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Beware the Batman 'Hunted' Review

Is 'Beware the Batman' a worthy addition to the DC Nation lineup or will it make us miss Young Justice and GL:TAS even more?

When it comes to Beware the Batman, it's understandable to go into the first episode with fairly high expectations. Many of us are still grieving the loss of Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Batman does have an exceptional track record on television (Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond). So if a Batman show is aiming to enthrall us on Saturday mornings, we're certainly hoping for the best. Is this the start of something truly special for The Dark Knight or was it all kinds of mediocre? Read on to find out.

The premise for the first plot is fairly straight forward. Two eco-terrorists, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, want to punish wealthy executives who were involved in a land deal which resulted in the destruction of a habitat. Guess who has to stop them before they can make these rich individuals suffer? Batman. It's simple enough, but that's by no means a bad thing. In fact, I'd dispute that's a very good thing because it gave the premiere equal time to focus on the relationship between Alfred and Bruce Wayne.

Speaking of Alfred, the new version of the character is sure to surprise some. This take makes the famous butler younger and in much better physical condition (he was even a part of MI6). While Alfred is different when it comes to physicals, the core dynamic between him and Bruce ultimately remains the same and if anything, this change in physical condition helps give the show a unique twist. Where else will you see Alfred testing Bruce by attacking him while he sleeps? Additionally, the conclusion with Alfred paves the way to introduce a new character DC is clearly trying to push. You likely know who she is if you've been following updates for the show, but I won't name her just so a few can still enjoy the surprise.

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I'm certain the animation is going to be a deciding factor for a fair amount of you. It's very similar to the earlier episodes of Green Lantern: The Animated Series, meaning it's slightly bulky and stiff at times. It's a tad jarring at first (as was GL:TAS), but it wasn't long before I began to really enjoy the visuals and was immersed in this new take on Gotham City. If you're avoiding the show solely because of the animation, at least watch a full episode before dismissing it. If you still loathe it, then so be it. But it's safe to say it'll also grow on quite a few of you.

I really appreciate the decision to use lesser-known characters and the writing for the villainous duo added a nice dose of levity. Using characters the general audience has never heard about is a risky move, but it pays off because it generates a fun episode which does indeed feel somewhat fresh. I'm sure we'll see the likes of Joker or Bane in due time, but for now, I'm stoked to see they have plans for even more less popular characters (including Silver Monkey!). It's somewhat lame when movies blatantly influence what's going on in the world of comics, but if this motivates some writers out there to use these lesser-known foes, then I'll consider that a win.

Another welcome decision is the emphasis on Wayne's intellect. There wasn't too much to deduce this time around, but seeing Wayne able to solve it so quickly was quite awesome and shows there's a lot of potential when it comes to Wayne giving his brain a good workout in the Batcave. As for Batman's voice, it isn't as rough as you may expect, but Anthony Ruivivar does a serviceable job.

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The action was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The opening scene was totally amusing and the cinematic use of batarangs rocked, but Wayne's strikes felt a tad lackluster. Things pick up a good deal in the final act and it's filled with far more entertaining and cool moments that are worthy of Batman's high reputation. The caped crusader isn't quite as formidable as you'd expect in the first half of the episode, but the second half changes that.

There were two or so moments which felt a bit silly to me and just like in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it's slightly off-putting how deserted a major city is, but these complaints aren't major by any means and didn't take away from the episode all that much (Alfred, if you're calling Batman when he's in the field and you're on speaker phone, don't refer to him as Bruce. Just saying.).

While Beware the Batman didn't blow me away or make me fall in love with it, it did a more than thorough job delivering a solid set-up in a very entertaining manner. There is absolutely a lot of potential here and I'm definitely going to check out next week's episode.

What did you think of the series premiere, Viners? Speak your mind below!

154 Comments

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Bobsjonjon

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This show is Whack! They took YJ off for this crap? Boo!

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BizzyBComics1127

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HATED THIS.MISS YOUNG JUSTICE HARD BODY ODY

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ccraft

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I haven't watched it, I hope people enjoy it tho.

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arkay74

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blkson

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Edited By blkson

It was actually a pretty decent premier. I just want Young Justice tho. Batman has had his reign. It gets tiring seeing him so much.

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trebean

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This show is Whack! They took YJ off for this crap? Boo!

HATED THIS.MISS YOUNG JUSTICE HARD BODY ODY

Right on cue.

Now where's the comments saying that YJ was cancelled because it didn't sell well? (But seriously, those toys were expensive, I wouldn't use them as gifts for my wallet's well being)

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InnerVenom123

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Edited By InnerVenom123

Alfred, if you're calling Batman when he's in the field and you're on speaker phone, don't refer to him as Bruce. Just saying.).

