Why does Superman have more live-action shows than Batman?

[Jordacar]

Some shows can function as a prehero story and others can't. Batman will only work as Batman. Why is it people want to see the prehero story so badly? I like Batman because he's Batman. I found that smallville was at its best when it was deeper into the Superman elements. Yeah its nice to reference Bruce training(like BTAS did with a few episodes) but Batman is the point. Really a Batman show would be pretty budget friendly. Its a crime drama/ detective story enhanced with a bat costume. Yeah some of the bad guys would need to be toned down but they all could work. Hell think that Mortal Kombat fan trailer. Bring in some real martial artist and bring the powers more to realism and the potential for one hell of a live action Batman show is there.

Excellent points

Jetting around the world = $$$$$$$$$$$

Maybe not as much as you'd think. "Lost" was filmed entirely in Hawaii, except for maybe one or two scenes in the entire series.

 

[SpideyStu2]

I'm completely frustrated by the fact that WB doesn't want to have a TV series and a movie franchise of a character going at the same time. Aside from finally getting a Batman film franchise off the ground, WB/DC Comics has completely mishandled the potential of Superman films and crossovers. Telling Smallville writers that certain characters and other things are off limits is just ridiculous. You would think a TV show that's been successful enough to go 10 years would be given a large amount of creative freedom, but they were always off limits to use Batman, Wonder Woman and a handful of other heroes because it would confuse people with their film versions. While Marvel has been netting box-office hits, WB continues to fail with their superhero films.
Superman and Batman have been characters for decades, that people haven't gotten tired of and WB seems too cautious to take more chances with their iconic characters.

 

[Jordacar]

In summary: Why a live-action Batman series is a good idea

 

[Havok83]

You'd think it'd be the other way around, right?

In the last 20 years, we've had "Adventures of Superboy", "Lois & Clark" and "Smallville." There was also "Superman:TAS" and "Justice League" of course, but with Batman there's been "Batman: TAS", "The Batman" and now "Batman:B&B" (and I guess "JL" might as well count while we're at it). What's the caped crusader had for live action TV? Besides "Birds of Prey"?

I cant beleive you didnt mention the Adam West series which lasted for 3 seasons and 120 episodes.

 

[Jordacar]

Well, I did say

In the last 20 years

 

[Havok83]

Oh my bad then.

 

[Jordacar]

I wonder if they'll switch soon. Smallville's ending, Superman will take over the BO with Snyder's reboot, and once Nolan wraps his trilogy there'll never be a better time for Batman to move to TV.

 

[vantheman77]

The point is that both Superman and Batman sell for DC/ WB.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I wonder if they'll switch soon. Smallville's ending, Superman will take over the BO with Snyder's reboot, and once Nolan wraps his trilogy there'll never be a better time for Batman to move to TV.

Agreed, I wouldn't be surprised if a Batman series does happen in the near future after Nolan's trilogy is completed .

 

[Webhead2006]

As cool as a batman live action show would be. I am sure wb will want to do more films. Best thing to do is just chjll on batman for like 5yrs, build up gl and flash and maybe one other character, next to superman. Then we start anew(doesn't mean reboot/restart) with batman with a new director/story/vision and all that. If anything with batman it will just be animated stuff.

 

[Doc Ock]

Superman has more awesomeness than Batman. There, I said it. Thats why he has more live-action shows!

 

[Pagan]

I think a series about Bruce @18 would be great. have him on the road in search of himself. every week a new town,a new skill to learn,a new wrong to right. Remember the old Hulk series the way they did Banner? Instead of running though Bruce is seeking knowledge. Seeking out individuals who can train him.

 

[Webhead2006]

Could work but if that's just it I don't think it would last to long.

 

[Catman]

Things happen for a reason. In the `50s, we got the Superman television series starring George Reeves. It was a hit and lasted for many seasons. But after Reeves un-timely death, it seemed in poor taste to do another Superman show. Children hadn't really recovered from that yet. So, in the `60s they turned to Batman instead. It was a hit. An even bigger hit than Superman since it was considered a primetime family program instead of a children's afternoon/Saturday morning show for kids. But that eventually ran its course and was cancelled. So there was no reason to do a Batman show in the `70s because one had already been made and ended. Superman was out of the question because a movie was in development. So, they turn to DC's #3 character: Wonder Woman. You see the pattern here? Superman, then Batman, and then Wonder Woman. In the `80s, things got a bit complicated. The Superman film series was in full gear. 3 out of the 4 (or 5 if you count SR) were released in that decade. And there was also the Supergirl series. Batman as a movie was in development hell. And, Wonder Woman was too recent. And since they couldn't look beyond those three characters, TV was DC-less for most of the decade. Superboy didn't come along till the LATE `80s and that was just a desperate attempt by the Salkinds to cash-in on the property one last time. In the `90s, we briefly got Flash which was a nice change of pace. But with the Batman film franchise in full swing, there was no reason to give it a TV series. Superman got another shot with Lois & Clark because things were moving slowly in the film world. The same applies to Smallville. What eventually became Superman Returns was in development hell for over a decade.

