On the TV side, Hawke has appeared in both Marvel and DC projects. He played Arthur Harrow in a popular MCU TV show, Moon Knight, serving as the villain to Oscar Isaac’s title hero. As for DC, Hawke gives life to none other than Batman in a unique series on DC’s slate of releases, and it is there that Bruce Wayne dons a fan-favorite Batsuit.
Ethan Hawke’s Batman Is Exactly Like Fans Hoped
After not playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever, with Val Kilmer taking on the role, Hawke’s regret in not saying yes to the part turned into a new opportunity to give life to DC’s most popular superhero. The actor has been voicing Batman for years as the Dark Knight of DC’s animated Batwheels series. The show debuted on September 17, 2022, and is currently on season 3.
While Batwheels mainly tells the story of the Bat-Family’s vehicles, characters like Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, and more get plenty of time to shine across 37-episode seasons. Hawke’s Batman fits the vibrant tone of the show while also keeping in line with the character’s dark and brooding roots from the comics. This is a pitch-perfect exploration of Batman in a fantastical comic book world.
As for Hawke’s Batman voice, fans will not be disappointed. The actor brings a kind of raspy voice that suits the Dark Knight’s serious persona without ever making it sound cartoonish, something fans complained about in Christian Bale’s live-action portrayal of Batman. Hawke’s version of Batman also has fun one-liners, and the actor puts the necessary emotion in his voice to create a layered Dark Knight.
Batwheels Brings One Of Batman’s Best Suits To The Small Screen
Aside from delivering an exciting portrayal as Batman, Hawke’s Batman also sports one of the hero’s best Batsuits from the comics. Batwheels‘ main Batman suit plays with the concept shown in Batman’s Rebirth era of DC Comics, where the hero’s cape is a solid purple on the inside. As for the rest of the suit, darker shades of purple and grey make it a unique costume.
With the iconic yellow oval and dark purple trunks, Batwheels‘ Batsuit cements itself as inspired by Rebirth while also being a mostly different beast. While it is cool to sometimes see straight-up adaptations of suits from the page to the screen, for a stylized Batman series like Hawke’s, this is the perfect scenario.
- Release Date
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October 15, 2022
- Network
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Cartoon Network
- Directors
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Antoine Charreyron, Lila Martinez, Michael Berardini, Vaughn Ross, T.J. Sullivan
- Writers
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Ryan Toyama, Becky Wangberg, Andrew Guastaferro, Sarah Eisenberg, Craig Fernandez, Patrick Rieger, Scott Gray, Jennifer Heftler, Craig Carlisle, Eva Konstantopoulos, David Avallone, Chris Roberson
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Jacob Bertrand
Bam (voice)
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Noah Kaye Bentley
Buff (voice)