The Batman (2004)

I watched this show on Saturday Morning cartoons as a teenager.

So this may be blasphemous to say, but I like this series much better than Batman TAS. But that is also largely due to circumstances and my age when each series came out.
Don't get me wrong, I love TAS... but I was too young when it first aired. The first episode aired in September of 1992... I was only 2 years old at the time. So yes in a couple later years when I was still a young boy, I still saw the show on TV some here and there, but my memories of it are fleeting at best. I get how great it is, with it pretty much being the definitive version of Batman and a lot of these characters. It's Kevin Conroy's voice that is undeniably the most iconic voice for Batman and the first one most people think of or hear when even just reading the comics or his words on paper. So much so he continued to play the character in many other incarnations going forward like the Arkham games.

The problem for me, however... is I don't really remember the actual series all that well. I really need to revisit it now that I'm an adult and give it a good full proper watch through.

That said. The Batman aired in September of 2004... when I was 14. The perfect age really to get hooked into this series along side other shows I was watching at the time like Sonic X, Xiaolin Showdown, and the 2003 TMNT series.
I am pretty sure I saw just about every single episode of The Batman on air when over those 5 years it had its seasons. And I loved it.
The show shakes things up a bit, and needed to stand out from TAS. As well as it had the hard task of coming up in the shadow of TAS which already put it at a disadvantage. A lot of people just dismissed it out right for not being TAS and never gave it a fair shake. If you're one of those people, do try to give this show a solid chance.

It mostly picks up with Bruce being Batman around his second year on the job, ironically similar to The Batman movie in 2022 in that regards. Taking interesting and cool takes on a lot of characters, especially the Joker. Joker in this series is fairly divisive among fans, and I fall on the side that I love this take on the character. It's very unique and different from most other interpretations of The Joker, but it fits perfectly for what this show is, what this Batman is like and this particular take on Gotham. He's way more feral, animal like, and probably the most physically active and combative of any Joker incarnation actually able to go toe to toe with Batman in a fight... literally as he fights largely with his feet using kicks in a monkey marital arts style of fight.
Which ties into one of the cool things about this series is they tried to give every villain their own distinct fighting style. With Joker's being largely monkey style.

This show also has my favorite interpretation of The Riddler, and I think he's awesome. But above all... I LOVE the Batmobile in this show. Both of them. Especially his second version after Gearhead destroys his first car. But both Batmobile 1 he has in season 1 and 2, as well as Batmobile 2 he has in seasons 3, 4 and 5, are my favorite versions of the Batmobile I've seen to date.

It's also not a big undertaking if you decide to watch it. The seasons are all short. Only 13 episodes in each of the 5 seasons, for a total of 65 episodes. Season 1 of Power Rangers was like 64 episodes. Just for a single season. But that was a daily show where as The Batman was a weekend show.

I still need to give TAS a good proper full watch now that I'm old enough to fully appreciate it, but even if I do. Nostalgia is very strong with me and The Batman 2004 will likely still remain my preferred version.
At the very least, you should give this show a solid chance. Don't judge it for not being TAS. Judge it on being what it is. The Batman.

Mistake Status: I will for sure be doing this show at some point, just not sure yet when I'll get to it.

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