Batman: The Brave and the Bold is ending its three-season run imminently, but DC’s iconic hero won’t be away from TV sets for too long.
Comic Book Movie is reporting that Warner Bros. Animation has announced Beware the Batman, a CGI-animated series targeted for 2013 on Cartoon Network. The news comes from the recently wrapped MIP Junior showcase in Cannes, France.
Batman is described as “classic-looking,” fighting alongside a, wait for it, “gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth.” With the status of a Robin currently unclear, it looks Katana will be playing the main sidekick role, a character currently co-starring in The New 52′s Birds of Prey. The character has a recent past in animation, showing up Brave and the Bold episode “Enter the Outsiders!”
Along with the usual villain slate of your Jokers and your Penguins, Beware the Batman will also feature newer and lesser-known antagonists, with Professor Pyg — created during Grant Morrison’s Batman run — specifically mentioned in reports.
World’s Finest fills in with some more details on Cartoon Network’s DC-related offerings, saying that the “DC Nation” block is scheduled to debut in spring 2012, with a Doom Patrol series in development, along with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (which has developed a surprisingly strong online following among male “bronies” 18-35 ) showrunner Lauren Faust working on a series of shorts starring Wonder Girl, Supergirl and Batgirl titled “Super Best Friends Forever.”
The next DC animated series to premiere will be Green Lantern: The Animated Series, with a sneak preview airing in November before its proper debut in spring 2012. An even earlier preview can be had next week at New York Comic Con, where the first episode will be screened on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Update: The entire keynote from Sam Register of Warner Bros. Animation is online and embedded below, with the “DC Nation” and Beware the Batman segments starting around 30:30 in. And as you can tell from the above image, they weren’t kidding about a gun-toting Alfred. (Or Professor Pyg.)
October 4th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Wow. I know people are going to hate of the Alfred/gun thing, but whatever. Sounds great to me. And Doom Patrol?! Wow.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:52 am
“fighting alongside a, wait for it, “gun-toting Alfred Pennyworth.”
Well. This sounds like Frank Miller’s aborted Year One movie where Bruce was homeless and taken in by “Big Al” the mechanic. A CGI? Batman animation always looks so crisp in traditional 2d with matte backgrounds and such.
I’ll reserve judgement until I see it. But I might sit this one out.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:54 am
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/18863/2029652-batman_super.jpg
the art has been put out there…
October 4th, 2011 at 11:55 am
So all they have is Batman available for animation? C’mon, DC! You have an endless supply of untapped characters.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Slightly depressed about the CGI thing, but the rest of this sounds AWESOME.
October 4th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Wait. Please tell me that image is fake.
Also, where’s my Superman cartoon?
October 4th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Katana? That’s pretty lame.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
JESUS! Enough with f#%&ing Batman already DC! Superman ! Superman! Superman!
October 4th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
It seems they buried the lead… Doom Patrol series in development. Awesome! They’ve needed to do this for a while. Loved them in both the Teen Titans, and the Brave and the Bold cartoons.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
The presence of Katana will have this Outsiders fan checking this series out. And gun totting Alfred Pennyworth has some potential. Wasn’t Alfred SAS (or equivalent) in WWI at one point?
October 4th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Oh that looks ridiculous!
October 4th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Looks like Mickey f^&*ing Mouse could pop out at any moment.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
A gun toting Alfred? “My parents were killed by a gun…” and “I hate guns…” Batman with a gun toting Alfred? Seriously?
They need to finish the Nolan trilogy and then give Batman a rest. And I say this as a HUGE Batman fan. If anything they should work on a feature film based on the Batman Arkham Asylum/City world using the same 3D modeling. Make it PG13. Done.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Lauren Faust making Batgirl cartoons? Those will be epic!
October 4th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
there are other superheroes besides batman.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Anybody going to comment on how cartoony it looks? Does anybody care about that or are you just so glad to see Batman on television that you’d take claymation?
