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Toonami is teaming up with DC FanDome to bring you two weeks of back-to-back DC animated movies! On August 15th, “Batman: Year One” kicks the night off at midnight. Then “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1” punches in at 1:30a. The following week on August 22nd, “Batman: Gotham Knight” takes over at midnight, followed by “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2” jumping in at 1:45a.
Batman: Year One (Airs August 15 at Midnight EST)
Two men come to Gotham City: Bruce Wayne, after years abroad feeding his lifelong obsession for justice and Jim Gordon, after being too honest a cop with the wrong people elsewhere. After learning painful lessons about the city’s corruption on its streets and police department respectively, this pair learn how to fight back their own way. With that, Gotham’s evildoers from top to bottom are terrorized by the mysterious Batman, and the equally heroic Gordon is assigned to catch him by comrades who both hate and fear him themselves. In the ensuing manhunt, both find much in common as the seeds of an unexpected friendship are laid with additional friends and rivals helping to start the legend.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (Airs August 15 at 1:30 am EST)
In a dystopian near-future version of Gotham City, 55-year-old Bruce Wayne has retired from being Batman following the death of his former Robin, Jason Todd. Criminals now run amok and the city is constantly terrorized by a gang known as the Mutants. However, the escalating brutality of the Mutants prompts Bruce to take up the mantle of Batman again, but the public opinion over Batman and his methods is sharply divided.
Batman: Gotham Knight (Airs August 22 at Midnight EST)
In this 6-story anthology collection, Batman faces villains both new and old in a timeline set after Batman Begins. In “Have I Got A Story For You”, three kids tell wildly different stories about Batman during a fight through Gotham. “Crossfire” focuses on two policemen who end up getting in the middle of a crime battle. “Field Test” has Lucius Fox creating a new technology for Batman, but is it too powerful? “In Darkness Dwells” features Killer Croc and Scarecrow, who have kidnapped a priest. “Working Through Pain” goes through flashbacks of Bruce Wayne’s training while Batman finds his way through the sewers. Finally, “Deadshot” focuses on the titular sniper, who has a new target in Gotham.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (Airs August 22 at 1:45 am EST)
After a 10 year absence, the Dark Knight has returned to Gotham to fight the Mutant threat. After defeating the Mutants, he has taken control of a gang loyal to him in order to make Gotham a safer place. But, the Joker has decided to stop this and fights against Batman in a deadly duel. Meanwhile, Superman is ordered to stop the Dark Knight because the government believes that his ways are wrong. As Batman fights the Joker, the Man of Steel prepares for his greatest fight.
The last time Toonami aired movies was on April 1, 2018, when Mind Game premiered on Toonami during Toonami’s April Fools surprise. The film aired with the original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles, making it the first Japanese anime film to air on Toonami subtitled. For English dubs, the last movie to air was on November 5, 2016, when Toonami debuted Children Who Chase Lost Voices, formerly licensed by Sentai Filmworks. As of May 2019, however, Sentai has lost the license and the film is now out of print.
The last time DC Comics content aired on Toonami was six years ago between May 10 and September 27, 2014, when Beware The Batman premiered at 3:00 am. Unfortunately, the series was written off by Cartoon Network causing the series to leave the lineup after the final seven episodes made their premiere during a marathon.
With these four movies airing on Toonami, this will hopefully allow Toonami more access to the DC Comics/Warner Bros. vault to air more DC Comics content in the future, be it more movies or perhaps even DC Comics animated shows.
With Toonami airing movies once more, the regular lineup, including JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, will be taking the next few weeks off. Given the current circumstances Toonami has been facing with COVID-19 delays, the regular lineup could use a break to allow dub production for several shows to catch up. The block’s normal schedule should be returning on August 29 pending any future last-minute announcements.
Gear up for a trip to Gotham, starting next Saturday night from midnight to 4:00 am, and check out DCFandome.com for more info!
What do you think of Toonami re-airing movies and DC Comics content again? Let us know in the comments below and on our social media pages!
Sources:
Toonami Announcement- Toonami Official Facebook
Batman: Year One Synopsis – IMDb
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 Synopsis – dcmovies.fandom.com
Batman: Gotham Knight Synopsis – IMDb
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 Synopsis – IMDb
