Gotham High

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paladin
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Gotham High

Post by paladin »

Batman in high school. My reaction is just... :wtf:
There’s a reason Batman is the most adapted comic book character of all time – from movie serials to live action television to animated television to novels to Pez dispensers to feature films (seven in all, if you don’t count Mask of the Phantasm) and so on – it’s because he’s awesome. Straight up.

Over a year ago, artists Jeffrey Thomas and Celeste Green were approached by DC to create a “spec series” based on an old drawing by Thomas. The series, which followed a teenage Bruce Wayne going to school at Gotham High, was never picked up. But now, thanks to the all-powerful, all-knowing Internet, we can look at what could’ve been.

The animated series would have adhered to those high school stereotypes we all know and love. There was the art geek (Clayface), the politically-minded class president (Two-Face), the dorky, fat kid (The Penguin), the super jock (Killer Croc), the incredibly intelligent nerdball (The Riddler), the cute, smart, girl-next-door type (Batgirl), the hipster (Scarecrow), the dangerously hot chick (Catwoman), the Jugallo (The Joker) and his Jugalette (Harley Quinn), the sexy goth girl (Poison Ivy), the meatheaded, steroid-pumping wrestler (Bane), the “cool” guy (Mr. Freeze), and, in the middle, cooler than all of them — Bruce Wayne.

Check out Jeff and Celeste’s synopsis for the show below:

“We all go through incredible changes as teenagers: growth spurts, bad skin, a sudden insatiable need to uphold justice and avenge your murdered parents…. Well, that is, if you’re Bruce Wayne. As if being a freshman at Gotham High wasn’t tough enough, Bruce’s insomnia and technological fascinations are taking their toll. Instead of spending his time studying, he has begun to obsess over an emerging personality trait: Batman. But under the watchful eye of his guardian and steward, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce is forced to put his intelligence to good use: graduating high school. But given his classmates, can Bruce survive Gotham High?”

Call me certifiable, but I would’ve loved to see this thing come to fruition. At first glance, Gotham High just looks like they replaced all the X-Men characters from X-Men: Evolution with Batman and company. However, whereas I couldn’t stand Evolution – it took itself way too seriously for a show about superheroes in high school – Gotham High looks fantastic to me in a really over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. Almost like The Muppet Babies meets Clone High meets Batman: The Animated Series, all of which are some of my all-time favorite shows. What could’ve possibly gone wrong?

I’m not saying Gotham High would’ve been as good as all those shows, or even good. I’m just saying, as long as they would’ve kept it weird, funny, and incredibly self-aware…it could’ve been.
http://screenrant.com/batman-gotham-hig ... enm-95793/
http://jeffandceleste.blogspot.com/2011 ... -high.html

Not sure if anyone saw this. I found it in an article on cracked.com.

mod please bury if already posted.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Samuel »

It isn't an actual series, just an artist drawing and proposal. Happens all the time. They probably have a list of blocks so they can mix and match concepts. You know:
-as kids
-in school
-meets x
-and together, they solve crime!
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Crazedwraith »

On the one hand, this concept is blantant ridicolous and silly. And on the oher, I think those character designs and art are awesome.

Who knows, it could have better than it sounds. The "young batman in highschool" concept gave us DCAU'sBatman Beyond after all.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by paladin »

Crazedwraith wrote:On the one hand, this concept is blantant ridicolous and silly. And on the oher, I think those character designs and art are awesome.

Who knows, it could have better than it sounds. The "young batman in highschool" concept gave us DCAU'sBatman Beyond after all.
Agreed, the art was very cool looking. I'm against taking a well known character's origin and pissing all over it.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by FaxModem1 »

You have to admit, this is Smallville with Batman.

Seriously though, I wouldn't have wanted to see this as a show. It just looks...bad.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Vehrec »

This isn't just Smallville with Batman-this is how Smallville got started. The idea was first floated around in 1999 to do a live action series about Batman before he was Batman, traveling the world to learn the formative lessons of a superhero. The series died before it got past a story-bible stage, but one plot from that was turned into Smallville. This obviously is not the same project, but the essential seed idea is one that has a lot of sticking power in creative minds.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by FaxModem1 »

http://www.kryptonsite.com/brucewayne/outline.htm

You talking about this? The show that was eventually replaced with Birds of Prey?
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Batman »

While I'm actually quite impressed by the character designs, I don't think something like that would work. It is the Me version of Smallville, and my character background simply doesn't lend itself to that. Clark has that growing up in Smallville background, and depending on where in the continuity you look the growing into his powers/doing good in secret shtick. I don't. I never went to a public High School in my life and all of those people congregating in whatever private school in Geneva I was attending at the time would take some explaining.
As would explaining away the severe skin conditions of some of them :P
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Oh, Master Bruce. How I fondly recall your teenage days at high school, how you bumbled with those pretty girls and tried out for the football team, and all those times you were with the other boys in the shower room having some bat-sausages. Oh, such fun times. So much youthful and vigorous energy. Not like now, with all these dark and dreary grimness. :mrgreen:


The designs are reminiscent of The Batman, but they actually work in this lighthearted setting with highschool and... mmm... Ivy and Harley as cheerleaders. Yes....

