The Batman Who Laughs is getting the Batman: The Animated Series treatment. The new DC villain has been redesigned in the style of the iconic Batman cartoon as a part of DC's upcoming Batman: The Adventures Continue. The Batman Who Laughs will be getting his own action figure in the classic style.
Earlier last week, DC announced a new comic spinning out of the world of Batman: The Animated Series titled Batman: The Adventures Continue. The series is bringing back series co-creator Paul Dini and writer Alan Burnett as well as Batman Adventures artist Ty Templeton. Part of the project will bring a new DC Collectibles line as well of a handful of characters who never appeared in the original series including Deathstroke, Jason Todd, and Azrael. One new character who's getting his own figure is The Batman Who Laughs.
DC Collectibles' new line of figures will feature the dark multiverse version of Batman. The villain has shown up consistently in the pages of DC Comics since first appearing in Dark Nights: Metal. Created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, The Batman Who Laughs popularity was immediate, as he was named the DC Villain of the Year in 2019. He'll play an integral part in the upcoming Dark Nights: Death Metal series. Templeton's take on the character is great as he looks like he belongs in the Batman: The Animated Series universe.
The Batman Who Laughs didn't make his debut until late 2017, more than two full decades after the original Batman: The Animated Series concluded its four-season run. With the comic able to explore newer narrative threads and characters of the DC Universe, The Batman Who Laughs is in a prime position to make his debut in that universe. While that hasn't been confirmed by DC or by the creative team on the upcoming comic series, it just seems like the perfect way to introduce him. Also, getting a figure designed by Templeton is a strong hint that he's coming to the comic sooner than later.
The Batman Who Laughs isn't the only character that's getting a new figure as Batman, Catwoman, and Vampire Batman will all be getting new toys based on Batman: The Adventure Continues series. You can find more information about those figures here. Time will tell if The Batman Who Laughs makes his animated series-inspired debut when the digital-first comic becomes available online in April and in print on May 6th, 2020.