until something happens and Yin starts secretly working with the Batman. And then, eventually, Commissioner Gordon arrives and completely embraces Batman as an ally.

Ethan and Yin have another very interesting storyline that I won't spoil

In season three we see the beginning of the Bat Family as Barbara Gordon, the commissioner's daughter, becomes Batgirl, and then in season four Dick Grayson is adopted by Bruce and becomes Robin. I think the kids have some of the most interesting storylines and some of the best quotes, so if the first two seasons aren't doing it for you just skip to season three... except then you'll miss a major plot point that I won't spoil, so... at least watch the last two episodes of season one.

There's an episode that lives in my head rent-free where the city is taken over by zombies, and Batman has to make an antidote all by himself because even his sidekicks and Alfred have been bitten. But there are some things that don't quite make sense (yes, I mean beyond there being zombies), and Batman starts to question whether there's something else going on. I know I normally don't spoil things, but this is a bit of one: at one point in this episode he realizes he might be wrong about the situation, and how to solve it. He says, "If this is a mistake, it's my last," as he submits control. And that moment is so powerful to me because normally Batman is the one in control, the hero who saves the day, but this time he lets himself be defeated to save Gotham. Along with the presence of zombies, a scruffy Bruce and a kind of crazy twist ending, it's a solid episode.

One thing about the later seasons that kind of bugs me is the theme song. In the first two seasons, the theme song is dark and creepy and has a sort of Tubular Bells from the Exorcist feel, complete with this whispered, "The Batman," at the end. Maybe they changed it later because they thought that was too scary for kids, but it fit a lot better than what they did in the later seasons; I guess they took their cue from the old 1950's show because it suddenly sounds like something the Beach Boys wrote. There must be a happy medium, right?

Oh, and I almost forgot. They made a movie. It's called The Batman vs Dracula. You can find it on Max. But seriously, you guys... Batman vs Dracula! 

Ratings:

Kid's entertainment: 3.5/5 stars

My kid does like this show; she asked for it several times before we decided it was too scary for her. Maybe when she's a little older we can try again. But it's not like I started watching it with her in mind!

My entertainment: 4.5/5 stars

I really enjoy this show. I think BTAM may have had a little more depth back in the day, but I think this is a solid entry in the Batman multiverse and I would probably still be watching it on my own if that hadn't been interrupted.

Content: 2.5/5 stars

I already talked about the fact that this show is a little too dark and scary for young kids, but another reason it gets a low grade for content is the fact that there's not a lot of good morals or educational value. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun show, but entertainment is its main job. Besides the fact that Batman wants to protect Gotham, there aren't many good lessons to be learned. In fact, it promotes vigilantism, which is in fact illegal. Sorry, Batman, but it's true. I still love you, though.