#its all the dcau

[poisonousquinzel]

Batman: The Animated Series: Death In The Family arc & Harley Quinn's involvement.

Hiiiiiii, I've been working on remaking a post and I wanted to briefly discuss this arc itself beforehand because of a panel that's being used in the other post. <3

So Ig to begin, in case you weren't unaware, the btas universe isn't technically over.

While the animated show has long since wrapped, Paul Dini has participated heavily in a continuation comic series that take place somewhere in the New Batman Adventures seasons.

(Side note: Batman: The Animated Series / The New Batman Adventures are the essentially the same show.

Wiki: Three years after the second season of Batman: The Animated Series ended production, the show was moved from Fox to The WB network, which was airing and producing Superman: The Animated Series. These shows were merged as part of an hour-long segment called The New Batman/Superman Adventures. The WB wanted more episodes of Batman, so 24 new episodes were produced, which featured a different format and more focus on Batman's supporting cast.

In addition to the network's demands, the producers decided to make the show match the graphic style of Superman, so all the characters and objects were redesigned with fewer lines, usually referred to by the fans and creative staff as the "revamp" (or alternately, the "new look"). A similar graphic style was used in the rest of the DCAU later on.

The entire series was released on DVD as Batman: The Animated Series Volume Four (From The New Batman Adventures), most likely to establish the connection with the original series.

Ex: Catwoman is shown in the first arc of these comics and she's based off TNBA's redesign.

-

So, the Death in The Family storyline. It starts off right from the bat in Season 1 of the comic.

This story is being told multiple years after it happened, all from what Alfred knows of the event. He's telling the current Robin what happened after it's been discovered that Jason Todd is alive.

The first appearance Harley has in this series is this moment.

"Well, well! Looks like the bat-brood is in serious need of family therapy."

"I happen ta know a good shrink..."

He explains that Jason ran away and quickly remade his public image, from Boy Wonder to Boy Barbarian.

This change was noted by the Gotham Rogues.

Batman gets Intel that Jason's next target is rumored to be The Joker. Cut back to Harley & that creep.

Now, even though they'd commented on him needing a shrink, that's not what they were doing that night.

Knowing Harley, this was a very special night for her. Their anniversary.

They were out for a romantic night on the town, or so Harley had hoped...

"Ya call this romance?! I get more affection dewormin' th' hyenas!"

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper, Pooh. Look! Something for you to snuggle when I'm out with the bat-boys."

Of course, The Joker being the stupid little bitch he is, the night doesn't scream romance or anything close and she's frustrated. She tells him off and storms off, Joker giving a loving "Yeah, you'll come crawling back. You always do!". what a charmer 🔪💀

"An' now I'm out! Sayonara, smiley! We're done!"

"Yeah, you'll come crawling back. You always do! Now where's that pesky whack-a-mole..."

"Who's crawling now, Puddin'?!"

"Give my regards to th' laffin' fish!"

That was just the start of their very public breakup. Ms. Quinn appeared intent on destroying every place they had gone as a couple.

Let's make it clear that Harley did not have some elaborate "Let's pretend to fight and break up and I'll go pretend to be mad and destroy shit until the Boy Barbarian shows up." Plan with Joker.

She was destroying stuff that reminded her of him and their time together because she was mad and hurt. That's it. This wasn't a ploy to get Jason out of hiding.

He just happened to show up.

"I'm single an' celebratin'! Whoopee cushions fer all!"

Of course, these shenanigans would bring her out into the open. As they did that evening when she decided to close down their favorite restaurant.

"Red hots! Get 'em while they're hot! Umphh!"

"And here I thought you only dated weiners."

"Back off, boy scout!!"

"Boy scout? You haven't been watchin' the news."

"Agh!"

"I'm a bad boy now. More your type. In fact, we got something else totally in common."

And The Joker just happened to feel like stopping him.

Though it's Very Very doubtful he did this out of a "oh no, my love, Harley, is getting hurt." It was an opportunity and he took it.

That's it.

It had nothing to do with Harley being in danger.

It also likely had to do with the fact that he heard Jason ask her about his location and he didn't want to risk losing whatever hideout they'd acquired this time.

So he shocks him, asking Harley if she's playing the field already.

"We both want to get rid of The Joker. Tell me where he is and you'll only wind up in the emergency room."

"How could a girl say no ta that?"

[Jason gets shocked by Joker.]

"Playing the field already, punkin-pie?"

