DC animation becoming more gritty.
Bob Dylan sang it best once- “Times they are A-changin”.
From the non-violent, family friendly pages to now blood spilling intensified language, comics have now given fans the dark side of the pages. Animation has done the same, from Batman and Robin “slapping the wrist” of The Riddler and pointing the finger on how robbing banks is morally wrong in society. We all know what will happen in the end, The Riddler will be placed in jail to reflect on his wrong actions, only to escape to repeat the cycle later. That was the trend for the heroes vs. villains in 60’s animation/comics. In the episode “The Jigsaw Jeopardy”, The Riddler does exactly that, escape from jail, only to return after a failed attempt.
Now, fans want the sense of realism. A dark-toned setting with no repeating cycles of jail time. A violent world that their comics reflected starting with “Joker’s Five-Way Revenge“, “Arkham Asylum A Serious House On Serious Earth“, and “Infinite Crisis“. Animation is following this trend, feeding DC fans their hunger for a more violent, twisted realm of stories.
In the video above, the episode “Mad Love” produce in the 1990’s, 30 years after “The Jigsaw Jeopardy” animation evolved with sexual innuendos such as Harley Quinn asking The Joker “Don’t ya want to rev up your harley?” in addition with wearing a night gown. In addition, a man shoving a woman such as The Joker shoving Harley Quinn off the desk would be unheard of during the 60’s.
Animation has adapted to violence, sexual innuendos, and dark language. All in 30 years- just imagine what the next 30 years will bring fans to DC comic fans.