October 4th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Super Best Friends Forever?!?!?! I a ma huge Batman fan but where’s the Emmy award winning stuff from the golden days? Bring back Bruce Timm. Bring back Paul Dinni. And CGI cartoon shows are a HUGE bust. Also, Batman would never let Alfred use guns. Ridiculous. Professor Pyg actually has some psychotic and freaky edge to him, on the same psychotic side as the SAW series. This just looks pitiful and lame.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Wait a Minute – My Little Pony is moving to Cartoon Network?
RAPTURE!
October 4th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Good God, Batman looks ridiculous!! Well, I haven’t watched any Batman animated series since the original Batman: The Animated Series, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be watching this one either.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
bitch, bitch, bitch. cry, cry, cry.
how about waiting till the show airs. also stating batman wouldnt let Alfred use guns is ridiculous. you do know this is a different universe from the comic?
also glen murakami did great with the teen titans cartoon. and the reason there’s another batman cartoon is cause he sells better than supes. compare the 90s superman cartoon to the 90s batman toon. dont get me wrong i love the 90s superman toon but it was nowhere near as huge as the batman toon from that era.
October 4th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
F*&! Warner Animation for this and f$%^ DC for allowing it to happen. It. Looks. Stupid.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
CGI cartoons run the risk of being done on the cheap and looking pretty bad. I’m a fan (and so is my 8-year-old son) of Brave and the Bold and I’ll miss it when it’s gone. I will say the idea of a Doom Patrol cartoon actually has me more interested than the Batman one.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Mavrik Says:
October 4th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
A gun toting Alfred? “My parents were killed by a gun…” and “I hate guns…” Batman with a gun toting Alfred? Seriously?
Yes, Alfred pennyworth, former british SAS officer, will be using guns. Look it up.
Michael Huff Says:
October 4th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Anybody going to comment on how cartoony it looks? Does anybody care about that or are you just so glad to see Batman on television that you’d take claymation?
it’s no more cartoony looking than Batman: the Animated series, Batman: the New adventures, Batman The Brave and the bold or The Batman.
catsmeow12 Says:
October 4th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Good God, Batman looks ridiculous!! Well, I haven’t watched any Batman animated series since the original Batman: The Animated Series, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be watching this one either
Your loss.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
@benwahbob: I’m not stupid, I’m aware of Alfred’s background. But correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t Batman’s lifelong war on crime been HUGELY against guns? I can deal with changing around his side-kicks and not sticking with the norm. I can even deal with new enemies….anything to give them new options for stories instead of the “same old thing”. However, when they change the basic character around and just keep a guy in a bat suit? That bugs me. I’m not threatening to take this show off of the air or spreading the word for other people not to. I may watch it or I may not. But to just put a “gun toting” Alfred into the mix seems like a sellout to the Batman character and what it stands for. Come up with some new material and something original instead of just messing with Batman.
And for the record, I’m not questioning the character Alfred’s ability to use guns. I’m just questioning his use of guns while fighting along side Batman.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Vinnie Bartilucci Says:
October 4th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Wait a Minute – My Little Pony is moving to Cartoon Network?
RAPTURE!
Sorry Vinnie, but I had to re-read it again myself. MLP is not coming to CN, but a show by MLP’s showrunner (Super Best Friends Forever).
October 4th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
green lantern looks pretty good to me
October 4th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
“More Batman?!”
Well, Warner is a business
October 4th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Batman is very recognizable, compared to other characters, and with the next movie coming out next year there will be a further upswing in popularity to ride. Superman is in legal limbo right now, so DC isn’t likely to commit to further expansion of the franchise.
ARE there other characters they could use? Certainly. How many are a safe bet for being popular with the typical Cartoon Network demographic? Not as many as you’d think…
-New Gods would involve a large number of characters, though I could see something akin to Transformers Prime (small number of heroes, a core group of villains, and a rotating roster of guest stars), and aren’t readily recognizable (again, with a few exceptions, but even Orion and Darkseid are going to be hardpressed to find a pre-teen recognition).
-Green Arrow can’t be done without getting overly political and courting controversy.
-Wonder Woman COULD work, so I’m not sure why they haven’t done her. Ditto on the Flash. Most likely, though, it’s also because their Rogues’ Galleries aren’t recognizable, but then one could say that about Iron Man or Thor’s.
