Batman Beyond or Dark Knight Returns?

[Anno_Domini]

Only the cartoon for me. But, it had to be anyways since I don't read much comics to begin with.

 

[RustyCage]

Only the cartoon for me. But, it had to be anyways since I don't read much comics to begin with.

I didn't used to either, but it's given me a much richer appreciation for the love, care, references, and little quirks of the films that would have completely flown over my head otherwise.

You should totally dive in and check out the major Batman books that you think might interest you. For me, it's kind of a romantic experience - but then again, there's also a lot of disappointment to be found too. lol

I guess every garden gets it's weeds.

 

[Mister Meddle]

I prefer Batman Beyond. To me it's more believable and it's really what I would expect from Batman and his future. I like TDK Returns but it's difficult to believe he could go out there and kick ass at an old age. Bruce was about the same age in the beginning of Batman Beyond when he retired as Batman but the only reason he was able to last so long was because he had a new suit that was able to provide better protection and allow other abilities that would make crime fighting easier for him.

It's also difficult for me to believe he would recruit a teenage girl as his new sidekick just because she helped him to the tank when he was severely injured. In Beyond Bruce was sick of putting young sidekicks in dangerous situations and he wasn't willing to give Terry the chance however he winded up giving him the chance in a way that was more believable. Terry was the body, Bruce was the eyes, ears and spirit of Batman. And it's not like he just said "okay kid, go out and kick ass I'll see you later". Bruce literally monitored and guided him the entire way which I thought was neat because it's definitely something an old Bruce Wayne would do if decides to give the job to somebody else.

I really like TDK Returns. I own it and read the comics and I really enjoyed the new animated films. But to me Batman Beyond is the better story.

 

[BH/HHH]

Well, how much did you read, and what did you think? That's what I'm curious about.

I've read Hush Beyond, industrial Revolution and am continuously reading the Batman Beyond Unlimited comics (which I love more for Superman Beyond admittedly) and I've loved them all. I think there's sone continuity errors between the comics and animated series but I just let them go.

 

[RustyCage]

I prefer Batman Beyond. To me it's more believable and it's really what I would expect from Batman and his future. I like TDK Returns but it's difficult to believe he could go out there and kick ass at an old age. Bruce was about the same age in the beginning of Batman Beyond when he retired as Batman but the only reason he was able to last so long was because he had a new suit that was able to provide better protection and allow other abilities that would make crime fighting easier for him.

It's also difficult for me to believe he would recruit a teenage girl as his new sidekick just because she helped him to the tank when he was severely injured. In Beyond Bruce was sick of putting young sidekicks in dangerous situations and he wasn't willing to give Terry the chance however he winded up giving him the chance in a way that was more believable. Terry was the body, Bruce was the eyes, ears and spirit of Batman. And it's not like he just said "okay kid, go out and kick ass I'll see you later". Bruce literally monitored and guided him the entire way which I thought was neat because it's definitely something an old Bruce Wayne would do if decides to give the job to somebody else.

I really like TDK Returns. I own it and read the comics and I really enjoyed the new animated films. But to me Batman Beyond is the better story.

Well put.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

I like pretending they both exist.

Batman's main career (Year One, TAS, JLA)
The Dark Knight Returns (age late 50s)
Batman Beyond (age 60s-70s)

headcon

 

[ThePhantasm]

They can't both exist... contradictory timelines.

Case in point: the death of the Joker.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I thought he so readily excepted girly Robin because of a psychological need for it. Remember, the guilt of Jason kept him dream walking in the night. Perhaps, in some twisted way, he saw helping and using Carrey as some sort of redemption. TDKR Bats was flippin insane.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

They can't both exist... contradictory timelines.

Case in point: the death of the Joker.

I'm not saying they fit perfectly. I'm just saying I think they are both great and they would have made some sense together.

For instance, seeing Bruce with a cane at the end of Dark Knight Returns. Just screamed Batman Beyond to me. Now you could argue all day about Sons of the Batman, Carrie as Robin, blah blah blah.

