NOTE: we don't know for a fact that Batman Unlimited is the next DC animated series, but this article is done under the assumption that it will be.
Just recently, this photo was spotted at a licensing expo:
This led to speculation that this is a banner for a new animated series centred on (you guessed it) Batman.
Two things are certain. The first is that the show (read the above
NOTE) seems to be based on the
Batman Power Attack line of children's action figures:
The second thing that seem's certain is that the name of the show is derived from another, separate line of action figures:
So, right off the bat, the whole point of the show is obviously to sell toys. That's not a good sign. One thing WB should do when developing the episodes of this series is try to
actually make a TV show instead of an oversized toy commercial. Need I remind everyone that the whole point of the infamous 1997 flop,
Batman And Robin, was to sell toys? The series should have a developed story and characters and not just a bunch of "oh, look at this cool gadget!" We shouldn't be surprised if Batman has multiple costumes in the show because if you go to the store and see the
Power Attack figures, you'll notice that most of them are just Batman in different suits.
Now let's delve deeper into what we can possibly expect from the show, judging from the
Power Attack figures:
Batman And Robin (apparently Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake)
Batman's costume is the same one from the banner. It's OK except for the logo. I am not really big on the logo. As for Robin, I'm digging his design. The red streak in his hair look's pretty cool. I hope they keep this design for the show.
There should be a reason (story/premise wise) as to why the show's called
Batman Unlimited. Personally, I hope the show will be centred around the entire Bat-family (Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, Batwoman, Red Hood, Oracle, Spoiler, ETC), rather than the show just having the word UNLIMITED in it because Batman has a bunch of costumes.
Villains/Adversaries
So far, only two villains have been referenced with the Power Attack toys (at least that I'm aware of), and that's Killer Croc and Two-Face. Not a lot to be enthusiastic about, other than I'm interested in knowing why Killer Croc has a metal jaw. I hope the show's versions of Two-Face and Croc (assuming the show draws that much from the toys) are different than the versions that are going to be in the final episodes of
Beware The Batman when it airs next month on Toonami, because otherwise it could feel like Deja Vu and the two shows might be closely (and unfairly?) compared.
I REALLY hope the show is more sophisticated than those figures make it look because if Two-Face is trying to kill Batman with Volcanoes and Killer Croc is teaming up with three eyed swamp monsters then the show is doomed.
VERDICT
We don't know much about this show or even if it's going to be a show, but we can only hope it doesn't suck. And if it does, maybe
Gotham will be good...Maybe.