Batman The Animated Series: Criticisms and Things You Didn't Like

[marhawkman]

-The resolution to the Mudslide episode made Batman look like a villain. Dude, arrest Clayface after he cures himself.

This applies to far more episodes than I realized as a kid. Rewatching as an adult it's something I see a lot more often. Like that incredibly weird episode where Batman puts a hit on himself to lure a villain out.

[K7P5V]

Besides being blonde and being exposed too early, I never got people's issues with the B:TAS Selina. This is the show that introduced me to the character and me like the character then later paved the way for Cooke's run on Catwoman.

As for things I didn't like about the show:
-Dumb muscle Bane. I think The Batman did a better Bane intro story than B:TAS.
-Lackluster Nightwing. Show convinced me that being with the Titans is essential to his character arc.
-Wobbly animation and uneven fight scenes.
-Barbara could have been utilized more. Her being a librarian and intelligence could have been played up more.
-Firefly was eh. I prefer the 'The Batman' show version of him as a mercenary.
-Andrea Beaumont and Red Claw's sparse appearances.
-The resolution to the Mudslide episode made Batman look like a villain. Dude, arrest Clayface after he cures himself.
-Mr Freeze in Cold Comfort. At least the tie in comics and Batman Beyond made up for it.
-Writers being blocked from using certain characters . They wanted to use Black Canary on the show but were told no. Same thing happened to Nocturna.

Glad someone mentioned Mr. Freeze, since I disliked what happened to him during TNBA.

For the most part, Batman Beyond rectified that problem:

[Gaius]

Not entirely the show's fault, it does share some blame for creating her, but watching it now Harley is completely unbearable as all the things bad about her current iterations are present here.

Catwoman is pretty big misfire on the show honestly. Looking at all her big adaptations, this show's version falls closer to the bottom if I were to rank them. Her design is also rather dull/uninspired.

The Barbara crush on Bruce. Time and some current events of the past few years has really not been kind to this imo and also a harbinger of Timm's trend of pairing off DC women with Bruce because that's the go-to idea he had when they didn't know what do with a female character (Lois in the World's Finest crossover and Wonder Woman JL/JLU).

[Mistah K88]

You know I could have dealt with Barbara having a crush on BATMAN in a "don't meet your idols" type of way. Where Barbara would be infatuated with the mysterious crime fighter on limited information, but changes her tune when she learns more about Batman/Bruce...but instead they have her keep going and Bruce reciprocate right after she gets done dating Dick (talk about keeping it all in the family)

[Frontier]

Not entirely the show's fault, it does share some blame for creating her, but watching it now Harley is completely unbearable as all the things bad about her current iterations are present here.

Honestly I think the show did probably the best job of balancing Harley's traits and character without going as overboard with them as later stuff did. It also never tried to make excuses for her that actually justified or gave her a pass for anything she did.

Catwoman is pretty big misfire on the show honestly. Looking at all her big adaptations, this show's version falls closer to the bottom if I were to rank them. Her design is also rather dull/uninspired.

I actually liked a lot about Catwoman in that cartoon (Adrienne Barbeau, her chemistry with Batman, the costume with the gold belt and the black and grey balance) but I feel like they definitely could've done more with her.

The Barbara crush on Bruce. Time and some current events of the past few years has really not been kind to this imo and also a harbinger of Timm's trend of pairing off DC women with Bruce because that's the go-to idea he had when they didn't know what do with a female character (Lois in the World's Finest crossover and Wonder Woman JL/JLU).

The crush should've stayed just a crush instead of becoming a full-blown relationship (but it still is better handled than the Killing Joke).

[lilyrose]

I was disappointed by the use of Catwoman because even though her voice and her costume were great and she and Bruce had great chemistry, over time it felt like they didn't quite know if she should be a good guy or a bad guy and they ended up pushing her over into pure villain territory by the time of TNA. I didn't like that. It felt like regression and then they took away the romance aspect of Batman/Catwoman, because she was now too "bad" for him to really be into. I also hated her new design on that later show.

