For a while the comic-book movie fad looked to be on the way out, with The Dark Knight and Watchmen being the swan songs. Then The Dark Knight Rises, Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers re-invigorated everyone’s interest, and with Man of Steel and the second generation of Avengers hitting cinemas soon things are not likely to cool off. In all the hub-bub the small screen has remained surprisingly out of the loop with The Walking Dead and Arrow being the only certifiable hits. SHIELD is currently in the pipeline but we need more…we need Batman.
Or more to the point, we need something from the Batman universe. Anything directly about Batman is going to sit in the Nolan Batman Trilogy shadow. What we need is a TV producer ready to mine the rich world of Gotham. To get them started, here’s a few suggestions.
Alfred Adventures
No hero goes more unsung than Alfred Pennyworth. We all love him as a character but he rarely gets the spotlight. At first this was included as a gag entry, but then it the thought dawns…we’ve never had a narrative that focuses on a superhero support team! This could play out as a sitcom, with Alfred having to solve a problem that comes up while Batman is out fighting crime. Add in a support cast like Oracle and the ever troublesome Damian Wayne and you’ve got the perfect foil for Alfred’s dapper manner.
Tell me you don’t want a whole show based around this:
Arkham Employees
Every now and then we get a mini-series of comics that takes readers behind the gates of the infamous Arkham Asylum. ‘Living Hell’ in particular stood out for putting the focus on the employees of the madhouse. With the angle being that this is the most horrifying and unpredictable places of business this would be a great setting for an ensemble cast of characters filling out the roles of nurses, doctors, ordelies, guards and patients. Famous villains could feature for cameo episodes with some of the lesser known characters such as Humpty Dumpty making up the regulars. The story of the con-man who thought an insanity plea would be the easy way out but wound up being tortured and mutilated in Arkham until he became the Great White Shark would make a fine first season.
Birds of Prey
Even in the over-flowing superhero market women are strangely under-represented. Rarely do they appear outside of a team in which they’re a token character, and with the Wonder Woman pilot not turning heads that trend is not likely going to change. Birds of Prey (an actual Birds of Prey, not the dumb version about Catwoman and Batman’s daughter) could break free of the mold and give us a team of badass female vigilantes. Aside from the ridiculous costume sported by Huntress above they could pave the way for a new look at women in costume.
Gotham High
A couple of years ago a few pics of an animated series called Gotham High surfaced online along with the unfortunate news that it wasn’t a thing that was happening. To be fair to the person who canned it, the entire concept is idiotic, but the teenage animated versions of the characters are just so damn well designed that I can’t help but want to see it in action. Art student Clayface, student body president Two-Face, science nerd Mr. Freeze, goth Joker and Harley, jock Bane and Killer Croc…it’s just a shame that it was shut down in the wake of the awful Birds of Prey. As dumb as it sounds on paper, how could you not watch this?
The Robins
Something the average punter may not know (not our readers, we know you’re geeks) is that there is more than one Robin. Dick Grayson was the original Robin who went on to become Nightwing (these days he’s Batman), later the role was filled by Tim Drake and now the mantle is held by Damian Wayne. Grayson was a cocksure youth with a brash attitude, Drake the consumate professional and Wayne is an arrogant but highly skilled fighter. When the three of them get together there’s always a great dynamic that is aching for a great television writer to bring to the screen.
Batgirl
Do you know what was great? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Do you know what else was great? Veronica Mars. And do you know what could be great? Batgirl. We’ve got the template for a show and we’ve got the perfect character to lead it in Stephanie Brown. Get a writer like Rob Thomas and we have an awesome show about a crime-fighting vigilante who deals with high school. Brown is a greatly underused character who spent quite a bit of time on the outside of the Batman club while dealing with issues as diverse as having a criminal father and teenage pregnancy. Plus you get Oracle as a mentor character. Win.
Gotham Crime Families
In the early days of Batman, and in the Year One/Year Two comics, the caped crusader spent his time battling gangsters. The Falcone, Bertinelli and Malroni families had the city in a vice before Batman turned up on he scene, and with him the freaks who make up his rogues gallery. For this series Batman can go on the bench while we focus on the conflicts between the families. Mix in the stranger gangsters of Gotham like The Penguin and The Ventriloquist for extra colour, plus vigilate Huntress as the daughter of one of the gang leaders, and you’ve got The Sopranos for the comic book generation.
The Riddler: Detective
Quite recently The Riddler turned over a new leaf and decided to turn his problem solving skills towards the art of detection. Sadly this character arc did not last long, but it was great fun while it lasted. Edward Nigma opened a private detective agency, kept his contacts in the underworld and tried to beat Batman at his own game in a very nior manner. With the popularity of crime shows based around gimmicks currently doing the rounds this is a winner.
Gotham Central
We’ve talked about this comic plenty before, and we’re still pissed off that it’s not still around and not a TV show. It was lined up to be adapted to a show before the fail of Birds of Prey put the brakes on any Batman themed show. A gritty, realistic tale about the detectives who work in the Major Crimes Unit who deal with the freaks it has a fantastic ensemble of characters who are waiting for actors to fill the roles. Their personal lives clash with the maniacs they clean off the streets while the shadow of the Bat is constantly overhead. It was fantastically written and it needs to live on.