The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years (1998)
Shortly after The New Batman Adventures began airing on Kids WB!, DC Comics published a five issue miniseries titled The Batman Adventures: The Lost Years. This series bridged the gap between the end of Batman: The Animated Series and the start of the new show. Additionally, the first two issues were later adapted into the "Old Wounds" episode, and issue #4 is an adaptation of the episode "Sins of the Father".
Book One: Robin (Dick Grayson) voices his disapproval regarding Batman's tolerance of the crime-fighting activities of the relatively untrained Batgirl and takes it upon himself to stop her. Subsequently, Batman deduces that Batgirl is actually Barbara Gordon while watching her play tennis against Dick – he realizes that she moves just like Batgirl. Batman decides to take Batgirl under his wing and give her the training she needs. Robin is upset by this decision and argues with Batman, but fails to change his mind.
Book Two: Bruce and Dick continue their argument up through Dick's college graduation ceremony. When the Joker unleashes a radar jammer that can cause aircraft to crash, Batman and Batgirl battle him and his gang before Dick, as Robin, intervenes. The Joker is defeated, but Dick is so enraged at Batman that he punches him and storms away. He decides to leave Gotham City, despite the protests of Alfred and Barbara.
Book Three: Dick discovers an ancient African tribe and learns combat techniques from them, finally taking the first steps out of Batman's shadow. In Africa, Dick develops a new persona for himself: Nightwing.
Book Four: Batman becomes angrier and more driven because of Dick's departure – his new partner, Batgirl, is concerned over his change in personality. One night, while on the trail of Two-Face, Batman saves young Tim Drake, son of petty criminal "Shifty" Drake. Shifty was murdered by Two-Face and Tim swore revenge. Batman trained Tim into Robin to save him from a life of crime. Two-Face was captured and Batman took in Tim as his second ward.
Book Five: Dick joins an expedition to find a group of African monks who have lost an artifact, agreeing to recover the artifact in exchange for their secret of flight (the winged costume). He succeeds in gaining the artifact back from Ra's al Ghul. Succeeding, he visits Batman and reveals his new identity of Nightwing to him, Alfred, Batgirl, and Robin.
Read more about this topic: The Batman Adventures
Famous quotes containing the words lost and/or years:
“The general feeling was, and for a long time remained, that one had several children in order to keep just a few. As late as the seventeenth century . . . people could not allow themselves to become too attached to something that was regarded as a probable loss. This is the reason for certain remarks which shock our present-day sensibility, such as Montaigne’s observation, “I have lost two or three children in their infancy, not without regret, but without great sorrow.””
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)
“Six years of such small preoccupations!
Six years of shuttling in and out of this place!
O my hunger! My hunger!
I could have gone around the world twice
or had new children all boys.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)