Disclaimer: The following post is purely speculative. It is not intended to judge unfinished and unexecuted ideas, but provide some analysis and context as to how they could have fit within the canon work itself.
Ever since Katana’s seemingly-random inclusion as Batman’s main partner in Beware the Batman, there has always been speculation on whether this series would eventually introduce the Outsiders. These theories were strengthened by sneak previews that revealed characters like iconic Outsiders member Metamorpho and occasional foe Tobias Whale.
The show doesn’t do much with the connections until “Monsters”, where Metamorpho christens himself, Batman, and Katana as “outsiders” after their brief team-up. The climax of “Alone” has Katana recruit Oracle, Metamorpho, and Man-Bat behind Batman’s back after he stubbornly refuses help as he confronts Deathstroke. Everyone works together to reach a…morally questionable decision to protect Batman’s identity. Alfred refers to this group as outsiders and Batman realizes he’s not alone, hinting at future adventures with the new group.
Post-Mortem Content
After the show’s cancellation, I’ve seen multiple incarnations of the Outsiders come and go. These range from the titular team in Young Justice: Outsiders that resembles the show’s version of the Teen Titans more, to the one in the recent comics series, and the team teased at the end of Batman: Earth One, Vol. 3 that has a very interesting line-up, but is a last-minute tease to a Vol. 4 that will never come.
Sometimes I wondered what the plans were for the recently-formed team in Beware. On August 25th, 2021, I would wonder less after seeing this picture from Glen Murakami’s Instagram.
This is a rough sketch of the Outsiders as envisioned in season 2 of Beware the Batman. The image is dated 2012, so it’s safe to say that it was planned as season 1 was being produced. A comment by Murakami clarifies that the plan was to have Tatsu Yamashiro eventually become Nightwing, while the Robin of the series was actually Barbara Gordon. He doubts DC would have approved, but he wanted to pitch the idea anyway.
Analysis
The image includes Man-Bat (wearing multiple Bat-belts), Cyborg, Nightwing, Batman (wearing gray and black), Robin, Metamorpho, and someone who I will refer as Red Arrow. Man-Bat and Metamorpho are obviously early designs, so there’s not much to discuss beyond Man-Bat gaining some gadgets. Batman’s gray could also mean he was going to go through a wardrobe change, but I honestly find it hard to visualize that design in the show’s CGI, so maybe it is just an early design that looks better on paper than the all-black suit.
Red Arrow is a bit of a mystery. It could just be the traditional Roy Harper version, but the design itself is very Robin-like. Would we have gotten a usual Robin behind the hood, such as Tim Drake or Jason Todd? We did get a kid who heavily resembled Jason in issue six of the tie-in comic, but it’s easy to write off his cameo there as just a nod to the comics. Does his inclusion also mean Batman would have met Green Arrow?
Cyborg is even more of a mystery. A completely unexpected character and one that I find hard to imagine in the series. Maybe his appearance is due to DC’s earlier resolve to include him in nearly every superhero team. Doom Patrol shows he could work in another superhero team with superb execution so maybe it could have worked here.
Tatsu as Nightwing? Initially, it seems like a completely random idea, but it tracks with her established character. She is an adult protege of Batman that enjoys some independence. She has a healthy love life and a snarky sense of humor. She has long black hair and wears mostly black with a domino mask. Those characteristics sound familiar? Also, Tatsu shedding her Katana identity actually makes narrative sense. Her costume is just her street clothes with a mask. Her sword contradicts her entire goal as a non-lethal crimefighter. Her nom de guerre comes from the League of Assassins and she used it to fight against them, a motive that stopped being relevant after the LoA story arc. Unlike other versions of Tatsu, her claim to the Katana identity is flimsy by design, and assuming season 2 went as planned, she could’ve taken a journey to fully craft her own heroic persona.
This extends to Barbara’s own transition to Robin. She is a fan of Batman, but she grew closer to Tatsu near the end. She even trains in combat under her and also wears a spare domino mask. I initially thought they were either giving her identity protection and self-defense as Oracle or setting her up as Batgirl, but those elements foreshadow her turn as Robin just as much. Additionally, why wouldn’t she take a bird alter-ego to match her mentor’s? Her resemblance to Carrie Kelley makes even more sense. I wonder if this means she would have to abandon her Oracle nickname.
Overall, these unfulfilled plans are a perfect embodiment of the series. It had ideas that were sometimes weird and risky, but it was never without reason. There were story arcs, character development, and a clear vision behind them. Even if the series might never come back, I hope more content like this comes out in the near future. I look forward to write about it.
Next?
Now that I am done with this series, I might not write for a good while. Too many responsibilities to juggle now that the holiday season is on the way. As mentioned, I plan to repost my old Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters reviews, since those did well enough and I don’t want them to get lost. I also have an idea for a similar post like this for Onyx Equinox and its few plans for (an unlikely) season 2. Thank you all for reading.
inquisitivewordsmith 