Batman: The Adventure Continues

[Ascended]

So I grabbed the first issue of this back when it hit, and I feel like it was fairly good, but not worth sticking with during such turbulent economic times. These comic adaptations of the DCAU never seem to flow as smoothly, without the nuance of the voice cast or animation.

I got three questions; has the quality remained the same since the first issue or is it picking up steam? Has Nightwing shown up and been handled well? And what about Azreal? I know he's supposed to show up, but has it happened, and did they do right by Jean Paul?

[Jackalope89]

So I grabbed the first issue of this back when it hit, and I feel like it was fairly good, but not worth sticking with during such turbulent economic times. These comic adaptations of the DCAU never seem to flow as smoothly, without the nuance of the voice cast or animation.

I got three questions; has the quality remained the same since the first issue or is it picking up steam? Has Nightwing shown up and been handled well? And what about Azreal? I know he's supposed to show up, but has it happened, and did they do right by Jean Paul?

Nightwing has been minimal. Jean Paul was shown as having harsher views then Bruce, but was talked down. And quality is pretty good all around, with a lot of build up thus far.

[Zaresh]

So I grabbed the first issue of this back when it hit, and I feel like it was fairly good, but not worth sticking with during such turbulent economic times. These comic adaptations of the DCAU never seem to flow as smoothly, without the nuance of the voice cast or animation.

I got three questions; has the quality remained the same since the first issue or is it picking up steam? Has Nightwing shown up and been handled well? And what about Azreal? I know he's supposed to show up, but has it happened, and did they do right by Jean Paul?

I think it has gotten better from issue 1. Nightwing hasn't appeared yet (not really), but Azrael has and he's a mix of the original DCU and something new, I think. They seem to do that a lot in this series: mix in the original story and background for characters with something new for the DCU. I'm liking it a lot. For 1$ what's bassicaly half a traditional issue, it's a good deal I think.

[Sergard]

I haven't been following and I don't mind being spoiled. What is DCAU Jason Todd's origin in this? How are they handling Azrael and Deathstroke? Not a big fan of the latter two and their inclusion in the DCAU makes a bit nervous in how they are going to handle it.

(Very big spoilers incoming...)

Jason's origin hasn't completely been revealed yet. Chapter 9 - digitally released on July 30 - is the first part of his back story. So far we know:

spoilers:

Jason is from this universe - just to make it clear since there were also fan-theories floating around that this Jason could be from an alternate universe. Jason was a street kid with an older brother - Danny. They were orphans and Danny decided to join a street gang called Wolves, mostly young punks, to earn some money. Every new member had to prove themselves by being the lookout on a robbery. The lookout had to wear a red hood and was also called "Red Hood". Danny died on the job as Red Hood. Batman wanted to hunt the Wolves down but when he arrived at their base, Jason was already there fist-fighting some members. Batman showed sympathy and took Jason in. Jason started training in the batcave and the chapter ends with Jason secretly taking the Robin costume without permission and popping up as Robin in the middle of a fight against Firefly. The back story will continue in the next chapter. Supposedly, Jason is going to "die" at some point because in the present he has been believed dead. Adult Jason has returned to Gotham and had small appearances since chapter 1 (one or two panels a chapter). Up until now he was presented as mystery man who observes the batfamily (and the Joker). He gives, though, Barbara secretly a hint that Deathstroke has set a trap for Batman. Jason's overall goal is unclear. But there's probably going to be a confrontation between him, Batman and Joker.

end of spoilers

Regarding Deathstroke:

spoilers:

Deathstroke appears in chapter 3 to 6 and is an assassin hired by Lex Luthor to kill Batman. Deathstroke plays Mr Nice Guy praising the members of the batfamily and lies that he's in Gotham for a different - not evil - mission. He has an apprentice called Sunny. No information about his past or personal life is revealed. He is a straight out unsympathetic villain. He gets his ass kicked at the end.

end of spoilers

Regarding Azrael:

spoilers:

