Batman, Batman, so much Batman! How many animated series starring the Dark Knight detective have there been in the past 20 years? Four? Five?! (I looked it up: The answer is six, and that's not including shows where he was a supporting player.)

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And while the hunger -- the undying thirst among fanboys -- for ever more Batman content is clear, it falls to the creators, writers and animators at Warner Bros. to figure out new ways to tell the story of the boy who would be a bat. The last Batman show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, utilized a lighter tone in its team-up adventures for the Caped Crusader, something that differentiated itself from the more serious and realistic live-action films of Christopher Nolan as well as the animated shows that had preceded it. But what can Beware the Batman do to distinguish itself from Brave and the Bold, The Animated Series, The Batman, and the rest?Well, judging by "Hunted," the series premiere of Beware the Batman, for starters the new show looks different. Created via CG, the animation here is similar to that of DC Nation's dearly departed Green Lantern series. Which is to say, it takes some getting used to. While Batman himself looks pretty cool from the get-go -- he's got a sort of old-school meets modern design, with exaggerated ears and narrow eye slits that hearken back to the original Bob Kane/Bill Finger concept, combined with a suit that looks as latexy as any Nolan or Burton threads -- the opening scene of the episode suffers visually when Mr. Wayne's alter ego is not front and center (or lurking in the shadows). The bank robbers he's battling and the environment they're fighting in, which feels like a 3D CG environment rather than a natural space for the characters to occupy, are slightly off-putting.That said, as with the Green Lantern animated series, I found that by the end of the first episode I was pretty much onboard with the new look and style. Those early, creaky moments seemed more an anomaly than anything else, and in particular I think this CG works better with more heightened designs, such as the hideously ridiculous villains who are the main threat of this episode, Professor Pyg and Mister Toad!

Who Are the Villains of Beware the Batman?

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Yes, those Grant Morrison creations are here, driving their old roadster (and voiced by Brian George and Udo Kier respectively!), and illustrating another way in which Beware the Batman looks to strike terror into… um, looks to strike out on its own. The series' creators are avoiding, for now anyway, the more familiar rogues gallery of Joker, Penguin, and the rest. And frankly, it's refreshing to explore fresh, freaky territory in this regard. Of course, these characters aren't as grotesque or violent as in the comic book, though they are unsettling as portrayed here all the same. And yet they're kind of funny too.Batman's first mission involves tracking down these eco-terrorists, who have been kidnapping Gotham City's billionaires -- and, of course, Bruce Wayne (voiced by Anthony Ruivivar) is on that exclusive list. But while he's been arguing with Alfred (J. B. Blanc) lately about how involved in the war on crime his loyal butler should get, Bruce finds himself also having to save Alfred when he's mistakenly snatched by Pyg and Toad in his stead. Not that Alfred needs much by way of saving.Early promotional art for this series featured a gun-toting Alfred, which worried some fans. But judging by the first episode, this version of Alfred -- while quite a bit more physical than his usual movie and TV counterparts -- is still very much Alfred, faithful to his charge to the last, smart, resourceful, and a fully active partner to Batman. (He's an ex-MI6 agent, we're told.) He's also concerned about what will happen to Bruce once he's gone, which is a very interesting concept: Who will be Alfred's successor when his time comes? (The old guy also gets a great intro scene where he goes mano-a-mano against his master.)This Batman can use the help, too, it seems. He takes a few hits in this episode alone (including a dislocated shoulder that he snaps back into place himself during battle), and a third potential member of this new Bat family emerges by episode's end -- not a Robin or other familiar sidekick, but the sword-wielding Katana (voiced by Sumalee Montano), who is a character that actually originated in The Brave and the Bold comic back in 1983 (and was one of Batman's Outsiders too).Another welcome aspect of Beware is Batman's use of actual detective work while trying to crack this case. Producers Glen Murakami (Batman Beyond) and Mitch Watson (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc.) have said that they want to show the World's Greatest Detective doing some, you know, detecting, which is an aspect of the character that is too often lost in translation.Somewhat disappointingly, the villains' storyline isn't neatly wrapped up by the end of this episode, which hints at a bigger conspiracy unfolding in Gotham. Still, this gives us a reason to want to come back for the next episode, and while Beware the Batman isn't a slam-dunk out of the gate, it definitely has me intrigued. I'm willing to give it a shot and will be back next week with another review. Care to join me?Beware the Batman debuts on Cartoon Network Saturday, July 13, at 10 a.m. (ET/PT) as part of DC Nation.

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