Beware the Batman
Beware the Batman is an American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on July 13, 2013, as part of their DC Nation block, replacing "". The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. The series ran on Cartoon Network until it was pulled from the schedule four months after its premiere, without official explanation. After the series was put on hiatus, the remaining episodes of the series began to air on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block, from July 27  to September 28, 2014. Synopsis. The series is set during Bruce Wayne's early years as the Batman, following his initial period of battling organized crime. Over the course of the season, he hones his skills with the assistance of his butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce is introduced to Alfred's goddaughter Tatsu Yamashiro. Tatsu is a martial arts swordsmaster hired to act as Bruce's bodyguard, but also recruited to act as a superhero partner to Batman. Characters. Crime-fighting vigilante Batman teams up with swordmistress Katana and his ex-secret agent butler Alfred Pennyworth to face the criminal underworld  led by Anarky, Magpie, Ra's al Ghul, Tobias Whale, Phosphorus Rex, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, Lady Shiva, Key, Killer Croc, and Humpty Dumpty. Anarky, in particular, was intended to be the main villain in the series. While the developers allowed themselves license to stylize the characters' appearances, the villains were particularly designed to be "over the top". Production. Background. After "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" ended its run in November 2011, a new series went under production, so that Batman could return to a more "serious tone". With Batman receiving a new sidekick, Outsiders member Katana, Register even  commented that "Katana is gonna be his new Robin, but not necessarily." The series was a 3D computer-animated format, similar to the earlier ""s animation style. In the wake of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting, which occurred during a screening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises", it was announced that the series content would be altered in order to make the firearms in the show look less realistic. In addition initial announcements for the series were accompanied with promotional art that was not intended for public release, depicting Alfred as a gun-toting butler. This upset  fans of the Batman mythos, who argued against Alfred's participation in Batman's exploits, and his use of deadly firearms as against the Batman's principles. In response to fan criticism, producer Glen Murakami acknowledged that this poster image was an inaccurate representation of what the character's actual role would be. He elaborated that the poster was intended to be an action-themed shot that displayed the cast of characters, but that Alfred's portrayal had been misleadingly made more exciting. "You can't have an action pose of a guy standing with a tray", joked Murakami. Mitch  Watson also noted the problem presented if Alfred were fighting alongside Batman, as he would be recognized as Bruce Wayne's butler, and thus reveal the identity of Batman. Regardless, both producers insisted that Alfred would remain true to his intended characterization as a mentor to Batman, who could potentially help Batman if a story plot called for it. Scott Thill, technology and pop culture commentator for "Wired" magazine, praised the initial choice to debut the villain Anarky on television, claiming the character was relevant following the rise of the Occupy movement and the hacktivist activities of Anonymous. In promoting  the series, Warner Bros. debuted a trailer a month prior to the series premier, featuring action sequences from the first three episodes, highlighting Batman, Professor Pyg and Toad, Magpie, and Anarky. On July 2, the opening title sequence was released to "Entertainment Weekly", a week prior to the series premiere. It depicts Batman, Alfred, Katana, and the Batmobile, in a stylized red background with stark red lighting effects, contrasted by dark shadows and silhouettes. The show's opening theme is composed by the indie rock band the Dum Dum Girls. 3D development. The requirements of 3D animation at times necessitated  that inanimate objects such as ships and city streets were built, rather than simply drawn, creating a need for the completion of entire set designs. This would increase production times, but later allow the developers to bring cinematic qualities of lighting and camera play to the series. Batman's utility belt was fully recreated from cardboard and worn by producer Glen Murakami's design team, to test how the belt would function while in motion. "If you really built it, it would work", said Watson. Batarangs were designed to flip-open and function when retrieved from the belt. The Batmobile  was also subjected to scrutiny, as a "certain amount of weight" was added to it as it moved on city streets, out of concern that it would be unbelievable otherwise. Broadcast. Three months after the series premiere, "Beware the Batman" was pulled from the Cartoon Network schedule and put on hiatus on October 23, 2013. Cartoon Network did not provide an official explanation, leading fans to believe that the series had already been cancelled. Cartoon Network then moved the series to the Toonami programming block on the network's late-night Adult Swim block. Toonami first aired the series on  Sunday, May 11, 2014, during the early-morning time slots. Cartoon Network then declared the series a financial failure and decided to "write it off", removing it from the network altogether. On September 28, Toonami ran a marathon consisting of the final seven unaired episodes to avoid abruptly ending the series run. The show made its Canadian premiere on October 11, 2013 on Teletoon. Home video. On February 18, 2014, the first 13 episodes of the series were released on Blu-ray and DVD in a collection titled "Beware The Batman: Season 1 Part 1 – Shadows of Gotham". The twelfth  and thirteenth episodes had yet to air, despite being released on this collection. A second collection, titled "Beware The Batman: Season 1 Part 2 – Dark Justice", was released on September 30, 2014 containing the remaining 13 episodes of the show's only season. Adaptations. Writers Mike W. Barr (co-creator of the character Katana), Scott Beatty, Matt Manning, and Ivan Cohen (who wrote the episode "Unique") and artists Luciano Vecchio and Dario Brizuela produced an original DC Comics comic book set in the continuity of the television series. An online game titled 'Gotham Streets' was posted in Cartoon Network site  in 2014.