Azrael appears in chapter 7 and 8. Catwoman has stolen an important relic from the order of St. Dumas and Azrael is in Gotham to retrieve it. Bruce and Jean-Paul know each other because both were students of St. Dumas but as Jean-Paul says, Bruce was never in it for the long run, just for certain disciplines and the ancient art of war. Azrael is vengeful in the beginning, threatening to cut Catwoman's eye out if she doesn't talk. Batman offers his assistance in the case under the condition that Jean-Paul forgets about Catwoman's part in the theft. They find the relic - Mr. Freeze has it - and can retrieve it. At the end, Jean-Paul calls Bruce an old friend and promises not to be so impulsive the next time they meet. So maybe Azrael wil have another appearance in the comic. All in all, he's an ally with his own motivations.

end of spoilers

[gregpersons]

I've maintained this title as my only ongoing Bat subscription, currently (great job DC editorial!), and only today finally read the last 5 chapters. I thought the first arc with Luthor was dull, then the second arc with Deathstroke was even more pedestrian and ho-hum.

Here's what I've liked so far, up to issue 9

--Jean Paul Valley's revised origin/intro is much better here than anywhere else. He's a bit older than Bruce and they met before during his training abroad. JPV being a "veteran backup" makes him immediately a lot more logical to assume the Bat mantle in a Knightfall scenario (even though I don't think that's where this is going) than Dick Grayson, but this of course was not how it actually played out in the main books.

--Similarly I like the new take on Jason Todd's origin and the Red Hood being tied to the "Wolves" gang instead of Joker is lovely. It justifies the "Red Hood" (as in "Little Red Riding Hood") having the same function in the classic Red Hood gang but makes it more cohesive and interesting.

Here's what I am NOT liking so far

--Frankly it feels uninspired. It feels like it's only happening to justify making more toys/merch in the BTAS style of characters who never appeared in the show. The BvS suit in the first arc, Deathstroke, Red Hood, Azrael... if the purpose of this book is to just check off boxes, it shows.

--The lack of involvement from Tim, Barbara, and especially Dick Grayson is a bummer.

--Since DCAU Tim was always closer to Jason in origin and with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, also in his overall arc as "the Robin who Joker tortured/destroyed" it seems like the parallels would be interesting to explore here, but it doesn't appear as though it's going to be anything more than the standard "Bruce is hiding this dark secret when he should've just been more open because now the secret is exposed and they're caught off guard" story.

[Hi-Fi]

Kinda related, but are they reprinting the Batman Adventures/Batman & Robin/ Gotham Adventures trades?

[AzraelOnline]

It's been a cool series so far. I'm curious to see if they are going to continue it past the next two issues.

[Aahz]

Kinda related, but are they reprinting the Batman Adventures/Batman & Robin/ Gotham Adventures trades?

The they published reprints of Batman Adventures and Batman & Robin Adventures in past years, those should still be available.

[Mistah K88]

Some of the artistic choices in this comic baffle me... they seem to use both BtAS and TNBA designs for some characters, which makes sense for some where their design is just a costume (like Batman, Scarecrow, etc), but it's more baffling on characters that are not wearing costumes and were simple a design change spoilers:

we see both Penguin and Croc in the most recent issue, yet Joker still retains his Return of The Joker/Justice League design...which is how it should be as his look isn't an outfit)

end of spoilers.
I'd say the Jason Todd stuff is kind of similar to how they've portrayed him in comics (the wild child who was too aggressive and ran out on his own)... spoilers:

And so far, the way he got caught by Joker is similar to how Tim was later abducted...so I'm extremely curious to how THAT will play out

end of spoilers

[Jackalope89]

The latest issue...

spoilers:

Once again, Bruce prioritizes saving Joker over anything else, including a kid. And if Bruce "can become like Joker", then he should be in Arkham too. Sad to say, but once again, Jason gets the short end of the straw. Belittled, abandoned, and the person that took him in prioritized his would be murderer over him (after he had been severely beaten at that). So, yeah. Kind of feel bad for Tim getting caught up in this, but Bruce and Alfred in this, are pretty awful.

end of spoilers

[Mistah K88]

The latest issue...

spoilers:

