BW Media Spotlight

Please note the terminology. “…Most Accurate Current Adaptation”. I’m not calling it better than your favorite or even your favorite among the three currently active, the other two being Amazon Prime’s Caped Crusader and the Reeves movie and The Penguin spinoff. This is about accuracy, not quality. Then again, as preschool shows go, Batwheels is actually quite good. Created for Cartoon Network and Max’s “Cartoonito” lineup,  we all assumed the show would be something like Pixar’s Cars when it was first announced, a world where vehicles are alive and humans aren’t. Instead we got Batman’s various vehicles coming to life and fighting crime.

It sounds silly, and I’m curious how many of you actually read the article before telling me I’m crazy and apparently missed the other times I’ve stated this (sometimes in chats of other people’s videos and streams, but I’m sure I mentioned it here a few times). Folks, there is a method to my madness. Batwheels is the story of Batman’s various vehicles coming to life initially to protect the Batcomputer from an evil and jealous AI called Badcomputer. The team, which we’ll only be focusing on briefly, consists of the Batmobile (Bam), Robin’s car (Redbird), Batgirl’s motorcycle (BB or Batbike for long), a VTOL version of the Batwing (Wing), and a monster truck I don’t remember Batman having (Buff), plus other vehicles that join along the line. The show is just entering its third season and I don’t have access to Cartoon Network anymore. I can see clips and shorts of the new show on YouTube but that’s it.

Still, it must seem odd that even the guy who occasionally watches Paw Patrol and Bluey would say that this show has a better understanding of the Bat-Family and their adversaries than other programs out there. You know I’m going to make a case because (1) it’s me and (2) there wouldn’t be an article otherwise. While the vehicles take center stage, the humans do put in appearances, and the people behind it did put effort into this show. From the Batwheels Fandom wiki because of course there’s one:

While writing the series, Stern wanted to avoid “kiddifying” the characters, as he felt children should be introduced to the characters through faithful portrayals and was also requested to respect the characters. For Batman, he wrote the character to stay faithful to most interpretations, with only his violence being toned down. He also wrote the villains with “a lane” that stayed faithful to their classical portrayals while still fitting the target audience, such as portraying Harley Quinn as a fun-loving prankster. When creating The Batwheels, the writers wanted them to be perceived as “lovable” and “fun” characters for the audience, in order to avoid the children only watching the show for Batman. In order to accomplish this, they tested the personalities for each character with a test group, who received the characters positively. The writers also wanted to avoid portraying The Legion of Zoom as mere copies of their owners, to which they gave each vehicle their own characteristics, such as portraying Prank, the Joker’s van, as “a surfer dude”.

See, I’m not…okay, I’m a little crazy, but allow me to prove my words aren’t.

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