[Zechs Merquise]

Originally Posted by matirocker

I've never even heard of some of those and I've been a big Batman fan most of my life (clearly not enough though!)

Well then, clearly an opportunity to bring lesser known villains to the spotlight

Originally Posted by matirocker

Dini and Timm also gender swaped Calendar Man into Calendar Girl "back in the day" and nobody seemed to mind or demand they create new characters instead.

Because first of all Calendar Man is a C-list Batman villain probably best known for being in The Long Halloween (and its sequels). Not one of Batman's signature villains

Secondly Calendar Girl isn't a 1:1 gender swap. She has a completely different name and backstory and only really utilises the same calendar gimmick. She isn't 'Julianna Day' and isn't basically Calendar Man in drag. In fact I might even go so far as to say that Calendar Girl is essentially a new character, just based on the original Calendar Man

Originally Posted by matirocker

You say this is a modern problem yet Tim Burton's Penguin was also a radical reimagening of the character.

Yes, and the problem with the Burton Batman films (and Timm's problem with them, because he got to read the script for Batman Returns) is that Burton wasn't really interested in doing the comics, either. He wanted the imagery and the iconography of Batman but he wasn't really interested in making Batman films, he was interested in making Tim Burton films.

Yes, you're correct that this isn't a new problem, but it's a lot more prevalent now because Hollywood are increasingly less willing to take a gamble on original properties, so they're strip mining established names and established franchises for content while being cynical about them and not really doing comics.

See, I never really understood the nostalgia for the Adam West Batman show until now. Because, if you look at that show, they're basically making fun of Batman, of Batman comics. The creators are basically saying 'look at how silly all of this stuff is'.

But, at the same time, the Adam West show was remarkably faithful to the 'New Look' Batman comics of the time. Yes, they're saying 'look at how silly this stuff is' but, at the same time, they weren't afraid to do comics and present Batman, as he was, on the silver screen, in all his glory.

But we don't get that now. Instead we get stuff like 'Gotham' or 'The Penguin', or even 'The Dark Knight', which are just thinly veiled crime dramas with Batman elements in them for the brand recognition

Originally Posted by matirocker

Same as BTAS' take on Mr Freeze and MANY other villains. They didn't just do the characters as they were, they put their own spin on it. It's what keeps it all fresh, for better or worse.

But BTAS' doing their spin on Mr Freeze wasn't really chopping and changing anything. Firstly, Mr Freeze didn't really have a backstory until BTAS came along. He was another C-list Batman villain (in fact, I think he was supposed to be dead in the comics at the time). Secondly BTAS didn't change anything that was established about Mr Freeze at all. He was always a scientist, who always needed a cryogenic suit after an accident and he always committed ice or cold themed crimes. BTAS changed none of that, they just fleshed him out, and in doing that they made him into one of Batman's signature villains