When you think about Batman, one wouldn’t be wrong to think about the animated series that aired in the 90s. The DC hero was already an icon. But Batman: The Animated Series took the caped crusader’s fame to the next level. And a lot of credit for that goes to Bruce Timm, the brain behind the series. In spite of the reputation and success of the DC series, there were some things that left him disappointed. But what tops this list is something that Marvel did with his idea.
Batman: The Animated Series was Bruce Timm’s brainchild
Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series would go on to become the definitive version of Batman for years to come. What made the series a hit amongst fans of all ages was the fact that it got the balance right – a show that retained the dark elements of Batman, a compelling storyline, and a line of characters that was loved by all.
It is Timm who will stand at the front of the line that stands to receive most of the accolades for the success of the series. The writer, producer, and director was instrumental in the making of the series, etching his name in the annals of history (and in the hearts of every fan of the show).
A Batman idea that did not come to pass in the DC Animated Universe
Speaking 25 years down the line about his exploits with the DC character, the 63-year-old discussed at length his experience in the making of the series – his vision, what set him thinking, and what he felt he could have done better in an interview with Science Fiction.
In the course of the interview, Timm was asked what was the one thing he wanted to do on the DC series, but couldn’t. And guess what! It had something to do with vampires. He said,
“I had an idea to do an episode where Batman got turned into a vampire temporarily. There’s a character in the comics called Nocturna! And it didn’t get much past the idea phase.” (Science Fiction)
The men at the helm of DC were not interested in anything that was close to vampires. But people at Marvel had no scruples in doing so.
Bruce Timm hated Marvel’s version of his idea
Marvel Comics has quite a few vampire characters. But one whose appearance in Spider-Man stands out (because of how outrageously bad it was) is Michael Morbius. And this fact was not lost on Bruce Timm, who was devastated to see his idea butchered.
He continued,
“Yeeeeah, but they did that really lame one right? He had like suction cups on his hands? So that was fine. Like if I wasn’t going to do it properly, I wasn’t going to do it. That’s probably the only thing that I can really think of because everything else we kind of got to do what we wanted to do!”
Since then, the vampires of Marvel have somewhat redeemed themselves (thanks to the Blade trilogy). But the ghosts of Morbius are yet to be exorcised, especially in the eyes of Timm.
