Batman: The Animated Series Puts Its Spin on a Classic Batman v Superman Scene

Batman: The Animated Series put its own spin on one of the most memorable scenes from Batman v Superman: Dawn fo Justice. Batman: The Animated Series returned in comic book form as Batman: The Adventure Continues. The comic sees animated series writers Paul Dini and Alan Burnett teaming with Batman Adventures artist Ty Templeton. The series tells new stories continuing the DC Animated Universe Batman’s adventures. The second installment of the digital-first series dropped on Wednesday. It includes a scene that flips the script on one of the major conflicts in Batman v Superman. SPOILERS for Batman: The Adventure Continue #2 follow.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice includes a fight scene between the two titular heroes. Mastermind Lex Luthor orchestrates the battle by manipulating the heroes. Batman dons a suit of armor and attacks Superman with kryptonite infused weapons. Doing so weakens Superman enough that Batman can take him down using his armor. He stops short of delivering the killing blow with a kryptonite spear.

The Batman: The Adventures Continue story “Hardware” includes some of the same elements, but the outcome is different. Lex Luthor comes to Gotham at the same time that a killer robot is on the loose. It isn’t a coincidence. Batman investigates and discovers that Luthor is behind the machine. Luthor, wearing his signature green power armor, fight Batman to a standstill.

Batman decides to even the odds by pulling out his own armor, much like in Batman v Superman (itself inspired by The Dark Knight Returns). Before heading out, Alfred points out a large chamber he’s discovered in Luthor’s giant robot. Alfred believes it is a second pilot’s cockpit. Batman sees that it’s a battery.

Then the rematch. Batman and Luthor fight it out in their armor. Batman gets the upper hand. Luthor retreats and jumps into the robot’s cockpit. That’s when Batman pulls out some kryptonite, firing it straight into the robot. Superman emerges:

As it turns out, Luthor had somehow captured Superman and was using him as a kind of solar battery to power the robot. Realizing this, Batman fired kryptonite into the machine in the hopes that it would jolt Superman awake. The gambit paid off and Superman broke free. That was game over for Luthor.

It’s interesting to see how these similar story pieces can be reassembled to form a different story with the same characters. Batman v Superman pit Superman and Batman against each other, driving them to the brink before uniting them. Batman: The Adventures Continue takes advantage of the continuity of the DCAU. The story puts the villain, Luthor, front and center and Batman coming to Superman’s rescue.

Batman: The Adventure Continues #2 is on sale now.