The Batman: Season 1 (2 Discs) (Animated)

In this incarnation of an animated Batman; we visit the Dark Knight in the early stages of his crime fighting career and shows how he learns to perfect and home his skills into the legendary Dark Knight that he is.

Granted, it lives in the shadow of the 1990's Batman the Animated series, but this series tries to move away from that with redesigning characters like the Joker who probably had the most dramatic redesign. However, I feel the new look Joker works, as he bounces around like a loonatic and is crazier and has a larger laugh than when Mark Hamil portrayed him. Kevin Michael Richardson who voices Joker was just such a great choice.

Amongst the other characters; Catwoman is far more playful in this than she was in the previous continuity.

Rhino Romano does well as a younger Batman/Bruce Wayne as he really gives a learning tone in his voice and shows that he has more of a want for fun as Wayne being that he's still in his 20's. He does well with the deepend voice for Batman, too.

The animation quality in this is second to none, being that there are only 13 episodes in this season the animators had more time and money to spend on making it excellent.

And to top it off; you get the Edge from U2 who composed the opening theme of the series. A winner all round.

As a fan; I strongly recommend this series to existing fans and potential new fans.

So, watch the Batman story unfold.

Many of the die-hard and traditional fans of the Batman may be put off at first by the new look of this animated series. In a clear effort to separate itself from the previous series this one features completely re-designed characters. The Joker, who probably underwent the most sagnificant transformation is now a deranged jester in a straight jacket.
All of the transformations however are, in my opinion, very welcome. A refreshing an intersting take on these traditional characters was very entertaining and well worth the seven quid it's currently priced at.

When i first saw this new Batman incarnation i thought it looked abit odd, very different from what we've come to expect as well from Justice League and the Batman TV Series, but this really grows on ya, the stories are all complex enough to keep your interest peaked and at the Fourth season he already has Batgirl and Robin on his side and a few league members, this is a show that intends to recreate the Batman story for the new generation and manages to improve on it as well.