"Oh, Mista J., You really do care!"

"Smucks, Harley-Mae, I cain't stay mad at you. I even brung ya some flowers from ma's garden. Ah-hyuck!"

"It was a...trick....uuhh..."

"On second thought, they're more fittin' on this here young fella. Now don't that look purdy?"

While Jason passes out believing it was a trick, it wasn't.

It was just bad timing.

Harley wanted a romantic night on the town, and when that didn't happen, she wanted to instead destroy all the places she'd been with Joker that reminded her of that relationship. That's the Only thing she wanted.

Maybe Joker had a plan, but it wasn't one she was privy to.

This isn't what's stated by Alfred, but frankly, that's understandable. He does have bias in this situation.

But what we're shown does not align with "So Harley lured Jason in and Joker sprang the trap."

I said it once and I'll say it again, as great as Alfred and Bruce are, sometimes, they aren't reliable narrators. It was the same thing in the Mad Love episode and, especially, comic. As the comic is the only one that's got their conversation about Harleen. In the episode itself, it cuts straight from the Dentist's office to Harley trying to be seductive.

I've talked about that comic and the themes here and here.

Anyway.

"I wanted a cheerful environment for our playdate. You've been a busy bird lately. And an unhappy one too, it seems."

"I'll feel better when my hands are around your neck!"

"There! You see? All that pent up hostility! The boy is obviously in need of help."

"Oh, if only there was a trusted professional we could call!"

"A-hem. The doctor is in!

In...sane, that is! And ca-raaazy t' help ya!"

"You're dead, Quinn."

"Oh my! Such violent psychotic tendencies."

"What do you make of him, doctor?"

"The patient has a history of acting out destructive power fantasies. No doubt the effect of a very toxic home environment."

"Knowing the father, I concur."

"It's clear that Batman's obsession with building a vigilante dynasty has driven him to make anyone a so-called Robin. Even an unhinged maniac like this."

"Yes, yes! I'm in complete agreement with your diagnosis. With an emphasis on the "Die"!

What we're faced with is a case of self-preservation.

Penguin nearly splattered into street pizza, Clock King almost losing his second hand...and poor Crocky! He'd be a matching set of luggage now if our rabid Robin's aim had been better.

Junior here has become a real plague on our kind.

[Hits Jason with the crowbar.]

Fortunately, I've got the cure!"

[Hit]

"Yowzie! That's gonna hurt in the morning!"

[Hit]

I think something else to note is that if Harley was in on this elaborate plan, she would have been aware of what The Joker planned to do. She wouldn't have clearly thought this was a typical "let's rough up the punk cause he's being a pain in the ass for all of us rogues."

She's here to mockingly diagnosis him and watch him get roughed up a bit for all the trouble he's caused to the criminals in Gotham.

That's it.

"Indeed it would! If he weren't going to that big birdbath in the sky tonight!"

[Hit]

"Laugh it up, bird boy! These are the jokes! Ha, Ha, Ha!"

[Hit]

"Wait!"

"How selfish of me! Have a whack at him, Pooh."

"Roughin' th' punk up is one thing, but killing him?!"

Because that Is what she thought it was. She makes that apparent in her reaction.

Joker doesn't appreciate her hesitation, or interruptions while he's beating him. So he has her thrown out by his henchmen.

"Did you think we were just going to give him a love tap and let him go?!"

Harley cowers as he physically leaned towards her, the crowbar still gripped in his hand.

"He won't stop until he's killed every one of us! You've seen what he's done! He begged for this!"

"But..."

"Get her out of here!"

"Don't touch me! Slimy creeps! I'll knock yer heads off!"

Harley's restrained and lifted out of the warehouse by two goons.

Batman is perched outside, presumably already searching for Jason.

"Batman later admitted that Quinn volunteered to help him stop Joker, though he wisely left her cuffed outside."

Batman: The Adventures Continue Chapters 10, 11 & 12

Written By: Paul Dini, Alan Burnett

Artist: Ty Templeton

Colorist: Monica Kubina | Letterer: Josh Reed

#here <3 have a post <3 skdjsks #also #felt the need to clarify the btas & tnba thing cause when i was first really in the fandom i was very taken aback #by the difference and was like ??????? has the internet lied is mad love Not a btas episode??? #no it is essentially KSJDKSKS #its all the dcau #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #dc comics #tw blood #♧ comic thoughts ♧ #♢ meta & analysis ♢ #tw clown boy

[ufolvr]

Real big fan of robots and monsters and aliens btw in case u couldn't tell.