This bugged the sh*t out of me.

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batmannflash

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IGN gave this a 7.5 which is good. I hope this show is surprisingly good like GL TAS. And I hope they don't keep doing obscure characters. It's nice to see villains we don't normally see but it'll get old soon. I want this show to slowly introduce the more well known villains. The way to separate this show from the other Batman shows is if they expand the Bat family (Grayson, Todd, Drake, Damian Wayne, Steph, Cass, Babs).

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TommytheHitman

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Can't we just have a new Justice League TV show?

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theTimeStreamer

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Edited By theTimeStreamer

@batmannflash: pppffff. ign. the pinacle of great reviews. nobody was ever paid off there.

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the_stegman

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the_stegman  Moderator

Cue the "They cancelled YJ for this??" Comments, but honestly, the episode was mediocre. And Pyg was underwhelming.

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jwalser3

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Just bring back Justice League: Unlimited.

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MrMazz

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Edited By MrMazz

I miss Young Justice as much as the next guy. That said it's dead and gone morn an move on.

Beware the Batman isn't utter crap and has the possibility of being pretty solid. The only thing that I don't get is how Jason Stathom Alfred is supposedly so old but looks like he is the youngest of all the Alfreds.

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TenEyedMen

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Very enjoyable premiere. I'm definitely curious for next week.

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Pokeysteve

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Edited By Pokeysteve

It was much better than I expected it to be. My biggest gripe is Batman's fishbowl head. Other than that I thought it was pretty good.

I would still rather have YJ and GL though.

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medulaoblaganda

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@blkson: agreed. am tired of seeing batman all the time. cant they make wonder woman animated series or aquaman series? that will be cool. the number 1 animated movie i would like to see is thor vs mangog animated movie.

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ele3000

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Edited By ele3000

We'll see how long Beware the Batman would last before Cartoon Network would axe it and don't recieve anymore promotion for it. If it is it'll be the exact same treatment they did with Green Lantern and Young Justice. But don't get me wrong I enjoyed Batman and the new Teen Titans but having both GL and YJ canned due to lack of promotion on their end is kinda rridiculous but that's just me. Nowadays Cartoon Network would want to focus more on comedy instead of action shows from DC that would help increase their ratings.

In fact, I bet some of the executives aren't interested in DC Action at all which is probably why they pulled both shows last fall, which unsurprisingly upset a lot of fans like myself and creators involved in both shows and shorts and cancelling both shows instead of making the block into two hours. To be fair Cartoon Network is a great network for showcasing some of the best animation of the world but when it comes to showcasing DC animation sometimes I don't think it would be a good channel for them if they keep up like this.

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noj

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Wow people need to chill out. This was a decent debut and I think the show has potential. If you guys remember Batman TAS didnt start off with a 5 star episode the Man Bat episode was pretty mediocre IMO. But it eventually became one of if not THE best animated series of all time. These things take time.

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monopolyloser

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It was alright. The action elements were pretty cool. The Bruce and Alfred moments were a bit cheese. I do like the spec ops Alfred though. I think it'll catch it's stride. It has some cool potential.

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wolverine1610

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i liked this show because it had everything i like about batman vs everything some (not all) "fans" try to make him out to be, batman being a detective, batman failing every now and then, batman fighting opponents that aren't basically gods. but a first episode is of course gonna be a hit or miss so i'll give this show a few more episodes

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Gotham331

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I thought it was ok. The real crime was having it followed with Teen Titans! A line up of this, Green Lantern, and Young Justice would've been worth getting out if bed for

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RoyHarperBLOW

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Edited By RoyHarperBLOW

I didn't particularly like it but it wasn't horrible.

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deactivated-611928878d365

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I thought the animation suited Green Lantern. However it doesn't look like it would suit Batman.

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Techherofan

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This was a pretty good episode,can't wait to see how the season progress .

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nikko72

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Michael Holt aka Mr Terrific! Oh Yeah! hope they start developing the character more. Let him be inspired by The Batman to become Mr Terrific and become a regular on the show. I Hope! I Hope!

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NightFang3

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Edited By NightFang3

@ele3000 said:

We'll see how long Beware the Batman would last before Cartoon Network would axe it and don't recieve anymore promotion for it. If it is it'll be the exact same treatment they did with Green Lantern and Young Justice. But don't get me wrong I enjoyed Batman and the new Teen Titans but having both GL and YJ canned due to lack of promotion on their end is kinda rridiculous but that's just me. Nowadays Cartoon Network would want to focus more on comedy instead of action shows from DC that would help increase their ratings.

