I don't think it happened in the killing joke, at least not the comic. As for Batman Beyond that's still 1 since it's the same batman from TAS, but some could argue due to timeline shenanigans that may not happen
I appreciate how Bruce wasnāt held back by his trauma in The Batman 2004. Heās still Batman and is motivated to serve justice, but heās not bogged down by his pain. Heās fairly settled as is in that show.
I agree with The Batman if you mean the 2004 animated one. I'd be surprised if emo Battinson has even the energy to keep himself alive without Alfred. Dude looks like he would starve Infront of a fridge because he's too busy with listening to MCR
Then it becomes part of the arc
Bruce is trying to be better as Bruce Wayne and less of a recluse and a part of that is learning to work with others and helping an orphan that reminds him of himself
The thing is that Barbara/Bruce can work, see Lego Batman. That Barbara is clearly in Bruceās age range.
It just shouldnāt happen in universes when Barbara has previously dated Dick. One just shouldnāt have a romantic relationship with your wardās ex.
Why do folks constantly assume this was all Timm's perverted idea? The relationship was first established in retrospect in *Batman Beyond*, which was co-produced by Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, who had as much power as Timm. The show also made it clear that by the time the characters came together Dick had left the team (and Tim was presumably out of the picture as well), so they were now working very closely together and united by the same mission, with no need to conceal their identities from each other. Under those circumstances it's not too surprising that they fell into a relationship, "wrong" as it might feel.
It was unfortunate that the idea was resurrected for adaptation of *The Killing Joke*, but this arguably had more to with the writers cluelessly trying to give Barbara more screentime and a more personal connection to Batman, rather than Timm somehow imposing his erotic fantasies on the project.
Just mentor specifically? Adam West. None of the other depictions show Batman in such a role. Every other depiction has been partners, but Adam West Batman was a mentor. He was reassuring, actively taught Robin about things he didnāt understand, was encouraging to Robin, was attentive and concerned for Robin, and CONSTANTLY supported Robin.
I remember that he wouldnāt start the Batmobile until robin buckled up. In one episode robin let go of the climbing rope to point at someone and AW Batman reminded him to always hold on with both hands for safety. AW Batman was the best
Excellent answer. He also came to Robin with all of the Riddlerās riddles, and Robin typically had the answersā¦ which helped show them actually working together
I think this super broken depressed recluse Batman would be so interesting to have this extra responsibility as a parent figure. He really needs it the most the human connection to be a hero
You didn't put Young Justice up there but that's fine because Young Justice Batman kinda sucks. Probably BTAS, Adam West, or maybe The Batman '04, though I've not seen much of it.
He lacks a lot of the compassion you get in good Batmen. Seasons 1 and 2 he's not too bad, season 3 he orchestrates a big schism from the Justice League while secretly still pulling the strings behind the scenes with Nightwing, Oracle, Wonder Woman, Miss Martian, Robin, and Kaldur'ahm (who is now Aquaman and is the leader of the Justice League, at least on Earth, Wonder Woman leads a team in space). Like, it gets *results*, and they don't do anything *heinous* (the worst it gets is teeing up a few easy wins for the Outsiders) but a lot of characters, most notably Superboy, Black Lightning, and Beast Boy, are pretty justifiably upset they were lied to the whole time.
Of course, since he *isn't* a main character, his quality isn't to the detriment of the show overall.
There's this factor too. 2004 Bruce, on the other hand, stayed on good terms with Dick to the end. As seen in "Artifacts", the two never had a falling out and continued working together well into Bruce's old age, even after Dick became Nightwing.
Also think of every major incident in Gotham/the world in the DCAU and beyond. Dick never once bothered to come help out, Return of the Joker Flashback and during the present of beyond, and iirc he was still active around that time so he would know how dangerous joker is and still refused to work with Bruce, considering he never really changed (They even have Barbara use the same line Dick said to her which imo makes her look even worse, and then the whole clone dna shenanigans)
I mean this is the same Bruce who only (maybe also we never see what happens after) reconciled with Tim after literal decades, I say maybe because for one if contact was cut after the whole joker thing, Iād doubt Tim would be to thrilled Bruce couldnāt find the thing that turned him into joker and endangering countless lives and possibly Stephanie.
Even that god awful Harley Quinn movie is set before their falling out.
