1966 Batman Returned A Few Years Back!

[Gernot]

Now, I don't know if this subject was covered here or not, I'm afraid. I skimmed over the pages and didn't find it, so I THOUGHT it'd be fair game.

Ennyway, I say the 1966 Batman returned a few years back in the Batman: Brave & Bold cartoon. Here's my proof:

First off, the Bat-Mobile. If Batman was supposed to be such a dark loner, WHY would he drive around in a two-seater? That gave me the proof that Robin existed in this universe.

Second, the jailbreak. In an early episode, Green Arrow helped Batman stop a jailbreak at Gotham Prison. Among the attempted escapees were Shame, Egghead, King Tut, and Bookworm, all of whom only appeared on the TV show.

Third, the Joker. In the Joker two-parter, neither Batman nor Joker recognized the Red Hood. In the TV show, Joker was said to have been a stage hypnotist before turning to crime, with no mention of the Red Hood. Also, in the same two-parter, Joker was thinking about death-traps he'd put Batman in (the electric chairs, the giant clam, and one or two others), all of which were on the TV show.

I'd pointed this all out on another message board when someone was going crazy trying to figure out what continuity the B&B Batman fell under. I think Batman would be proud of my deductive talents, no?

[Gernot]

There's ONE more thing: In the B&B cartoon, Batman is heard hissing at the villian: "You INHUMAN fiend!" or somesuch JUST as he did several times in the 1966 TV show.

[Waterratt]

There were quite a few nods to the 66 series in that show. And yes, Robin did make appearances, along with Nightwing. I believe there was one episode where, at the end, Batman goes and brings in a bunch of Batmen from the other realities, and one of them was the Adam West Batman. There was a screen grab of this on one of the threads on the old board.

[Yellow Oval]

Yep, Brave and the Bold as a series tilted a lot towards the '60s DC universe and the Batman TV series. I enjoyed it quite a bit and own all the DVDs.

[Earth 2 Chris]

There are tons of references to the classic TV series, none more obvious than in "The Color of Revenge", where Bruce and Dick answer the Batphone, slide down the Batpoles, and hop in the Batmobile! Now, it's not the Barris car, but the 1950 Dick Sprang design from the comics, but still, it's obvious where the inspiration is coming from.

The overall tone of the show is much more upbeat and light, compared to other Batman series. The jazzy music is Bat-tusi-inducing!

Chris

[Bob]

It was a fun show. I loved the gags but some of the stories were quite touching as well. Timelines are always vague with comic charcter's. They have to be

[Gernot]

As far as Robin/Nightwing went, I always considered the B&B to be just a few years after Batman was cancelled. Robin grew up and became Nightwing, among other things.

I used to love that show, too. Superman and Batman were best friends, and Batman's attitude towards Green Arrow was the same as Adam West Batman's towards Green Hornet and Batgirl. He grudgingly "allowed" them to fight crime in his city! LOL

[Mr. Deathtrap]

Good show, Citizens,

The juvenile competitiveness between Batman and Green Arrow is delightful, especially while Batman commented on it. Aquaman the raconteur was a hoot. Batgirl's introduction visually parallels her intro on our favorite show and even involved the Killer Moth.

Batman the Brave and the Bold was flat out fun. Too bad I now know of no plans to make more episodes.

Mr. Deathtrap

PS: Space Ghost before his coast to coast talk show.