Beware the Batman: What happened?

One day your defending Gotham City from mutated toads and whatnot, then out of nowhere; hiatus. This article is a look at the recent Cartoon Network animated series Beware the Batman and it attempts to look for why it was mysteriously put on indefinite status unknown.


Beware the Batman was a computer generated animated series that appeared on Cartoon Network. The series was part of the network's DC Nation, an hour long program of DC comics inspired material. It featured a young Bruce Wayne/Batman who was just beginning his career of punching bad guys in the face. Also featured was an uncommon Alfred, this one a young highly skilled and resourceful former British secret agent. Alfred's former agency partner Katana was Bruce's live in bodyguard who would eventually serve as Batman's partner. Gordon was here as well, a single father police lieutenant. As far as villains, perhaps in an attempt to set itself apart, this show featured villains not entirely seen in other mediums beyond the comic books. Villains such as Professor Pyg, Anarky, Humpty Dumpty, and Magpie all showed up to harass our Batman. Now why was this show suddenly without reason removed from the DC Nation show? Lets take a further look at it for some answers...


Was is it the characters? Most people decried the idea of Alfred as an able partner to Batman. A butler fighting side by side with Batman seemed ridiculous. Though the show removed that aspect by having Alfred suffering a bad leg injury. Here the Robin role was filled by little known heroine Katana. Gordon was the idealist who disapproved of Batman's vigilante approach, who would come to respect its usefulness. The villains were extremely obscure and practically unknown. Professor Pyg and his sidekick Mr. Toad created chaos. Anarky was played out as a true antithesis to Batman. Some of the most interesting villains were adapted from Dan Slott's Arkham Asylum miniseries. Magpie and a sympathetic Humpty Dumpty. And in very small roles, Junkyard Dog and Doodle bug raised havoc on Gotham. Well the characters were certainly odd, but it should be respected for highlighting much different Batman characters.


Then it had to be the story, right? The story follows Bruce in his earliest of days as Batman. The classic origin story wasn't really addressed. Instead the show went out of its way to be somewhat counter culture, in terms of a Batman series. The series for the most part, relied on the common villain of the day affair. However the series was well plotted, with stories carrying over. They had a strong sense of continuity. There was a large subplot about the League of Assassins and its connection to Alfred and more so Katana. Plus the villains occasionally made cameos in other episodes, and the characters often referenced events from past episodes. The show was filled with plenty of drama and suspenseful elements, geared toward a more mature audience. The Anarky episode could be seen as a statement or reflection to some of our modern social issues. The Magpie episode looked at psychosis and the work of psychologists. Gotham City was as dark as it ever was, and the action surprisingly well done.(Watch that Magpie episode). The Metamorpho episode was surprisingly sad and touching. Again not quite the show to be aimed toward an all children's audience. This show was smartly written and distanced itself from many of the other animated Batman shows. It had mature elements, and this is what probably restricted the show the most. When it debuted it was paired with the much light hearted more kid friendly Teen Titans. The shows were a huge contrast, Teen Titans featured short non linear episodes, while Beware the Batman was a much more engaging story driven show. Considering that Cartoon Network picked up this show to replace Batman: Brave and the Bold, I don't think they were to certain about the tone of Beware the Batman. DC Nation airs but one day a week at an early time, most of the audience that would've enjoyed this series were most likely still asleep. Plus there was little promotion, Cartoon Network usually does a good job with this. I happened to be well aware of their shows like Uncle Grandpa and Steven Universe, but was barely aware that this show was on air. I had to watch it through Cartoon Network's onDemand, but I'm glad I was able to check out this freshly different take on Batman.


Although not canceled just put on hiatus until February. I believe we probably wont see this same odd and different approach to animated Batman. Instead I'm certain the series, when it returns, will be filled with more conventional Batman stuff. To bad, this show was made interesting because of the way it tried to be so different