I remember watching Super Friends and the Filmation Batman cartoons as a kid, it was cool to see one of my favorite superheroes on the screen, but I always wanted more. As I grew older and was exposed to some more adult cartoons from Japan end elsewhere, I wondered why a Batman cartoon could not be produced with those sensibilities. Finally, Batman: The Animated Series was announced and it sounded like just what I had been waiting for. Boy was I right. I can still clearly remember watching the premiere episode, "On Leather Wings". Not only did it show a Batman miles closer to the comics than any other attempt, it featured Man-Bat, a character that never would have shown up on earlier incarnations. I was hooked, and that first episode still remains a favorite.
I know what you mean! The Batman '66 comic has been introducing some of the great rogues like Poison Ivy, Clayface, The Scarecrow, Killer Croc and in the latest digital issue: Killer Moth! Yeah, it's a bummer they didn't make it into live action, and it's a shame that it took almost 50 years for the show to be popular again...but I'll still take it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Ross. "On Leather Wings" is my favorite episode from the WBat-cartoon, too. Well, actually, my second favorite...next to to "Zatanna." ;-)
ReplyDeleteMan-Bat is a favorite of mine too. His debut came right around the time I started buying comics. I even thought the variation of the character they did in the animated movie "Gods and Monsters" was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteGuven their similar origins, I wonder how Man Bat and Morbius would get along.
If you check the archives, you will find a couple of Man-Bat/Morbius covers.
ReplyDeleteMy first exposure to Man-Bat was as a hero, so I always thought of him and preferred him that way...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the various animated Batman incarnations, I too like Batman: TAS, but my favorite would have to be Batman:The Brave and the Bold!
There was one certain issue of the BTAS spin-off comic from DC that I absolutely loved! It was evidently meant to be a tribute to the old "monster mashes" produced by Universal, after WWII, because it featured Man-Bat, Tygrus (the genetically engineered Homo felis), and Tony Romulus (the genetically engineered werewolf). And, the title?
ReplyDelete"House of Dorian." :-)