And a trope I Hate is forced humanization, in general. If a non human character is supposed to become connected to humankind, then fine. It's not atrocious on it's own. I don't care.

What I do care about is when they're belittled for not being "human enough" in a "weird way". Like, yeah, maybe the alien that doesn't celebrate birthdays is strange to the protagonist. They don't have to call them out on it. The alien doesn't have to be seen at the end celebrating their birthday to solidify how human they've become.

If you want it to happen have it happen gradually. Have them become curious about it, and find out they actually like the customs they're not used to yet. Aliens finding pleasure in a playground, monsters enjoying food they'd never gotten to taste before, and robots discovering they genuinely like watching TV. Whatever!

Just work around their differences, make it be gradual, and not born from the main, human cast making fun of them or pointing out how weird they are for not liking X thing. And for the love of god, don't make "Becoming Human uwu" the center of their story. It's so... Heartbreaking. Bleak, even.

#thinking about brainiac DCAU and how he would Not be open to trying out new things #bc ''his database already has all the information he needs on the topic. why would he need even more? its not important.'' #but my oc cupid isnt like Wow haha that's fucking weird cant you just Try #no its like. 'oh thats fine! ummm... oh! well i guess you dont know how You feel about it yet?' 'i certainly do not' #'how about finding it out!' 'intriguing. fine then' #its about working WITH their preferences and worldview not treating them as FLAWS. ill kill you #📡 incoming transmission 📡 #robots #monsters #aliens #💜brainiac

[radicalrobotz]

i will be honest i do enjoy him+this design. and i think its funny that i cant tell if he really has eyebrows or not i think hes supposed to have sort of thin ones and they just blend in with the dark around his eyes but sometimes they just do not draw them his resting bitch face probably doesnt help

#dc #dcau #btas #batman the animated series #btna #batman the new adventures #btac #batman the adventures continue #jason todd #btas jason todd #red hood #btas red hood #they are very clearly visible in like. ONE panel i think and its like the one time he visibly reacts #be nice to him he did get hit in the face with a crowbar several times after all #. well actually @ the post where i was asking why someone would assume jasons homophobic THIS jason does look just a little homophobic #but in the homophobic dog way solely in expression #jason staring directly at camera: I Know What You Are

[radiantmists]

i’m laughing my entire ass off at batman, comforting john after they find out he’s the other woman and also that shayera was a spy the whole time, just going “women are the most mysterious beings in the universe! these things happen. you just have to deal with it.“

it’s so absurd but then you look at his dating history of women who turned out to be like, master cat burglars or the daughter of an immortal assassin cult leader or in some continuities poison ivy and like. yeah, i guess from his perspective the woman you loved being an advance scout for the invasion of your planet led by her fiance is just. how life goes

#dc #justice league #it IS funny that batman is 100% talking about the 'other woman' part and not the invasion part #(i know at this point the claim is that theyre defending the earth from invasion but i am Not Buying its all very sus) #dcau #justice league unlimited #Jlu

[batcavescolony]

I watched some of the DCAU 'Batman: Death in the family' while reading the B:DITF comic and tbh I don't really like the DCAU version. like I get their different stories but why not just have the Sheila plot point? Idk I just feel like I'm connecting more with comic Jason, he was just a kid who wanted to see his mother and she betrayed him. in the DCAU it's kinda like their saying 'ah well thats what you get for running off should listened'

#also why does Jason Todd's dad have Lady Shiva in his address book? idk that seem weird I guess if he needed to take a hit out on someone? #also the idea that lady shiva could have maybe been Jasons mom is funny. bruce coulda found two of lady shivas kids and another was trained #by her. if they went with that bruce and shiva shoulda just had shared costady of all the kids lol #ok now im watching under the red hood.....is death in the family just utrh bruce addition? i dont like it. and still no Sheila? #plus after jasom death its like batman didnt care. in the comics (a lonely place of dying) you see him grieving. thats why Tim went to find #dick to be robin (and then dick couldn't and Tim took up the mantle). like idk its like the dcau got a summary of DINTF and ALPOD from #someone who only likes action and hates the emotion in comics. #if i only watched utrh id be with jason on the*why dont you care about me enough to kill the joker*things bcz i dont see any morning #like i see a vague *i just got out if a 6month body cast* things from the joker or something #comics bruce was calling kids jason crashing a planes like having a big enough grieving process that a 13 year old had to get dick for help #dcau utrh is better than ditf so far i like the action and stuff but i like the comics better #comics #dc comics #robin #tim drake #batman #red robin #bruce wayne #dick grayson #jason todd #red hood #dcau #nightwing #under the red hood #death in the family #i like bb jason tho when he was in the og costume that was cute #obligatory this is just my opinion dont kill me for this i like jason and all the batkids bcz some if yall are wild

