Batman Down: Cartoon Network Puts Beware The Batman On Hiatus

NO COMMENTS YET

God knows that we have had our issues with some of the decisions that have come from the DC Nation partnership between DC Comics and Cartoon Network – we still bemoan the cancellation of Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and when it comes to replacing one of those shows with Teen Titans Go!, well, you know how we feel about that decision.

One bright spot to come out of last year’s cancellation turmoil, when both Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series were initially pulled from Cartoon Network’s schedule without notice toward the end of 2011 before running off their inventory of both shows, was the launch of Beware The Batman, the latest Batman animated show from Warner Bros. And while the new show really couldn’t hold a candle to the Bruce Timm / Paul Dini Batman: The Animated Series from the 90s, it’s certainly been entertaining enough to make a spot on our TiVo, and to catch at least half of the DC Nation shorts on a weekly basis. We try to catch the other shorts online, since there isn’t a force on Earth, including the marijuana that apparently allows most people to sit through it.

Well, that is we had Beware The Batman. Because in a case of history repeating itself, Cartoon Network has, without prior notice, pulled the show from their schedule with episodes still in reserve.

So… what the fuck, Cartoon Network?

In a statement from Cartoon Network to Comic Book Resources:

Currently, ‘Beware the Batman’ is no longer on our air. DC Nation will continue on Saturday mornings at 10/9c with new exclusive shorts and a full hour of encore episodes of ‘Teen Titans Go!’

There were initial reports from members of the voice cast that Beware The Batman was just going on hiatus until January (which would be consistent with what they did with Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series), but this just doesn’t tell us whether that’s actually gonna happen or not. If things go like they did with the earlier shows, it will suddenly show up again in our TiVo schedule sometime early in 2014 with little fanfare.

This decision to wipe out Beware The Batman seems a little odd. But part of the stated reason that last year’s slate of cartoons got cancelled was because despite the quality of the programs, they just weren’t functioning the way all cartoons have been designed since the 1980s: as a vehicle to sell toys. So if that reason carries over to the decision to pull Beware The Batman, then I’d like to congratulate all parties involved in being the first people since poor old Bill Finger to find a way to fail to make money on Batman!

But hey: at least we’ll have an extra episode of Teen Titans Go! to enjoy every week!