This might get my "comic book reader" licence revoked but I genuinely think BTAS + Mask of the phantasm as a whole is a better, more complete, package than any Batman comic book run ever One of the few instances where an adaptation might be better than the source material

Funny how most people who have agreed with this take are "Batmanexpert #28 that has read 183924928 batman books" And most who don't agree are "verified account #3 who like the movies and has read 3 books"

STILL READ COMICS YA'LL

@BatmanRouges Isn't most of it based on Dennis' run on the character? Demon's Quest is as faithful as an adaptation can get on a comic book.

@BatmanRouges I agree, but I do want to know if this is including The New Batman Adventures as “Season 4” or is it strictly the 1992-1995 Batman: The Animated Series? I ask because they feel distinctly separate enough to warrant that.

It’s not even close, buddy. Batman: TAS is basically a hyper-sanitized, dramatically flattened version of stories and ideas comics had already explored in a far richer and more sophisticated way. People act like it reinvented Batman when, in reality, it just diluted him into something digestible for children and Saturday-morning audiences. Its fans desperately try to elevate it into some towering artistic achievement, but at the end of the day it’s still kiddified Batman with noir window dressing.

@BatmanRouges Yes, but people should still read the comics.

@BatmanRouges Let me guess... Is it because it was one of your first exposures to Batman? Figures. It's also completely BS take, opinion or not. 80s Batman runs clear BTAS. For the mere fact that Joker in there wasn't some pssy who pissed his pants over a threat from some pudgy accountant.

@BatmanRouges Than decades of comics? No dude. Just. No.

@BatmanRouges Grown ass adults will try to Tell you that the 04 show is better

@BatmanRouges Put some respect in Sub-Zero!!! It's the perfect ending for Mr. Freeze and has an adorable dynamic between Babs and Dick

@BatmanRouges For the most part yeah took the best of Batman and combined it into this show. It’s timeless which is why no other Batman animated show comes close to giving you what Batman is at his core the follow ups/predecessors gave you one side of Batman. This show is BATMAN!

@BatmanRouges Run? Maybe. But I think that’s a very low bar. BTAS has a handful of episodes that are definitely just as middling as any writers comic run. It’s highs are extremely high though.

@BatmanRouges I agree but they got to cherry pick fifty odd years of what did and didn’t work to put together a cohesive take. Certainly the team were amazing and picked the right ingredients to create magic.

@BatmanRouges i can't agree with this but i do think mask of the phantasm is better than any other live-action batman film

@BatmanRouges Naaah man but Mask of Phantasm is best Bat movie ever, like better than Dark Knight.

@BatmanRouges Well BTAS is literally the greatest animated series ever so this is not even that crazy of a take

@BatmanRouges I always thought MOTP works perfectly as a definitive conclusion to BTAS(92-95) because it beautifully synthesizes the show's core themes. Even though it was released early in the show's run, it contains the ultimate emotional and thematic payoff for Bruce Wayne's character arc.

@BatmanRouges No arguments from me. I read virtually every Batman source material, and what Timm&co did with BTAS is just on another level. The writing, the design, the animation, the acting : it's all up there. Plus, its success sprouted Gargoyles. What's not to love ?

@BatmanRouges Considering the source material has then been trying to match the sauce of this adaptation ever since (to the point of making Harley a character) I agree. It's the definitive Batman for me.

@BatmanRouges I think just by virtue of the varying quality and discrepancies between runs/writers in comics this is valid tbh