Animated cartoon produced by
Paul Dini. It aired from 1999-2001. Set about 40 years in the
future,
Bruce Wayne had to give up being
Batman years ago after suffering a
heart attack while trying out a new
high-tech Batsuit. As a
predatory corporate raider named
Derek Powers works to take over more of Wayne's
company, his long-buried
secret identity is discovered by a
troubled teenager named
Terry McGinnis. And after McGinnis'
father is
murdered by Powers, Terry takes the high-tech
suit out of
mothballs to go after the
killers. Afterwards, Wayne hires McGinnis as an
assistant and offers
assistance and
technology as the new Batman takes on
bizarre criminals like
Inque,
Curare,
Shriek, the
Royal Flush Gang,
Spellbinder,
Mad Stan,
Blight (a highly-
radioactive Derek Powers), and
the Jokerz street gang (inspired by a certain long-time Batman
villain).
The new
Batsuit is a solid
black outfit emblazoned with a
red bat-logo. It completely covers Terry, including his entire face. It increases the user's
strength and
speed, gives him a limited ability to
fly, and includes lots of
gadgets, including mini-
rockets and built-in
Batarangs. The new
costume also lets him
stick to
walls and
ceilings, has a
camouflage mode that makes him nearly
invisible, and is fairly
bulletproof. Wayne monitors McGinnis from the
Batcave to offer
advice and research
clues.
Like the regular
Batman cartoon, the
animation is
top-notch, and the
writing,
dialogue, and
action are much better than the average
superhero cartoon. Half the
fun is noticing the little
tidbits that are occasionally dropped about whatever happened to various old
characters.
Barbara Gordon, who was once
Batgirl, is now the
police commissioner,
Bane is a
drug-addled
vegetable in
South America, and
Mr. Freeze's
cryogenically preserved body allows him to make an occasional
guest appearance. Of course, we haven't yet found out what happened to
Robin,
Nightwing,
Commissioner Gordon,
Alfred... or
the Joker...
Bruce Wayne is voiced by
Kevin Conroy, who also does the
Dark Knight's
voice on the regular Batman cartoon.
Will Friedle is the voice of
Terry McGinnis.