This version of the Dark Knight is really an animated "Ultimate Batman" and should be regarded as such. No one loves the "Dini/Timmverse" more than I do, but they're gone now (fie on Warner for 86ing JLU!) and times move on. We should applaud the fact that The Batman's creators have stayed as far away as possible from BTAS in making their show, instead of churning out a cheap copy.
I've never been fond of the "nitpickers" of fandom, who harp on little trivia and ignore gross character discontinuities. For those of you who whine about Joker battling Bats on even terms physically, I refer you to his ORIGIN STORY, where he cold-cocks Batman, kicks him in the head, and pitches him into a handy river to drown. The Dark Knight himself comments on the fact that he has finally found someone who "can give him a fight." (Batman No. 1/2) The Clown Prince of Crime follows up on this by besting Batman in a sword-fight (Batman No. 2/1) This is just one example of the show's creators going back to basics. As for the designs, some, like the Joker's, can be annoying, other's, like the Riddler's (hey, if Bob Kane can cop Conrad Veidt (g)...) have a certain fun inspiration to them. Alfred is shown to have deductive skills like his comic-book counterpart and the decision to make Batman a true vigilante in the first 2 seasons adds an extra level of challenge to his confrontations with both the bad guys and the law. All in all, it's not a bad effort. If you really want to remind yourself of PUTRED efforts at realizing the mythos, just rent the serials and BATMAN AND ROBIN and really enjoy some "fine" entertainment.
I've never been fond of the "nitpickers" of fandom, who harp on little trivia and ignore gross character discontinuities. For those of you who whine about Joker battling Bats on even terms physically, I refer you to his ORIGIN STORY, where he cold-cocks Batman, kicks him in the head, and pitches him into a handy river to drown. The Dark Knight himself comments on the fact that he has finally found someone who "can give him a fight." (Batman No. 1/2) The Clown Prince of Crime follows up on this by besting Batman in a sword-fight (Batman No. 2/1) This is just one example of the show's creators going back to basics. As for the designs, some, like the Joker's, can be annoying, other's, like the Riddler's (hey, if Bob Kane can cop Conrad Veidt (g)...) have a certain fun inspiration to them. Alfred is shown to have deductive skills like his comic-book counterpart and the decision to make Batman a true vigilante in the first 2 seasons adds an extra level of challenge to his confrontations with both the bad guys and the law. All in all, it's not a bad effort. If you really want to remind yourself of PUTRED efforts at realizing the mythos, just rent the serials and BATMAN AND ROBIN and really enjoy some "fine" entertainment.