7 /10 1 Votes
6.7/10 TV First episode date 14 November 2008 | 7.3/10 IMDb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genre ActionAdventureAnimatedSuperhero fictionComedy Developed by James TuckerMichael Jelenic Voices of Diedrich BaderCorey BurtonJohn DiMaggioWill FriedleTom KennyJames Arnold Taylor Composer(s) Kristopher CarterMichael McCuistionLolita Ritmanis Characters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more superheroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain. As the title suggests, the cartoon focuses on Batman's regular "team-ups" with various heroes similar to the most well-known version of the original comic book series. The series premiered on November 14, 2008 on Cartoon Network in the United States, and ended on November 11, 2011.
Contents
- Overview
- Principal cast
- Special guest cast
- Additional voices
- Crew
- Comic book
- Home releases
- Video games
- Soundtracks
- References
Overview
Each episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold features the main character (Batman) teaming up with other minor characters from the DC Universe to thwart minor villains or to solve crimes. Most episodes have a cold open with an escapade not related to the remainder of the episode. In the first season, the villain was Equinox, who later returned in "Time Out for Vengeance!"; and in the second season, the villain was the alien Starro. During production, the show's creator said that if a character's cold open appearance was deemed successful, then it may warrant exploring the character further in a future episode's main adventure.
The show has no overarching story, instead having most episodes stand alone. The show is lighter in tone than previous Batman series, depicting the Dark Knight as more lighthearted and playful with a "dry, ironic wit." The show features various references to various depictions of Batman in media, including the 1960s Batman TV series.
While the tone is lighter, the series has touched on the subject of death with such examples as retelling the murder of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne at the hands of Joe Chill, the death of the Silver Age Blue Beetle, the assassination of Boston Brand, the death of the first Black Canary, the execution of "Gentleman" Jim Craddock, and the self-sacrifice and death of B'wana Beast and the Doom Patrol. The tone of the series was addressed in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", when Bat-Mite broke the fourth wall to read out this missive from one of the show's creators:
Batman's rich history allows him to be interpreted in a multitude of ways. To be sure, this is a lighter incarnation, but it's certainly no less valid and true to the character's roots than the tortured avenger crying out for mommy and daddy.
Show creators have chosen to go with "lesser known" characters. In many instances, the characters are those that were repeatedly teamed with Batman in the 1970s run of the Brave and the Bold comic book, such as Green Arrow, Wildcat, Plastic Man, and even the Joker; thus, the characters have an appearance and feel very akin to their both of their Golden & Silver Age incarnations. While the show has featured major heroes such as the Green Lantern and the Flash, it consistently focuses on the lesser-known individuals to have carried the names, such as Guy Gardner and Jay Garrick, rather than the more popular, better known Hal Jordan or Barry Allen, until Barry appeared in the second-season episode "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!" (though this episode centers around Kid Flash and Jay Garrick) while Hal appeared in the first-season episode "The Eyes of Despero!" as well as the third-season episode "The Scorn of Star Sapphire". In the episode "Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!", Batman even teamed up with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang to defeat the Joker and the Penguin in a retelling of the similar crossovers from The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Additionally, Batman's alter ego of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne did not appear as an adult during the series in situations where Batman was unmasked. His face was kept hidden until the season 2 episode "Chill of the Night!" when Batman finally confronts Joe Chill. From this episode onwards, whenever Bruce Wayne appears, his face is no longer silhouetted (as in "The Knights of Tomorrow").
It was announced at the San Diego Comic Con 2010 that Batman: The Brave and the Bold would end after season three, which had 13 episodes. Production began on a new Batman animated series, which was set to return the character to a more serious tone.
Principal cast
Special guest cast
Additional voices
Crew
Comic book
In January 2009, the first issue of Batman: the Brave and the Bold was released. The comic book follows the same format as the show, starting off with a brief teaser segment at the start of the book which features Batman teaming up with an additional hero for a short adventure unrelated to the rest of the issue. Several authors have contributed to the comic book series, including Matt Wayne, J. Torres and Landry Walker.
Some of the DC characters appearing in the comic have yet to appear in the show, or cannot appear at all due to legal reasons.
Certain characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel Jr., and Mary Marvel made appearances in the comic prior to actually appearing in the show, while other characters, such as Power Girl, Kid Eternity, Brother Power and Angel and the Ape, appeared in the comic without ever actually appearing on the show. In addition, the depictions of several characters in the comic book (notably Katana and Talia al Ghul and The Doom Patrol and Damian Wayne) do not match up with their television counterparts, something that Brave and the Bold director Ben Jones stated stems from the comic artists not being given character reference sheets from the show's producers.
The Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic series began selling in the UK on March 11, 2010, published by Titan Magazines.
In late 2010, the series was relaunched as The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with the new creative team of Sholly Fisch and Rick Burchett. In order to devote more pages to the actual story, the teaser segments from the first series were dropped. This incarnation of the title lasted 16 issues. The final issue is a Valentine's-themed story featuring Batman, Batgirl, and Bat-Mite.
Home releases
The series wasn't initially released on DVD in full season formats, like previous Batman series. A series of DVD volumes, with each containing 4–5 episodes, were first released. A two-disc collection of the first 13 episodes, Season 1 Part 1, was released on August 17, 2010. Season 1, Part 2 was released on March 15, 2011, making the first season available both as separate volumes and two-part sets. Season Two, Part One was released on August 16, 2011. It contained 12 episodes and did not contain "The Siege of Starro!". Warner Home Video confirmed that Season 2, Part 2 would be released on March 20, 2012. It contains 14 episodes, including the two-part "The Siege of Starro" and the Season 3 episode "Battle of the Superheroes". The final release, Season 3, Complete, was June 19, 2012. The DVD also contains the unaired on TV Season 2 episode "The Mask of Matches Malone" as a bonus episode. A Blu-ray set for the first season was released manufacture-on-demand on November 5, 2013 via Warner Archive. This was followed by a second season manufacture-on-demand Blu-ray set on September 9, 2014. A first season DVD box set was conventionally released on May 20, 2014, and a second season DVD box set followed on April 7, 2015.
Video games
Soundtracks
featuring the musical scores for 12 episodes from the first and second seasons (including those of "Legends of the Dark Mite!", "The Mask of Matches Malone!" and "Chill of the Night!"). It is a limited edition release of 2000 units and can be purchased at the La La Land Records website.
A soundtrack exclusively covering songs from the musical episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!" was released on October 24, 2009.
The main theme has also been included on the The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection soundtrack.