-Martian Manhunter barely HAS a Rogues’ Gallery, though he would be very fun and a great Superman stand-in.
-Captain Marvel should be up there with Flash and Wonder Woman. Similar issues, but similar strengths.
But, the problem with all of those is always recognizability (except for Supes). I expect that, if and when a Flash film comes out, we’ll see a Flash animated series follow up behind. This is the same issue that struck down the Aquaman live action series before it got off the ground (er, out of the sea); it was riding off a tenuous connection to Smallville, and it just wasn’t sustainable. Most of these characters need a box office presence before WB will take a chance on them, I think.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Ugh.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
this will be worth checking out when it comes out.. I’d still love to see some animated series based on other characters get the spotlight– Plastic Man could be a comedy-style show.. Aquaman updated would be cool.. Same for Firestorm.. Shazam! could include the entire Marvel Family.. Also a show on the Milestone heroes would be good..
October 4th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
What the hell is wrong with his head?
October 4th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
The problem with using the justification of recognizability is that it’s a tautological/catch 22 argument.
October 4th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Who cares anymore.
October 4th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
So, Batman doesn’t kill, but he’s totally fine with delegating the murdering chores to his friends.
Seriously, it’s tough to not kill someone if you go at them with a sword or a gun.
October 4th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
@Hypestyle
That’s something I don’t get. Plastic-man actually has a built in audience with his old cartoon shows during the 80s. It’s shocking that DC hasn’t even tried to capitalize on the character–heck, the Wachowskis even had a decent script for it from what I heard!
October 4th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
@Chiefsleepy
There was actually a really popular manga/anime called Rorouni Kenshin about a samurai who has vowed not to kill. I don’t know about guns, but it’s actually not too crazy to have Katana use her sword to fight crime without killing people.
October 4th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
I’ll check it out when it premieres but im not excited for it so far. the art style reminds my of a game called drake of the 99 dragons” (which at the time seemed like a cheap rip off of the timm dini style)also sense I dont know much about recent villains, what that chameleon looking thing? its not connected to killer crock i hope?
October 4th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Needs more ponies.
October 4th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
I like the gun-totin’ Alfred. How does Bruce hide his identity when Alfred starts dusting everything though?
October 4th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Man that CGi LOOKS LIKE CRAP…THEY NEED TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING Board ON THIS ONE…come on DC this looks like u guys were lazy so u just said lets just do it cgi…u guys got a lot of time from now to then…please have kevin konroy as the voice of batman…truDaRKNiGhTfAN OUT……P.S DC DoNt LoSe MoRe FANs
October 4th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Looks like sh#t! Gon toting? Blade swinging? Screw it.
October 4th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Came for Lauren Faust, stayed to see what would be happening to my cherished memories in the near future. My stay had some high points (Lauren & SBFF) and low points (so much CGI). CGI can be done well, but not usually at TV budgets. I’m sure kids will like it well enough though; I loved Beast Wars as a kid, but can’t understand why now.
October 4th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
I call for a FAN REVOLT IN 2013!!!!! B&TB was bad but Dang this sucks!!!!
October 4th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Pretty sure even wikipedia makes mention that Alfred has a shot gun in the comics, I like Batman but dam how about the Flash or Superman. Anyway I love it if Batman was dick grayson make it change it up even more
October 4th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Is that Minion to the left of Pyg??
October 4th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Couple points for the hot headed instant-reactionary internet haters:
*calm down everyone, breathe*
Obviously Batman isn’t the only thing DC has on tap–or did you miss the DOOM PATROL note in the same story.
*calm down everyone, breathe*
Yes, the gun thing seems really really out of place, but remember this is a character who has been toting and using his grappling hook shooter a lot like a gun for over a decade now. Chances are they’ll explain it away like that somehow–it fires stun darts or gas pellets or something.
*calm down everyone, breathe*
CGI? Haven’t cared for it on the small (cheap) scale when I’ve seen it, but I’ll wait to view some samples first–there’s sure to be many leads and teasers. And if the stories are strong enough, they can even over come art defects.