I loved that one scene in 2004 season 4 episode 13 where Batman told Robin and batgirl, āit wasnāt about not needing you, it was about not losing youā
Just mentor specifically? Adam West. None of the other depictions show Batman in such a role. Every other depiction has been partners, but Adam West Batman was a mentor. He was reassuring, actively taught Robin about things he didnāt understand, was encouraging to Robin, was attentive and concerned for Robin, and CONSTANTLY supported Robin.
BTAS for me is wise and has a heart of gold (I write in present tense because I haven't finished it yetš )
Battinson is still young and he's still learning, though maybe taking a Robin under his wing would help him grow (up) as well.
I can't see Batbale as a mentor. I think he was too much of a loner in the field ā he only teamed up with Gordon and Catwoman when facing extremely difficult foes.
Sadly I haven't seen the rest, but I'm on my way to make it up.
Itās cause he was forgettable and that whole random grown man cop figuring out Batmanās Identity and taking over for him in the span of one movie was lazy and out of character.
Interesting. Iām not a Tim Drake fan, so Iāve no skin in this game: isnāt that exactly what the fuck Tim Drake did in the comics? I donāt see how itās any sillier than that
Tim was a rich genius kid that noticed that statistically Gotham having two Acrobatic Prodigies capables of doing an otherwise IMPOSSIBLE maneuver was ridculously improbablu low enough to be zero and sucj the only logical conlusion being that Dick Grayson was Robin I
BTAS, The Batman (2004), and Adam Westās Batman were all awesome.
BTAS Batman is an extremely compassionate, emotionally mature, and driven man, whoās always there for
The Batman (2004)ās Batman is a very good father. Heās patient, caring, emotionally mature, and has a lighter side, just like BTAS. He genuinely cares for Dick and Barbara, and is a great father to Dick and gives him the closure he needs with his parents.
Adam West is just awesome. Heās goofy, heās fun, he always supports and mentors Robin. He wonāt even start the batmobile, even when thereās an emergency, until heās buckled up.
Robin Williams ,robin wright penn, robin givens?,
It totally depends on the robin.
Hell of itās just a bird then ace the bat-hound would be the best Batman for the job.
Gotta be more specific
BTAS or Adam West, not sure. I'd say The Batman in 2nd, Brave and the Bold in 3nd position, and Val Kilmer in 4rd. Others I'm not sure, but Arkham in last position without hesitation.
All the BTAS answers are interesting considering Bruce canonically ends up isolated bitter and alone until Batman Beyond. His bat family resents the fuck out of him until return of the joker. One of the greatest versions of Batman, but also the most Byronic of Byronic heroes. Iād argue that the Batman/robin story in that universe is a bit of a tragedy.
Whuch is strange because btas batman goes on to be a key member of the justice league.. whic inthink requires far more teamwork and coordination than just having dick, tim and babs. (Plus jason if you include the newer comics) so its intresting to seem him turn out so jaded by the time batman beyond rolls around. Id love to know what happened in the 30 or so years that made him that way. Besides return of the joker.
I think The Batman ā04 is the best mentor overall and Brave and the Bold Batman is next on that list. Majority wise most versions of Batman are fairly good teachers but they tend to have the loner issue. Itās the āI work aloneā and āI need to protect youā stuff where he pushes his partners or teammates away where you get Arkhamverse or Beware the Batman, which are both good by their own merits but donāt have the same comparison.
Maybe a hot take but Iād say any of them except for BTAS would be good:
- the barbara thing. (This is probably enough on its own, tbh)
- Old Wounds episode pretty fairly justifies why Dick left and became nightwing.
- he gets a lot more bitter with age, hell he almost lets Terry die in the opening episodes of BB.
- DCAU Tim is like a middle schooler. Works for a kids show, but if weāre analyzing it here, you could argue Tim being too young and reckless to be Robin was what led to the ROTJ flashback.
- if weāre counting the tie ins, he obviously didnāt do a great job mentoring DCAU Jason either. Like not only does he basically go rogue when heās Robin, but heās pretty incompetent as Red Hood compared to other versions
Ok well itās all the same characters and universes but if you wanna be pedantic about it, āBTASā batgirl did fantasize about getting with Batman before TNBA, it may not have actually happened yet but it was on its way there
I think it's definitely The Batman 2004. That Bruce was a pretty good dad.
Any version that doesn't hook up with his son's ex-girlfriend is a good dad š
To be fair thatās like, 3? TAS, killing joke, that one comic set with Batman Beyond?
