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| The Batman Adventures | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofThe Batman Adventures Vol. 1. Art byTy Templeton. | |
| Publication information | |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | 1992–2004 |
The Batman Adventures is aDC Comicscomic book series featuringBatman, set in the universe ofBatman: The Animated Series and its successors.
The Batman Adventures was created to tie-in with theBatman: The Animated Series. As the animated series changed with each successive re-branding and relaunch, so too didThe Batman Adventures. It was originally conceived as a miniseries, but eventually got its status as tie-in.[1]: 35
The success ofThe Batman Adventures has also led to a set of "Adventures" titles mirroring the animated series that followedBatman: The Animated Series, includingSuperman Adventures (based onSuperman: The Animated Series) andJustice League Adventures (based onJustice League).
Based onBatman: The Animated Series, the first series ran for 36 issues, 2 annuals, and 3 specials (Mad Love andHoliday Special, which were both adapted into episodes forThe New Batman Adventures, plus an adaptation of the filmBatman: Mask of the Phantasm). The first annual introducesRoxy Rocket, who would later appear inThe New Batman Adventures episode "The Ultimate Thrill" and theSuperman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time". Most of the issues were written by Kelley Puckett, and illustrated by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett, thoughTy Templeton did the writing and art on a few issues.Mad Love was written byPaul Dini and illustrated byBruce Timm, while the holiday special was written and illustrated by a number of creative people who had worked on the animated series, including Paul Dini, Bruce Timm,Glen Murakami, Dan Riba, andKevin Altieri.
Following the re-branding of the animated series asThe Adventures of Batman and Robin, the comic series was relaunched. It ran for 25 issues and 2 annuals, as well as 2 specials (an adaptation ofBatman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero; andDark Claw Adventures, a non-canonAmalgam comic featuring theBatman-Wolverine hybrid). Ty Templeton was the regular writer, withRick Burchett as the artist. However, according to colorist Rick Taylor, the series was cancelled before many planned stories could be published. Some of them included anotherBatgirl andRobin team up,Batman teaching a grieving widower the futility of vengeance, the origin of the Threatening Three and the debut ofAnarky.[1]: 44–51
Shortly afterThe New Batman Adventures began airing onKids' WB, DC Comics published a five-issue miniseries titledThe Batman Adventures: The Lost Years. This series bridged the gap between the end ofBatman: The Animated Series and the start ofThe New Batman Adventures. Additionally, the first two issues were adapted from the episode "Old Wounds", and issues #4 and the end of issue #5 were adaptations of the episode "Sins of the Father".
Book One:Robin (Dick Grayson) voices his disapproval regardingBatman's tolerance of the crime-fighting activities of the relatively untrainedBatgirl and takes it upon himself to stop her. Subsequently, Batman deduces that Batgirl is actuallyBarbara Gordon while watching her playtennis against Dick – he realizes that she moves just like Batgirl. Batman decides to take Batgirl under his wing and give her the training she needs. Robin is upset by this decision and argues with Batman, but refuses to change his mind.
Book Two: Bruce and Dick continue their argument up through Dick's college graduation ceremony. When theJoker unleashes a radar jammer that can cause aircraft to crash, Batman and Batgirl battle him and his gang before Dick, as Robin, intervenes. The Joker is defeated, but Dick is enraged at Batman, punches him, and storms away. He decides to leaveGotham City despite the protests ofAlfred and Barbara.
Book Three: Dick breaks up a smuggling operation byTwo-Face and discovers an ancient African tribe, where he learns combat techniques from them, finally taking the first steps out of Batman's shadow. In Africa, Dick develops a new persona for himself:Nightwing.
Book Four: Batman becomes angrier and more driven because of Dick's departure – his new partner, Batgirl, is concerned over his change in personality. One night, while on the trail ofTwo-Face, Batman saves youngTim Drake, son of petty criminalSteve Drake. Shifty was trying to stop Two-Face from holding Gotham City ransom prior to his death, but was killed, and Tim seeks to honor his father's dying wish. Batman trained Tim into Robin to save him from a life of crime. Two-Face was captured and Batman took in Tim as his second ward.
Book Five: Dick joins an expedition to find a group of Tibetan monks who have lost an artifact, agreeing to recover the artifact in exchange for their secret of flight (the winged costume). He succeeds in gaining the artifact back fromRa's al Ghul. Succeeding, he visits Batman and reveals his new identity of Nightwing to him, Alfred, Batgirl, and Robin.
A new series based onThe New Batman Adventures titledBatman: Gotham Adventures ran for 60 issues. This was the longest-running series in theBatman Adventures line. Early issues were written by Ty Templeton and illustrated by Rick Burchett, while the team ofScott Peterson,Tim Levins, andTerry Beatty did most of the later issues. Batgirl and Nightwing appeared in most of the later issues. This series received a lot of positive reviews and was praised for its level of characterization.
