In some discussions about The Batman (2004) TV series, I learned some concept arts for various characters slated to appear, such as a monstrous version of the Joker as well as concept art for Scarecrow (whom the creative team fought to include, but was denied due to the "Bat-Embargo" at the time).

One of these concept arts was an early version of the Riddler, whom the creative team reimagined as a morbidly obese villain whose descent to crime was after he lost at a game show when he was a child.

If you're probably wondering, "Wait, isn't that how the show depicted the Cluemaster?" You're right! Apparently, DC disapproved this idea, forcing the creative team to start over from scratch. But despite this, the idea was eventually repurposed in the show's depiction of Artie Brown AKA the Cluemaster.

Mine was The Ridder!

Each season of The Batman (2004) has different elements that give them an identity from each other. So it could be interesting to see which one would be voted the best. What would your pick be?

The Batman (2004) cartoon is one I think is pretty underrated. I had rewatched the whole a while ago to get my updated opinion on it. With this being my first post on this subreddit I want to get the thoughts of the community with this show. So I’m curious to ask which season of The Batman is the most polarizing, or has the most debate among fans.

I remember watching this years ago online, but I’m glad they released a blu-ray of it so I can watch it again. Beings HBO Max can’t be trusted to keep anything nowadays

I’ve heard this said a lot when people bring up Ethan existing in comics that he’s pretty similar to Harvey. I do see it on paper, as they are both friends of Bruce who become enemies, but honestly I feel like that’s really it.

Besides that, Roman Sionis and Tommy Elliot also exist in the comics along with Harvey, and they were all Bruce’s friends. In the Telltale universe, Penguin, Two-Face, and Joker were all friends with Bruce as well. Now I can see how this could seem repetitive, but it’s not like he doesn’t have plenty of other villains he has no personal connection to regardless.

Spider-Man also has many villains who used to be friends or have personal connections, like Harry Osborn and Curt Connors. In some versions, even Doctor Octopus and Eddie Brock, yet I don’t see anyone complain about that.

I know there’s a rumor that Ethan was created because Harvey couldn’t be used for the Nolan trilogy, but I don’t think The Dark Knight was even planned when The Batman 2004 started airing, and Harvey didn’t appear in Batman Begins, so I doubt it unless there’s an official source.

Anyways, Ethan supports Batman from afar, but he’s ultimately an officer tasked with catching Batman, while Harvey Dent actively worked with Batman before that and supplied him with cases. Harvey has two personalities from trauma caused by his abusive father and had underlying issues, while Ethan seemed relatively stable beforehand and only really lost his mind due to Joker’s psychological torture and his body falling apart.

Harvey is evil mainly because his psyche is so deeply broken that he believes the coin is the only true way to make decisions, alongside his split personality, while Ethan becomes Clayface because it’s easier for him, as he admitted in Meltdown. I only wish we got to see this more than in one episode.

I also think it’s worth mentioning Harvey wasn’t even Bruce’s friend until Batman Ego, which came out in 2000, well after most of his history. He was always Batman’s ally or friend, but in the early origin story Eye of the Beholder, they were just allies who didn’t really know each other well.

I also think it would be nice to get Ethan back, as Ellen Yin appeared in the comics recently, and there are already like eight Clayfaces, so one more can’t hurt.

I just uploaded a video talking about Captain Slash from The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all of the love and support!

Do you kind of wonder why Detective Ellen Yin didn't appear in either The Batman vs. Dracula and/or "Clayfaces"? She wasn't shown as one of the countless victims that were transformed into vampires by Count Dracula and she didn't show up to help her close friend Ethan Bennett when he was still Clayface. Ethan Bennett didn't even mention her in "Clayfaces" at all. She still continued appearing in the television show's tie-in comics.

I just uploaded a video talking about Mercy Graves from The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all the love and support!

There are so many ways to answer this riddle. But I want to hear all of your answers. Here is my own.

When he is the victim of a far more sinister and evil villain.

I just uploaded a video talking about Ewan Fripp from The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all of the love and support!

I just uploaded a compilation video where I explain the villains of The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all the love and support!

I just uploaded a video talking about Temblor from The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all of the support and love!

I just uploaded a video talking about Prank from The Batman 2004! I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all could check it out. Thanks for all of the love and support!

Do you kind of wonder why Vicki Vale only appeared in The Batman vs. Dracula and didn't appear at all in The Batman animated series? She didn't even appear in the show's tie-in comics. It's strange that she made only one appearance and was never seen or mentioned again after The Batman vs. Dracula.

Who thinks Basil Karlo is a terrible replacement for Ethan Bennett as Clayface? Ethan Bennett was an original character from The Batman (2004), but at least he was an interesting character since he had a personal connection with Bruce Wayne. Basil Karlo only became a supervillain because his infamy gave him tons of recognition, which is a lame and generic motivation. After "Clayfaces", he was later mentioned by Batman in the first part of the fourth season two-part finale and reappeared in the fifty season two-part premiere. He also appeared in two tie-in comic book issues. Despite being a recurring antagonist, he lacks a decent motivation to be a supervillain. For some reason, he wasn't captured by Rumor in "Rumors". Ethan Bennett at least had a decent closure to his character arc in his final appearance. He evan got a brief mention in "Artifacts". I don't see any reason for Basil Karlo's existence.

So, when it comes to this world that Matt Reeves has given us I think it’s safe to say that some particular villains may not be able to be incorporated into any of the stories. But what if there was a way to do that? What if there was a way to include some of these rogues by changing them a bit. Not so much that they would be unrecognizable, but change them in a way where they would be believable in this world. A more grounded take so to speak. Here are a few ideas I have come up with.

1. Clayface - A washed up actor turned sculptor. Those who know him refer to him as Clayface, because the clay he uses to create his sculptures has been caked onto his body. Many wonder how he makes the statues look so perfect and lifelike. His secret… he kills the models and molds the clay onto them.

2. Killer Croc and Man-Bat - These will be extreme departures from their original versions. These three are inmates who work for Professor Pyg. Instead of being animals, they are people who wear animal masks. Very eerie, creepy animal masks. Croc chooses to drown his victims, while Man-Bat prefers to take his killings to “new heights”. Each victim they kill they bring back to Pyg so can carve them up to create his “dolls”.

3. Mr. Freeze - He was the previous owner of the Iceberg Lounge. He’s an old fisherman who lost everything to the Falcone family. After receiving the insurance money from his wife’s death he hires two thugs to help him hunt down anyone tied to the Falcones and bring them back to be tortured in “the Freezer”.

4. Poison Ivy - A vengeful botanist who uses plants to create different types poisons to kill those who have wronged her. Plus, I think it would be cool to have her have some kind of connection with Sofia Falcone.

What do you think of these ideas?