Bottom line is, he was doing SOMEthing between Batman and Batman Beyond... And i like to believe that was Dark Knight Returns

 

[dnno1]

 

[BH/HHH]

/\ that is awesome

 

[Bathead]

I'm generally not a big fan of the "Over-Teched" look for Batman, but for Batman Beyond it kinda fits.

 

[Victarion]

Overall, I found DKR to be boring. That isn't to say there weren't elements I did like: the mutant gang, the fire, the bomb were cool. I much prefer Beyond, from the rogues to the suit.

 

[Doc Samson]

For me personally, I've just never really gotten into Batman Beyond. I just never cared for Terry as a character, and in my mind, the only reasonable successor to Batman is Dick. I really wish he would've just stayed Batman in the comics and leave it at that, it's the only scenario that ever made sense for me, for Dick to graduate from Nightwing into Batman. He's the only character I feel has ever been capable of embodying that spirit in terms of ability & experience.

DKR is also my favorite Batman story of all, so I'm somewhat partial. In particular the resolution to Batman's relationship with the Joker is the only way I could ever see it ending, as well as Bruce's own strategy to alleviate himself completely of the "Wayne persona" and travel underground to train and develop an army to continue the fight.

Technically, if Batman Beyond were to continue from where DKR ends (and erasing DK Strikes Again) and Terry was one of those underground trainees that rises to the top of the food chain, it would work much better, at least for me.

 

[spidermanJLA!~]

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its film adaption but I just saw TDKR part 2. Can't say I was a fan. Every character was just weird. I didn't find it remarkable when it ended. It was a watchable movie, but everything about it is strange to me. Superman getting power from plants, random nuclear explosions, Heart attacks, Joker shooting people left and right, it just didn't work for me. Batman Beyond is for me the best choice by far.

 

[ThePhantasm]

/\ that is awesome

I hate it. Reminds me too much of a Dremora from the Elder Scrolls.

If they ever make a BB live action, the suit should not look that complex. Its a mess.

 

[Rich-k-]

im all pretty new to this, i watched batman beyond when i was younger when it first came out but i dont really remember much of it, and im looking to buy the animated series so i can get into the batman story properly, is the TDK returns and beyond linked in anyway? i love the the bruce wayne story, the darkness and the more adult based feel you get with the batman story if that makes sense?

 

[BlueLightning]

im all pretty new to this, i watched batman beyond when i was younger when it first came out but i dont really remember much of it, and im looking to buy the animated series so i can get into the batman story properly, is the TDK returns and beyond linked in anyway? i love the the bruce wayne story, the darkness and the more adult based feel you get with the batman story if that makes sense?

Well, Beyond have some nods to The Dark Knight Returns but nothing major. They are two very different interpretations, I recommend both but my favorite is Beyond.

 

[Hamill-Joker]

I like Batman Beyond more, pretty much because I like where the characters are and how they are portrayed. I like Bruce's involvement in Terry's work as Batman, and their mentor/student relationship. And I like Barbara becoming Police Commissioner with her reluctant but accepting relationship with Terry.

I see it as a more grounded and steady future than that of TDKReturns. The ironic thing is that while Batman Beyond's supposed intention is to be a kids show, it can at times feel darker than Batman:TAS ever got.

I really like the villains Inque and Blight, and the concepts of Shriek and Spellbinder. While I think the best stuff mostly takes place in the first season, I do really enjoy the episodes Eyewitness and The Call Part I and II.

 

[BatLobster]

I wouldn't necessarily want a suit as busy as the one above for a Beyond movie, but that is still a very nice piece of artwork. Very nice detail.

And yeah, I think out of the two for a movie adaptation Beyond is easily my preference. We already got a pretty much perfect animated version of TDKReturns and that really scratched the itch for me. I still think a Beyond movie would be an awesome and logical reboot for the franchise. Full of potential.

Edit: Oops, guess I got this thread confused with the other Batman Beyond movie thread. I love Returns but I like tend to think more towards Beyond when I envision a future for Batman. I prefer the idea of one person being passed the mantle rather than an entire army. But that ending totally works for Returns.