[pablohunie1993]

guys ask if you wanna hear their idea for a dc elseworlds story and then send you their crossover au fanfiction

#and then it's just all of their favorite characters fighting their favorite villains hanging out forming relationships etc #it's fanfic baby #not saying these are exclusive but the hoops some people jump through so they don't have to call their work fanfic #all of my dms on tiktok and twitter #dcu #dc comics #dcau #dcmu #here's my elaborate wiki and then its literally just the bones of a massive novel

[cockyroaches]

I don't talk about it much but Brainiac calls himself and Clark the "last twin sons of krypton" and I'm sitting here like. Oh baby boy don't do that to me, the *implications*

#sad i would never really elaborate this bc it would make brainiac 5s relationships with clark and supergirl verrrryyyyyy awkward. #its just a fun little detail i think about with all my heart #bitch mantis #dcau #i know brainy being an ai from the start is not smth everyone likes but i live for the Foils. oh its so cool

[thebuttsmcgee]

god I can't get over how fucking amazing of a trailer the Arkham Trilogy had for the Nintendo Direct.

THE Arkham City revamped theme song, syncing in with the strikes and explosions in the background, with characters giving their lines in between, showing most of the Rouges Gallery, and that's not even mentioning how they, somehow by a miracle, got ALL 3 games to look actually really fucking good on switch!!!!!

Like Asylum and City, were somewhat a given, they were originally 360/PS3 and even City was on the Wii U, but considering this Miiiight be the Return to Arkham remasters and possibly not the OG 360/PS3 ports (which would be a bit unfortunate, the OG ports actually look better due to the team making their limits their advantage) which is a bit more demanding,

AND THEN, ARKHAM KNIGHT LOOKS GOOD !!!!! LIKE HOLY SHIT??!?? I know the gameplay footage isn't final, but a good amount of gameplay was show and none of it looked really choppy or too bad?? Seriously holy fucking shit this is astronomically batshit nuts

The studio behind this port is Turn Me Up studios, they were behind the switch ports of the Borderlands games, It Take Two, Brothers:A Tale of Two Sons, and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater remakes. And what's SOOOO shocking above all,(as far we know) like seriously surprising, is that Knight isn't Cloud! Not a Cloud service game, it's native to switch. LIKE. HUH. HOW. THIS ISN'T IMPOSSIBLE BUT DAMN NEAR CLOSE YKNOW

god I'm so fucking excited to play this saga again! Plus look at this rad as fuck render for this port, it'll be great hopefully!!!

..

...

....now, ahem, where's the Origins port also? It was on Wii U as well and is actually in fair demand. /lh

#BatMan #BatMan Arkham Series #god I cant stop re-watching it when I can. THE MUSIC AAAAAA #THE GAMEPLAY GGURUHHH #AND ALL DLC INCLUDED EVEN THE PLAYSTATION EXCLUSIVES HREGGGYUUJ (well supposedly but ykno) HDGWGAVA #been waiting for this for a goooooood while #actually Ive been fr manifesting this for a bit cause Ive been re-watching dcau stuff and going through all the costumes theyve had for eac #Arkham game. TAS skin still the best one obviously. followed by the Keaton and 60s also. #but yea FUCK YEAH. MY WINNN #lets just hope its at a reasonable price. well. I say that #but tbh. 60 bucks would be kinda understandable since like seriously. It must have taken so long to get Knight running #on switch AND with good framework AND graphics AND not relying on the cloud service. like goddamn. #Seriously sometimes switch ports will be a hit or miss BUT WHEN ITS A HIT ITS A HOME RUN BABEYY #Now....TMU studios...I have but one faint request...pls....pls mario outfit on top of BatMan suit please I beg for that #it wuold be so awsom......it woudl be os cooll...... #oh but yea as long as its not 70 Im not really complaining too much. I think 40 or 50 would be best tho considering how low the collection #goes on for other platforms nowadays #but yea. Origins. good too. mostly.

