Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

The New Batman Adventures was the successor to the highly acclaimed television program Batman: The Animated Series. There has been some debate over the official title of this show (some refer to it as "Batman: Gotham Knights"), but creator Bruce Timm has clarified on numerous occasions that The New Batman Adventures is the official title. The DVD release of this show is known as "Batman: The Animated Series Volume 4 (from The New Batman Adventures)"

Stories in in this series tend to involve Batman and his supporting cast, which include fellow crimefighters Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, among others. The show also features guest stars such as Superman, Etrigan and The Creeper; characters that would later appear with Batman in Justice League Unlimited.

Contents 1 Television series 1.1 The Batman Adventures: Lost Years 2 Episode list 2.1 The New Batman Adventures Season 1 (September 1997-August 1998) 2.2 The New Batman Adventures Season 2 (September 1998-January 1999) 3 Character list 4 See also

Television series

The New Batman Adventures was produced for The WB and started several years after Batman: The Animated Series had stopped production. The animation style was changed significantly from Batman: The Animated Series due to budgetary issues and to have the show more compatible with the smoother Superman: The Animated Series which TNBA would eventually air in tandem with as part of The New Batman/Superman Adventures. The show had a significant change in focus from the original series with episodes focusing less on Batman and more on the many characters that inhabited Gotham City. The art was more streamlined, giving Batman a more sleek, buffed appearance and his classic plain black chest emblem. His rogues gallery also got a makeover. For example, The Joker was made pale blue with green-highlighted black hair, and black eyes with white pupils. He no longer had the ruby lips from the earlier animated series. Most characters were given a more ghoulish appearance. The tone of the show shifted between dark and serious and light and charming, with some of the darkest episodes ever seen in a cartoon (Over the Edge featured the death of Batgirl, albeit in a "what if?" story) as well as wacky, lighthearted fare (Critters, one of the most fan-reviled episodes, but actually one of Timm's favorites and will have commentary on the upcoming DVD release of the TNBA episodes).

Having much of the same cast and crew behind it, and supervised by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, TNBA was just as well received by both fans and critics alike as the original Batman: The Animated Series. While some complained about the overhauls of certain character designs (Catwoman, Joker), others felt the new designs were superior to BTAS (Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Talia).

The New Batman Adventures had its fair share of memorable episodes. Perhaps the famous was Mad Love which featured the origins of Harley Quinn and the dynamic of her relationship with the Joker as well as showing her nearly killing Batman. Legends of the Dark Knight featured three kids telling stories about Batman, one in the vein of the 50's/60's stories involving giant instruments, and another featuring a near word-for-word adaption of a scene from Dark Knight Returns. Other episodes included Over the Edge (mentioned above), Old Wounds (filling the gap between B:TAS and TNBA), and World's Finest (a three-part crossover story with Superman: The Animated Series.)

The Batman Adventures: Lost Years

Shortly after The New Batman Adventures aired on Kids WB! , a mini-series set in the continuity of the series was published. In a total of five books (the late) Hilary Bader, Bo Hampton, Terry Beatty, Lee Loughridge and Tim Harkins explained the gap between BTAS and The New Batman Adventures. The Plot is as follows:

Book One: Robin (Dick Grayson) voices his disapproval towards Batgirl’s (Barbara Gordon) fighting crime and tries to stop her from doing so. During this time, Batman finds out that Batgirl is Barbara Gordon (in an interesting side note, Barbara was playing tennis with Dick when Batman saw that she moved just like Batgirl). After some time Batman's comes to this conclusion that Batgirl will fight crime but under his wing. Dick gets upset and has an argument with Bruce, but fails to change his opinion.

Book Two: Bruce and Dick have a very hot argument the day of his graduation and Dick decides to leave Gotham City. Alfred and Barbara try to convince him but to no avail. Dick leaves to fine tune his skills just like Bruce did in his youth.

Book Three: Dick comes across and ancient African tribe and learns combat from them; he finally gets ready to step out of Batman's shadow. Inspiration comes and Dick develops a new persona for himself: Nightwing!

