Nostalgia is not all it seems. The Batman: The Masked Crusader was announced as an adult version of the popular and groundbreaking 90s show Batman: The Animated Seriesmanufactured by B:TAS Co-creator Bruce Timm, producers Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams, free from Saturday morning cartoon censorship and backed by the talent of some of the best Batman comic book writers of all time.
And while the show certainly Animated series Look, it wasn’t a direct sequel or a strong relaunch. Timm’s crew could say what they wanted, but in the end they didn’t have much to say. Sometimes you just can’t go home again.
But what if I told you that there is already a more mature version of Batman: The Animated Serieswith one-hour episodes like a live-action drama, multi-level storyline and fresher animation than Crusader with cape. It’s episodic, but its characters maintain a solid emotional continuity, and while it’s appropriate for children, it has plenty of layers and references for adult audiences to ponder.
If you are looking for a better Batman: The Masked Crusaderyou should watch Justice League And Justice League Unlimitednow available on Netflix for your marathon viewing pleasure.
Image: Warner Bros. Animation
Premiere in 2001, Justice League was a direct continuation of the DC Animated Universe setting that began in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series and further in Superman: The Animated Series, The new Batman adventuresAnd Batman: Beyond the Past – and for the most part, it was the same talent working behind the scenes. Artist Bruce Timm, writer Paul Dini, producers Rich Fogel and Glen Murakami, voice actors Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, Ron Perlman, Arleen Sorkin, Michael Ironside and Michael Dorn all returned to reprise their various roles and duties.
But Justice League was not a half-hour, one-off episodic series that aired on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. The series aired in prime time on Cartoon Network, and each episode was part of a two-part story – turning the half-hour cartoon standard into an hour-long adventure series. The main cast initially consisted of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, the Martian Manhunter, Wally West’s Flash, and John Stewart’s Green Lantern, but after two seasons, Cartoon Network demanded a reorientation and expanded the mandate.
In Justice League UnlimitedThe full range of DC Comics’ superheroes was welcomed into Justice League, not just the first seven. Episodes were again reduced to half-hour slots, but the show’s crew found a new way to think big. For the first and only time in the setting’s history, a DC Animated Universe show began by delivering season-long storylines; laying dominoes, announcing reveals, and fulfilling set-ups from weeks before.
And while each episode was designed to be suitable for children, the show’s writers couldn’t resist the temptation to include references that only adults would understand, such as 1950s gender and racial prejudice, an out-of-time Martian Manhunter brought before Nazi doctor Josef Mengele for experiments, or the canonical observation that Flash is a more attentive lover than Lex Luthor.
Image: Warner Bros. Animation
So if you fancy a dose of Batman this weekend, Justice League (2001) on Netflix. Now you may have to wait a few episodes to get going, but if you stick around until the early middleweights, the show will pay off. Aquaman cuts off his hand to save his young son, a Superman from another timeline lobotomizing his opponents with laser vision, a collection of murderous romantic subplots that recreates the Batman of Justice League: Unlimited travels through time and meets the elderly Bruce Wayne and the future Batman of Batman: Beyond the PastLex Luthor’s season-long presidential campaign and a direct adaptation of one of the greatest Superman stories of all time: “For the Man Who Has Everything.”
So maybe it is not the scary procedure that gives you the same feeling as when watching Batman: The Animated Series for the first time. But on the other hand, it is not Batman: The Masked Crusader!
