During the early days of entertainment when superhero films and TV shows were starting to transition into critical success, Warner Bros. with the DCAU decided to push Batman as the torchbearer for the future of animated series in the franchise.
After the success of Batman: The Animated Series, the cinematic universe decided to expand on the lore of the masked vigilante with their 1999 series Batman Beyond.
This was the show that made the vision of critical superhero masterpieces in entertainment come to fruition, as it won an Emmy Award for its second season. But according to series director James Tucker, the episode that ended up winning the award was something that didn’t make any sense to him, particularly because it wasn’t even in the usual narrative of the series.
James Tucker Never Expected His Batman Beyond Episode To Win An Emmy Award
While Superhero Cinema has become a mainstream genre in recent years, it was quite hard to look at anything comic book-related in the entertainment industry, especially animated series, back in the day as nothing more than something made for only kids.
Fortunately, Batman Beyond set an example of what superhero animated series were capable of critically, although the episode that made it possible wasn’t the one that was ever thought could help them achieve it in the first place.
During a Batman Beyond anniversary panel at New York Comic Con in the past (Entertainment Weekly) via Looper, series director James Tucker opened up about how the 19th Episode of Season 2 of the show, titled ‘The Eggbaby’ was his first time directing. He revealed that he felt he was being joked with when the Emmy Award-winning episode was pitched to him by producer and animator Bruce Timm.
This particular episode was the most unlikely to win an award since it was a goofy and childish one where Terry McGinnis has to take a baby simulator around with him everywhere for a school project. Tucker said:
“It was such an unusual script that didn’t really suit the tone of the show up to that point,”
Thus, the director did his best to make it as silly and goofy as possible from his side, not expecting much from it at the start. But then, he realized he had done an excellent job with it, which got the show an award.
Why Is Batman Beyond So Iconic?
Continuing on the legacy of the original Batman: The Animated Series, what Batman Beyond brought to the table wasn’t something that was a derivative of its predecessor, but a whole new avenue entirely.
While the original series put emphasis on Bruce Wayne as the caped crusader, the new series followed the adventures and trials of a new Batman, with Terry McGinnis playing the role of the vigilante under Wayne’s supervision.
This was an entirely new outlook on the life of Batman as its own separate entity to Bruce Wayne, which combined with complex characters and their developments along with equally complex antagonists and narrative, gave a fresh yet familiar story of the iconic superhero.
Batman Beyond, streaming on Max.
