A Comparison of Three Animated Batman Series

Comparing Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Batman, and Beware The Batman

An Overview:

The Batman: The series follows the adventures of Bruce Wayne, a.k.a “The Batman” as he tries to bring down criminals in the crime-ridden city of Gotham. While Batman tries to protect the city, his alter ego Bruce Wayne must protect himself by masquerading as a normal wealthy bachleor so no one will guess the true identity of Batman.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Batman, with the help of other superheroes, has adventures centering around various villains. In almost every episode, he teams up with another hero (such as Aquaman or Plastic Man) to battle a particular villain or group of villains.

Beware The Batman: Batman, his female bodyguard Katana, and his butler Alfred face off against several minor villains, including a large ninja clan who are after something called “The Soul Sword”.

Batman's Character:

The Batman: In this series, Batman/Bruce Wayne is portrayed as being a loner, but plays the part of a charming socialite in public to avoid suspiscion. He is “married to his job”, therefore has little interest in actual dating. We see just as much of his social life as we do of his heroic alternate life as Batman. In some cases, we see more of his social life than his life as Batman. We are given the impression that him being Batman is more of a hobby than anything else. We also get a closer look at Wayne Industries, which he manages. Bruce Wayne takes on quite a few normal day-to-day struggles, such as trying to find a girlfriend. Despite being a “lone wolf”, he has a compassionate and a romantic side. As Batman, Bruce Wayne is sought after by the police for being a “vigilante”. His detective skills, coupled with advanced technology, make him an accomplished investigator.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In this series, we are treated to a more intense version of Batman's “loner side”. We never see him playing the part of a charming socialite or a forced romantic. Instead, he is chacterized as being grumpy, but logical. There are three distinct parts of his personality: Aggressive, logical, and carefree. The last of the three helps the two other parts work together. This Batman does have a romantic side: It is implied that him and Catwoman are attracted to each other, but cannot be together because she is on the side of crime and he is on the side of justice. He takes the time to flirt with her when she's holding him hostage, and she flirts back. We see more of Batman than Bruce Wayne. In fact, Bruce Wayne is barely mentioned throughout the entire series. “Chill of the Night” is the first time viewers see Batman take off his mask and reveal who he really is. During that episode, we also see more of the dark, brooding Batman. He doesn't seem to be considered a “vigilante” that must be arrested. The police never make a move to arrest him, even when he appears right in front of them. His being Batman seems like less of a hobby and more of a dedicated lifestyle.

Beware The Batman: Batman/Bruce Wayne seems more motivated to be social in this series. He has an active love life, although we don't see him surronded by female admirers like we did in The Batman. He is once again viewed as a vigilante that needs to be taken in. Regardless, he still has many admirers and he even manages to somewhat sway the police chief in his favor. He is more willing to confess his secret identity (albeit, only to his female body guard). He is portrayed as being “weak”, in a sense (or “weaker”, anyway). He is more of a mere man without superpowers than he was before, his athletic ability rather less present in this series.

Alfred's Character:

The Batman: Alfred is a parental figure in this series. He encourages Bruce to intergrate into society, disagrees with Bruce's dangerous crime-fighting activities (but tolerates them), and is shown to be mannered and cultured without being particularly athletic. His main duties are to stop Batman's secret identity from being found out, help whenever possible with his missions from the sidelines, and perform common household duties such as cooking and dusting. He is a cross between a dedicated servant and a protective parent. He doesn't tag along with Batman or act like his sidekick, but he sometimes provides him with required information. He has his own personal grudge with The Penguin (also known as Mr. Cobblepot), a fact that has been pinpointed more than once and used as a valuable part of the plot. Chiefly, Alfred's concern is to keep Bruce safe and happy without actually treating him like a child. He has a rather prominent moustache to go with his general pompous manner.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Alfred's role in this series is a lot smaller. Not much is seen of his professional servant or parental personality. Instead, he is a minor character who has little or nothing to do with Batman's activities. He writes mystery novels and supports the idea of Batman finding a wife someday (he suggests Catwoman). His only important role in an episode was when he masqueraded as Batman for a few moments after one of the villains found an unmasked Bruce Wayne in the bat cave. It should be noted that this is the only time Alfred dons the bat costume in the series to protect Bruce's alter ego. He barely has any lines at all throughout the duration of the series. Alfred's moustache is a lot thinner in this series.

