On this most recent episode of the podcast, Kevin Smith sits down with legendary Batman scribe Paul Dini to discuss, amongst other things, the television spot used for Batman: Arkham Origins. For those that have not seen it, check it out:
It is a very somber ad, showcasing that despite growing up into adulthood, Bruce Wayne still carries the same frustration and guilt and sadness throughout his entire life which started the moment his parents were murdered in front of him. "It's all still with me," as the song states, is all that needs to be said. You can see it in the eyes of the character, growing up but never getting over those tragic events.
As expected, Smith's passionate thoughts on the ad are a great listen for anyone like myself who is a huge fan of Batman. But as if that wasn't enough, Smith and Dini are inspired to branch off from this and talk about how they would love to see a Smallville-esque version of this story being told—a young Bruce Wayne in prep school.
What follows is essentially a buffet of ideas that break down what could happen season by season for a television series with this concept in mind. The school could be the Bludhaven Academy just outside of Gotham. Harvey Dent could be Bruce's roommate and Thomas Elliot could be amongst the student body. The Court of Owls could be a retelling of Yale University's Skull & Bones Society, which could be an adversary along with Alberto Falcone. And so on and so forth.
This show, which they tentatively titled Shadow of the Bat, would build the foundations of what Bruce Wayne eventually becomes, written by legitimate fans of the subject material and having fun with what we all know and love.
For someone like myself, that has notes on his idea of "superhero blueprints" to encompass as much about a character as possible, I find this to be BEYOND incredibly intriguing. As Smith says in the podcast, just take my money already and produce it, as I would watch the hell out of it, religiously.
Do yourself a favor. Listen to the podcast and show your support for Smith and Dini by subscribing on iTunes. Whether or not this could become a true series is one thing, but at the very least, their idea is so perfectly sound and so entertaining to listen to just in outline format that they should be praised nonetheless.
Please pitch this idea to WB, guys! Fanboys Anonymous has your back!
Also, if you're a fan of this kind of material, please subscribe to the new YouTube channel for Fanboys Anonymous to help us with our relaunch of our own podcasts and roundtable discussions.
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