In fact, I bet some of the executives aren't interested in DC Action at all which is probably why they pulled both shows last fall, which unsurprisingly upset a lot of fans like myself and creators involved in both shows and shorts and cancelling both shows instead of making the block into two hours. To be fair Cartoon Network is a great network for showcasing some of the best animation of the world but when it comes to showcasing DC animation sometimes I don't think it would be a good channel for them if they keep up like this.

This is way I barely watch anything on CN anymore.

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andrewwann7

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I was actually surprised by this, I did enjoy it, it didn't AMAZE me, but I still had fun and will tune in next week. Still, like everyone else I really miss Young Justice and ESPECIALLY Green Lantern TAS. I really hope they pop out with more shows, maybe a new Justice League series with equal animation and tone to YJ, or maybe a new Superman show that has an equal more adult tone like this new Batman series. I love Batman, but he has had a lot of tv shows and this one isn't really necessary, though like i said was surprised and did enjoy, I just won't be as butthurt if they cancel it like I was for YJ and GLTAS.

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batmannflash

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Just watched the episode. Just some observations: the opening scene with Batman was actually really good. The voice is no Kevin Conroy, but still not bad. This scene showed that Batman is intimidating and highly intelligent/sharp. I hate the design of Batman, though. Right off the bat (no pun intended), I like the dark tone of this show. I don't like this Alfred but it could grow on me. Pyg's and Toad's video on the news actually made them seem like frightening villains but I don't see them as good recurring villains. Plus, Toad is really annoying. Batman's detective work was cool and is always nice to see. As for the new character Gregg mentioned above, I've always liked her in the past and I'm interested in seeing more of her.

So all in all, this episode was actually not bad but was not great. It shows some promise with a few annoying parts. Then there's the fact that I miss YJ and GLTAS. And even though Batman's my favorite hero, I'll rather see a new Superman, Nightwing, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman series. However, we're stuck with this, and I guess it's not all that bad. I'll give this episode a 6.5/10, which is classified as "okay."

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batshrine

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I personally loved it. Great opening for BtB, and I can't wait to see how this show grows. I am curious to see if Tatsu will be Bruce's bodyguard, Batman's partner, or both, or one to the other. Who knows!

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Mezmero

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Edited By Mezmero

I'm kind of lukewarm on this first episode. Art style is not my favorite but it is serviceable. I didn't see much of a reason to beware Batman. It's cool that they show him being hurt but it also makes him look like kind of a sloppy crime fighter. This appears to take place in a kid friendly version of Batman Earth One somewhere around year one of his campaign. I also like that Professor Pyg is in it. I'm willing to stick with it for at least a few more episodes. Ultimately the episode was just sort of meh.

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TheCerealKillz

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This show is Whack! They took YJ off for this crap? Boo!

HATED THIS.MISS YOUNG JUSTICE HARD BODY ODY

You both.... wow.

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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I enjoyed it. i learned my lesson after Green Lantern not to judge before i see it. on the subject, while i do think that this is a worthy addition to DC Nation, it does make me pine for GLTAS even more. how cool would it be to have a shared universe!!!!

I personally loved it. Great opening for BtB, and I can't wait to see how this show grows. I am curious to see if Tatsu will be Bruce's bodyguard, Batman's partner, or both, or one to the other. Who knows!

both. its pretty much been confirmed since the show was announced. Tatsu is Bruce's bodygaurd, Katana will be Batman's partner.

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blkson

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@blkson: agreed. am tired of seeing batman all the time. cant they make wonder woman animated series or aquaman series? that will be cool. the number 1 animated movie i would like to see is thor vs mangog animated movie.

Wonder Woman or Aquaman animated Tv series would be amazing!

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RedheadedAtrocitus

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Definitely gonna give it a try!

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CaptainHoopla

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@theacidskull: Agreed. It wasn't mind blowing but I never expected it to be. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next episode. I wish Marvels animated shows were this solid.

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fables87

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@blkson said:

@medulaoblaganda said:

@blkson: agreed. am tired of seeing batman all the time. cant they make wonder woman animated series or aquaman series? that will be cool. the number 1 animated movie i would like to see is thor vs mangog animated movie.

Wonder Woman or Aquaman animated Tv series would be amazing!

AGREED! Haven't watch this one yet, but the Batman I liked was the animated series back in the 90s. Nothing has topped that for me (Batman wise). Then Cartoon Network made Justice League and LOVED THAT. But something happened to the superhero shows...I blame the block buster movies.

