Last time I shared some thoughts in Wayne's Worlds, Frank Millers "The Dark Knight Returns" had rocked the comics industry and led to a hit feature film.

During the early 90s, I used to comb the Internet looking for any news on Star Trek for my local clubs monthly newsletter. Id print every credible item I could. Of course, while I searched for Trek news, Id look up other topics of interest, including Batman.

After the "Batman" movie had earned a huge take, word came across the web that Fox was going to air a new animated series for the Caped Crusader.

As a long-time Batman fan, Ive seen pretty much every animated show based on the character. And it hasnt been pretty.

The popularity of the ABC television show, which began in 1966, had spawned a superhero revolution in animation, particularly on Saturday mornings.

CBS brought in Filmation to bring the other member of the Worlds Finest team, Superman, to animated life. Not long after that, Aquaman joined him.

After "Batman" was canceled by ABC in 1969, CBS added the Dark Knight to the Saturday morning lineup to air with Superman. Like the other Filmation shows, the cartoon had some aspects I really didnt like.

Chief among them was the endless recycling of certain animated sequences. When Batman and Robin talked, their heads turned with the same movements each time. When Batman and Robin would swing on their Bat-ropes, it was the same animation time and again. The stories greatly resembled the ABC show, kind of silly, including the Joker being a kooky maitre d who was not very dangerous.

Even the "Batman" craze had to end, and a few years later, the Filmation shows were off the air.

Batman made a few other appearances in cartoons, including a television movie based on the popular kids show, "Scooby Doo." Maybe its because I didnt like that series, but I found that crossover to be lackluster.

In 1973, the "Super Friends" began. This cartoon featured the big guns of the Justice League, the main superhero team in DC Comics. It had Batman and Robin, Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman. From the start, I had problems with this show. First off, just the title bothered me. "Super Friends" sounded so condescending compared to Justice League. But at that time, cartoons existed to be non-violent (and some would say, non-interesting).

I noticed that rather than "Bat-" or "Super-" characters, the show called most people Wonder- something. There was Wonder Woman, Wonder Dog and the Wonder Twins.

Most seasons had teen characters working with the heroes. (I've never understood the need to have people for kids to relate to instead of look up to myself.) The first year, it was Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog (who was the shows Scooby Doo-alike). After that, the Wonder Twins replaced them. Probably the most memorable thing about the sidekicks was the catchline, "Wonder Twin Powers : Activate!" But that wasnt enough to keep me watching.

The only season I liked was the last one, subtitled "Galactic Guardians." Adult stories, albeit with crappy animation, but they were interesting. And it was nice to hear Adam West again provide the Dark Knights voice.

In one, for example, Batman and Wonder Woman actually went back to Crime Alley to discuss the Caped Crusaders origin. Pretty scary stuff compared to the previous seasons. The best episode was "The Death of Superman," in which Firestorm believes hes caused the death of the Man of Steel. (Batman did have a hand in the solution to that one.)

Which brings us back to Foxs new animated show.

I guess my biggest fear is that Batman will always be seen in terms of the 1960s ABC show. While I admit I like Wests voicing of the Caped Crusader, the silly stories just turn me off. So, the slightest hint of "silly" in the mix can freak me out.

I did some research on the show, and found that the guy in charge, someone named Bruce Timm, last worked on "Tiny Toon Adventures," specifically aimed at the younguns. I was distraught. Anything but that!

But I heard that DC Comics Editor Bob Greenberger was visiting Star Trek conventions, showing the first episode of the Fox series. I attended a Trek con in Rockville, Maryland, specifically to see it.

I went into the assigned room and sat in the front row as Greenberger prepared to show the episode. Before he could start, a guy walked into the room, saying in a loud voice, "I dont know why were wasting our time! Cartoons based on comic book characters always suck! Greenberger smiled and asked the guy to take a seat. He sat in the back, and the episode began.

Without the title sequence, we saw "On Leather Wings," in which Batman fought Man-Bat, a recent addition to the Dark Knights rogues gallery. That bad guy took a chemical to become a huge bat with very little "man." The characters were interesting, the art stylish and Batman was dragged through the city, even ending up with blood on his face. Wow! Id never seen that before in a cartoon show!

When it was finished, Greenberger asked, "What do you think?" We all replied, "That was great! Terrific!"

Greenberger then specifically asked the guy in the back what he thought.

A meek voice responded, "That didnt suck."

Two chapters remain in my examination of Batman. Next time: Fox begins Batman: The Animated Series by screwing the fans, then in the final chapter, I look at the rest of the Batman feature films and give the big, Bat wrap-up.

Wayne Hall is news editor for Airlock Alpha, and is a member of the U.S.S. Chesapeake, an independent science-fiction and Star Trek club in the Washington, D.C., area. He can be reached at whall@airlockalpha.com.