Batman: The Animated Series writers and producers Paul Dini and Alan Burnett have spoken about Kevin Conroy’s influence and what fans can expect for the comic series The Adventures Continue: Season Three.
Alan Burnett and Paul Dini on Kevin Conroy
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Dini and Burnett reflected on their time with the late, great Kevin Conroy. Since Batman: The Animated Series is the show that jumpstarted all three of them to fame, it is only natural to hear their thoughts of Conroy’s recent passing.
Alan Burnett: Well, he’s one of the few people who never… There was never a problem with him about anything. He was game to try anything we threw at them. I think that’s one of the things I loved about him. And his voice, which I described as uncommonly powerful and warm at the same time. He could layer dialogue you weren’t expecting to be layered like that. He found a way of doing it.
Paul Dini: …I loved the thought process he brought to Batman and Bruce Wayne. It was very interesting to watch him discover and teach himself things about the characters. He knew that Batman was a character and had been in comic books, but his only exposure to him was in the Adam West series. So through reading the scripts, going back and reading some of the comic book material, and then living with a character for so long — he found ways to tap into his personal experience as a person and an actor to bring a richness to both roles. I think the roles that he really loved [were] the ones that had as much emphasis on Bruce as Batman. So something like Mask of the Phantasm or the episode “Perchance to Dream,” where he was able to do multiple levels on the characters… He always found something extraordinary in his performances.
Surprise Guest Stars in ‘The Adventures Continue’
In the most first issue of The Adventures Continue: Season Three, Dini and Burnett created a new villain the Muscle. However the writing duo put in a couple of surprise cameos in the comic, including Amanda Waller as she comes to recruit the character into Task Force X, AKA the Suicide Squad. What does this mean for the future? Dini gives some indication that it will setup some big things down the road.
Dini: Well, we will say that does pay off. That’s a big part of season three that is a recurrent theme. It’s a lot like when we were writing the animated series. Occasionally we would do an episode with a new character, and something would spark and go like, “Hey, there’s an entry into telling a different type of story.” Certainly, it worked that way with Harley Quinn and some of the other characters we would introduce and then say, “Okay, this opens up more story potential.” So with Muscle, it just seemed like, “What if there is a reverse Batman?” This is the guy that the criminals call in when there’s trouble they can’t handle, the same way the cops would call in Batman. He has the same level of expertise and mystery to him. Alan, do you have anything to add?
