2019 Geek-A-Long: Batman the Animated Series

Things I want to talk about: Arya Stark; not being able to see Avengers Endgame until Thursday; Arya Stark; the heart wrenching Magician’s finale; Arya Stark. Instead, I’ll be writing a post about Batman.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Batman: The Animated Series is iconic. ICONIC.

1. It contains the greatest Joker of all time, who, coincidentally, was voiced by Mark Hamill. It is a universally agreed upon fact that Hamill’s Joker is THE best Joker, and I will fight anyone who disagrees.
2. For all you Harley Quinn lovers out there, she wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for Batman the Animated Series. The writers of the show created her, and DC loved her so much that they added her to the comics. She quickly became a fan favorite.
3. The show also revitalized Mr. Freeze and gave him an incredibly tragic backstory, which became cannon. Before the cartoon, he was just a dude who liked to freeze things.
4. Also, one of the reasons why the Arkham video game series was so good was because they primarily based it on this Emmy award winning cartoon.

So, yeah. I know we should talk about the greatest superhero cartoon of all time, but I can’t stop thinking about Arya Stark. To help me focus up, let’s all watch Screen Junkie’s honest trailer for Batman: The Animated Series.

“A city somewhere trapped between 1932 and 1992” <—- Oh man, so accurate. Still, the combination of Art Deco and noir imagery was what made me fall in love with Art Deco design as a kid. To this day, I’m still a sucker for it.

Batman: The Animated Series was the first superhero cartoon that was more adult-oriented. Unlike the original She-Ra that we talked about a few weeks ago, this cartoon wasn’t afraid to tread moral grey areas and it contained copious amounts of outright physical violence. The bad guys do have a bit of Stormtrooper syndrome, but they fire realistic guns and Commissioner Gordon even takes a bullet at one point. I know they joked about it in the Honest Trailer, but it’s part of the reason why people hold DC to a higher standard than Marvel. People expect a perfect portrayal because it had existed at one time, and I think the pressure has given the DCU the yips.

“See DC? That’s all we want! A definitive portrait of a beloved character that balances multiples tones across dozens of hours that can only happen with a perfect creative team and lands at a perfect time in the cultural zeitgeist. Is that so hard?”

Honest Trailers: season 12, episode 5, minute 4:28

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Batman: The Animated Series pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~Jac

Mr. Freeeze in the ‘Heart of Ice’ episode: “This is how I will always remember you — surrounded by winter, forever young, forever beautiful. Rest well, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish best served cold.” Arya would approve.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our official donation page benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year. No contribution is too small! Wanna make your donation go even further? Lattes & Llamas will donate $1 for every skein of Geek-A-Long Yarn purchased.