I didn’t want to like Beware the Batman. Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a great show that ended up being cancelled solely so a new more gritty Batman could take its place. When the show was in development, I remember reading about possibly arming Alfred with a gun and pictures of the animation style. In other words, I didn’t have much hope in this version of Batman from the beginning. However, I decided to try and have an open mind about it. All of that being said, I’ve been loving this adaptation so far.

Plot

Beware the Batman has taken a unique approach for a Batman animated show by having the episodes be serialized. In other words, the episodes continue chronologically one after the other. This offers the show a fresh way to approach Batman instead of just continually having standalone episodes. The only downside to this can be that some viewers might miss out on prior episodes, but the show has done a good job so far of identifying the characters on-screen each episode.

Bruce Wayne is younger in this adaptation, not yet becoming the Batman that strikes fear into the hearts of all criminals in Gotham. Instead, he is rougher around the edges so to speak and still learning how to be the hero that Gotham needs. This is quickly apparent in physical fights with other villains where Batman is not the overpowering martial arts expert that quickly defeats them that we see in other adaptations. Although that doesn’t mean that he’s no slouch at fighting either.

Alfred in this show is a former MI6 (British secret intelligence) agent, resulting in having a larger role in the action. The Alfred in this show instantly reminds me of the Alfred that exists in Batman: Earth One. However, his injury in the first episode when he and Batman fought Professor Pyg & Toad has resulted in him realizing he cannot be out in the battlefield for the most part anymore. The result of this is that Alfred has told Bruce he needs an assistant and bodyguard who is younger, opening the door for Katana. Katana fills the usual role of Robin in this show.

Katana is unique in this show compared to other Batman sidekicks since she is both younger and will unlikely be taking the cowl of Robin. Katana is a hero in her own right in the comics. Throughout the third episode, Bruce has tested Katana to see if she is up to the task of being his assistant, tests that she passed. It will be interesting to see how the show incorporates her main weapon (a sword) into Batman’s no-kill policy.

One of my favorite things about Beware the Batman has been the use of villains that are not well-known. This is a risky move on the ratings side of things to not be featuring villains like The Joker, The Penguin, and Bane in the first couple of episodes. However, this allows for new, fresh, and unique stories that have not been explored previously in this medium using this Batman villains. I never thought I’d see the day when the villain Magpie got an episode all for herself.

The usage of Professor Pyg & Toad as villains for the first episode was done extremely well. I was also extremely interested in the show’s usage of Anarky in the most recent episode. The show also seems to be setting up Anarky as being the main villain for at least this season, setting up the theme of Anarky (anarchy/chaos) vs. Batman (order/stability). I predict that some will criticize this as being too close to the Joker, however the show has seemed to avoid making Joker in another villain thus far.

Also worth mentioning is the realism that the show incorporates. I throughly enjoy how Bruce/Batman uses his detective work along with his fists, not simply blundering his way to defeating the villain. I also found some of the changes in designs for iconic things such as the Batmobile to be interesting.

Animation & Voice Acting

One of the most startling things for any Batman fan is the lack of Kevin Conroy voicing Bruce Wayne/Batman in this show. Anthony Ruivivar has done a fine job in his place however. I have to say that I also enjoy the choice of Kurtwood Smith (Red from That 70’s Show) as voicing the role of Jim Gordon. Despite the lack of usual heavy hitters, the voice acting in the show has been wonderful.

I predict that the animation will likely be one of the biggest criticisms of the show. The animation style does take some getting use to, however, it quickly grows on you. I find this to be similar to my reaction for the animation for Brave and the Bold when it first started.

Conclusion

My biggest piece of advice while watching Beware the Batman is to watch it with an open mind. It’s easy to find yourself comparing it to Batman: The Animated Series or Batman: The Brave and the Bold but ultimately it ends up being unfair to all three shows. The three shows are all different in their own rights, and each offer what has ended up being a different interpretation of the character. The show is taking some risks that I think will ultimately end up providing it better stories, and I think that makes worth giving it a chance.