A Few Batman: The Animated Series Villain Designs Left The Artist Disappointed
For the legions of Batman fans in the world, "Batman: The Animated Series" is the unimpeachable screen adaptation of the character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The show found this unique blend of darkness, humor, and sophistication that could satisfy the intended audience of children, as well as all the adult fans who tuned in. This was also many people's gateway into the world of Batman, Robin, and Gotham, including mine, and our perception of these characters was entirely shaped by watching this show as it aired or the reruns that would show constantly.
What made the show stand out even more among its kid cartoon peers was how it looked. No other show was utilizing the color black or shadows in the way "Batman: The Animated Series" did. The aesthetic of the piece was just as important as the content within the show. When I think of many of the characters, the design that pops into my head comes from this show, even though I've read a good amount of "Batman" comics in my life and seen all the films. But if I imagine the Joker, Two-Face, or Mr. Freeze, I'm seeing these designs.
However, there are a number of characters — even iconic characters — where the show's take on them has not stayed with me. Either the stories they were involved in weren't particularly exciting or just the character designs themselves left a lot to be desired. As it happens, the latter was actually felt within the production of the show to some degree. One such person unhappy with a few of the designs was the man who came up with many of them, Kevin Nowlan, who felt the look of a couple of A-list villains (and one C-list villain) left a lot to be desired.
When another image is already in your head
When you are tasked with creating many different characters in a fairly condensed amount of time, you will naturally be susceptible to images you have seen before, especially when the characters you are redesigning have existed for decades. Prior to "Batman: The Animated Series," most people's familiarity with Batman came from the Adam West-led TV show from the 1960s. The same goes for Kevin Nowlan. Speaking with 13th Dimension, he explained his unhappiness with his designs for both the Penguin and the Riddler for "Batman: The Animated Series," because those original TV versions lived in his head:
"The Penguin was changed to the Tim Burton movie version. But I hadn't done much more than sketch the '66 TV character so I didn't have a lot invested in that one. I also had Frank Gorshin in mind when I drew the Riddler."
I think that is why these are two characters where I don't immediately see these animated versions in my head; my mind also goes to Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin. Another character Nowlan wasn't too thrilled with was the lesser-known Mad Hatter due to their strange adherence to the Lewis Carroll source material:
"The Mad Hatter always looked very awkward to me. I was thinking of the toothy, chinless, [John] Tenniel drawings from the original book. In the end, it didn't matter because Roddy McDowall did the voice and just acted up a storm. No one noticed the character design, good or bad. They were focused on Roddy [McDowell]'s virtuoso performance."
Ultimately, the voices do bolster these characters more than anything else. The Joker from the show is the first image I imagine, but would that be the case without Mark Hamill's voice? Probably not.