*calm down everyone, breathe*
October 4th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
I’m all for a interesting new take for the series, besides, Alfred’s used guns before…
October 4th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Jim Carrey as Plastic Man…hell its a win!
October 5th, 2011 at 4:56 am
Actually there are some great cgi shows out there. Transformers and Star Wars being a couple that spring to mind. It takes just as much artistic talent to do those types of animations as it does to hand draw them. We need to get out of the mindset that computers = laziness somehow on the part of the studio. It’s the new medium and it’s going to be used more and more. Get over it.
Looking forward to Batman.
October 5th, 2011 at 7:20 am
Character designs look too distorted and off-putting. Without knowing more, the mere concept of a ‘gun weilding’ Alfred is just silly. And we don’t need a girl sidekick, we need Robin.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:47 am
I was very put off by the wildly super-deformed versions of the Teen Titans on TTG, and blew it off. It wasn’t till season three or so when they started bringing in other character that I gave it a look, and realized I was being a boob.
The Batman looked way too different for my tastes, and I wrote it off as “Change for change’s sake”. It wasn’t till season three or so when they started bringing in other character that I gave it a look, and realized I was being a boob.
Brave and the Bold had me from moment one, and has been a delight all through.
I’ll give this one a fair hearing.
And that Plastic Man short was a pilot done some time ago – there’s almost certainly still a copy of it up on YouTube somewhere. There’s a remote chance they just used it cause it was footage they had, but I do hope it finally gets on air.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Wow, Lauren Faust is touching DC Comic properties? Let me awaken from this nightmare.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Supergirl + People who make My Little Pony = WIN!
Can’t say that I’m impressed with the concept of this new Batman show. I feel they are running out of ideas.
October 5th, 2011 at 11:51 am
IT WILL BE INTERESTED TO SEE HOW CLOSED BEWARE THE BATMAN WILL BE TO THE ORIGINAL BATMAN FROM THE 1940 PERIOD. I CAN’T TO SEE HOW THE WRITER WILL EXPLAIN HOW ALFRED THE BUTLER TURN INTO A GUN LOVING HUMAN BEING. SO KATANA IS NOW REPLACING ROBIN AND BATGIRL IN THE SERIES. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT LAUREN FAUST WILL DO WITH
SUPERGIRL,BATGIRL AND WONDERGIRL. GOOD LUCK TO THE FUTURE. YOUR TRULY CHARLES DAVID HASKELL
October 5th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Batman does not look that good to me right now, but I will try and hold out hope. I was not looking forward to Green Lantern, but that preview looked way better then I thought it would. So maybe they can do something good with it. But I do have to agree with pretty much everyone else, it would be nice to see some new characters, I am pretty tired of seeing Batman all the time. Wonder Woman would be a nice change of pace, The Flash would just be freaking awesome. Hell I would even be ok with another Superman or JLA cartoon.
October 5th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Now who the heck decided to put poor old Alfred into the line of fire??
October 5th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Those better be rubber bullets in those guns, Alfred.
October 5th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
reactions to this should make for some good reading off-board somewhere. and its not even starfire
October 7th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
DC (WB) used to have the best animated shows. What the heck happened?
October 8th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Hard to judege from just one image, but it looks bad. Don’t like the character designs, don’t like the gun-toting Alfred, and I just don’t like the whole “Batman’s gotta have a sidekick” thing. The occasional Robin appearance on Batman: TAS was OK, but I preferred the show without him too.
And “Professor Pyg”?? What the hell is that? I gave up on Morrison’s Batman before that character was introduced, apparently, and I’m glad I did. That image of a giant pig-man lording over everything else just looks ridiculous.
I’m sure the show will find its audience, just as Morrison’s Batman has its audience too. That’s fine. I hope people enjoy it. It just isn’t for me.
October 8th, 2011 at 8:31 am
“Hard to JUDGE…” Sorry. Apparently hard to spell too!