In 2003, DC Comics launchedBatman Adventures, shortly after the cancellation ofBatman: Gotham Adventures. The first issue was made available through regular purchases andFree Comic Book Day (May 3, 2003). It ran for 17 issues before being canceled to make way forThe Batman Strikes!, a new title based onThe Batman. Every issue had two stories, one byDan Slott andTy Templeton, while the other was by Templeton andRick Burchett.
The running plot in the series is that thePenguin has managed to be elected Mayor of Gotham and has ordered the police led by a reluctantJim Gordon to pursue and arrest Batman. Batman for his part refuses to believe the election of Penguin was legitimate and amid his other crime fighting efforts pursues evidence to de legitimize Penguin’s mayoralty.
Issue #15, written byJason Hall, bridges the gap betweenMr. Freeze's appearances inBatman: The Animated Series andBatman Beyond. Issue #17 ends the series with Batman confrontingJoe Chill, the man who murdered his parents, although he is unaware of Chill's true identity.
The issue would have been a prequel to theBatman Beyond episode "Meltdown", explaining howDerek Powers acquired Mr. Freeze's disembodied head. Warren Powers, Derek's father, would have acquired Freeze's head and placed it inside his vault.
The issue would also have shown the Mr. Freeze robot killing Ferris Boyle (from theBatman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice") and Grant Walker (from the episode "Deep Freeze"). Other differences includeNora Fries' visit with Koonak (fromBatman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero) happening earlier in the issue, as well as focus on the deterioration of Nightwing and Batgirl's relationship.[2]
TheRed Hood appears at the end ofBatman Adventures #8. The creative team behind the story (Dan Slott andTy Templeton) had hoped for a chance to resolve the subplot, but then the series was canceled. This version of Red Hood was supposed to be someone crucial to theDC Animated Universe. Slott revealed thatAndrea Beaumont's mother had faked her death. He also mentioned that the background of the character would tie into subplots concerningLucius Fox, the Valestra crime family fromBatman: Mask of the Phantasm,[3] and the Powers family, including a young Derek Powers. Several years later, the 2020 miniseriesThe Batman Adventures Continue, drawn by Templeton, introduced theJason Todd incarnation of The Red Hood into the DCAU continuity.
To coincide withBatman: The Adventures Continue series (see below), DC published an ongoing monthly all-ages reprint series titledDC Classics: The Batman Adventures starting with the reprinting ofThe Batman Adventures (vol. 1) issue #1, until the series ended with issue #7 (collectingThe Batman Adventures (vol. 1) issue #7). Each issue had a US $1.99 cover price. The series ran from June 2020 to December 2020 (cover dated Aug. 2020 - Feb. 2021).
Batman: The Adventures Continue is a continuation ofBatman: The Animated Series and its follow-upThe New Batman Adventures. The book is co-written byPaul Dini andAlan Burnett, producers of the original animated television series, and illustrated byTy Templeton, who also worked onThe Batman Adventures. The limited series was initially released as a "digital first" comic, beginning in April 2020.[6] The miniseries lasted eight issues.[7] In March 2021, DC announcedSeason II of the series, with the first issue published in June 2021.[8][9] As of June 2021, DC has planned seven issues forSeason II.[10]
While there were many characters who never appeared inBatman: The Animated Series, theBatman Adventures series would occasionally introduce and feature characters who never appeared on screen in the DC Animated Universe.
