TV Review: Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)

Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) series developed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm and based on the comic created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger 

This thirty-year old series is one of the more influential incarnations of Batman. After the big success of Tim Burton's Batman movie, a new television incarnation seemed like a logical next step. The series producers, Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, used more than the Burton film for inspiration. Life-long superhero fans, they wanted to imitate the style of the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons from the 1940s. The show is a fascinating blend of the score and darker aesthetic from the movie with the art deco style of the cartoons. Since it's Batman, the shiny brilliance of art deco is toned down by the film noir depiction of Gotham (most of the scenes are set at night, so little sunshine on display). As a creature of the night, Batman has plenty of shadows to hide in and to cast on overconfident villains. The Japanese animation studio the producers worked with was on board with the style choices and worked hard to make the show look very good, which it does.

The real gem is the writing. The creators made a show that's okay for kids to watch but does not dumb down things or leave things at a superficial level. The stories include normal criminals, like the organized crime figures that show up in corrupt cities (not something you'd see in Saturday morning fare). They also include classic villains like The Joker and Catwoman. The Joker is brilliantly written and played by Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker!). He has the sinister malevolence of a dangerous killer, the wicked sense of humor, and a disturbing laugh. Catwoman is a more sympathetic robber who still has romantic flirtations with Batman, not something you'd see in kids' cartoons. In the commentaries, the producers explain that they told everyone (the writers, the actors, the animators) to think that they were making short movies in an animated style, not kids cartoons to watch after coming home from school.

A lot of the secondary villains are given more backstory and pathos, they aren't just cackling fiends with crazy plans. Mister Freeze is made into more than an ice-gadgety Otto Preminger. He becomes a scientist working in cryogenics (partly to try and save his dying wife) who is horribly altered when his company breaks up his research literally. Mister Freeze is more interested in revenge against the company than in fighting Batman or causing random mayhem. Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face has much better depth than any other version of his character (yes, even The Dark Knight depiction). Harley Quinn was invented during the series as a more colorful henchgal for The Joker. She is at turns comic and brutal without the silly hypersexualization of her later incarnations. The attention to characters is good, the show isn't just a vehicle for action and jokes (or to sell a line of toys).

With the good writing and the animation style and tone from the 1940s (they have black and white TV and dirigibles), the show has a timeless quality that makes it still enjoyable even three decades after it originally aired on television.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Batman vs. Two-Face by B. Finger et al.

Batman vs. Two-Face written by Bill Finger and others with art by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos and others

This anthology presents ten Batman tales featuring my favorite from his rouges' gallery, Two-Face. The first story is his origin, when as handsome District Attorney Harvey Kent (later changed to Dent) prosecutes crime boss Moroni, who throws acid on Harvey's face during the trial. Half his face is hideously scarred. People, including is fiancee, are horrified at his appearance and Harvey has a mental breakdown. Moroni had a lucky two-headed silver dollar; Harvey scratches up one side of it so that the coin mirrors his own duality--handsome and hideous, good and evil, Jekyll and Hyde. Harvey adopts the name Two-Face and starts on a crime spree. The coin makes decisions for him--if he flips the clean side, he will do good with what he steals; if he flips the scarred side, he will do evil. His crimes often involve the number two or some sort of duality, like robbing the box office from a double feature or a person who has two faces, like an actor (his own and his character's). The most interesting stories involve his sense of justice and his history as district attorney, punishing criminals he couldn't prosecute because of lack of evidence.

He's a fascinating character as a villain. He has a moral split between good and evil that is resolved almost at random. He's a brilliant guy (he was a top district attorney) and extremely willful except he lets himself be governed by the coin. So he talks a lot about Fate for himself, his victims, and Batman. Sometimes he is cured or on the verge of being cured and he lets Fate (in the guise of the coin flip) take him down the wrong path--I found myself wishing at times he just wouldn't flip the coin. The dramatic pathos of his character is riveting to me. The writers don't always catch that (there's plenty of 2-centric capers that don't delve into his psychology) but when they do, it's storytelling gold.

Recommended, highly if you are a Two-Face fan like me.