It would be totally cooler than the shit in the comic books, at least.

EDIT:

Man, they're so cute! :o
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Re: Gotham High

Post by JME2 »

It would have been...interesting to say the least.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Especially if they take a totally campy and ridiculous Brave and the Bold approach. Ivy just going "I'm hot, he's not!" while campaigning against Dent. :lol:
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Re: Gotham High

Post by JME2 »

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Especially if they take a totally campy and ridiculous Brave and the Bold approach. Ivy just going "I'm hot, he's not!" while campaigning against Dent. :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Gotham High

Post by avatarxprime »

I'm glad this thing is just some silly concept. As Batman pointed out, it makes no sense for this to happen. Well, maybe if they want to have it be some kind of Elseworlds alternate-Earth set-up, but anything that tries to fit into roughly standard continuity would be wholesale stupid.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Zablorg »

I don't think this is Bat-smallville at all; Smallville was specifically about the formative years of Superman. This is just Batman transposed into a high-school setting, villains and heroes fully formed. There's absolutely no reason to think that it's trying to fit in to some already established continuity, and I think that people are assuming that is fucking hilarious. It's not necessarily a bad concept in and of itself, if it's treated properly.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Batman »

Whoever said anything about it fitting into established continuity, whatever that is these days? It's about whether it fits with the established character background, and it doesn't.
Had it gone through, that series might actually have been entertaining. What it wouldn't have been is a 'Batman' series. It would have been a random high school dramedy animated series borrowing DC big names to push the ratings.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Zablorg »

I'd argue all it would take to be a Batman series would be for it to utilize the characters and explore the themes of the Batman mythology. There's nothing to say the show wouldn't have done that.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Batman »

By that definition, both 'Batman Returns' and 'Batman and Robin' were perfectly acceptable Batman movies.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Zablorg »

I haven't seen either of those movies. But I'd expect everyone hated Batman and Robin precicely because it didn't utilize the characters or themes of Batman as they were commonly understood. Again, there's no reason to assume this show wouldn't have used the fundamental Batman concept well. If your personal underlying definition of Batman as a character is "didn't attend high-school", I think you've missed the point.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Batman »

You can't use the commonly understood concepts of Batman characters in a High School setting. That was my point.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Zablorg »

Good god, man, use your imagination!

What are some common themes in Batman? The fact that Bruce only finds comfort in his identity as Batman, and all that assorted baggage. The concept of enforcing the values that you hold to be true, and not neccessarily the law. Batman being a manifestation of Bruce's fear.

That's just off the top of my head for Batman as a character, nevermind what other characters bring into it. Each of those are piss-easy to incorporate into a high-school setting. You just use the themes as has always been done and... add high school.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by The Yosemite Bear »

Just think of the Angst as he's torn betty and veronica style between the bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Selena Kyle), The Foreign Exchange Student (Talia), and the Bad Girl nerdette (Pamala Isley)
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Re: Gotham High

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The Yosemite Bear wrote:Just think of the Angst as he's torn betty and veronica style between the bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Selena Kyle), The Foreign Exchange Student (Talia), and the Bad Girl nerdette (Pamala Isley)
Again, :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Gotham High

Post by DudeGuyMan »

If that had become a show, I'd have watched at least one ep to give it a shot.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by Alyrium Denryle »

JME2 wrote:
The Yosemite Bear wrote:Just think of the Angst as he's torn betty and veronica style between the bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Selena Kyle), The Foreign Exchange Student (Talia), and the Bad Girl nerdette (Pamala Isley)
Again, :lol: :lol: :lol:
Or Bane stands Pamela up so that he can go score with, say...Well... whoever. It is Bane, he does not take no for an answer

As a result she goes off the deep end (slighted and such, possibly teaming up with Selena to take revenge for all woman kind depending on how you portray Bane. Speaking of which, where are his track marks?), and concocts a mix of pheromones in the AP Biology lab that will make men fall in love with her/enslave heterosexual men in general. Bruce, finding out about this... well it just keeps getting worse from there.

In a high school setting, not only can one really create a good batmanesque series, but it could be Hilarious.
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Re: Gotham High

Post by JME2 »

In a high school setting, not only can one really create a good batmanesque series, but it could be Hilarious.
Yeah. If played right, this could actually be good.
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