Beware The Batman (2013 Series)

Beware the Batman is an upcoming American computer-animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman. The series is set to air in the United States on Cartoon Network starting in 2013, as part of their upcoming DC Nation block. It is their replacement for Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Premise
Crime-fighting vigilante Baman teams up with swordmistress Katana and his gun-toting ex-secret agent butler Alfred Pennyworth to face the criminal underworld led by Black Mask, Anarky, Ra's Al Ghul, Professor Pyg, Magpie, Mister Toad, King Kraken, Humpty Dumpty, Hush, and Axel Alex.undefinedHush and Black Mask, particularly, will be the main antagonists in the series.

Background
After Batman: The Brave and the Bold ended its run in November 2011, a new series went under production, so that Batman could return to a more "serious tone." When the series was first unveiled it was announced that lesser known villains would be introduced. For example, two of the shows villains, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad are from Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin comics. Sam Register explained "We went in deeper into the villain library and pulled out some other villains" and the studio did not want the series to do another "Joker story". With Batman receiving a new sidekick, Outsiders member Katana, Register even commented that "Katana is gonna be his new Robin, but not necessarily." The series will be computer-generated in a CGI format, similar to Green Lanter: The Animated Series ' s animation style, the CGI has been described as "cutting edge."

Characterizations
Mitch Watson, co-producer of Beware the Batman, explained how the crew behind the series approached Batman for the show the way they did, stating "In the way we approached Batman for this show, he’s at the beginning of his career, he’s probably been doing it for about five to six years, he’s in his early 30s. And character-wise, we broke him into three parts. There’s the public Bruce Wayne, who we modeled slightly after Richard Branson. We wanted to make Bruce Wayne more of an altruistic guy and the company’s [Wayne Enterprise] trying to do good. So, that’s the public Bruce. The private Bruce is more introspective guy who really only deals with Alfred, and Alfred at the beginning of the series is really the only person who sees that side of Bruce Wayne. He’s quiet; he’s a little bit obsessive about particular things." Barbara Gordon (known as Batgirl in the comics) will also be seen on the upcoming show. It has been stated that she is a teenager who is tech savvy, and admires both Batman and his sidekick, Katana, for their bravery.

Several of the villains to be newly featured were also revamped for the series. Producers announced that Hush was chosen to function as the primary antagonist. Acknowledging the violent nature of Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, the creators toned down their depiction to make them less violent then their comic book counterparts.

Voice Cast

 * Anthony Ruivivar - Batman/Bruce Wayne, Hush/Thomas Elliot
 * J. B. Blanc - Alfred Pennyworth
 * Kurtwood Smith - Lt. James Gordon
 * Sumalee Montano - Katana/Tatsu Yamashiro
 * Udo Kier - Mister Toad
 * Lance Reddick - Ra's al Ghul
 * Stania Katic - Talia al Ghul
 * Steven Blum - King Kraken, Batzarro/Wayne Bruce
 * Kirk Thornton - Humpty Dumpty
 * Diane Delano - Magpie/Margaret Pye
 * Andre Stojka - Anarky/Lonnie Machin
 * Daran Norris - Joe Chill
 * Nolan North - Black Mask/Roman Sionis, Professor Pyg
 * Mark Hamill - Axel Alex
 * Katie Higgins - Barbara Gordon
 * George Takei - Sensei
 * Jensen Ackles - Red Hood
 * Michael Horse - Ubu
 * Corey Burton - Solomon Grundy/Cyrus Gold