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Batman Adventures | The Batman Adventures (1992) #1–6 | December 1993 | 978-1-56389-098-7 |
| Batman: The Dark Knight Adventures | The Batman Adventures (1992) #7–12 | 1994-06-01 | 1-56389-124-7 978-1-56389-124-3 |
| Batman: The Dark Knight Adventures[11] | The Batman Adventures (1992) #7–12 | 2000-02-09 | ? |
| The Batman Adventures: "Mad Love" | The Batman Adventures: "Mad Love" | 1995-11-08 | 1-56389-244-8/978-1-56389-244-8 |
| The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years | The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1–5 | 1999-02-08 | 1-56389-483-1/978-1-56389-483-1 |
| Batman: Gotham Adventures | Batman: Gotham Adventures #1–6 | June 2000 | 978-1-56389-616-3/1-4012-9499-5/978-1-4012-9499-1 |
| The Batman Adventures: Dangerous Dames and Demons | The Batman Adventures Annual #1–2 The Batman Adventures: Mad Love Adventures of the DC Universe #3 (back-up story) | June 2003 (2004-02-03?) | 978-1-56389-973-7 |
| Batman: Harley and Ivy | Batman: Harley and Ivy #1–3 Harley and Ivy: Love on the Lam Batman: Black and White Vol. 2 (colouredBatman: Gotham Knights #14) | 2007-07-18[12] | 978-1-4012-1333-6 |
| Batman: Mad Love and Other Stories | The Batman Adventures: "Mad Love",The Batman Adventures Annual #1-2,The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1,Adventures in the DC Universe #3,Batman Black and White #1 | 2009-05-20[13] | 1-4012-2245-5 978-1-4012-1333-6 (hardcover) |
| 2011-08-31[14] | 978-1-4012-3115-6 (trade paperback) | ||
| Batman Adventures Vol. 1: Rogues Gallery/The Batman Adventures: Rogues Gallery | Batman: Gotham Adventures #50,Batman Adventures (2003) #1–4 | 2004-06-02 (Digest-sized)[15] | 978-1-4012-0329-0 |
| Batman Adventures Vol. 2: Shadows and Masks/The Batman Adventures: Shadows and Masks | Batman Adventures (2003) #5–9 | 2004-07-01 (Digest-sized)[16] | 978-1-4012-0330-6 |
| Batman: His Greatest Adventures | Batman & Robin Adventures #4, Batman Adventures (1992) #3 and 19, The Batman Strikes! #6, Batman Adventures (2003) #11, Batman Beyond (series 2) #1 | 2017-09-13 (softcover)[17] | 1-4012-7693-8/978-1-4012-7693-5 |
| Batman Adventures revised collected editions | |||
| The Batman Adventures: Mad Love Deluxe Edition | The Batman Adventures: "Mad Love" | 2015-04-15[18] | 978-1-4012-5512-1 |
| Batman: Harley and Ivy: The Deluxe Edition | Batman: Harley and Ivy #1–3,Batman Adventure Holiday Special #1,Batman: Gotham Knights #14,Batman and Robin Adventures Annual #1,Batman Adventures #1,Batman: Black and White #3 | 2016-02-10[19] | 1-4012-6080-2/978-1-4012-6080-4 |
| The Batman Adventures Vol. 1 | The Batman Adventures (1992) #1–10 | 2014-11-05[20][21] | 978-1-4012-5229-8 |
| The Batman Adventures Vol. 2 | The Batman Adventures (1992) #11–20 | 2015-05-27[22] | 978-1-4012-5463-6 |
| The Batman Adventures Vol. 3 | The Batman Adventures (1992) #21–27,Annual #1 | 2015-10-28[23] | 978-1-4012-5872-6 |
| The Batman Adventures Vol. 4 | The Batman Adventures (1992) #28-36,Annual #2,The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 | 2016-04-06[24] | 978-1-4012-6061-3 |
| The Batman Adventures Omnibus | The Batman Adventures (1992) #1-36,Annual #1-2,The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1,The Batman Adventures: "Mad Love", Batman: Black and White (unknown issues) | 2023-09-05[25] | 978-1-77952-119-4 |
| Batman & Robin Adventures Volume 1 | Batman & Robin Adventures #1-10 | 2016-12-14[26] | 978-1-4012-6783-4 |
| Batman & Robin Adventures Volume 2 | Batman & Robin Adventures #11-18,Annual #1 | 2017-12-06[27] | 978-1-4012-7405-4 |
| Batman & Robin Adventures Volume 3 | Batman & Robin Adventures #19-25,Annual #2 | 2018-07-18[28] | 978-1-4012-8138-0 |
| The Batman & Robin Adventures Omnibus | Batman & Robin Adventures #1-25,Annual #1-2,The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1-5,Batman & Robin Adventures: Sub-Zero #1 | 2024-07-09[29] | 978-1-77952-737-0 |
| Batman Adventures: Batgirl-A League of Her Own | The Batgirl Adventures #1,Batman: Gotham Adventures #8-9, 22, 38;Shadow of the Batgirl (preview) | 2020-08-18 | 1-77950-671-6 978-1-77950-671-9/EAN-5 50999 |
| Batman Adventures: Nightwing Rising | The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1-5,Batman: Gotham Adventures #1 | 2020-10-06[30] | 1-77950-722-4 978-1-77950-722-8 |
| Batman Adventures: Riddle Me This | Batman: Gotham Adventures #11+28+56+57,Batman Adventures (2003) #11 | 2021-03-31[31] | 1-77950-936-7 978-1-77950-936-9 |
| Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue? | Adventures in the DC Universe #2+19,Batman: Gotham Adventures #4+24+50,Batman Adventures (2003) #10,Flash Facts Chapter Two: If You Can't Handle Heat (preview) | 2021-08-31[32] | 1-77951-080-2 978-1-77951-080-8/EAN-5 50999 |
| DC Comics: Girls Unite!/DC Girls Unite | Batman Adventures: Cat Got Your Tongue?,Supergirl Adventures: Girl of Steel,Batman Adventures: Batgirl A League of Her Own,Justice League Unlimited: Girl Power | 2021-11-02 | 978-1-77951-362-5/EAN-5 53999 |
The Learn Spanish with Batman series includes relettered speech bubbles, with over 300 Spanish words and phrases in red replacing the original text. Outside the comic panels frame, the replaced Spanish and the correspoding English texts are printed at the page border, but the English texts do not necessarily matching the ones in original publications. The Aprende Ingles Con Batman versions are in English text.