Book Four: Batman gets darker and angrier and more driven because of Dick's departure. He and Batgirl fight crime alongside and Batgirl notices the difference. One night, while on the trail of Two-Face, Batman saves a young Tim Drake, son of petty criminal "Shifty" Drake (this was where most Batman fans voiced their disapproval. In the comics continuity, Tim Drake was a smart, intelligent computer whiz whose mother and father were two of the most respected people in Gotham. The writers of the animated series chose to blend Tim with another character, Jason Todd -- the ill-fated Robin who would otherwise make no appearances in the animated universe). Shifty was murdered by Two-Face and Tim swore revenge. Batman trained Tim into Robin and gave him another shot at life. Two-Face was captured and Batman took in Tim as his second ward.

Book Five: Dick returns to Gotham and unveils his new persona, Nightwing, to the world. Batgirl is baffled by Dick's newfound arrogance and brooding attitude. Nightwing meets the new Robin and is left heartbroken. Nightwing then beholds that he had actually intended to steal an ancient artifact that belonged to the tribe that had taught him. Batman stops Dick and eventually gets Dick to join him in his fight against crime. He agrees and they form a team of four and fight the good fight in Gotham City. In an interesting side note, Dick leaves Gotham for Blüdhaven much like his comic book self in an issue of the critically acclaimed Batman Adventures (2004)

Episode list

The New Batman Adventures Season 1 (September 1997-August 1998)

1. Holiday Knights (first aired Sept. 13, 1997) - Three unrelated vignettes occurring around Christmastime, highlighting the Bat-family's Yuletide-inspired encounters with Joker, Harley and Ivy, and Clayface. It ends with a sweet scene of Batman and Commissioner Gordon engaging in an annual tradition of New Year's coffee together. (Written by Paul Dini; directed by Dan Riba)
2. Sins of the Father (first aired Sept. 20, 1997) - A plot of Two-Face's to threaten Gotham City brings a young deliquint kid by the name of Tim Drake to Batman's attention. (Written by Rich Fogel; directed by Curt Geda)
3. Cold Comfort (first aired Oct. 11, 1997) - Mr. Freeze comes back to Gotham with new fury towards what people cherish and a startling secret about his physical health. (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Dan Riba)
4. Double Talk (first aired Nov. 22, 1997) - Arnold Wesker, the Ventriloquist, gets released with a clean slate of mental health. But will his alter-ego Scarface's old gang pressure him back into crime, or worse? (Written by Robert Goodman; directed by Curt Geda)
5. You Scratch My Back (first aired Nov. 15, 1997) - In an effort to bust a South American smuggling ring, Nightwing teams up with Catwoman, much to the chagrin of Batman and Batgirl. (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Dan Riba)
6. Never Fear (first aired Nov. 1, 1997) - A devious new plot by the Scarecrow to eliminate fear from Gotham's masses ends up leaving Batman affected by the gas, perhaps with terrible results. (Written by Stan Berkowitz; directed by Kenji Hachizaki)
7. Joker's Millions (first aired Feb. 21, 1998) - An old crime boss rival of the Joker's wills him his massive fortune, allowing the Joker to abandon crime for good. At least, that's what he thinks. (Written by Paul Dini; directed by Dan Riba)
8. Growing Pains (first aired Feb. 28, 1998) - Tim/Robin encounters a lost girl on the streets that he becomes smitten with, but she's being pursued by a massive man claiming to be her father. Can he protect her? (Written by Paul Dini and Robert Goodman; directed by Atsuko Tanaka)
9. Love is a Croc (first aired July 11, 1998) - Baby-Doll, dissatisfied with her new normal life, finds new purpose by falling in love with the abrasive Killer Croc. (Written by Steve Gerber; directed by Butch Lukic)
10. Torch Song (first aired June 13, 1998) - Spurned pyrotechnics expert Garfield Lynns adopts the criminal persona of Firefly and begins stalking his ex-girlfriend, pop idol Cassidy. (Written by Rich Fogel; directed by Curt Geda)

The New Batman Adventures Season 2 (September 1998-January 1999)

