There has been a lot of talk about Batman in my circle. Mostly because of an argument that a friend and I had on whether Batman is a goody two shoes or not. (I thought he was, and my friend thought he wasn't, wearing black doesn't make you bad it just makes you look that way. And frankly Batman only wears black because he blends in with the shadows other wise he would probably wear brown since most bats are in fact brown ones. But anyway...) So I've been obsessed with Batman lately. His history, the cartoons, the various looks for him, seriously obsessed and I thought I would share it.
I grew up with Batman as I hope the rest of you did. Every Saturday it was Batman and Spiderman (along with RL Stine and Yu Gi Oh :/ ), a morning filled with dark heroism and colorful teenage whining. As of late Batman the Animated series is still my favorite of all the cartoons. I actually feel like this ideal of men and woman really shaped how I think and what I find attractive. In it was for the most part, strong intelligent men and daring talented and beautiful woman. I'll never forget of course animated Batman and his everlasting fights with the Joker and Poison Ivy.
Later on I became enamored with Tim Burton's Batman as well as Joel Schumacher's versons. (Although like every other nerd, nipples on the Batsuit?! WTF) The dark mystery of a man who fights fiends that dress as various animals and ideas eluded me and intrugied. Not to mention, that Lando Calrissian is the DA AKA Harvey Dent? Could a place like this be real? Where people are this theatrical and where black and leather ALL THE TIME? Awesome. How could I not love it and watch every movie over and over again. "Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it, a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it."
Ideas of the future have always entertained me so when Batman Beyond came to saturday mornings I was blown away! First I had always wondered who would take over for Batman (one of the Robins? or would they all turn out like Nightwing?), second the idea of something more advanced that the already brimming with technology Gotham city was beyond me. But I LOVE Batman Beyond it defiantly comes second in animated series category for me. My absolute favorite episode is the splicing episode. The idea that you can splice your DNA with an animal of your choosing was so rad. (!!!) I thought the Cheetah girl and the girl with the snake eyes was super awesome! I really wish stuff like that was real, and safe to do.
Later on my brother became very interested in the older Batman series while I became more obsessed with the comic, although I've never owned any :( . I used to make friends with boys who had them and read them. (Yeah, I use men for their comics) But every once in a while I would sit with my brother and watch Adam West portray my favorite hero. I have to say as much as I love to laugh at this stuff, Adam West was a horrid, HORRID Batman. I'm sorry, but it's true. His acting was terrible, he didn't strike fear into anyone's heart, he really wasn't that great of a detective. I mean the Bat was the best detective in the world! That's why the first Batman in print were detective comics, he blew Dick Tracy out of the water! Adam West didn't show any of that in my opinion. (If you want to dispute this, leave a comment. I love other peoples views.)
When Batman Begins came out I was super excited although I wasn't entirely satisfied with the results. I wanted to see Two-Face and the Joker, I never liked the idea of the Scarecrow. Plus I hardly believe that Cillian Murphy could be a doctor at Arkham, that pretty face among all those psychos? Let alone becoming one of them! But I sat through it and appreciated it for what it was, a beginning. But when the Dark Night came out I was blown away, I absolutely loved Jack Nickleson as the Joker but Heath Ledger brought something completely other to the table. Jack was just insane and cartoon-ish as the animated series that I loved so much but Heath brought the horror and criminally insane pieces that Frank Miller was so famous for. My only regret is that there isn't any sign or mention of Harley Quinn, but then again this was supposed to be the first sighting of the Joker and Harley didn't turn to crime until the Joker flirted with her in Arkham.
This lead of course to a slew of merchandising and then the all powerful Arkham Asylum video game in which the joker takes over the infamous sanitarium and prison, letting loose Gotham's most vicious onto an unsupecting Batman. Batman of course, remedies everything in the end, but only after a night of battling various mutated criminals (like Killer Croc) solving the riddler's riddles and fighting off Poison Ivy's babies that have taken over the island all while fighting against Scarecrow's serum which forces you into little challenges throughout the game. It was a blast to watch (because I don't play video games I simply watch others play them), the graphics were awesome, the story line amazing and they got the voices from the animated series to play in the game. (That's right, Mark Hamill's Joker is back babe!). I CAN NOT wait for Arkham City. It is going to be the best thing ever! There should be appearances by Catwoman, Two-Face, Penguin and then of course Harley Quinn and the Joker. I expect nothing less of Arkham City than to be as amazing as it's predecessor was.
I wasn't kidding when I said there is a slew of merchandise out there for Batman now (and all your other favorites if need be) however it's surprising that most of it isn't aimed at children. In fact I've found that Hot Topic and Spencer's seem to have more Batman themed stuff than anywhere else unless you walk in to a Toysrus. My favorite so far of what I've seen is these converse with a comic book portrayal of the dark knight on the side, they also sell joker ones, if your interested. :)
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