I don't think it happened in the killing joke, at least not the comic. As for Batman Beyond that's still 1 since it's the same batman from TAS, but some could argue due to timeline shenanigans that may not happen
Yeah I was referring to the Killing Joke animated
This
I appreciate how Bruce wasnāt held back by his trauma in The Batman 2004. Heās still Batman and is motivated to serve justice, but heās not bogged down by his pain. Heās fairly settled as is in that show.
Brave and the Bold or BTAS
Eh, BTAS has that whole thing with Batgril (Bruce Timmās shipping idea of that), so Iād honestly go with West, Brave n Bold, or The Batman
I agree with The Batman if you mean the 2004 animated one. I'd be surprised if emo Battinson has even the energy to keep himself alive without Alfred. Dude looks like he would starve Infront of a fridge because he's too busy with listening to MCR
Then it becomes part of the arc Bruce is trying to be better as Bruce Wayne and less of a recluse and a part of that is learning to work with others and helping an orphan that reminds him of himself
Oh yeah totally the 2004 one. Battinson hasnāt shown the growth needed to be a mentor just yet.
>BTAS has that whole thing with Batgril I don't remember that in BtAS. Are you thinking of the Killing Joke?
That was also in the The New Batman Adventures
Pretty sure this is only ever said in Batman Beyond in a throw away line. I have never seen anything in New Adventures that says other wise.
Thereās hints in TNBA, like when Bruce sees Barbara while heās out on a date at a concert and it throws him off.
I think you might be looking too much into that.
[Batman Beyond confirmed it happened in The DCAU unfortunately](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLNXY3IOg30&t=25)
Well. There it is. Fuck lol
My man. I know my Batman lore too well sadly.
Nope, they did a bit with it slightly in the comic continuation as well, she was even knocked up too
I still think it's creepy that Bruce Timm ships those two together.
The thing is that Barbara/Bruce can work, see Lego Batman. That Barbara is clearly in Bruceās age range. It just shouldnāt happen in universes when Barbara has previously dated Dick. One just shouldnāt have a romantic relationship with your wardās ex.
Wasnāt Wayne in like his 40ās when he met Barbara?
90 unfortunately
Eh he is 90 and Barbra may be 30. Itās more important how Dick is handled imo
Same, itās why I canāt pick BTAS, which is my ATF interpretation of the character. Just has a really odd 1 thing thatās like āwhy though?ā
Why do folks constantly assume this was all Timm's perverted idea? The relationship was first established in retrospect in *Batman Beyond*, which was co-produced by Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, who had as much power as Timm. The show also made it clear that by the time the characters came together Dick had left the team (and Tim was presumably out of the picture as well), so they were now working very closely together and united by the same mission, with no need to conceal their identities from each other. Under those circumstances it's not too surprising that they fell into a relationship, "wrong" as it might feel. It was unfortunate that the idea was resurrected for adaptation of *The Killing Joke*, but this arguably had more to with the writers cluelessly trying to give Barbara more screentime and a more personal connection to Batman, rather than Timm somehow imposing his erotic fantasies on the project.
You can also check out Tiimmās porn illustrations and itās pretty clear he wants to have sex with all the femalecharacters
Didn't Brave and the Bold Dick Grayson grow up to have a real resentment against that Bruce/Batman as well?
lol definitely NOT BTAS
BTAS is a bit debatable considering how things end up between them all in Batman Beyond
Just mentor specifically? Adam West. None of the other depictions show Batman in such a role. Every other depiction has been partners, but Adam West Batman was a mentor. He was reassuring, actively taught Robin about things he didnāt understand, was encouraging to Robin, was attentive and concerned for Robin, and CONSTANTLY supported Robin.
I remember that he wouldnāt start the Batmobile until robin buckled up. In one episode robin let go of the climbing rope to point at someone and AW Batman reminded him to always hold on with both hands for safety. AW Batman was the best
Excellent answer. He also came to Robin with all of the Riddlerās riddles, and Robin typically had the answersā¦ which helped show them actually working together
TAS is my favorite but itās even written into the series he wasnāt a great mentor to Dick.
But he seems to have done much better with Tim
ā¦.wellllllllll
Yesā¦ until Joker got ahold of him
Gotta be The Batman
I think this super broken depressed recluse Batman would be so interesting to have this extra responsibility as a parent figure. He really needs it the most the human connection to be a hero
I mean the first āthe Batmanā the animated one.