[uncharted-constellations]

Also I dont know why but in my head the dcau/btas version of bruce is fucking huge. 6’5 at minimum, meanwhile canon bruce cannot exceed 6’3 in any capacity, including boots. He’s tall sure but not Huge like btas bruce.

Like there’s a reason old man bruce is still intimidating as hell and it’s not just the cane and Ace. At the same time there’s probably a good dozen or so videos from back in the day of Brucie Wayne smacking his forehead on the frame of a car door while getting in and out of a lambo and on low door frame’s in the manor. He did it exactly once walking through a crime scene by accident in the early days as Batman and Jim remembered it forever, even if he never brought it up.

Old man bruce is still taller than canon bruce even with a cane. Terry complains about being tiny even though he’s average height, and noone from the canon batfam understands why until they finally meet old man bruce. Its another check on the “Terry is NOT Bruce’s Bio-Son” list that they’ve been working on.

#i dont care how tall this would make the other dcau og heroes #they can all be massive for all i care #my favorite thing in batman beyond is when terry goes from looking average #or even tall #to fucking tiny just by moving into the same frame as a giant adult #he’s supposedly 5’10 #that isnt even short #but yeah ive mentioned before that i personally dont care for the epilogue reveal but #at the same time terry and matt have to look confusingly similar to bruce for my own amusement #terry doesnt mind being refered to as bruce’s kid but he just assumes its because canon bruce is an adoption fiend #i think backstory wise for the divorce it makes sense if mary cheated on warren with Someone #but it doesnt add anything to terrys story to have the bruce dna swap nonsense #i dont mind if theres something odd about terrys origins i just dont care for it to be bruce related #if you ask why dna tests arent done on either side #bruce knows he didnt sleep with terrys mom #while cloning is definitely a worry in canon its not so muvh in dcau #and even if terry Was bruce’s he wouldnt match canon bruce anyways #i personally prefer the idea that while most of the same people are born at the same time #or the same age range as necessitated by sliding timelines #theyre not gonna be the same sperm and eggs #thats just silly #if you ran btas bruce against canon bruce i imagine they show up as brothers at best #more likely as cousins #or possibly depending on how far back the dimensional differences go #not at all #like btas tim drake is essentially completely unrelated to canon tim drake #might have a miniscule connection on the dads side but thats it

[norasghost]

ive been binge watching all the dcau movies instead of doing literally anything else i need to do, no dont look at me, im sorry, im ashamed of myself, im so behind schedule on everything, i have no self control, i hate it

id do it again in a heartbeat tho--

#they have no right to be that damned good #also they dragged me into comics yeeey #i love that everything is online too #getting a friend to pass me his hbomax account was a mistake #dcau #dc movies #dc universe #dc #dc batman #ARE YOU KIDDING ME HOW AM I A BATMAN FAN NOW I USED TO THINK IT WAS SO DUMB LIKE TWO YEARS AGO #oh how was i so mistaken #also dick grayson my beloved #even tho the movies dont do him justice as for my research #im a batfam fan now aswell i love that shit with all my heart its not even funny anymore #so yeah #babe wake up new hiperfixation just dropped!!

[gimblestank-the-goblin]

Rewatching the DCAU and hot take: Hawkgirl is who Batman thinks he is.

#dcau #batman #justice league unlimited #also #unrelated #but Batman is such an asshole #He's so aggro all the time #and when he's nit being aggro he's being passive agressive for no reason #it doesnt make him look tough #it just makes him seem unoleasent to work with #its gotta be bad for team cohesion

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Not Watchtower Database on twitter actually trying to say the adaption of The Killing Joke is overhated and is a fine film.

Saying this about a movie that literally added a Batgirl story onto the Killing Joke JUST so Bruce Timm can add his Bruce X Barbara ship via a gross as fuck sex scene and literally adapted the Killing Joke in a dull manner that even the late Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill sounded bored voicing is just, oh my god- I mean, I admire the nerves of steel to type it out and send it into existence but like-

#its not overhated #in fact it needs a lil more hate #because seriously can someone ask why bruce timm looks at bruce and barbara #a father and daughter relationship between someone and the girlfriend of his son and the daughter of his friend #and says 'yeah i ship it' #and even felt the need to do THAT scene #its already one of the worst aspects of the dcau #and just...the fact that the killing joke bit is really dull and boring in comparison to the comic #and i dont even really like the killing joke comic itself #but the adaption really was just...bad all around

[kstarlitchaotics]

PROTECT REMAINING CAST OF BTAS AT ALL COST!!!!