1. The Ultimate Thrill (first aired July 14, 1998) - The brash tactics of the new thief in town, the thrill-seeking Roxy Rocket, attracts the negative attention of the Penguin. (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Dan Riba)
2. Over the Edge (first aired May 23, 1998) - The death of Batgirl brings the full force of Jim Gordon's fury down on Batman's head, threatening to destroy everything Bruce Wayne has ever fought for. (Written by Paul Dini; directed by Yuichiro Yano)
3. Mean Seasons (first aired Apr. 25, 1998) - A disfigured and forgotten model takes on the identity of Calendar Girl and seeks revenge against the corporate forces that wasted her away. (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Hiroyuki Aoyama)
4. Critters (first aired Sept. 19, 1998) - The strange appearances of huge, monstrous farm animals in Gotham gets traced by Batman back to a genetic scientist with a distinctly Midwestern rural sensibility. (Written by Steve Gerber and Joe R. Lansdale; directed by Dan Riba)
5. Cult of the Cat (first aired Sept. 18, 1998) - Catwoman angers a cult of cat worshippers with her thefts of their valuables, and runs to Batman to keep her safe. (Written by Paul Dini and Stan Berkowitz; directed by Butch Lukic)
6. Animal Act (first aired Sept. 26, 1998) - The arrival of Dick Grayson's old circus in town coincides with bizarre thefts perpetrated by circus animals. Is Nightwing's former family to blame? (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Curt Geda)
7. Old Wounds (first aired Oct. 3, 1998) - Dick's graduation from college sets ablaze long-simmering resentment that Dick feels towards Bruce, culminating in him leaving the post of Robin for good. (Written by Rich Fogel; directed by Curt Geda)
8. The Demon Within (first aired May 9, 1998) - Bruce purchases a mystical branding iron for his friend Jason Blood, but the machinations of a witch-boy named Klarion may relieve him of it. (Written by Rusti Bjornhoel and Stan Berkowitz; directed by Atsuko Tanaka)
9. Legends of the Dark Knight (first aired Oct. 10, 1998) - Three Gotham kids, fans of the elusive Batman, find it impossible to agree on what the Dark Knight is really like. (Written by Robert Goodman and Bruce Timm; directed by Dan Riba)
10. Girls' Night Out - (first aired Oct. 17, 1998) - When Livewire teams up with Harley and Ivy, the only heroes in town who can track them down and stop them are Supergirl and Batgirl. (Written by Hilary J. Bader; directed by Curt Geda)
11. Mad Love (first aired Jan. 16, 1999) - Harley Quinn recounts the way she came to be the Joker's foil, and then tries to implement one of Mr. J's schemes to get Batman out of the way of their love forever. Based on the award-winning comic book by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. (Written by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm; directed by Butch Lukic)
12. Chemistry (first aired Oct. 24, 1998) - It's the marrying season: Veronica Vreeland's finally getting hitched and Bruce Wayne is in love with somebody he met at Ronnie's wedding. Is this just mere coincidence? (Written by Stan Berkowitz; directed by Butch Lukic)
13. Beware the Creeper (first aired Nov. 7, 1998) - On the Joker's seventh anniversary, he douses newsman Jack Ryder with doses of chemicals and his laughing gas. It results in Jack becoming the cartoonishly-kooky Creeper, who seeks his revenge. (Written by Rich Fogel and Steve Gerber; directed by Dan Riba)
14. Judgement Day (first aired Oct. 31, 1998) - There's a new vigilante in town named the Judge, whose methods are much more brutal than Batman's. He becomes a politician's favored crimefighter, but that may soon be a decision to regret. (Written by Rich Fogel and Alan Burnett; directed by Curt Geda)

Character list

1. Alfred Pennyworth
2. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl
3. Batwoman
4. Bruce Wayne/Batman
5. Clark Kent/Superman
6. Commissioner James Gordon
7. Detective Harvey Bullock
8. Dick Grayson/Nightwing
9. Jack Ryder/The Creeper
10. Jason Blood/Etrigan
11. Kara In-Ze/Supergirl
12. Lucious Fox
13. Detective Renee Montoya
14. Tim Drake/Robin

Villains

1. Baby Doll
2. Bane
3. Catwoman
4. Clayface
5. Firefly
6. Harley Quinn
7. The Joker
8. Killer Croc
9. Livewire
10. The Mad Hatter
11. Mr. Freeze
12. The Penguin
13. Poison Ivy
14. Ra's Al Ghul
15. Red Claw
16. The Riddler
17. Roxy Rocket
18. The Scarecrow
19. Talia Al Ghul
20. Two-Face
21. Ubu
22. Ventriloquist & Scarface

See also

Gotham Girls, Warner Bros' official series of Flash animations using many of the characters from the television series.

The Bruce Timm DC Animated Continuity
The Television Series
Batman: TAS | Superman: TAS | The New Batman Adventures | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Batman Beyond | The Zeta Project | Static Shock | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited
Feature Length Movies
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

This article is based on the article "The New Batman Adventures" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.