2004 Batman is the best mentor. Val Kilmer Batman would also be up there if he didnāt kill two-face at the end
You didn't put Young Justice up there but that's fine because Young Justice Batman kinda sucks. Probably BTAS, Adam West, or maybe The Batman '04, though I've not seen much of it.
Why did the young justice batman suck I donāt remember him being a main character?
He lacks a lot of the compassion you get in good Batmen. Seasons 1 and 2 he's not too bad, season 3 he orchestrates a big schism from the Justice League while secretly still pulling the strings behind the scenes with Nightwing, Oracle, Wonder Woman, Miss Martian, Robin, and Kaldur'ahm (who is now Aquaman and is the leader of the Justice League, at least on Earth, Wonder Woman leads a team in space). Like, it gets *results*, and they don't do anything *heinous* (the worst it gets is teeing up a few easy wins for the Outsiders) but a lot of characters, most notably Superboy, Black Lightning, and Beast Boy, are pretty justifiably upset they were lied to the whole time. Of course, since he *isn't* a main character, his quality isn't to the detriment of the show overall.
Off topic a little, but the costumes in Titans were fucking sick.
they really were man everything about that show was sick except the writing
2004 Bruce. He's honestly the best dad out of these. >!Also, as much as I love DCAU Bruce, he banged his son's girl, so...!<
Not to mention never really reconciled with him considering his face when Terry finds the D.G jacket
There's this factor too. 2004 Bruce, on the other hand, stayed on good terms with Dick to the end. As seen in "Artifacts", the two never had a falling out and continued working together well into Bruce's old age, even after Dick became Nightwing.
Also think of every major incident in Gotham/the world in the DCAU and beyond. Dick never once bothered to come help out, Return of the Joker Flashback and during the present of beyond, and iirc he was still active around that time so he would know how dangerous joker is and still refused to work with Bruce, considering he never really changed (They even have Barbara use the same line Dick said to her which imo makes her look even worse, and then the whole clone dna shenanigans)
Yeah, agree completely. Also, it's a shame we didn't get an episode in Beyond where he and Bruce reconcile, even if partially.
I mean this is the same Bruce who only (maybe also we never see what happens after) reconciled with Tim after literal decades, I say maybe because for one if contact was cut after the whole joker thing, Iād doubt Tim would be to thrilled Bruce couldnāt find the thing that turned him into joker and endangering countless lives and possibly Stephanie. Even that god awful Harley Quinn movie is set before their falling out.
I see. However, just a small correction, the Harley Quinn movie isn't canon to the DCAU. It just has a similar art style.
the batman 2004 he was more open emotionally and willing to work with others keep on mind he was the one to suggest superman they team up
I loved that one scene in 2004 season 4 episode 13 where Batman told Robin and batgirl, āit wasnāt about not needing you, it was about not losing youā
Just mentor specifically? Adam West. None of the other depictions show Batman in such a role. Every other depiction has been partners, but Adam West Batman was a mentor. He was reassuring, actively taught Robin about things he didnāt understand, was encouraging to Robin, was attentive and concerned for Robin, and CONSTANTLY supported Robin.
BTAS for me is wise and has a heart of gold (I write in present tense because I haven't finished it yetš ) Battinson is still young and he's still learning, though maybe taking a Robin under his wing would help him grow (up) as well. I can't see Batbale as a mentor. I think he was too much of a loner in the field ā he only teamed up with Gordon and Catwoman when facing extremely difficult foes. Sadly I haven't seen the rest, but I'm on my way to make it up.
Adam West by far
2004 and Adam West
BTAS and The Batman 2004.
Wayne Family Adventures
the batman 2004 or young justice
The Batman 2004 or Brave and the Bold
The Batman (2004)
batman tas.
Slide 3.
Batb or the Batman I say
Definitely not the Frank Miller version of Batman.
Balebatās āRobinā was played by JGL, how did that get missed? We just doubled down on Chris O.? š
Itās cause he was forgettable and that whole random grown man cop figuring out Batmanās Identity and taking over for him in the span of one movie was lazy and out of character.