October 17th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Everyone needs to calm down about the gun. If you know youe Batman history you know that originally Batman used a gun in a lot of the Bob Kane stories. And if you watch the oroginal Batman serial you’ll notice a pistol holater hanging from the utility belt. I for one don’t mind thw gun of it advances the story and I’m willing to give yhe show a chance. I think Black Lightning would have been a better choice than Katana thou dg h
October 18th, 2011 at 12:50 am
Sounds extremely lame. Alfred? Sounds like it was made up of leftover ideas by people who have no idea what Batman is about…
November 2nd, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Professor Pyg is awesome and super creepy! Can’t wait to see Morrison’s creation animated!
November 15th, 2011 at 9:33 am
We’re a group of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with useful information to paintings on. You’ve done an impressive activity and our entire neighborhood will likely be grateful to you.
November 26th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
SO 2013 WILL DEBUT BEWARE THE BATMAN. WHAT WILL MADE THE BEWARE THE BATMAN ANY DIFFER THAN THE OTHER ANIMATED STARRING THE BATMAN. WE SEE ROBIN AS HIS PARTNER? WILL KATANA’S BACKGROUND BE EXPLORE. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT KIND OF ROGUE GALLERY WILL POP UP IN THE SERIES. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A TEAMUP BETWEEN BATGIRL/SUPERGIRL. WILL BATMAN ENCOUNTER SUPERBOY IN FUTURE EPISODE. GOOD LUCK IN 2013. YOUR TRULY CHARLES DAVID HASKELL
December 14th, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Join our Caption Contest: Help us write a caption for this movie poster and you could WIN a FREE COPY of ‘Parody Movie’ on DVD!!!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150411853541633
December 20th, 2011 at 6:27 am
Wah! T!tty cryb!tche$ !!! Where in any of this do you read or have you heard confirmed that Alfred is using bullets? Or is out to kill with them? The irresponsible history of guns using bullets in cartoons has time and again proved they are “primarily” used strategically, not aimed for bodily harm. With the exception to bad guys with cr@ppy shooting skills, you’ll rarely see hero’s out for blood in cartoons.
Wah! #2: Batman! Batman! Batman! Do the math and shut up. You’ll get more DC variety on DC Nation. But you all who are crying already knew that. Baby’s just like to cry.
And 3rd: The style IS NOT far from anything DC/Timm have already produced. One look at Katana and you can see the relative line work from Nightwing in TNBA. It’s a cartoon, losers. Go outside and play or discover girls. And for those crying a bit more sublime, shut up! Your t!tty scoffing & eye rolling are coming out loud & clear. We get it. You have a high opinion. Too bad you’re so smart you don’t get how broader mainstream character marketing works. I bet you have tons of ideas! In fact, shut up and go make your own cartoony. B!tches.
December 20th, 2011 at 6:43 am
That’s right. I’m the real Bruce Wayne. Materialized to your world, due to your insistent crying, whining, and b!tching. Sad that I’m a 4- color character (or for you crybabies-CGI-Wah!) and I obviously get l@id more than all of you combined. That’s right! Catwoman, Talia, Wonder Woman, that magician chick who I can’t think of her name- Zantana! Whew. And a ton of others! Think about that next time you post to a forum. And you can’t reverse use that cr@p on me, because like I said, I’m Bruce Wayne. How pathetic that a fictional character has to set you straight and give you direction in life. Oh wait, it sounds like that was the case anyhow…..
December 25th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Simply wish to say your article is as astounding. The clearness to your put up is simply nice and i could suppose you’re knowledgeable on this subject. Well with your permission let me to snatch your feed to keep updated with coming near near post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please carry on the enjoyable work.
January 5th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Attractive portion of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to say that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I?ll be subscribing on your augment or even I fulfillment you access constantly rapidly.
January 9th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
I have learn some excellent stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how a lot effort you set to create any such great informative web site.
March 19th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Ouch! Jesus Christ! Can you 3 above me take your marbles out of your mouth and learn to write or speak English?! My head hurts trying to make any sense out of your sh!t. It doesn’t even make any sense! Are you from f’in Bizarro world?! Jesus Bizzaro am Christ!
November 6th, 2012 at 8:25 am
More people know Tom Fool than Tom Fool knows.