Beware The Batman: Alfred has a much bigger role in this series than the previous one. He attacks Bruce to keep his reflexes sharp, showing that he is extremely athletic (in fact, he has an immensely muscular build for a man of his age). He is also skilled when dealing with firearms and performs the tasks of an active bodyguard many times. Regardless, he usually doesn't come along on Batman's missions. His mannered, cultured personality is pretty much gone. For that matter, he is also completely clean-shaven in this series and has no hair to speak of.

Villains

The Batman: The main villains in the series are The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and the Riddler. This is including a whole host of minor villains, such as Firefly and Man-Bat. The Joker, who is Batman's rival, has a more prominent part than any of the other villains. All of the main villains, excluding Catwoman, seem to be unbalanced.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Several villains are seen throughout the series, including The Joker. However, each season has one main villain. In Season 1, it was Equinox. In Season 2, it was Starro. In Season 3, it was again Equinox. However, Batman faces a whole host of all kinds of villains every season. The Joker appears several times, but is not the main villain of the series. He is presented as being more childish than mentally insane. Even his design has a more immature look to it, contrary to the Joker from The Batman, whose personality and looks illustrated how unhinged he was.

Beware The Batman: This series has an entire cast of new villains, most of them minor ones from the original Batman franchise. The Joker, Catwoman, and all the others are absent from the show so the writers can focus on villains like Pyg and Toad.

Female Main Character

The Batman: Detective Yin, an Asian detective who seems very skilled in martial arts and extremely brave. Later, the female main character becomes Batgirl, Batman's young female sidekick.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: There is no definite female main character, most likely due to the abundance of female heroes (Wonder Woman, Black Canary, etc.) that appear throughout the series. The only female hero who might be considered a main character is Batgirl. Any female hero who doesn't have a boyfriend or husband is normally in love with Batman (Huntress flirts with him and Black Canary confesses to being in love with him, although the latter knows that he'll never return her feelings). Interestingly enough, both women (plus Catwoman, who is also known to have a crush on Batman) team up to save him in one episode.

Beware the Batman: Katana, Batman's Asian bodyguard. Like Yin, she is immensely skilled in martial arts.

Timeline

The Batman: Bruce Wayne/Batman is roughly 26 years of age (confirmed by the episode “Bird of Prey”).

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: It is implied that this series takes place when Batman is in his late or early thirties.

Beware the Batman: Batman is most likely in his early forties or late thirties. He has grown weaker, although his brain is as sharp as ever. It is his weakened state that prompts Alfred to suggest he hire a bodyguard.

Tone

The Batman: A little dark, but still family-friendly. A little of the imagery might be considered disturbing (for example, Man-Bat's transformed state).

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: A dominantly lighter, more humorous take on Batman, excluding a few more serious episodes. Aquaman and Plastic Man usually serve as comic relief.

Beware the Batman: Eventually following one dominating plot line, the show manages to be more dark and brooding than Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Theme Song

The Batman: The theme song changes throughout the series. At first, it's dark and serious with a casual air to it. Later, it becomes more in the style of a modern crime drama. In addition, the theme song gradually changes to include Batgirl and Robin after they offically become his sidekicks, as well as a whole host of villains that appear.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The theme song is similar to one of a campy 1950s'-style superhero show, complete with several exciting “action scenes”.

Beware the Batman: The theme song is more of a James Bond style, flaunting the new animation. 

Conclusion

Each series brings something new to the entire concept of Batman.  You can decide for yourself which one deserves the least praise.