The classic cartoon ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ (1992) celebrates its 20^th anniversary September 5, 2012 with 109 episodes. The series was the first in Warner Bros’ Animation lineup that went on to make ‘Superman: The Animated Series’ (1996), ‘Batman Beyond’ (1999), ‘Static Shock’ (2000), ‘Justice League’ (2001), ‘Justice League Unlimited’ (2004), and several feature-length films based in the same continuity. For twenty years, ‘Batman’ has been one of the best animated series on and off the air, with four Emmy awards under its belt and an entire generation of followers.

The show began with the talented work of developers Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and then flourished under several different writers, such as the critically acclaimed Paul Dini, Michael Reaves, and Alan Burnett.

The dark tone and beautiful painted backgrounds were inspired by Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ (1989), which returned the Dark Knight to his original comic book status: that of a brooding detective, rather than the campy hero Adam West made popular in the 1960’s. The team used influences from film noir to create the crime-infested city of Gotham, and gave it a unique look that few people had ever seen before.

One of the most memorable things about the series is Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman. To date, Conroy holds the record for most performances as Bruce Wayne. He has been voicing the character since 1992. In addition to the 109 episodes of this series, Conroy went on to voice Batman in all of the DC Animated Universe shows, as well as in the highly popular ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum’ and ‘Batman: Arkham City’ games.

He also voiced the Caped Crusader in the animated features ‘Batman: Gotham Knight’ (2008), ‘Superman/Batman: Public Enemies’ (2009), ‘Superman/Batman: Apocalypse’ (2010), and ‘Justice League: Doom.’ (2012)

Renowned voice casting director Andrea Romano cast Conroy almost immediately after he gave his first reading, because of his striking baritone voice and his amazing ability to make a distinction between the voice of Bruce Wayne and the voice of Batman. His utter devotion to the character and his understanding of Batman’s mission is why many fans consider him to be the quintessential Batman, despite Christopher Nolan’s excellent film trilogy.

In addition to Conroy, there are a few other voice actors who have continued with their characters throughout the years. Mark Hamill, who most know as Luke Skywalker, voiced the Joker, and continued to fill the role of the Clown Prince of Crime in other animated series, and joined Conroy in the ‘Arkham’ games. Arleen Sorkin, the voice of Harley Quinn, grew to love her character and lent her voice for several other performances as well. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. stayed on as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler, from ‘Batman’ to ‘Justice League.’

‘Batman’ is also noteworthy for its gorgeous animation style, which had a fluidity and style that few other cartoon series did in the early 1990’s. Most of the backgrounds were painted by hand, and the studio hired the most cutting-edge companies to animate the episodes, because they knew the visuals were just as important as the writing.

Another notable aspect of the series is the writing. ‘Batman’ was one of the first cartoon series to take its audience seriously, and provided gripping, intelligent, and compelling episodes that did not shy away from important issues. Its fans were blown away by its respect for them in telling the tales of the Dark Knight’s struggle against crime with plenty of laughs, impressive and creative fight scenes, and even a couple of truly amazing dramatic moments.

The series also released a film, ‘Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’, that made it to the big screen in 1993. Though its gross was modest, it was one of the most highly praised animated films, and continues that legacy to date. IGN listed the film as the 25^th best animated film of all time in 2010.

It is for all of these reasons that the show has endured for twenty years. Everything about it was memorable, from the voice acting, to the animation, to the writing. It inspired children to believe in heroes, and taught them that they could overcome anything if they had the willpower and the determination to make it happen. It is by far one of the most respectful adaptations of Batman to date and will continue to delight audiences for years to come.

‘Batman: The Animated Series’ currently reruns its episodes on The Hub. If you have never had a chance to watch it, there is no better time than the present.

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‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012), part of Disney XD’s Marvel Universe animation block, continued Sunday, April 15, 2012 with its fourth episode, “Venom.” However, after watching the episode, I feel as though I’m the one who has been poisoned.

The episode begins with Spider-Man (Drake Bell) speeding down subway tracks trying to escape a tentacle-wielding robot. He doesn’t know the origin of the mysterious attacker but he can tell it wants to capture him. After a high-speed chase, “Spidey” manages to outmaneuver the robot and it gets hit by a train, but not before getting a bit of his DNA unbeknownst to him.

The robot reports back to Doctor Otto Octavius (Tom Kenny), also known as Doctor Octopus, who is working for Norman Osborn to isolate the irradiated spider elements in Spider-Man’s blood to make the perfect weapon. However, the substance he isolates from Spider-Man’s blood is sentient and escapes, looking for its original host.

Meanwhile, Peter narrowly escapes being late for homeroom with the help of Harry Osborn (Matt Lanter), his best friend. Harry asks Peter if he wants to go watch a movie with Mary Jane (Tara Strong) later that afternoon, but Peter’s teammates, Nova, White Tiger, Power Man, and Iron Fist, who also attend his high school as students, show up to talk about their next mission.

Since Harry doesn’t know Peter is Spider-Man, he thinks Peter is blowing him off and gets angry. After ditching his team, Peter consults Mary Jane, who suggests taking his friends to Harry’s place for the movie to help them get along; however, Harry is mad and changes the movie night to a full-blown party, inviting the entire school.

After Peter and company arrive at the party, the symbiote finds them and starts attacking people. Peter and his team suit up and find that the symbiote can possess any one of them and use their powers, but it really just wants to reunite with Peter. After a long difficult fight, they manage to electrocute it and it disappears.

Thus far, this is the worst episode of the bunch. First, Spider-Man overdoses on jokes during the first fight sequence with the robot and during the second fight the symbiote jumps from host to host. As usual, the audience is left to assume this is because he’s just a hyperactive teenager, but the fact that he doesn’t seem to care that this violent sentient goo is forcing his friends to fight each other makes him seem like an unthoughtful jerk.

Second, the origin of Venom is changed completely and does not seem to follow the comic book continuity from ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ or ‘the Amazing Spider-Man’. In ‘the Amazing Spider-Man’, the symbiote is an extraterrestrial being. In ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’, it is a genetically designed suit made by Eddie Brock and Peter Parker’s parents as a cure for cancer that just went wrong.

In the show, the symbiote is a purified version of Spider-Man’s DNA and it just feels like a completely unnecessary change that has nothing to do with Eddie Brock. To add insult to injury, when the symbiote takes over Peter, it calls itself “Venom.” It’s just wrong on so many levels for Venom to not be Eddie Brock. Brock has been a formidable villain in the comic books and cartoons in which he has starred, so to be completely left out of the symbiote’s origin is an unlikable change.

Third, the continued focus on Spider-Man’s teammates rather than Harry and Mary Jane, his best friends, is grating. The show feels less like ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ and more like ‘Spider-Man and his Irritating Friends.’ None of his teammates have developed past the first stage of their introductions. The only one with an outstanding feature is Sam, aka Nova, who is the obnoxious loud-mouthed hothead of the group as well as the most annoying character on the show thus far.

The team’s continued interruption in Peter’s life drains all enjoyment out of the show, which is odd considering one of the writers for the show is Paul Dini—an excellent ensemble character writer who most recognize for helping build the DCAU (DC Animated Universe).

Overall, this is an extremely weak episode with a distasteful take on the Venom mythos. Hopefully, it is just a bad apple in the cart, but there is no telling what lies on the horizon from our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Keep your fingers crossed.

Grade: 2/5

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