Beware the Batman

Did You Know?

• The first 13 episodes were released on Blu-ray and DVD as Beware The Batman: Season 1 Part 1 – Shadows of Gotham on February 18, 2014, before episodes 12 and 13 had aired.
• A second collection, Beware The Batman: Season 1 Part 2 – Dark Justice, was released on September 30, 2014.
• The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on October 11, 2013.

Premise

Set in Gotham City during Bruce Wayne's early years as Batman, the series follows his efforts to hone combative skills with help from his butler Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred introduces Bruce to his goddaughter Tatsu Yamashiro, a martial artist and swordmistress who becomes Batman's partner under the codename Katana.

Characters

Batman teams with swordmistress Katana and ex-secret agent Alfred to face Gotham's criminal underworld, including Anarky, Magpie, the League of Assassins (Ra's al Ghul, Lady Shiva, Silver Monkey, Cypher), Tobias Whale, Phosphorus Rex, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, Key, Killer Croc, and Humpty Dumpty. Anarky was originally intended as the main villain. The villains were designed to be over-the-top.

Production

Executive producer Sam Register said of Katana, Batman's new sidekick, that she would be his new Robin but not necessarily. The series was produced in 3D computer animation similar to Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Following the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, the series' content was altered to make firearms look less realistic. Initial promotional art, unintended for public release, depicted Alfred as a gun-toting butler fighting alongside Batman, upsetting fans who argued against Alfred's participation and use of deadly firearms. Developer Glen Murakami acknowledged the poster was an inaccurate representation, joking that you cannot have an action pose of a guy standing with a tray. Mitch Watson noted that Alfred fighting alongside Batman would reveal Bruce Wayne's identity. Both producers insisted Alfred would remain true to his characterization as Batman's mentor. Scott Thill of Wired praised the choice to debut Anarky on television, citing relevance after the Occupy movement and Anonymous.

Adaptations

Writers Mike W. Barr, Scott Beatty, Matt Manning, and Ivan Cohen, with artists Luciano Vecchio and Dario Brizuela, produced an original comic book set in the series' continuity. Issues include DC Nation #2 (vol. 1) (2012-11-07), Beware the Batman #1–6 (2013–2014), and a 2015 collection. An online game titled Gotham Streets was posted on the Cartoon Network site in 2014.