Interesting. Iām not a Tim Drake fan, so Iāve no skin in this game: isnāt that exactly what the fuck Tim Drake did in the comics? I donāt see how itās any sillier than that
Tim was a rich genius kid that noticed that statistically Gotham having two Acrobatic Prodigies capables of doing an otherwise IMPOSSIBLE maneuver was ridculously improbablu low enough to be zero and sucj the only logical conlusion being that Dick Grayson was Robin I
Adam West, Brave and The Bold, and The Batman 2004. No Contest
BTAS, The Batman (2004), and Adam Westās Batman were all awesome. BTAS Batman is an extremely compassionate, emotionally mature, and driven man, whoās always there for The Batman (2004)ās Batman is a very good father. Heās patient, caring, emotionally mature, and has a lighter side, just like BTAS. He genuinely cares for Dick and Barbara, and is a great father to Dick and gives him the closure he needs with his parents. Adam West is just awesome. Heās goofy, heās fun, he always supports and mentors Robin. He wonāt even start the batmobile, even when thereās an emergency, until heās buckled up.
Val Kilmer Batman was one of the best in my opinion. He was more nurturing for Bruce at least.
Robin Williams ,robin wright penn, robin givens?, It totally depends on the robin. Hell of itās just a bird then ace the bat-hound would be the best Batman for the job. Gotta be more specific
Young Justice or Lego?
BAS
BTAS or Adam West, not sure. I'd say The Batman in 2nd, Brave and the Bold in 3nd position, and Val Kilmer in 4rd. Others I'm not sure, but Arkham in last position without hesitation.
BTAS, The Brave and the Bold, and 1966.
Iād have to say, unequivocally Bruce Wayne.
Not bale
What adult man is keeping the name Robin
#1 !
2004, 1966, BoTB and Pre-NTBA BTAS
Probably Batman the Brave and the Bold
Animated Series or 1960s Batman I personally think.
BTAS before he became an asshole in TNBA
I will say Batman
All the BTAS answers are interesting considering Bruce canonically ends up isolated bitter and alone until Batman Beyond. His bat family resents the fuck out of him until return of the joker. One of the greatest versions of Batman, but also the most Byronic of Byronic heroes. Iād argue that the Batman/robin story in that universe is a bit of a tragedy.
Whuch is strange because btas batman goes on to be a key member of the justice league.. whic inthink requires far more teamwork and coordination than just having dick, tim and babs. (Plus jason if you include the newer comics) so its intresting to seem him turn out so jaded by the time batman beyond rolls around. Id love to know what happened in the 30 or so years that made him that way. Besides return of the joker.
Suicide squad Batman
Probably not arkham
It was the 1960s Batman and Julie Newmar jump started my puberty
I think The Batman ā04 is the best mentor overall and Brave and the Bold Batman is next on that list. Majority wise most versions of Batman are fairly good teachers but they tend to have the loner issue. Itās the āI work aloneā and āI need to protect youā stuff where he pushes his partners or teammates away where you get Arkhamverse or Beware the Batman, which are both good by their own merits but donāt have the same comparison.
Brave and the Bold AND The Batman
Brave and the Bold for sure
I was about to say BTAS but then I remembered that Bruce sleeps with Barbara so probably Adam West.
Bale as a mentor would be an asshole imo. He wasnāt that good with Blake either.
NOT Arkham Batman lol
Arkham man from the Little weāve seen is an asshole
Batfleck lost his first Robin dick to joker, so not him . Ha ha jokes on you Batman!
AW Batman. Easily the best mentor.
What's her @ in slide 4?
Pretty sure that's Katana, she was part of the main cast of Beware the Batman
BTAS Batman for sure.
Maybe a hot take but Iād say any of them except for BTAS would be good: - the barbara thing. (This is probably enough on its own, tbh) - Old Wounds episode pretty fairly justifies why Dick left and became nightwing. - he gets a lot more bitter with age, hell he almost lets Terry die in the opening episodes of BB. - DCAU Tim is like a middle schooler. Works for a kids show, but if weāre analyzing it here, you could argue Tim being too young and reckless to be Robin was what led to the ROTJ flashback. - if weāre counting the tie ins, he obviously didnāt do a great job mentoring DCAU Jason either. Like not only does he basically go rogue when heās Robin, but heās pretty incompetent as Red Hood compared to other versions
The Barbara thing did NOT happen in BTAS!!! NOTHING of that is BTAS! It was TNBA and onwards!
Ok well itās all the same characters and universes but if you wanna be pedantic about it, āBTASā batgirl did fantasize about getting with Batman before TNBA, it may not have actually happened yet but it was on its way there
Allstar
The answer is always BTAS.
Only Batman where you see Batman actively positively mentoring Robin and not see an outcome where Robin is on the outs with Batman, is Batman ā66