POBB April 7, 2020

Pick of the Brown Bag

April 7, 2020

by

Ray Tate

Batman: The Adventures Continue is one of the "books" I knew I'd be purchasing online.  Comixology hashes it out in the form of comic strip, which suits the reading experience.  Written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini, Batman: The Adventures Continue is essentially a slideshow of an episode from a hypothetical season never made.  As you read, you cannot help but hear the voice cast of Kevin Conroy and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.  It even kicks off with an attractive title card.

The story begins in Gotham City.  It's an average night for Batman.  With average villain Bane ranting like Dolph Lundgren on uppers.

DC considered Bane the biggest of deals back in the nineties.  The Powers That Be set him up to deliver the crippling blow to Batman.  Of course, emphasis on Man, he was up and walking in an eye-blink.  Batgirl, emphasis on Girl, stayed in a wheelchair for twenty-three years until the glorious New 52 in 2012 restored her mobility.

The creative team behind Batman:The Animated Series thought very little of Bane.  Batman readily defeats him in a better story than the Powers at DC conceived.  He returns in the original animated video Mystery of Batwoman only for Batman to hand him ass again.  Finally, in "Knight Time" Superman disguised as Batman doesn't even work up a sweat.

After kiboshing Bane, Batman soon finds a more suitable threat.

Retro-styled robots are a staple of Batman: The Animated Series.  That's largely due to the influence of the Fleischer Superman cartoons from, believe it or not, the 1940s.

The homage is significant, since Batman: The Adventures Continue stakes out its period with open references to Superman.

Steeped in Batman:The Animated Series signatures brought to life by Ty Templeton, who graced the original comic book tie-ins, The Adventures Continue likely takes place after the first season of Justice League.  Batman refers to Superman as a friend, and they weren't really friends until then.  This actually works well with the premise.

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You can add to that voice list Clancy Brown and Marilu Henner.  Since the bubbly Veronica Vreeland and sour but personable Lex Luthor spice up the proceedings.  We also have a surprise guest star in the shadows watching Batman battle the robot.

My guess is that this is Jason Todd.  The creators of Batman: The Animated Series once considered using Jason Todd, but in the end simply merged his personality with Tim Drake's persona for a second Robin, rather than a third.

This is not a done-in-one comic book.  Notably, Burnett and Dini start out with Bane as an allusion to "Knight Time," because the opposite occurs in Batman: The Adventures Continue, Superman is missing.  This will likely enmesh in the robot-theft angle.  How Lex and Jason will play a part is anybody's guess.  Once again, all of this seems apt because of Batman's growth from a lone vigilante to a distinguished member of the League.