The world of Batman might have got its start in the comics, but the Dark Knight is too big to simply be contained to one medium. Ever since Bruce Wayne decided to become Gotham City’s protector, his heroic exploits have overtake the worlds of television, film, merchandise, and more avenues than we can count. Last year, a wild new take on the Batman arrived from Warner Bros Animation, recreating the heroes and villains that remain some of DC’s finest. In a recent interview with the creators of the wild animated film, the Batman enthusiasts discussed this iteration of the Caped Crusader making a comeback.
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Recently, Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires director Juan Meza-Leon talked about the ending of the recent animated film that re-imagined the Dark Knight. In its final minutes, the film hints at another Gotham villain that is set to challenge this iteration of the Caped Crusader, which is a topic the director was more than happy to address.
“The whole world of Batman Azteca was conceived originally as a miniseries but got condensed to just one story. If you know the history of the fall of the [Aztec] Empire, it wasn’t just the wars. They brought the plague and disease. So Doctor Valdo is going to bring that side of the story when you see he has all these vials in the movie. The evil is just starting. We hope we can continue the story. We’re never going to call him Penguin. He’s Doctor Valdo. He’s a mix between science and religion of the time. He’s a very dangerous character. He’s going to contribute to a lot of the fall of the culture. Also, Yoka has a huge part in the following story. We hope we get the greenlit to continue the story. We have a treatment.”
Aztec Batman’s Strange New World
While discussing the recent animated take on the Dark Knight, Meza-Leon also dissected the reasoning behind why Batman could work with wild variations, “I always go to the spirit of vengeance. Also, he’s a human character who has to persevere through overwhelming obstacles to become something bigger than he is. The story of Batman Azteca takes place in a historical setting where the circumstances are dire and the obstacles are overwhelming. This is somebody who saw his father get killed in front of him and his village get completely destroyed by invaders. There’s a bat deity called Tzinacan that was our window to create this whole myth about a warrior who dons the mantle of this bat god in order to fight at night against these invading forces. We tried to capture that spirit of Batman about a young boy who transforms himself into something bigger who can bring justice to the people.”
The director also revealed his favorite Batman comic book, “In the comic books you can see the same thing like Frank Miller, Denny O’Neil, or Grant Morrison. One of my favorite books is Arkham Asylum. And then you have the campy side of it as well. I think Batman allows itself to be reinterpreted in all these different forms. When I hear someone say, “It’s too this or too that.” that’s somebody who just knows the movies and doesn’t know the comics. They’re both equally great. Frank Miller is very different from Grant Morrison or Neal Adams. It’s all the same essence; a human being struggling with his own psychology and weaknesses and trying to overcome them.”
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