[Gaius]

The crush should've stayed just a crush instead of becoming a full-blown relationship (but it still is better handled than the Killing Joke).

Yeah, I think TKJ animated movie is a good example of Timm & co were as good as they were because of restrictions placed on them that reigned in some of their more dubious ideas.

I actually liked a lot about Catwoman in that cartoon (Adrienne Barbeau, her chemistry with Batman, the costume with the gold belt and the black and grey balance) but I feel like they definitely could've done more with her.

I don't think she's dreadful or anything, I just think like others said unlike some of the other big villains of the show there are other better adapted versions of her (the women of the 60s show, Pfeiffer, The Batman, BTBATB, Hathaway).

[Frontier]

I don't think she's dreadful or anything, I just think like others said unlike some of the other big villains of the show there are other better adapted versions of her (the women of the 60s show, Pfeiffer, The Batman, BTBATB, Hathaway).

I appreciated that in B:TAS (less so TNBA) she had a character arc, which I don't think we'd really gotten until Hathaway (and Bruce/Batman actually returned her feelings, unlike The Batman).

[Mace Dolex]

As a huge Batman fan the animated series is the one media of Batman I could just never warm up to, some episodes just seemed repetitive but my main problem was the animation, sorry I know the animators were going for an homage to the Superman Fleisher cartoons but that was ok for it's time, growing up on afternoon cartoons I was spoiled by the slick animation stylings that studios like Sunbow and DIC were producing in the 1980's sure some of it was done on the cheap to get that magic 65 episode syndication market but it was always colorful.

But with Batman we got stocky fat figures, Bruce Wayne at times looked like a tubbo with short squat legs and an oversized suit, the sleeker updated designs on TNAB sort of improved on Bruce's look.

[zvrk]

I hate BTAS/TNBA because it became for me such a high class act that I measure all other iterations of Batman that I come into contact with it.

[PurpleGlovez]

As a huge Batman fan the animated series is the one media of Batman I could just never warm up to, some episodes just seemed repetitive but my main problem was the animation, sorry I know the animators were going for an homage to the Superman Fleisher cartoons but that was ok for it's time, growing up on afternoon cartoons I was spoiled by the slick animation stylings that studios like Sunbow and DIC were producing in the 1980's sure some of it was done on the cheap to get that magic 65 episode syndication market but it was always colorful.

But with Batman we got stocky fat figures, Bruce Wayne at times looked like a tubbo with short squat legs and an oversized suit, the sleeker updated designs on TNAB sort of improved on Bruce's look.

TNBA is ghastly in comparison but I get what you're saying. I look at BTAS like the Beatles. It's good, usually very good, but it's not that fucking good, i.e. the be-all-end-all of human existence that everyone makes it out to be. There is definitely plenty of Batman "content" (ugh) that stacks up to BTAS, in my opinion.

For example, the first few seasons and Dracula movie of "The Batman" have some absolutely killer action sequences that obliterate any fight scene in BTAS. But that's just me.

[zvrk]

For example, the first few seasons and Dracula movie of "The Batman" have some absolutely killer action sequences that obliterate any fight scene in BTAS. But that's just me.

Oooh, oooh, and me too, I have to agree. The fight between Batman, Joker and Penguin in the episode where Joker pretends to be Batman is seared into my brain as perfect as a hand drawn perfect circle.

[TravelerInTheDark]

BTAS Catwoman was my biggest gripe when I rewatched the series a few years ago. Her episodes are collectively some of the worst the show had to offer. In many instances she came off as somewhat pathetic.

[Multiverse]

BTAS Catwoman was my biggest gripe when I rewatched the series a few years ago. Her episodes are collectively some of the worst the show had to offer. In many instances she came off as somewhat pathetic.

It's true, outside of "Almost Got 'Em" and "Catwalk", there's not a lot they did with her (the TNBA design didn't help either)

[SiegePerilous02]

Almost Got 'Em, Catwalk and Batgirl Returns were all good showings for Catwoman in BTAS, but her other episodes were meh. She really needed more episodes. The Chase ME short was probably the best use of her, but we had to look at the ugly TNBA design