#i know this is something #we all cant control #but my childhood show is vanishing with #its voicings 😭💖 #dc #batman #btas #batman the animated series #dc animated series #dc animated universe #dcau #batman fandom #dc fandome

[artbyblastweave]

So I recently had the thought that Superman as depicted in the DCAU canon probably has the best-articulated-by-the-narrative and most-consistent character flaws of any Superman I’ve seen, in a way that’s enabled by the long-formedness and consistent creative vision of the series.

He’s got an Atlas complex that grinds the gears of his equally-durable, equally-capable colleagues in the Justice League. He has deep-seated fears of moving the wrong way and breaking something or someone, which is then upstream of some moderate control issues. He’s got anger problems, although it’s rare for someone to push him far enough that this takes center stage; you see this with Prof. Hamilton in the series finale of STAS, but also in a number of fights against opponents strong enough that he starts getting frustrated. When the stakes are lower, he can be cocky bordering on genuinely vindictive; there are lots of examples of him rubbing his opponents' noses in it when he finally gets them on the back foot, and it’s shown in flashbacks that he was genuinely kind of a dick when he was a teenager and hadn’t completely sorted out what proportional responses looked like. He doesn’t always think through the implications of his grand projects, be that the implicit threat-escalation posed by the expanded JLU, or the massive disarmament project he spearheaded that turned out to be part of an alien invasion scheme. There are probably more of these that I’m forgetting. The final roundup here is that he’s a good guy. He’s far and away from a perfect guy, with perfect judgement. All of this amounts to something that’s more coherent and specific than the contradictory, subject-to-eternal-revision mess you could assemble from his 60-something year publication history in the comics, but nonetheless with a substantial-enough runtime that all of these traits can be put on display again and again.

In turn, this allowed the collective DCAU continuity to get away with at least three “what if Superman went rogue” plots- four if you count the mind-control situation in Legacy- specifically because they did the legwork to establish the concrete neuroses and psychological vulnerabilities that might cause this specific version of Superman to go rogue. It was never completely insane that Luthor might figure out the exact set of words, actions, and personal losses necessary to coax this depiction of Superman into an authoritarian partnership for the supposed greater good. It’s not completely insane that this depiction of Superman, if pushed far enough, might lose faith in the collective judgement of humanity and decide to put the world and all his loved ones in a bottle. And when the Cadmus plot rolls around in JLU, it’s as effective as it is because they’ve already advanced two roads-not-taken, established what levers you need to pull to make this specific version of this guy cross the line, and that Cadmus and Luthor are pulling all of them. 

I emphasize the specificity here, because the flipside of this are Superman-gone-rogue narratives that jump right to that as the cornerstone of the continuity, with no real opportunities for juxtaposition. A major issue I eventually developed with the Injustice franchise is that despite its pretenses of being an alternate universe, there’s no established continuity that it’s deviating from, bar its own. To some extent I feel as though it’s banking on the audience transposing their gestalt-understanding of Superman and the broader DCU- hell, their understanding of the Justice Lords arc in particular- in order to elide that they’re playing extremely fast-and-loose with the specifics of what has and hasn’t happened to Superman in this continuity. The DCEU is a runner-up- jumping right to the Damocles-sword of a bad-future after two movies is jumping the gun, in the same way everything about the 2010s DCEU was jumping the gun. I think you could plausibly attack TDKR’s portrayal of Superman under this logic, although I personally wouldn’t- but that’s its own post.

Point being that you can’t sell me the upset of a paradigm if you never established it-you need to set up the pins before you can bowl worth a damn.

#superman #DCAU #justice league #justice league unlimited #superman the animated series #stas #thoughts #meta

[thestargayzingheroine]

Why A Better World is my favourite "Evil Superman" Story

So in the last two decades or so, there's been a notable amount of dark and edgy stories around superheroes turning evil and whatnot and most of them really love to do their own expies of Superman. I've never been the biggest fans of these kinds of stories.

And then there's the actual stories of Superman and other heroes being outright villains or at least just massive assholes. In recent years, this has been largely thanks to the influence of media like the Injustice Games or the Synderverse DC movies. It's... honestly become a trope I am tired of.

Because you know the damnest thing? There is a story that does all these ideas really damn well and arguably better. It is the two-parter from the Justice League cartoon "A Better World".

