After the explosion of DC Filmation animation in the late 60's, the studio took a bit of a break from the superhero gig before returning to the well in 1977. The New Adventures of Batman was aired in blocks with Tarzan and the Super 7 which included The Freedom Force and imitation heroes Manta and Moray, Web Woman, and Superstretch and Microwoman. Although there were some similarities between these "New" adventures and Filmation's original 1960's adventures, there were also some striking differences beginning with a fellow named Bat-Mite.
Possibly as a response to the peak in interest in sci-fi stories at the time, the character Bat-Mite, an imp from the dimension Ergo and Batman's #1 fan, was included in the main cast giving this series a distinctive flavor. Another minor oddity was the inverting of Robin's logo. One of the other main distinctions of the series was the voice cast. Although Olan Soule and Casey Kasem had voiced the Dynamic Duo in the Adventures of Batman, they had been recruited to the Super Friends series. So, this series sought to up the ante by hiring Adam West and Burt
Ward to reprise their roles from the 60's live action TV series.
Having concurrent versions of Batman on different networks caused a few complications. While both Super Friends and The New Adventures of Batman had the rights to the duo, they split rights to the villains. Super Friends got Riddler and Scarecrow for the infamous Legion of Doom and The New Adventures got the rest (along with Batgirl and the Mite). Nevertheless, a red Riddler appeared in this series opening sequence- though never in the series itself.
For his new adventures, Batman earned just a single season of 15 tales including 14 20 some minute adventures and one double length Bat-Mite spotlight.
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