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Ugh I do not like this tv show, the animation is so stiff and blocky and that makes the action scenes pretty poor, that kind of style worked on Green Lantern because of the setting but this just seems over stylized also the bad guys are just plain ridicules as if they just drove out of the Wind and the Willows. Oh my poor sweet Alfred, what have they done to you? :-\

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Syckles

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I HATE what they did to Pyg. It's not even that he's a bad character, I would have liked Pyg if he wouldn't have been - Pyg. They created a completely new character (an awesome character, by the way, I like that British hunter feeling - kind of like a most evil Sir Hammerlock) and slapped an old name on it... I loved Pyg from Batman and Robin, he was the most delusional character I know, he really was utterly insane, he was cruel, he had Dollotrons. This Pyg just isn't Pyg, and that's the reason I hate the show. It will make Pyg more popular, but people won't know who Pyg was, they will only know the new version. (I do have this dilemma with Ledger's Joker as well - it was a great character, but it didn't feel like the comics' Joker, it felt like some shabby guy trying to be Joker...) I appreciate new art styles and I can even bring myself to not hate the new Alfred look (though I still like his traditional style way better).

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UrbanChill

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ill pass wont be watching next week

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thenexusrebound

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Edited By thenexusrebound

The Alfred part is what is throwing me about the show. They could have just as easily made him an older gent who was MI6, I get too much of a Jason Statham from him currently. I just have a feeling it is going to be a plot point that they confuse Alfred with Batman or something. Pretty decent show though other then that.

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TheShutup

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@noj said:

Wow people need to chill out. This was a decent debut and I think the show has potential. If you guys remember Batman TAS didnt start off with a 5 star episode the Man Bat episode was pretty mediocre IMO. But it eventually became one of if not THE best animated series of all time. These things take time.

I think it's obvious the REAL reason why everyone is hating on this show was because Young Justice and Green Lantern were cancelled for it. And to be honest I kinda of am too, they really should've went the distance with those shows if anything add a new Superman series in light of the Superman success. Another Batman series REALLY DC?! I will NOT live up to the potential of that show, looking at previews the animation style doesn't fit what the show is going for. It's almost out of nowhere, A batman/Superman series also would've been more plausible and then promote the new book as well. Every episode you would see the two big DC stars and of course there allies would appear every nno and then.
but a Batman stand alone series...AGAIN!? ughh
Please Bring Back green lantern DC

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IDontLikeBirds

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I'm not eager to watch this new Batman, and as others stated, there has been plenty of shows for him. The last one I saw of his was The Brave and The Bold, which I wound up loving for it's over the top action and use of various characters (Plastic Man anyone?). And I'll give this show a chance, but I really don't care for the animation and would rather have Young Justice back, which I had just started to get into. If they decide to start doing shows of other characters, then I'll support that, especially if it's Wonder Woman or Aquaman.

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CompaC

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Is It Batman the Animated Series

- No

Not even the Batman.

DC NEEDS to flush out more charecters to the animated universe, I mean Batman isnĀ“t the hole dc universe

Beware The Batman =

The voice for Batman fits this version, i give them that, though a freaking talking toad is a batshow, noooo. If DC is so into giving Batman a billion show, why not give Nightwing his on show, he should gets his on show, for those who have read his past comics know that there is a lot of great stories there.

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YoungJustice

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@mrmazz said:

I miss Young Justice as much as the next guy. That said it's dead and gone morn an move on.

Beware the Batman isn't utter crap and has the possibility of being pretty solid. The only thing that I don't get is how Jason Stathom Alfred is supposedly so old but looks like he is the youngest of all the Alfreds.

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Dbennett6684

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I forgot about this and caught the last half flipping through channels and found it fun. Teen titans go came on afterward and I thought it was fun as well. I don't really dig the art direction of BtBatman but I understand the need to differentiate from previous iterations.

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doordoor123

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As far as I'm concerned, none of these shows have been good. New Teen Titans, Beware the Batman, Green Lantern Animated Series and Young Justice. All really bad. It's a new era of cartoons and they're all bad. Most of you like this because it is all that is out. Go ahead and watch older DC cartoons. They're all MUCH MUCH better then this crud. Eons better. I'm utterly disappointed that everything just ends up getting washed down and reformed for children. I hate children. They ruin everything. They may be our future, but what about US in the PRESENT?! That doesn't mean I don't care about the o-zone too. The o-zone is as important to us today as it is in the future. It protects us

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Lurkero

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I don't like that they decided to start the series off by showing how incompetent Batman can be. It seems like an odd choice to start the series off with Batman needing help rather than developing that over the course of a couple episodes.

Besides that I expected the environments to look empty and the animation to be a bit blocky and stiff. There is still room for improvement.

Overall Beware the Batman seems like it will be a decent watch, but not as enjoyable as previous Batman cartoons. I'm okay with that for now.

I didn't notice the part when Alfred called Batman 'Bruce' over the phone, but I did notice that Batman used the magical resolution improvement technique when he was looking at the screencap from the video that Professor Pig made.