Once again, Bruce prioritizes saving Joker over anything else, including a kid. And if Bruce "can become like Joker", then he should be in Arkham too. Sad to say, but once again, Jason gets the short end of the straw. Belittled, abandoned, and the person that took him in prioritized his would be murderer over him (after he had been severely beaten at that). So, yeah. Kind of feel bad for Tim getting caught up in this, but Bruce and Alfred in this, are pretty awful.

end of spoilers

Yeah...spoilers:

It seems that Jason is fated to be screwed over across all continuities...I do find it interesting that Joker was afraid that Jason was eventually going to kill him (in comparison to not being afraid of Batman as he doesn't have the "guts for that kind of fun") Also...I'm unsure on how I feel about Harley having cold feet about killing Jason, then turning around and helping torture Tim...I'll just chalk it up to Jason's demise is what Joker wanted, while Tim's fate was more what Harley wanted (the "happy family"). I'm also glad they pointed out that Tim's story is parallel to Jason's...while it was just to composite the character at the time, it can be seen as Bruce's misguided way to correct the past.

end of spoilers

[Konja7]

The latest issue...

spoilers:

Once again, Bruce prioritizes saving Joker over anything else, including a kid. And if Bruce "can become like Joker", then he should be in Arkham too. Sad to say, but once again, Jason gets the short end of the straw. Belittled, abandoned, and the person that took him in prioritized his would be murderer over him (after he had been severely beaten at that). So, yeah. Kind of feel bad for Tim getting caught up in this, but Bruce and Alfred in this, are pretty awful.

end of spoilers

Not in Arkham (since Batman doesn't kill anyone), but I always roll my eyes when I heard Batman will become like the Joker if he kills.

I can't help but think how unstable Batman needs to be for this to be true.

[Frontier]

The latest issue...

spoilers:

Once again, Bruce prioritizes saving Joker over anything else, including a kid. And if Bruce "can become like Joker", then he should be in Arkham too. Sad to say, but once again, Jason gets the short end of the straw. Belittled, abandoned, and the person that took him in prioritized his would be murderer over him (after he had been severely beaten at that). So, yeah. Kind of feel bad for Tim getting caught up in this, but Bruce and Alfred in this, are pretty awful.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

He didn't prioritize saving Joker. He freed Jason first, who was able to move, and then tried to get Joker out from under the car. Jason was the one who couldn't accept that Bruce wouldn't kill Joker and interfered.

end of spoilers

[Sergard]

This chapter was triggering. If the writers did this on purpose, they succeeded.
Ranking characters from least likeable to most likeable it's spoilers:

Alfred, Bruce, Jason, Harley, Tim and Joker.

end of spoilers

[gregpersons]

I wasn't feeling this series for awhile but I find myself pretty interested by the Red Hood story now that it's peaking. Maybe once the run is complete it will all flow together better from the beginning.

I'm still interested by the same thing, which is seeing the writers find solutions to a tricky problem -- incorporate these well-known elements of Batman lore (Azrael; Red Hood) but also streamlined to make Batman less erratic.

For example, with Azrael, their relationship makes more sense to why Bruce would trust him with the Bat-mantle in the event of a BTAS Knightfall adaptation (not that they would but who knows). You almost wish you could snap this backstory into place for the actual Knightfall books.

And with Red Hood, Jason is definitely slanted to be more thoroughly "at fault" for his own downfall throughout; his resurrection and transformation is less convoluted; but you still have the crowbar, the Joker revenge motive, the 'you didn't avenge me, so now i become the punisher' motive.

I like that Tim called out the similarities in the book, Alfred's justifications aren't new but they seem more hollow than ever consider BTAS Tim still has the "Return of the Joker" flashback in his future. Joker seems to win 2 out of 3 proxy battles of the Robins, in the end. Kinda bleak!

It opens the question of Nightwing's role in this.... in "Batman Adventures", the last series in this continuity before this series, we saw Nightwing doing pretty well as a more Spidey-like hero in Bludhaven.

It'd be cool if they did a streamlined version of Damian and Batman Inc, with both being more in Nightwing's story wheelhouse. What aspects of Bat lore that aren't in BTAS would you want to see the comics take on?