The Dark Knight first premiered in the world of animation all the way back in 1968, thanks to CBS’s The Adventures of Batman television series. Ever since, Bruce Wayne has found interesting and dynamic ways to return to the small screen. While there have been dark entries such as Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Batman: Caped Crusader, we’ve seen just as many goofier takes on Gotham’s protector. When it comes to the latter, one of the most unbelievable series has recently made its return, coming back for its third season that brings some of DC’s heavy hitters into its episode list.
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Batwheels does feature Batman and plenty of other DC superheroes, but it mostly focuses on the vehicles that aid the Dark Knight in his pursuit of justice. First debuting on HBO Max in 2022, the series is focused on a far younger audience than most Gotham-related fare, though this doesn’t stop it from paying homage to the DC Universe. Currently, the streaming service that gave the WB animated series its debut has released several new episodes of season three, and here are the titles of each:
- Episode 10: “Presto Change-o”
- Episode 11: “Caped Crusader Caper”
- Episode 12: “Aqua-Wheels”
- Episode 13: “You Talkin’ to Me”
- Episode 14: “The Butler Did It”
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The newly released episodes bring in some familiar faces from the DC Universe, including the king of the deep, Aquaman, and the magician Zatanna. As of the writing of this episode, it’s not currently known whether this series will be Batwheels’ last, as HBO Max hasn’t confirmed if a fourth season is in the works. Considering the popularity of the Dark Knight that has remained over the decades, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if this younger audience-focused series returns in the future.
For those who haven’t explored this colorful new universe, you might be surprised by some of the factoids that make up Batwheels. To start, none other than Ethan Hawke plays the part of Batman, who fans might know best for his roles in Sinister, Black Phone, Training Day, and The Purge. Long-time DC fans might also be surprised to learn what characters make an appearance in this recent animated series. Recently created heroes such as Duke Thomas and Cassandra Cain appear in supporting roles, along with classic crime fighters such as John Stewart’s Green Lantern, Ray Palmer’s The Atom, and many more.
Following the debut of Batwheels in 2022, we here at ComicBook.com had the opportunity to chat with producer Michael G. Stern to learn more about the show’s goals. Specifically, Stern detailed how even though the animated series was aimed at a younger audience, they tried keeping the Dark Knight cool, “Oh, I think if you start at the beginning, what we were tasked with doing was to create a show that works for a really young audience but also somehow keeps the bare similitude of Batman, keeps Batman cool, in a way. So that right away is a challenge and you start thinking, ‘Well how do we then connect it to a young audience?’ Well, what we can do is keep Batman cool over here, and then over here we can create a bunch of new characters that our young audience can see the show through their headlights, so to speak.”
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