So, why does Superman have more TV shows? Because the ball has been dropped too many times with the film adaptations. If Superman III, IV, and Supergirl had not flopped we wouldn't have gotten Superboy. If the 5th movie hadn't taken so long to make we wouldn't have gotten Lois & Clark and Smallville.

It's as simple as that.

 

[Webhead2006]

i would say there is more to it then just that.

 

[Catman]

No, it's pretty much that. Batman, for the most part, has been a successful movie franchise. Batman & Robin was the only real flop. That's why the Adam West series has been the only live-action show. WB has found no reason to explore the character's TV potential aside from animation. Superman, on the other hand, has been a constant struggle in the movie-verse. As far as WB is concerned, Superboy, Lois & Clark, and Smallville were just something they did as they worked on Movie Superman. And they were ready to pull the plug on Smallville when Superman Returns was in production, but Bryan Singer saved it.

 

[Webhead2006]

i never recall sv being saved just cause of singer/by singer. There is alot of other factors in play in why shows are or are not in production. and about shows in general getting produced.

 

[batdude]

I think Singer was at least willing to cooperate with them. I think I'll always wonder how good a Welling Superman movie would have done. but there's always the chance of a new Batman TV show.

 

[Tron5000]

Personally, I'd kinda like a Nightwing show now that Superman is losing his. I think it would be cool if it took place during the time when he was a police officer. You wouldn't need a super-high FX budget to pull that one off, and I've always been a fan of Mr. Grayson.

 

[N7 Joseph Shepard]

the answer is simple...........CAUSE SUPERMAN IS 1000000000000x COOLER THEN BATMAN!!!! lol .............well.........thats my reason but that doesn't count

 

[batlovescatDC]

I hate to say it but shows have been the best live action portrayals of Superman, whereas the movies have been the best for Batman. Hope Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder change that with The Man of Steel (which I think they will.)

But there have also been a lot more developmental issues for Superman films throughout the years than there have been for Batman. So shows have been a much less problematic and much more cheap way of portraying Superman in live action, and at the same time showing the best portrayals there have been of the character (once again, in live action.)

 

[batlovescatDC]

Personally, I'd kinda like a Nightwing show now that Superman is losing his. I think it would be cool if it took place during the time when he was a police officer. You wouldn't need a super-high FX budget to pull that one off, and I've always been a fan of Mr. Grayson.

THIS. I have been dying to see a live action portrayal of Nightwing for so long, and the only way to do it well would be a show. It would be so much more interesting that a ****in' show about RAVEN. Wtf?

 

[vantheman77]

Superman can do it all with movies, television, musicals, and animation. Batman is made for movies and animation. Now he has a live stage show coming up.

 

[batlovescatDC]

^ CAN do it with movies. But he hasn't yet. The first Superman movie was great for it's time and is still a classic, but only b/c of Christopher Reeve. It's way too dated. II, III, The Quest for Peace, and Returns all blew and bombed.

 

[Tron5000]

THIS. I have been dying to see a live action portrayal of Nightwing for so long, and the only way to do it well would be a show. It would be so much more interesting that a ****in' show about RAVEN. Wtf?

It's just something that popped into my head. I always liked Dick Grayson growing up. My dad was a kid when the original Batman series was on TV, so I grew up watching the Adam West-Burt Ward reruns, watching Super Friends and reading Batman comics. But I didn't really get into the Nightwing character until I got back into comics around the Final Crisis/Batman RIP time period, and I bought lots of back issues of Nightwing to become more familiar with the character on the assumption that he would become the new Batman. So I read lots of his backstory, and of course followed the character through Battle for the Cowl, Batman & Robin, and into the present issues.

Dick Grayson is a bada$%, plain and simple. So you set a series during the beginning of his time as a police officer in Bludhaven. It's basically a crime drama/detective show. Show him working the beat with his cop buddies, and at night he does double duty as Nightwing. The costume wouldn't be too crazy (it's just black & blue spandex and a couple batons), you could hide him a lot in the nighttime shadows, there wouldn't be tons of special effects to worry about, and with all of Dick Grayson's contacts within the Batverse and as leader of the Titans & Teen Titans you have a huge list of superhero & supervillain guest starts.

Heck, if the series progresses a long way, you could even take it as far as including his time as a museum curator. That would certainly lend itself to locales outside of Bludhaven, as Dick Grayson could travel the world looking for artifacts and such. Once you expand the scope of the series to worldwide, and not just focusing on one city, you've got that many more heroes and villains that can pop up.

I'd love to see Barbara show up every once in a while, Tim, maybe he even hangs out with Alfred a little when Bruce is out of town on "business." Now that Conner's been introduced on Smallville, have him show up to lend a hand when the heavy hitters come to town (and keep Lucas Grabeel as Conner...I liked him in 'Scion'). And if you need love interests (as a CW-type show always does), well, Dick's had a few of those.

All right, now that I'm actually thinking it out, I really want it to happen.