Now, I am aware how most people favouring the DCAU has become a bit of toxic nostalgia at times and it's something I myself am trying to work through a bit. But in this case, I do think it's the best idea of doing an evil DC story, much better and more interesting than the Crime Syndicate, who if you ask me are not very interesting, though I do remember liking the Crisis On Two Earths movie a lot, which funny enough, was originally going to be this two parter before various things led to it being canned and then later repurposed as a direct to DVD movie.

Anyway, my main crux of why I love this story is simple... The entire Justice League turns evil... and the reasons are very much in-character for all of them. You look at the scene with Justice Lord Batman for example.

As fucking evil as the Justice Lords are... Batman can't quite fully hate his alternate self for his reason for taking part in all this being basically one-step further than his own mission, that no child should ever go through what he did. Hell, I recall reading that the reason the writers had Batman drop his batarang at the end of this scene... was because he genuinely wouldn't be able to come up with an argument to that.

Superman likewise kills Lex Luthor because yeah, Luthor literally exploited the flaws in Democracy and became president of the US, threatening to kinda basically start world war 3. It's obviously horrible... but Superman is a character whose main motivation is making the world a better place. And if people who abuse the systems of power of the world are hurting people, why shouldn't Superman put a stop to that?

And yeah, Superman should obviously never kill, he's the most paragon of paragons of the DC universe, a man committed to always being better than the villains he fights... but this is him pushed to his most logical extreme. Hell, the main Superman knows this and its why Lex used his knowledge of this alternate universe as part of his plan in the season after this, to goad our Superman into crossing the line because yeah, there's a part of him that could go this far.

But right as Superman is about to apparently finish him, the big guy says this.

"I'm not the man who killed President Luthor. I wish to heaven that I were but I'm not."

Because Superman like everyone else, obviously would have those same thoughts and same urges. He's human.

I've kinda gone off Injustice a bit because to be honest... the injustice games were kinda just this but a bit too edgelordy. Hell, in A Better World, Lois Lane still lives and the whole genesis of it doesn't revolve around her getting fridged.

So yeah, A Better World is probably one of my favourite mirror universe stories because of the fact that well... it really is like looking in a mirror and seeing just how easy the greatest heroes can become evil and how they wouldn't be massively out of character doing so. But also it reminds us that as much as this darkness can tempt some of our finest, the ones who don't go down this dark path are stronger in heart than anyone else. Because when the world becomes a dark and horrible place, it becomes very easy to be just as dark. But even though it can be hard to still try and be a good person even in dark times, it's ultimately worth it. Because good always triumphs over evil.

#dc #superman #batman #dcau #justice league #justice lords #essay post #Youtube

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series & The DCAU - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Batman Beyond

Debuting on January 10th, 1999, Batman Beyond was a bold and surprising continuation of Batman’s journey.  Its three seasons act as a concluding bookend to the story first started in Batman: The Animated Series.

Chronologically, the tale begins some forty years after the final installments of The New Batman Adventuress and Justice League Unlimited.  The world has been greatly changed by advanced innovation, much likely derived from alien technology. Neo-Gotham is a cold megalopolis with staggering high rises, flying vehicles and all manner of futuristic invention. Greed, corruption and stark class stratification still grips the city, and the Batman, Gotham’s former protector, has not been seen in decades. 

The show introduces Terry McGinnis, a troubled teen in search of answers after his father has been murdered.  Happenstance brings Terry into the life of an aged and reclusive Bruce Wayne.  Retired and estranged from his former friends and allies, Bruce has secluded himself in confines of Wayne Manner.  Yet Terry discovers Bruce’s secret, that he had once been the legendary Dark Knight.  Begrudgingly at first, Bruce ultimately agrees to train Terry in becoming the next Batman.  Terry is eventually able to bring his father’s killer to justice and the streets of Gotham are once more patrolled by a Batman.  

The show was met with much skepticism when it first premiered.  It was a significant departure and many (this author included) were reluctant to accept someone else in the role of Batman.  And yet its sleek production, dark themes, super cool character designs and top notch writing came to win over a fiercely loyal audience of fans (this author included).  

Kevin Conroy returned to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne, with Will Friedle voicing Terry McGinnis.  Cree Summer, Lauren Tom, Sherman Howard, Paul Winfield and Stockard Channing provided the voices for additional characters. 

#batman the animated series #Batman Beyond #Batman #cut-out #paper art #DCAU