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn Spanish with Batman: Rogues Gallery/Learn Spanish with Batman Volume 1 | Batman: Gotham Adventures #50,Batman Adventures (2003) #1–4 | 2007-12-01? | 981-268-181-7/978-981-268-181-2 |
| Learn Spanish with Batman: Shadows and Masks/Learn Spanish with Batman Volume 2 | Batman Adventures (2003) #5–9 | 2007-12-01? | 981-268-182-5/978-981-268-182-9 |
| Aprende Ingles Con Batman: Galería de villanos | Batman: Gotham Adventures #50,Batman Adventures (2003) #1–4 | 2007-12-01? | 981-268-202-3/978-981-268-202-4 |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batman: Damas y Demonios | The Batman Adventures Annual #1+3,The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1,Superman Adventures #25 | 2019-10-10 | 978-987-724-527-1[33] |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batman Aventures Volume 1 | Batman Aventures #1-10 | 2016-03-25 | ISBN 978-2-36577-848-0 |
| Batman Aventures Volume 2 | Batman Adventure #11-20 | 2016-11-10 | ISBN 978-2-36577-913-5 |
| Batman Aventures Volume 3 | Batman Adventures #21-27 + Annual #1 | 2017-03-24 | ISBN 979-10-268-1109-1 |
| Batman Aventures Volume 4 | Batman Adventures #28-36 + Holiday Special + Annual #2 | 2017-09-29 | ISBN 979-10-268-1177-0 |
| Batman & Robin Aventures Volume 1 | Batman & Robin Adventures #1-10 | 2018-02-23 | ISBN 979-10-268-1401-6 |
| Batman & Robin Aventures Volume 2 | Batman & Robin Adventures #11-18 & Annual #1 | 2018-09-28 | ISBN 979-10-268-1402-3 |
| Batman & Robin Aventures Volume 3 | Batman & Robin Adventures #19-25 & Annual #2 | 2019-05-17 | ISBN 979-10-268-1815-1 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 1 | Batman Adventures: The Lost Years #1-5 + Gotham Adventures #1-5 | 2019-06-21 | ISBN 979-10-268-1509-9 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 2 | Batman Gotham Adventures #6-16 | 2019-12-06 | ISBN 979-10-268-2032-1 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 3 | Batman Gotham Adventures #17-27 | 2021-01-22 | ISBN 979-10-268-1569-3 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 4 | Batman Gotham Adventures #28-38 | 2021-06-04 | ISBN 979-10-268-2177-9 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 5 | Batman Gotham Adventures #39-49 | 2022-08-19 | ISBN 979-10-268-2175-5 |
| Gotham Adventures Volume 6 | Batman Gotham Adventures #50-60 | 2023-05-12 | ISBN 979-10-268-2799-3 |
| Batman - Les Nouvelles Aventures Volume 1 | Batman Aventures Vol. 2 #1-9 | 2015-03-13 | ISBN 978-2-36577-627-1 |
| Batman - Les Nouvelles Aventures Volume 2 | Batman Aventures Vol. 2 #10-17 | 2015-11-13 | ISBN 978-2-36577-707-0 |
| Batman & les Tortues Ninja Aventures | Batman / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (2017) #1-6 | 2018-01-26 | ISBN 979-10-268-1331-6 |
| Gotham Girls | Batgirl Adventures #1 + Gotham Girls #1-5 + Poison & Ivy #1-3 | 2015-03-13[34] | 978-2-36577-628-8 (256-page version) |
| Batgirl Adventures #1 + Gotham Girls #1-5 | 2022-08-19[35] | 979-10-268-2829-7 (184-page version) | |
| Batman: Les adaptation animées | Batman: Mask of the Phantasm – The Official Comic Adaptation + Batman and Robin Adventures Sub-Zero | 2022-02-12 | ISBN 979-10-268-2138-0 |
| Batman: L’Aventure Continue ! Volume 1 | Batman: The Adventures Continue Vol. 1 #1-8 | 2024-04-12 | ISBN 979-10-268-2977-5 |