 

[Ponyboy]

Overall, I found DKR to be boring. That isn't to say there weren't elements I did like: the mutant gang, the fire, the bomb were cool. I much prefer Beyond, from the rogues to the suit.

I feel the opposite way... I was bored by Batman Beyond.

Something clicks off in my brain when Bruce Wayne isn't Batman so it already had one strike going against it. The first time I read DK Returns was in the mid 90s (a few years after I started reading comics) and I loved it from the get-go. I don't think (or at least I dont recall) that it had such huge hype around it or that it was touted the way it is today. I could be wrong about that.

I don't remember anyone saying I had to read it... though it could've been Wizard magazine telling me to snag it up. Batman Beyond interested me in the premise but the follow through never was able to keep my interest.

 

[Infinity9999x]

I prefer Batman Beyond. To me it's more believable and it's really what I would expect from Batman and his future. I like TDK Returns but it's difficult to believe he could go out there and kick ass at an old age. Bruce was about the same age in the beginning of Batman Beyond when he retired as Batman but the only reason he was able to last so long was because he had a new suit that was able to provide better protection and allow other abilities that would make crime fighting easier for him.

It's also difficult for me to believe he would recruit a teenage girl as his new sidekick just because she helped him to the tank when he was severely injured. In Beyond Bruce was sick of putting young sidekicks in dangerous situations and he wasn't willing to give Terry the chance however he winded up giving him the chance in a way that was more believable. Terry was the body, Bruce was the eyes, ears and spirit of Batman. And it's not like he just said "okay kid, go out and kick ass I'll see you later". Bruce literally monitored and guided him the entire way which I thought was neat because it's definitely something an old Bruce Wayne would do if decides to give the job to somebody else.

I really like TDK Returns. I own it and read the comics and I really enjoyed the new animated films. But to me Batman Beyond is the better story.

I really agree with this.

I've lately been a bit torn on TDKR. When I first got into Batman, it was obviously one of the first GN's I bought along with TLH, Y1, and TMWL. I loved it when I first read it, because it was so different and so dark. I also fully understand and appreciate all the good it did for Batman comics.

However, as I get older, I also have a lot of issues with it. The first half of the story, or more precisely, right up to when Batman beats the mutant leader, is amazing. I love the way the story is set up, I love how Frank slowly builds to batman coming back, and how you only see Batman from the shadows until we finally see him diving from the sky on the robbers in the car.

However, after the mutant leader is defeated, I begin to see touches of influences from what I like to call "crazy Frank." Or the Frank Miller that exists today, who's become a parody of his former self. Batman allowing the SOB to exist, allowing an untrained girl Robin to occompany him, Selina being a prostitute, actually taking the SOB under his wing and forming some kind of underground group with them etc. etc. It just seemed a bit extreme, even for Batman. I'm really not a huge fan of the second half of TDKR.

Batman Beyond has always been more to my liking. Bruce is a man ruled by demons, and his reluctance to take another ward always seemed truer to form to me, wheras TDKR Bruce was so willing to put a girl with no training in danger. Also, BB has by far my favorite final Joker moment ever. What he does to Robin was wonderfully twisted, and still brings chills to me when I watch it.

 

[Mister Meddle]

Spoiler

This concept art is absolutely amazing, I always loved it. It's very perfect for a live action movie of Batman Beyond.

By the way somebody is actually making it. Costume designer Bob Dullam is working on it. Can't wait to see the final product.

 

[Rich-k-]

This concept art is absolutely amazing, I always loved it. It's very perfect for a live action movie of Batman Beyond.

By the way somebody is actually making it. Costume designer Bob Dullam is working on it. Can't wait to see the final product.

Dude thats insane, holy crap t:t:t:t:

 

[Senator Pleasury]

Both are good. But TDKR is probably one my favorite Batman comics. No Batman movie after 1986 have gone without taking some aspect out of Miller's TDKR.